Buildings consume 76% of electricity generated; they create 48% of our greenhouse gases; a quarter of our waste in landfills comes from construction. Yet we continue to tear down perfectly good ones and replace them with new ones that don’t perform as well and don’t last as long. If we understood what old buildings are saying to us, we would be less eager to rip them down, and perhaps might even emulate them in our new buildings. Read on for examples.

Read the rest of Lessons We Can Learn From Old Buildings And Apply to New Ones

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "sustainable architecture", Daylighting, efficient architecture, Green Building, Green renovation, natural light, natural ventilation

A historic zoo in Vincennes, France, originally built in 1934 is looking to complete a major renovation, boosting itself to sustainable park status. Backed by the French government, the Prime Minister pledged to help engage a public/private partnership to complete the project. With a focus on conservation, education and awareness, the renovated zoo will feature six exciting “biozones” to replicate endangered areas of the world. Run partially on solar power, the zoo will showcase several green buildings and sustainable landscape design.

Read the rest of Sustainable Renovation of Zoo Showcases Conservation Efforts

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Post tags: biozones, conservation, eco zoo, france, Green renovation, Solar Power, sustainable zoo, zoo, zoological park

San Francisco‘s Bay Bridge is currently undergoing a massive renovation as an aging section of the East Bay span is replaced with a new one, and the old conduit has fired up architects’ imaginations for new ways to use the soon-to-be abandoned space. Inspired by the success of New York’s recently opened High Line Park, Rael San Fratello Architects haver proposed a hanging neighborhood and sky park complete with 1.92 miles of bicycle paths, climbing walls, gardens, and meadows.

Read the rest of Bay Line: A High Line Park for San Francisco’s Bay Bridge

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Post tags: bay bridge park, bicycle park, green design, Green renovation, green space, high line, paths, public space, San Francisco, sustainable design

One trend we noticed in this year’s AIA Homes Tours in San Francisco was how the frugal use of floor space and an abundance of natural light can add volume to otherwise downsized floor plans. Boor Bridges Architects managed to do just this in the adaptive re-use of a 1940s tap dancing studio, formerly used by famed dancer Betty Mae, into a kind of urban luxury cottage marked by modern minimalism and subtle hints of years past.

Read the rest of Ames Cottage: A Small Space Marvel with Historic Roots

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, ames cottage, Architecture, architecture and the city festival, boor bridges architecture, green design, Green renovation, Reclaimed Materials, small space living, sustainable design

When Atlanta based ad agency The Jones Group decided it was time to revamp their image and headquarters, they turned to designer Caryn Grossman of CG Creative Interiors to complete the task. With two early 1900′s warehouses now in her hands and limitless possibilities, the crafty designer decided it was best not to skimp on the green. Her carefully drafted program called for the application of only sustainable materials and low-impact fabrication and construction, and what resulted was a striking environment ready to stir creativity within the new office.

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, cg creative interiors, green design, Green renovation, industrial space, jones group, Office, sustainable building materials, sustainable design

The White House is doing its part in leading the way to a more sustainable nation. Not only are they growing their own food on site with Michelle Obama’s garden, but now even they’re aiming for LEED certification! The Obamas are trying to show that reducing energy use and leading a greener life really aren’t that hard. This certainly isn’t the first attempt to green the White House, but it’s definitely the most significant attempt to date. The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) are leading the effort to upgrade to more energy efficient equipment, improve procurement, reduce waste and toxins and lower the overall carbon footprint of the complex.

Read the rest of The White House Takes Aim at LEED Certification

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "leed", garden, Green renovation, historic renovation, leed certification, obama, renewable energy, The White House, white house

Recover, restore, and reuse.  That was the mantra employed by Portugal-based architecture team Ezzo, led by César Machado Moreira, in designing Paço De Pombeiro, a twentieth-century rural hotel in Felgueiras, Portugal. The hotel is located on 24-acres of farmland which are primarily used as vineyards, and had existing sixteenth-century buildings. The architects wanted to revive the old structure, so they designed the hotel to complement and enhance the characteristics of the existing structures — and provide space and amenities for up to 22 guests and an outdoor swimming pool.

