the glass half full

The Bahrain World Trade Center in the city of Manama. It...

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:24:00 -0700

The Bahrain World Trade Center in the city of Manama. It incorporates three 95 foot wind turbines to help power the buildings generators. Also, the shape of the towers should accelerate the winds velocity and cause all three of the turbines to spin at the same pace, thereby maximizing the energy output. Very interesting :)

The finished urban terrace in Berlin.

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 19:03:00 -0700

The finished urban terrace in Berlin.

The construction cycle of an urban terrace. It was constructed...

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 18:35:00 -0700

The construction cycle of an urban terrace. It was constructed on an unused corner of a building in Berlin. This shows that we do not need to necessarily form new ‘green’ buildings, but to simply find wasted space within our current cities.

Photo

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:48:14 -0700

A ‘living wall’ I guess. I’m not sure what the...

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:30:00 -0700

A ‘living wall’ I guess. I’m not sure what the point of all those panels around the plants are. The panels are aesthetically pleasing, but not very practical. At least the concept of vertical gardens is catching on. Vertical gardens save a lot of space and can be easily created without as much time, expense, or space as a normal park or garden within the city. It may waste some space, but its very beautiful :)

Photo

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:26:00 -0700

The ongoing acidification of the oceans that is caused by...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:23:00 -0700

The ongoing acidification of the oceans that is caused by increasing carbon dioxide levels poses a major threat to the organisms in the oceans and their various food chains. Around 25% of the carbon dioxide in the air enters our oceans and is converted into harmful carbonic acid. From 1751 to 1994 there has been an observed increase in acidity of 30% within the worlds oceans. It is sad to see that the media does not seem to care about the destruction of earths largest resource and the vast ecosystem within it.

Awesome :)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:19:00 -0700

Awesome :)

These can actually be created out of any normal skyscraper...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:19:00 -0700

These can actually be created out of any normal skyscraper today. By building some vertical supports running along each corner of the building you could create these balcony gardens quite easily. Build one on every corner every two floors and connect each unit of balconies by cables. This would produce inward pressure, holding the balconies together and to the building with a minimal amount of concrete.

Photo

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:09:39 -0700

A Table That Turns Your Kitchen Into a Mini Ecosystem - This...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:07:26 -0700

A Table That Turns Your Kitchen Into a Mini Ecosystem - This concept was modeled on nature’s cycles, from rain, to plants, to soil.

The Microbial Home - by Philips. The Microbial Home Probe...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:06:41 -0700

The Microbial Home - by Philips. The Microbial Home Probe project consists of a domestic ecosystem that challenges conventional design solutions to energy, cleaning, food preservation, lighting and human waste.

An environmentally friendly underground house which...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:03:00 -0700

An environmentally friendly underground house which requires virtually no air conditioning because the thick walls of dirt absorb vast amounts of heat and there is only one entrance which is shaded most of the day. Plus, by it being completely underground it leaves space above to grow plants and possibly support an almost completely self sustainable ecosystem.

An open air office is always a good thing to have :)

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:01:00 -0700

An open air office is always a good thing to have :)

The thing about this building is that you don’t need any...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 19:01:00 -0700

The thing about this building is that you don’t need any real walls. It may be constructed completely of plexiglass with wire netting to contain the soil. Put in some plants and ‘Voila!’ you now have a completely private home :)

In the 1970’s Michael Reynolds got the idea to build Earthship...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:58:59 -0700

In the 1970’s Michael Reynolds got the idea to build Earthship homes, those built mainly of waste products and designed in sustainable ways.

A great design that eliminates some of the hassle out of cycling...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:56:00 -0700

A great design that eliminates some of the hassle out of cycling around town or to work when you need to pick up a few things on the way :)

An interesting roof plan but it seems like it would require a...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:54:00 -0700

An interesting roof plan but it seems like it would require a lot of material, much more material(metal,plastic,glass) than a normal roof. But if you could find a very strong, fine webbing then you could possibly suspend a net of this webbing with some bedding and plants from multiple poles deeply embedded in the ground that had very high flexural strength but were fairly thin. Plus, that way you would not have to use any glass for windows as you would leave a space in between the net garden and the room.

I still can’t figure out where they’re going to put...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:53:00 -0700

I still can’t figure out where they’re going to put the balconies for the rooms :P Personally I think it would be better if they created a kind of amphitheater effect with the balcony gardens. Thereby producing much more space for the plants and also shading the pool. Possibly the entrance too if they utilized the idea on both sides of the building.

“A Japanese innovation, the wind lens - brims that go around...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 18:52:05 -0700

“A Japanese innovation, the wind lens - brims that go around the outside of a turbine’s blades, can double or even triple the turbine’s power output, bringing wind farms in line with the efficiency and output of nuclear power, without the danger of a meltdown”

(via FB)