Read the rest of Take a Virtual Tour Through the 2013 HGTV Smart Home + See How You Can Win It!

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Post tags: energy monitoring, energy usage, green home, green interiors, green technology, hgtv, HGTV Sweepstakes, home monitoring, ipad home, Jack Thomasson, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, know your carbon footprint, locally sourced materials, native plants, paradise key, reclaimed wood, recycled carpet, Savant Systems, smart home, Smart Home 2013, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, zero-voc, zeroscaping

Facebook’s green-roofed, Frank Gehry-designed campus was just given the green light by the city of Menlo Park. Submitted for approval last fall, the campus will connect with the company’s current headquarters via an underground tunnel, and it will feature Gehry’s signature furling architecture – although it was slightly toned down from the original plan. The sprawling 433,555-square-foot complex will rise like a hillside with an oak tree-filled park on its roof.

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Post tags: eco design, Facebook, Forested Roof, Frank Gehry, Gehry Facebook Headquarters, Green Building, green design, menlo Park, menlo park campus, native plants, palo alto, sustainable design, Sustinable Building

Read the rest of Turenscape Architects Turns a 54-Acre Garbage Dump Into a Luscious Low-Maintenance Park in China

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Post tags: Botanical, china, garbage dump, green renovation, low maintenance, native plants, rainwater recycling, regenerative landscape design, Tianjin, Turenscape

Here at Inhabitat we’ve showcased thousands of green building and sustainable landscaping projects that save water, conserve energy, and minimize waste. But did you know just how much more efficient building green can be? Back in 2004 a project called Garden / Garden launched in Santa Monica to compare how different sustainable building methods stacked up against more traditional plans. The project tracked two neighboring houses and recorded data on water use, labor required, waste produced and other relevant information – and it found that the green house used one fifth the water, produced only a third the amount of waste and required about a quarter of the labor to maintain.

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Post tags: conventional, garden / garden, green design, green landscaping, labour reducing, native plants, pervious pathway, rainwater run-off, Santa Monica, Sustainable, sustainable design, sustainable landscaping, urban landscape, water efficiency, water harvesting, water saving

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Post tags: Dallas, Dallas Arts District, Dallas Fort Worth, Dallas park, DFW, downtown Dallas, green roof, Jim Burnett, Klyde Warren, Klyde Warren Park, landscape architect, Landscape Architecture, landscape design, leed silver, native plants, Office of James Burnett, pedestrian friendly, Uptown Dallas, urban parks, walkability, walkable Dallas

The High Line urban park project in New York City opened last summer to tremendous excitement from locals and tourists alike looking to escape the bustling streets for a more peaceful, green enclave in the sky. NYC’s High Line is a project that exemplifies effective adaptive urban re-use in a city that is littered with structures and spaces that have since reached the end of their useful life. By turning an abandoned, elevated freight train track into a public park, this project has redefined the New York experience, affording never-before seen views of the city’s surrounding natural landscape as well as an expansive and intimate look into one of the world’s most dynamic urban environments. With the completion of the rest of the High Line currently in the works, we couldn’t think of a better time to catch up with one of the brilliant minds behind the design of this beautiful public space. I recently sat down with landscape designer James Corner, the lead designer behind the High Line, to get his personal perspective on the what it was like to take an abandoned train track and turn it into one of NYC’s best loved spots of greenery. Read on for my exclusive interview with James Corner below…

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Architect James Corner On NYC’s High Line Park

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Post tags: Diller Scofidio + Renfro, high line, high line new york city, james corner field operations, Landscape Architecture, native plants, sustainable design, Urban design, urban green space

Winter may not seem like the best time to visit New York City’s windy waterfront, but the newly-opened Pier 15 on the East River Waterfront Esplanade will give any design-lover reason to head to the city’s edge. Designed and built by SHoP Architects, with help from landscape architect Ken Smith, Pier 15 is an edgy, angular addition to the waterfront park that pays homage to the waterfront’s nautical history through subtle shapes and a mix of industrial and natural materials. We recently visited the pier and found its solitude relaxing and peaceful despite the brisk temperatures — hit the jump to see our exclusive photo gallery!

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Post tags: East River, east river waterfront esplanade, eco design, green design, HIGHLINE, inhabitat, inhabitat nyc, ipe wood, ken smith, Ken Smith Landscape Architect, manhattan, native flora, native plants, new york city, seaport, shop architects, South Street SEaport, sustainable design, urban planning, waterfront development

We’ve been sitting on the edges of our seats all day, anxiously awaiting today’s Engineering Contest results at the 2011 Solar Decathlon. The results were just announced, and we’re happy to report that Team New Zealand’s First Light House has taken the title! The team’s win is certainly well-deserved, and we admit we already found ourselves swooning over the design well before we even started touring the National Mall in last week. Built by students from the Victoria University of Wellington, the beach house inspired First Light home pays homage to the students’ gorgeous country with its locally sourced materials, ample windows and doors, and an invigorating smell of freshly cut cedar that lets you know you’re home.

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Post tags: 2011 solar decathlon, 2011 solar decathlon architecture, eco design, energy efficient, Engineering Contest winner 2011 Solar Decathlon, First Light Home, first light house, First Light solar decathlon, Green Building, green design, Kiwi Bach, native plants, New Zealand, New Zealand Solar Decathlon, NZ solar decathlon, Recycled Materials, renewable energy, self-sufficient, self-sustaining, solar deacthlon 21011, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon engineering category, solar decathlon NZ house, sustainable design, team new zealand, team New Zealand solar decathlon, university of wellington, us department of energy, victoria university of wellington

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Post tags: Chartier Dalix, eco building, eco design, ecosystem, fauna, france, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, living envelope, native plants, Renault, school, sustainable design

Good news, New Yorkers: that gem of urban green space, the High Line, will more than double in length by next spring. Fast Company tells us that architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and landscape firm James Corner Field Operations will roll out some fascinating new features in the 10-block extension of the park reclaimed from a defunct rail line.

Read the rest of New York’s High Line Park to Double in Size by Next Spring!

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Post tags: Diller Scofidio + Renfro, high line, high line new york city, james corner field operations, Landscape Architecture, native plants, sustainable design, Urban design, urban green space