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Green Wonders of the World
Hearst Corp.'s new 46-story headquarters is a wonder of green building. The structure's grid-like frame required 20% less steel than would be used for a similar conventional perimeter frame. Sensors control lighting, dimming, or turning off interior electric lights when natural light is available. For most of the year, a state-of-the-art HVAC system uses outdoor air for cooling and ventilation. As a result, the energy used and carbon dioxide emissions are slashed to 22% less than an average office building of comparable size in New York.
James Law's new cybertecture office has been commissioned in Mumbai, India, and it has already been lauded as a brand new innovation with lots and lots of promise. Which is true, it does- this building's egg shape will accommodate 13 floors of offices with an environmentally-conscious design and a technologically forward concept. There is a sky garden located at the top of the building.
Inevitably known as the Erotic Gherkin, Norman Foster's London landmark raised the bar for sustainable skyscrapers around the world. Its distinctive tapering profile is the key to its energy efficiency because it creates a pressure differential between inside and outside, driving fresh air into the building. The diagrid structure—repeated, in a different form, in Foster's Hearst Tower in New York—allows for floor-to-ceiling windows, ensuring the maximum amount of daylight. A system of atria acts as the building's "lungs," circulating fresh air drawn through the facade's double-skin. Combined, the features reduce the building's energy consumption by half, compared to a typical air conditioned office tower.
The environmentally conscious Greater London Authority (city hall) building. It uses only a quarter of the energy a normal building of its size would use.
These environmentally conscious buildings, neighborhoods, and even towns prove that going green can inspire great architecture.
Today's green buildings, by contrast, minimize energy use, employ sustainable materials, and win architecture awards.
Hearst Corp.'s new 46-story headquarters is a wonder of green building. The structure's grid-like frame required 20% less steel than would be used for a similar conventional perimeter frame. Sensors control lighting, dimming, or turning off interior electric lights when natural light is available. For most of the year, a state-of-the-art HVAC system uses outdoor air for cooling and ventilation. As a result, the energy used and carbon dioxide emissions are slashed to 22% less than an average office building of comparable size in New York.
James Law's new cybertecture office has been commissioned in Mumbai, India, and it has already been lauded as a brand new innovation with lots and lots of promise. Which is true, it does- this building's egg shape will accommodate 13 floors of offices with an environmentally-conscious design and a technologically forward concept. There is a sky garden located at the top of the building.
Inevitably known as the Erotic Gherkin, Norman Foster's London landmark raised the bar for sustainable skyscrapers around the world. Its distinctive tapering profile is the key to its energy efficiency because it creates a pressure differential between inside and outside, driving fresh air into the building. The diagrid structure—repeated, in a different form, in Foster's Hearst Tower in New York—allows for floor-to-ceiling windows, ensuring the maximum amount of daylight. A system of atria acts as the building's "lungs," circulating fresh air drawn through the facade's double-skin. Combined, the features reduce the building's energy consumption by half, compared to a typical air conditioned office tower.
The environmentally conscious Greater London Authority (city hall) building. It uses only a quarter of the energy a normal building of its size would use.
These environmentally conscious buildings, neighborhoods, and even towns prove that going green can inspire great architecture.
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