As a design exercise, California-based architecture firm Jeff Barrett Studio has reimagined Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Farnsworth House for the modern times with a sustainable redesign that includes onsite renewable energy and modular construction. Conceived as a case study for sustainability that would still pay homage to the original architectural style, the proposed design follows the same building footprint while introducing a new materials palette […]
Lucy Wang
28 posts
Every year as part of Studio 804, University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design graduate students design and build an energy-efficient home for the community — and this year’s home not only achieved LEED Platinum certification but also comes with an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to fight suburban sprawl. The 2020 project, known as 722 Ash Street House, consists of a 1,500-square-foot primary house with […]
The Texas Mutual Insurance Company’s new headquarters in Austin, Texas’s Mueller Development has earned both LEED Gold and Austin Energy Green Building 4-Star certifications in recognition of the building’s energy-efficient design and focus on occupant wellness. Designed by Texan architecture firm Studio8 Architects, the four-story office building is notable for its adherence to the “Design for Active Occupants” LEED innovation strategy to prioritize a healthy and active […]
When the Pingshan District government in Shenzhen, China tapped Beijing-based OPEN Architecture to design the district’s first theater, the architects knew immediately that they wanted to create something different from the high energy-consuming and monotonous theaters that have recently become the norm throughout China. After taking a critical look at the past development of theaters in the country, the architects worked closely with the client to […]
California real estate investment group City Ventures has recently announced the grand opening of Round Barn, a new townhome community that is composed of eco-friendly, solar-powered residences in Santa Rosa’s historic Fountaingrove neighborhood. Located about an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco at the gateway of the Russian River Valley, Round Barn offers 237 farmhouse-style luxury townhomes with prices that start in the high $500,000s. Continue reading […]
Global design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has unveiled designs for Jiuzhou Bay, a new 5.6 million-square-foot mixed-use neighborhood in coastal Zhuhai, which was recently named China’s most livable city by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Selected from a shortlist of 10 global design firms, SOM’s proposal targets a low-carbon scheme that makes use of the region’s abundant natural resources — the sea and […]
Near the border of Ohio and Kentucky, a stunning sustainable home has hit the market for $3,249,000. Designed by local architect Jose Garcia, the home was built with natural materials, from the exterior cladding of cedar and cypress wood to the interior use of century-year-old reclaimed Douglas fir. The Douglas fir was sourced from a demolished cotton mill and used for the ceiling and walls. The […]
The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the first publicly accessible art depot in the world, has just completed construction in Rotterdam’s Museumpark. Designed by MVRDV, the bowl-shaped building draws the eye with its 6,609 square meters of exterior glass subdivided into 1,664 mirrored panels that reflect the surroundings and help blend the 15,000-square-meter building into the leafy park. In addition to an expansive art collection that will […]
At the heart of Hong Kong’s central business district, the 36-story Murray Road project designed by Zaha Hadid Architects has broken ground — and its energy-efficient design has already earned the building LEED Platinum and WELL Platinum pre-certification along with the highest 3-Star rating of China’s Green Building Rating Program. Inspired by the layered structure of a soon-to-blossom Bauhinia bud — the flower from the Bauhinia x blakeana […]
Rotterdam-based West 8 and Saint Petersburg-based Studio 44 have won an international competition with their design for the Tuchkov Buyan Park, a new proposed waterfront park in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Over 200 teams from 50 countries applied for participation in the competition. A shortlist of eight participants were selected, including Studio 44 and West 8; a team led by Agence Ter and Philippe Rahm architectes; Bjarke […]
South of Guadalajara in the state of Jalisco, local architecture firm Estudio Radillo Alba has completed the Casa R.A., a family of five’s countryside home that takes its site-specific massing from the existing trees on site. Designed for a client who wanted a home that would make the most of the available land surface, the single-family dwelling embraces indoor/outdoor living with floor-to-ceiling windows and patios full of lush […]
DELVA landscape architecture / urbanism and Team V Architecture have unveiled designs for DPG Media’s new Dutch head office — a sustainability-focused, 46,000-square-meter building that will be one of the largest wooden hybrid offices in the world once complete. Designed in collaboration with Arup, DGMR, SkaaL, SmitsRinsma and Thonik, the new DPG headquarters at the Amstel Business Park in Amsterdam will set an example for future […]
In only three months, eco-conscious Japanese architect Tono Mirai crafted a charming tiny timber structure that can be moved by truck. Dubbed the Red Container, the compact building was primarily designed as an exercise to promote Shinshu larch, a beautiful local larch species in the Saku area of Japan’s Nagano Prefecture that had long been overlooked because of its tendency to warp and twist. However, due to advancements in drying […]
After creating a life-size board game out of cardboard, Luanga ‘Lue’ Nuwame has combined his love of cardboard crafting with another passion — rare comic book action figures. The self-proclaimed “comic book nerdboy” recently launched a Kickstarter for unique handmade cardboard cutouts of some of his favorite indie comic book characters. In a collection called ‘Ultimate Articulated Cardboard Action Cut-Outs,’ Nuwame has meticulously put together a […]
