Jetson Green

Zira Island Planned as Zero Energy City

Following in the footsteps of Dongtan and Masdar, the Danish firm of Bjarke Ingels Group has just released details of their masterplan for a zero energy resort and entertainment city on Zira Island, which is located within the bay of Baku, Azerbaijan.  The plan calls for roughly 10.8 million square feet of architectural landscape based on the natural landscape of Azerbaijan.  Indeed, Zira Island will feature seven residential developments, each in the shape of one of seven peaks of Azerbaijan, and 300 private villas with views over the Caspian Sea. 

With Nature at Hidden Creek Eco-Village

This is Hidden Creek Eco-Village.  It's a little bit different kind of suburban development that attempts to reconcile the demands of single-family home buyers with the problems of sprawling housing developments.  First, Hidden Creek is full of communal features, such as neighborhood trails, car parks, front porches, central mailboxes, and shared streetscapes.  Plus the homes are densely sited to maintain open, natural spaces.  Second, Hidden Creek is surrounded by the natural environment: there's a nature preserve on the north, a creek on the south, and natural grasses and trees everywhere else.  To maintain the integrity of the site, homes were placed around existing trees and landscaping.  Third, all the homes have been custom-designed for each site to allow views of the surrounding landscape and nature. 

Chicago Plans Gargantuan 1140 Acre LEED Neighborhood Development

Looks like Chicago city planners have big ideas for a 1140 acre swathe of land in South Chicago.  The spot is former U.S. Steel land, and planners have been mulling development options for the spot since about 2000.  Now, they'd like to submit a proposal for a green development with sustainable neighborhoods, green buildings, street cars, and bicycle paths, etc.  Officially referred to as the "South Chicago LEED Neighborhood Development Initiative," the plan would be rated by the USGBC's LEED-ND pilot program and would unravel over roughly 20-30 years. 

Tahoma Eco-Luxury Utah Townhouses

Some of you may be in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival this week, and while you're in town, you might want to go check out some green projects.  Probably the greenest building in Utah is located near Kimball Junction -- Swaner EcoCenter -- it's a must tour facility and nature preserve.  Another project worth checking out, and maybe worth buying, is a three townhouse community called Tahoma.  With Tahoma, a local developer took a dive into green development waters and ended up achieving the first Built Green Utah certified residential development in Park City.  Tahoma was developed by Baker Street Properties, and based upon my communications with the developer, they're ready to build even greener for future projects. 

Candy Shop Green Co-Working Space

Talk about a serious transformation!  VaST, a Colorado-based a+d firm, purchased an old porn shop earlier this year -- the building was located close to Boulder -- and completely gutted the place.  Now, you wouldn't even know it used to have super skeezy viewing booths.  VaST took all that out and set a new standard in using green materials, particularly salvaged and unique materials.  Located at 1720 15th Street in Boulder, Candy Shop is the right kind of place for a budding green professional or socially aware independent looking for some co-working space.  Plus, they've just added solar panels to supply a portion of the building's energy ... check out the particulars of the renovation:

Update: Revision Dallas Green Details

When we first published news that Dallas was planning the nation's first sustainable city block, the exact location hadn't been named.  In anticipation of the location, I guessed south downtown, and it turns out, hit the proverbial nail smack dab on the head.  The sustainable city block is right by the convention center and Dallas City Hall (designed by I.M. Pei and featured shortly in Terminator I believe).  It's also in the general vicinity of another green project we featured previously called Buzz Lofts.  So the location is spot on and prime for some serious green innovation. 

Dallas Planning Nation's First Fully Sustainable City Block

What would it take to create a fully sustainable city block in downtown Dallas?  That's the question and discussion that will begin this Friday, December 5, 2008, at Dallas City Hall.  The City of Dallas, in collaboration with Urban Re:Vision and Building Community Workshop, is hosting a Design Charrette to examine the framework and community impact of a sustainable, urban square block.  And by sustainable, the vision is to create a place that is healthy in social, economic, and environmental terms. 

Green Construction Starts Could Reach $140 Billion by 2013

Over the last month, I’ve seen several reports on green building, and we’ll try to address them all in due time.  With reports like this, though, we have to spread it out – this is geeky stuff, it’s not leisurely eye candy or anything like that.  But we like to follow the numbers in anticipation of future trends.  In that regard, the Green Outlook 2009: Trends Driving Change report by McGraw-Hill Construction has some interesting information.  According to the report, the value of green building construction starts was up five times from 2005 to 2008, with values escalating from $10 billion to $36-$49 billion.  Also, by analysis, the report estimates that construction starts could triple over the next five years and reach $96-$140 billion.

Iconic Dubai Anara Tower Looking Forward to LEED Silver Certification

Developer Tameer Holding has another iconic tower in the works for Dubai called Anara Tower.  Designed by Atkins, the 600 meter (~1969 feet) tower won't be as tall as the world's tallest tower, Burj Dubai, which is ~707 meter (~2,320 feet), but it's not too far behind.  With 125 stories, Anara will have office space, 300 residential apartments, 250 hotel keys, and all sorts of other luxury amenities, such as pools, shops, and sky gardens every 27 floors. The design was inspired by the minaret, tall spires near Muslim mosques, with a purpose of being instantly recognizable worldwide. 

Green Trailer Maxes Out Sustainability

This is the McCownGordon Construction Green Trailer.  Pretty nice, right?!  It was designed to use a fraction of the energy typically used by jobsite trailers and still provides a modern user experience on the inside.  The interesting thing about this trailer is that it was designed using Autodesk Revit to get everything just right: the panels were placed at the best angle to capture energy and clear overpasses, the composting toilet was modeled to show exterior vents, and the interior was modeled to perfect the wood patterns and overall design.  Plus, according to Brad Hardin, BIM Director for the company, this jobsite trailer is positive energy!