Modern skyscrapers are typically made from concrete and steel, but as architect Michael Charters suggests, wood could be a viable construction material for tall buildings that would have a lower environmental impact. Charters recently designed ‘Big Wood,’ a prototype for a large-scale skyscraper made from wood for the 2013 eVolo Skyscraper Competition. The sprawling mixed-use complex would serve as a sustainable alternative to standard building materials, which are expensive and require a great deal of energy to produce.

Read the rest of Michael Charters’ Big Wood Skyscraper is a Sustainable Alternative to Steel and Concrete Buildings

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Post tags: "eVolo", Big Wood skyscraper, chicago, evolo skyscraper competition, Michael Charters, South Loop, South Works, timber construction, timber skyscraper, wood high rise, wood skyscraper

Daniel Libeskind has transformed the site of a former flower market in Berlin into an education center at the city’s Jewish Museum. The design of the Academy is angular and dynamic, resembling a roughly formed timber box that incorporates fragmented openings. Libeskind ensured the design itself, which will house the Academy’s library and archives, incorporated Jewish heritage and introduced two large skylights in the shape of Hebrew letters Alef and Bet.

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Post tags: Daniel Libeskind, green archtecture, green renovation, jewish museum berlin, sustainable design, timber construction

Design firm Tham & Videgård recently won first place in a design competition hosted by the town of Järfälla, Sweden for this intriguing spiraling tower. The Double Helix tower will be used as an observation deck in the Järfälla. From it, residents of the town will be able to view progress on the Barkarbystaden urban development project as it unfolds just west of Stockholm.

Read the rest of Recyclable Double Helix Tower Allows Swedish Residents to Spy on Urban Development Project

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Post tags: Barkarbystaden, Double Helix Tower, eco design, green design, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, Sweden, Tham & Videgård, timber construction, urban development, urban park

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", australia timber tower, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), forte, forte living, green design, Lend Lease, melbourne wooden tower, sustainable design, timber construction

Read the rest of Salzburg University of Applied Sciences’ Kuchl Campus is a Modern Timber Passivhaus

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Dietrich Untertrifaller, dietrich untertrifaller architekten, eco design, fachhoch schule, green architecture, Green Building, green design, kuchl campus, Passive Building, passive house, passivehaus, passivhaus, salzburg university of applied sciences, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, timber construction

Things are heating up in the 2010 European Solar Decathlon as Team Finland has unveiled a beautiful net-zero home designed for cold climates with little access to the sun. That means that when the team’s home is up and running in Madrid, which gets plenty of sun, their home will turn into a energy generating machine, creating more energy than it uses. Named Luukku, which is Finnish for “hatch”, Team Finland’s entry was inspired by traditional Finnish architecture and centered almost completely around the use of timber.

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", eco design, europe solar decathlon, Finland, green design, luukku, luuku house, madrid, net zero home, plus-energy home, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon 2010, Sustainable Building, team finland, timber construction