Prague-based architecture firm Petr Janda / brainwork studio has won an international competition with its design of the Abu Dhabi Flamingo Visitor Center, a proposed center that would service the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve located southeast of central Abu Dhabi. Dubbed “To See and Not to be Seen,” the winning proposal blends in with the landscape with an organically shaped building made of a pink concrete […]
An old logistics port and ferry terminal in Bergen, Norway has been reimagined into an inspiring zero-emission district where nature-based climate adaptation, a community-based sharing economy and renewable building materials will take center stage. Copenhagen-based architecture studio Tredje Natur (Third Nature) is the mastermind behind this grand vision, a 40-hectare mixed-use development known as the future Dokken. The design follows principles of a regenerative city, from […]
Global design firm Fentress Architects and Arquitectonia have given the 1950s-era Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) a sustainable and modern redesign — that has also recently received LEED Silver certification. Located in the heart of Miami Beach, Florida, the convention center has long been internationally known as the host for annual events such as Art Basel Miami Beach and eMERGE Americas. With the recent renovation and […]
Chicago-based Ross Barney Architects has given the iconic McDonald’s at Walt Disney World Resort a sustainable makeover. This revamp aims to make McDonald’s Disney flagship the first net-zero energy quick-service restaurant. Topped with a canopy clad in solar panels, the energy-efficient building takes on a new, contemporary form that strategically responds to Orlando’s hot and humid climate. In addition to generating renewable energy on-site, the restaurant reduces its […]
In a bid to sustainably create more inclusive and connective space in Mexico City, local architecture practice BAAQ’ has rehabilitated Dr. Atl 285 — an industrial structure from the late 1960s — into a mixed-use community hub topped with a productive urban garden. Located in the neighborhood of Santa Maria la Ribera just west of the historic center, the adaptive reuse project responds to the area’s […]
In its ongoing efforts to introduce imaginative public spaces into cities, New York-based Ballman Khapalova has unveiled a proposal to turn a section of the Tiber River into a new vital center for public life in Rome dubbed the Piazza Tevere. The proposed location is a perfectly rectangular area of the river between the Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini and the Ponte Sisto that is also the same […]
Chinese architecture firms Wiki World and Advanced Architecture Lab have designed and built the Mountain & Cloud Cabins, a boutique hotel hidden in the mountains of Yichang in China’s Hubei province. Commissioned by the local cultural and tourism development agency, the nature-focused hospitality project features 18 timber cabins that are prefabricated and strategically sited for reduced site impact and optimized landscape views. The cabins are also […]
Shanghai HuaDu Architecture & Urban Design Group (HDD) has completed the Chinese Culture (Publishing and Broadcasting) Data Industry (CCDI) project, the first national-level data center in China’s news, publishing and broadcasting industry. Located in Guiyang City’s Guizhou Shuanglong Airport Economic Zone in southwest China, the Copyright Cloud Headquarters serves as the country’s largest platform for copyright trading and the largest hub for broadcasting and television networks. […]
For the entire month of July, the Estonian city of Tartu transformed one of its main streets in the heart of the city into the Autovabaduse (Car-Free) Avenue, a popular pedestrian-friendly paradise. The project not only observed COVID-19 social distancing guidelines but also gave local businesses a much-needed economic boost. Commissioned by the local government, the Car-Free Avenue 2020 project was designed by Tõnis Arjus, Ragnar […]
UNStudio has completed the first 37 stations for Qatar Railways’ Doha Metro, one of the most advanced and fastest driverless metro systems in the world. With phase one and three metro lines — Red, Green and Gold — now complete, citizens of Doha who previously relied primarily on cars now have access to an efficient and reliable public transit service that will grow over time. To […]
On the outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal in Santa Iria de Azoia, sustainable creative studio WOOMETRY is giving unwanted wood pieces a second life by transforming the salvaged materials into home goods and other 3D objects. Founded in March 2018 by architect Kate Bombony and woodworker Mike Beck, the design studio has recently grown to include a third team member and adopted partial automation of the production […]
At 10,666 feet above sea level, the newly constructed Iceman Ötzi Peak observation deck provides nature-lovers with a stunning vantage point of the Italian Alps at the peak of the Schnals Valley Glacier ridge in South Tyrol. Designed by Network of Architecture (noa*), the sculptural viewing platform is built of weathered steel and elegantly engineered for minimal impact, resulting in a structure that appears to blend […]
The Republic of Kiribati, a small nation of islands and atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, is a tropical paradise that’s also believed to be at extreme risk of disappearing due to climate change. In response to a global design competition seeking climate-resilient solutions to housing for Kiribati citizens, French architect Christophe Caranchini has proposed prefabricated floating communities that promote off-grid, communal living. In addition to […]
The Republic of Kiribati, a small nation of islands and atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, is a tropical paradise that’s also believed to be at extreme risk of disappearing due to climate change. In response to a global design competition seeking climate-resilient solutions to housing for Kiribati citizens, French architect Christophe Caranchini has proposed prefabricated floating communities that promote off-grid, communal living. In addition to […]