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We in the construction and design industry are currently going through a greenwash, a saturation of sustainability. In fact, we may be creating it. This public sense of exhaustion and lack of understanding in response to environmentally conscious mentalities and building processes, anything labeled 'green' to be precise, is causing an increased apathy in the entire sector and is impacting the communication of projects and concepts. Yet we are only adding fuel to the fire. We in this industry, and even those who are not, are confusing two key terms; that of Green Building and Sustainability, in turn creating confusion through misrepresented and easily misunderstood jargon. The thing is, it's universal. And ever so easy to accidently do.

Urban farming, vertical forests and sky garden design concepts are currently seeing a huge amount of global attention. The reason being is that they offer to answer a huge question for most living in city spaces: How can we live a greener lifestyle in the city? That question is answered through these incredible designs. Urban farming offers to cater to the food needs of cities in a way that is sustainable and doesn't involve high levels of carbon emissions through transport processes, vertical forests add extensive green spaces in areas that are space short and sky gardens add a sense of community and a greener lifestyle to otherwise 'brown', boring living spaces.

What Experts Are Saying "KPF has been using GenerativeComponents for some time and it forms a key component in the armory of the KPF Computational Geometry Group. Several of our most advanced projects employ GenerativeComponents as a tool for exploring thousands of options as well as the complex geometry to be used in final construction, all ultimately benefiting our clients. The nature of GenerativeComponents as a MicroStation extension means that, as a matter of course, our advanced designs can be interchanged with an extraordinary variety of software." - Lars Hesselgren, Kohn Pederson Fox "At Arup, we believe firmly in the principle of integrated design and integrated approaches to design - it's the only way to design complex buildings well. That's why we use GenerativeComponents. And we are not alone. We are starting to see young people coming through the system doing things we could only have dreamed about a few years ago." - J Parrish, Arup Sport "Simplicity seeds complexity. But in the search for form we need to add reference to the representation to articulate the result. GenerativeComponents enables us to find, explore, and regulate forms more rapidly, and to transmit these forms to fabrication more economically." - Hugh Whitehead, Foster + Partners "Grimshaw's offices all share a common DNA. We are a design-driven office, and all projects are informed by the specific location, program, and environmental forces. We employ GenerativeComponents to take in and embed the multitude of inputs and structure them using this common DNA, thus enabling us to rapidly explore a variety of environmentally appropriate solutions for each design project." - Shane Burger, Grimshaw Architects "Using GenerativeComponents, we can accelerate our iteration through design options and, in parallel, assess all concepts and dismiss those that would be uneconomic to construct. As a result, we get to spend more time fine-tuning the best solution.â

about next way to design ...

China's twelfth 5-Year Plan (released in 2011) addresses the country's rapid urbanisation by including a target to deliver 36 million new social housing units by 2015. Shenzhen in southern China, located in the Pearl River Delta in the Guangdong Province, is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It has a large stake in this project and is aiming to deliver 240,000 new units which will house approximately 800,000 people. At the vanguard of China's economic reform, Shenzhen has grown 400 times its original size in the last 40 years, following high levels of investment by the government and through mass migration of workers from all over China. The city has a huge transient working population comprising mostly young people, in particular single women. Most residents come to the city from various parts of the country, leaving family, friends and other support networks. Shenzhen is rapidly running out of space, with only limited land available to house future population growth.

In architecture,  it is a rare occasion that an image of a built structure is as striking as the concept drawings. It is a sad truth, but often the structure has to be walked in and felt in order for its true aesthetic to shine through. In fact, often the more innovative and arresting the concept image, the less chance that the building will even be built. However, there are the rare few that actually outshine their concept images and intrigue us as to how they were ever constructed. World-renowned architects Daniel Libeskind have done just that with the completion of the incredibly 'Reflections at Keppel Bay' development.