Read the rest of Retrofitted Hotel Revives Past For Eco-Friendly Future

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Post tags: building retrofit, Ezzo, Green renovation, hotels, Paco De Pombeiro, portugal, pre-existing buildings, refurbishment, retrofitted building, rural hotel, small hotel building

Magically appearing from the trees along Great Ocean Road, Australia is Cocoon, an incredible weekend getaway by the terrific design duo Bellemo & Cat. One part zeppelin, one part finely-crafted yacht, Cocoon was conceived as a “a matchbox inside an egg, a rectangle within an oval.”

Read the rest of Zeppelin House is a Treetop Escape

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Post tags: bellemo & cat, blimp, cocoon, green design, Green renovation, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, zeppelin house

The suburban landscape consists largely of endless expanses of paved parking lots pocked with strip malls, gas stations, chain restaurants, and McMansions. Rather than razing these structures with the aim of greening the suburbs, Galina Tahchieva proposes that we retrofit them to create “a more diverse, cohesive urban fabric within a walkable and identifiable public realm.” The winner of the People’s Choice Award in our Reburbia competition with over 2,300 votes, the Urban Sprawl Repair Kit offers a go-to set of solutions for transforming 5 structures spawned from suburban sprawl into mixed-use models of urban efficiency.

Read the rest of Urban Sprawl Repair Kit Offers Simple Plans to Fix Suburbia

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Post tags: Galina Tahchieva, green architecture, Green renovation, reburbia competition, sustainable design, urban infill, Urban Sprawl Repair Kit

With voting on our top 20 ReBurbia finalists set to close in less than 8 hours, we’d like to take a moment to pause and consider some of incredible submissions that didn’t quite make the list. Greening the suburbs is no easy task, and we were thoroughly impressed with the wealth of varied approaches that our entrants submitted. From elegantly repurposed highway overpasses to scorched-earth end of the world parties, to golf courses-turned energy-generating cemeteries, read on for our notable entries from over 400 submissions!

Read the rest of ReBurbia Favorite Notable Mentions

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Post tags: green design, Green renovation, reburbia competition, suburbs, sustainable design, urban space

Located on a dense shoreline on Portage Bay in Seattle, WA, the Lobster Boat Residence, designed by Seattle-based Chadborne + Doss Architects, is beautiful home that leaves a small footprint. The home was re-modeled from its original state as a 24′ x 26′ residence with a ground floor and basement. As part of a larger shoreline community, the inhabitants of the Lobster Boat Residence shares waterfront access, parking, utilities and a vegetable garden with neighbors.

Read the rest of Renovated Seattle Residence Part of Eco-Community Living

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Post tags: alternative housing, co op living, communal living, cooperative living, eco community, eco friendly architecture, eco friendly building, Green renovation, green residence, portage bay, remodal, shared spaces, Sustainable Building, washington

CALLING ALL ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS & ECO-EVANGELISTS!

In case you missed it, last week we announced a design competition with Dwell Magazine called ReBURBIA: which asks you how you would redesign the suburbs for a more sustainable future. For example, how can we transform vacant big box stories, foreclosed McMansions, and empty cul-de-sacs into vibrant, living, breathing, walkable communities? What are the energy and transportation infrastructures that we will need in the ‘burbs, to provide for a brighter, more sustainable future? Fame and fortune await our winners, so if you have ideas, make sure you enter them in our competition, for a chance to be published in Dwell Magazine, on Inhabitat, and take home $1000. The deadline to submit your ideas to our fabulous contest is July 31st, so enter today!

ENTER THE REBURBIA DESIGN COMPETITION >

DEADLINE: July 31st

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Post tags: Competition, eco design competition, Green Building, green design, green design competition, Green renovation, reburbia competition, reburbia. re-burbia, suburbs, sustainable design, sustainable design competition

Home renovations and upgrades typically involve painting the house, re-tiling the bathroom floor or converting the garage into a room for Grandma. But when presented with the opportunity to re-vamp an existing house in Casablanca, Chile, architects Jose Ulloa Davet and Delphine Ding didn’t shy away from taking the route of Extreme Home Makeover. As striking as the views that surround it, the two architects were able to transform a lackluster 90’s beach house into a gorgeous, angular construction overlooking the South Pacific.

