DIRTT Environmental Solutions has created a modular wall system that minimizes construction waste, is easily reconfigurable, and serves as a platform for plug and play sustainable furnishings. They even plan out their projects using custom specification software, so interior designers can re-imagine an interior by shifting walls and ceilings in a video game-like experience.

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Post tags: archiecture, building, CAD, canada, Dirtt, Eco, green design, greenbuild 2011, modular components, movable walls, Prefab, specification software, Sustainable, system

Read the rest of Colossal Green Volcano Building Rises in Italy

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", building, energy efficient architecture, green design, green roof, renzo piano, sustainable design, volcano buono

An increasing number of Americans are expressing interest in smaller space living, with some even owning homes under 100sq ft! One indicator of the trend is that instead of saying that tiny house owners are “downsizing”, those writing and speaking about little homes have coined the euphemism “rightsizing,” which more aptly describes how many view their choice to go small. Rising costs of energy, the recent mortgage crisis, and the troubled economy have all contributed to the tiny house trend, but the tiny house owners don’t describe a sense of loss with the space change. Instead, they feel they have traded in square footage for an increase in the richness of their life. Dee Williams, who has gained national attention for her 84sq ft Tumbleweed home, says that that her small house made her realize that “the more intentional you are in your choices, the more every change makes room for more changes.”

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Post tags: Architecture, building, container, dee williams, Design, Eco, green, home, Prefab, small house, square footage, Sustainable, tiny, trend

Green Depot — the largest US green building supplier — just received New York State’s first LEED Platinum rating for a retail store for their flagship NYC location. The Depot — located at 222 Bowery in Manhattan — is your one stop shop for sustainable home repair, cleaning and supply. They’ve got everything from the greenest dishwasher fluid to the lowest flow toilets. Now to top it all off they’ve got a certified green structure for you to buy it in.

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Post tags: "leed", building, Certification, construction, green depot, green hardware store, LEED platinum, new york city, New York.

Scientists just announced that they’ve found a great new use for used cooking oil — and it doesn’t have anything to do with a VW bus. They’ve figured out how to turn the waste from your favorite greasy foods into a “bio-coating” for roofs that regulates temperature in hot and cold weather. Previously, temperature control roofs only worked to cool buildings — paint your roof white and it doesn’t absorb heat. The unique chemical properties of the new coating allow it to reflect light in the summer and then change roles in the winter to retain heat.

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Post tags: ben wen, building, contracting, cooking oil, green building supplies, green roof, national society of chemistry, reuse, roof coating, roof tiles, shingles, Sustainable

Mark Twain had a garden shed; he called it “the loveliest study you ever saw…octagonal with a peaked roof, each face filled with a spacious window…perched in complete isolation on the top of an elevation that commands leagues of valley and city and retreating ranges of distant blue hills. It is a cozy nest and just room in it for a sofa, table, and three or four chairs, and when the storms sweep down the remote valley and the lighting flashes behind the hills beyond and the rain beats upon the roof over my head—imagine the luxury of it.”

But in recent times, the humble garden shed has become an outlet for designers to experiment in small spaces that often slide under the radar of zoning bylaws, providing extra room for study, relaxation or just getting away from everyone else.

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Post tags: Architecture, building, garden sheds, green design, green roof, Prefab, prefab architecture, sustainable design

The winners for the Lifecycle Building Challenge were just announced last week with Seattle’s ‘Pavilion in the Park’ building taking top honors, and for good reason. The building, designed by Miller|Hull, is green in purpose and material, but sets itself apart in its cradle-to-cradle nature- it can be completely disassembled and transported to a whole new location! The system exemplifies the issues of construction and deconstruction with minimal waste that the Lifecycle Building Challenge hoped to address.


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Post tags: Architecture, building, dematerialization, demountable, Lifecycle, pavilion in the park, Prefab, transportable, winner

If there ever were a building in the world that should be as green as possible, the United Nations Headquarters in New York would probably be it. The good news: the UN seems to agree. The almost-60-year-old building, one of the most influential and iconic buildings on the Manhattan skyline, will be undergoing extensive renovations that will transform the building into a model of energy efficiency for all to follow.

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", asbestos, building, green, Green Lighting, headquarters, landmark, sensors, solar panels, UN, United Nations

A few days ago we got word that the Herning Center of the Arts building, designed by Steven Holl, broke ground in Denmark. As with other projects by Holl, this building is a playful combination of light, shape and meaning that manages to work both as a museum and as an architectural showpiece.

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Post tags: Architecture, building, green, green roofs, greywater, Herning Center of the Arts, Museum, natural daylight, stephen holl, Sustainable

Supple Designs of Australia was given a unique brief by a residential client developing 900 lots west of Sydney: a building was needed to be a showcase to entice future homeowners. The developers wanted this building to make a bold architectural statement, highlight both a sustainable lifestyle and construction, and to be sturdy enough to be disassembled and relocated for the same purpose in the near future. Using prefabricated components, Supple Designs produced a well blended mix of modernist ideals, warm “homey” moments, structural expressionism, and a visible eco-friendly statement to serve as a prototype for a more environmentally friendly suburbia.


Read the rest of PREFAB FRIDAY: Macarthur Gardens Sales Office

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", australia, building, green architecture, Green Building, Prefab, Supple Designs