Approach and skill sets are always unique. We profile a design firm that is spreading its wings at a fast pace with its idiosyncratic appeal. Read here and share with us other such examples...Click on the link to read more>>

Towers are marketed as iconic places to work, live, visit and simply experience. It is important that they keep up their appearance. But the maintenance and cleaning of tall buildings can be a complex and costly business for building owners. Conversely, the integration of large and unsightly building maintenance units (BMU) can potentially compromise the architectural design integrity. Modern BMU designs combine the integration of efficient, cost effective cleaning and maintenance procedures with a solution that maintains the aesthetic ambitions. The cleaning technology options are numerous; from traditional abseiling techniques to self climbing cradles and davit arms, through to monorail systems and BMU machines.

When moving towards a sustainability goal in the architecture and construction industry, eco-technologies are often the first choice that builders and designers make. While these additions are successful in decreasing, or even eliminating, excess carbon emissions expelled during the construction or running stages of a building's life, there are much simpler organic processes that can be used to simply decrease a reliance on brown energy use. Orientation Planning is a prime example of a simple, zero technologically driven sustainable building concept. Through the careful positioning of a building, its reliance upon technologies, green or otherwise, to control the interior climate can be dramatically reduced, or even eliminated entirely.

The architecture industry has been in recent times exploring the growing world of artificial organisms. We have continuously covered this increasing trend, with examples of man-made organics in China and Singapore, varying from artificial islands, to trees and most recently coral reefs. It is no surprise that through the heightened levels of toxins and rubbish now running into our oceans everyday that certain sections of incredibly valuable, and aesthetically stunning underwater environments are dying. This is caused by various reasons including: the everyday home owner chemical run offs, the larger oil spills and natural disasters, but the fact is, we are killing it faster than it is able to grow back.

While feeling safe and secure is a universal need, the strategies through which this need is met have changed over time and across cultures. Recent natural disasters and terror attacks have contributed to a heightened level of interest in how best to protect public buildings and associated structures from natural or man-made events. Within Australia, the National Construction Code (NCC) defines types of building and associated structures, in addition to providing technical advice for their design and construction. The NCC covers such matters as structural integrity, fire resistance, access and egress, services and equipment, and energy efficiency as well as aspects of health and amenities.

Do atypical designs influence your shopping preferences? Do they add interest to an otherwise routine chore? Go through the article and leave us your views.

Don't you think projects like the one dealt with here, have the ability to display 'The Power of One', in propagating Green Culture? Go through the article and leave us your views.

but to read ... some convergence . Disengagement from the 'real world' is a common criticism of the discipline of architecture. With architects serving only 10-15% of the population and an even lower number in housing design, it is not difficult to understand the reasons for this critique. Conversely, architecture is also about imagination, creativity, play and fantasy-all activities promoted in architectural education, particularly design studio. Through this tutorial, we will try to understand whether architecture needs to touch base with the 'real world'. We will investigate what this mean for architecture and what is needed for imagination, fantasy and play to become tools in the search for a sustainable future.

where are the architects now ? only drawers and few concepts ?

ces cubes sont des références de savoirs !! ... vont avec les nutritopies (en sont d'ailleurs aussi !) ... sources de savoirs et de faire ...

cubezs of showcases; the idea is to shae knowledges and HOWto's

That 'high-rises provide vantage points, otherwise unthinkable of' is beyond debate and when such a point provides an unobstructed view as well, it's definitely a bonanza. It is this distinct advantage that Aedas, the architects of Mongkok Residence, Hong Kong plan to serve to its residents through this towering landmark. Check it out here...

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Moscow-based za bor architects, Arseniy Borisenko and Peter Zaytsev showcase a signature design style that draws one into its abstract sculptural folds through a strong palette of colour and form... Read here and leave us your views.

Vo Trong Nghia Architects, Vietnam restore the charm of tropical neighbourhoods in the highly urbanized heart of Ho Chi Minh City through their one-of-a-kind project 'House for Trees'...

The green canvas and topographical landscape of Austria's Hagenberg drives Caramel Architects to establish an environment-friendly dialogue through their residential design 'House Mesh'.

CRA unveils design for the pilot project of the Open Innovation Centre in Turin, Italy that promotes a hot-desking regime while fostering interaction in physical space through collaborative digital platforms. The design uses automated UV-C based desk sanitizing and a 'smart window' to ensure health, safety, and sociability.

Tjep. expresses art through the medium of Light and Technology, their public installation Zwerm, in Eindhoven, bringing the surrounding context to life.