Read the rest of Renovated Beach House Gets Ventilated Wood Skin

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Post tags: Architecture, Chile, eco friendly renovation, Green renovation, passive design, Sustainable Building, Wood, wood home, wood house, wood renovation

Just like the Empire State Building, the famed Sears Tower in Chicago will be soon receiving some major eco upgrades to become more energy efficient. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is responsible for the upgrade plans as well as a brand new 50-story luxury hotel to be built right next to the tower. The eco upgrade will reduce energy consuption by 68,000,000 kWh per year or the equivalent of 50,000 barrels of crude oil. Costs for the renovation are estimated at $350 million dollars for tower, which will soon be renamed Willis Tower.

Read the rest of Sears Tower Going Green With $350 Million Renovation

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "wind turbine", chicago, eco upgrade, Green renovation, hotel, Sears Tower, solar hot water, Solar Power

Thousands of you tested out your virtual home renovation skills in our Comcast Town Contest but only 4 talented apartment designs made the final cut. Now it’s time for your vote to decide the winner of a ginormous jackpot, including a 40-inch Sony BRAVIA® HDTV, a Sony VAIO® AW laptop and a Philips digital phone as well as a REAL room remodel worth up to $30,000 and done by our very own Jill Fehrenbacher! Will the winner be Bobventuri’s window-full minimalist room, Greenminute’s outdoor/indoor space, Howard J Dudy’s beachy lair or Adagio’s city loft apartment? Your vote decides!

Hurry! Voting ends on June 15th, 2009 so VOTE HERE NOW >

+ Comcast Town

+ Inhabitat’s Apartment in Comcast Town

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Post tags: comcast town contest, Green renovation, industrial design, interior design, room remodel, sustainable design

Much like every big city, Toronto has an aging array of Post WW-II high rise apartment buildings. When they were built in the 1960′s they were considered the height of modernity and dense urban design, but now as they are close to reaching the end of their intended lifespan, they are hugely inefficient and lack the qualities that make a sustainable, viable, urban community. There are no markets or grocery stores, inadequate public transportation, and little retail or local jobs. Rather than tear the towers down to start anew, the Mayor and City of Toronto want to use this vast resource of buildings and revitalize the city to become a more sustainable, walkable, greener community.

Read the rest of Toronto’s Ambitious Tower Renewal Project

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", adaptive reuse, Green Building, green design, Green renovation, sustainable design, toronto tower renewal project

Have a vision for your dream apartment? Great – Comcast recently rolled Comcast Town, a blue-sky space to live out your wildest interior design dreams! It’s a bit like Google Sketchup, except that you can customize your virtual apartment with everything from Eames-like desk units and Aarnio-esque ball chairs to growing grass carpets, alien rugs… and… squirrel phones. Best of all, Comcast is hosting an online design competition for the best room, and the winner will receive a REAL room remodel to their actual house worth up to $30,000 and done by our very own Jill Fehrenbacher! Getting started is a snap – just check out the video above and head over to Comcast Town to create your dream apartment!

The contest deadline is Thursday May 14th at 11:59 PST, so submit your design today!

Comcast Town >

Read the rest of Create a Virtual Room in Comcast Town and Win a Real Remodel!

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Post tags: comcast town contest, Green renovation, industrial design, interior design, room remodel, sustainable design

The Empire State Building, once the world’s tallest building and the skyscraper famously scaled by King Kong, is now set for a $100 million ‘green renovation.’ The great symbol of New York and America, which sits in the heart of midtown Manhattan (one of the most efficient cities in the nation with per capita emissions one third the US average), just underwent an eight month modeling and analysis program and will receive a massive overhaul. The Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls Inc., Jones Lang LaSalle and the Rocky Mountain Institute partnered to come up with a plan to reduce the building’s energy consumption by 38 percent, or $4.4 million, annually!

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", empire state building, energy efficient building, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Green renovation

When the new owners of this beautiful wood-clad home decided they needed to update and add a bit more space to the house, who better to renovate it than the architects who designed the original? Re-enter, New York-based Bates Masi + Architects, who worked out a plan to enlarge the kitchen and dining areas, modernize the bathrooms, and refinish the floors, walls and counter tops. Materials and wood from the house were kept and re-used in the renovation, minimizing the need for new materials.

Read the rest of Re-Cover House Wins AIA Award for Renovations

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Post tags: bates masi architects, building material conservation, cabin green home, conservation materials home building, Green Building, green home building, green house, Green renovation, re-cover house, Recover House, recycled materials housing, renovated home salvaged materials, reused materials home building, Sustainable Building