Courtesy of Terreform ONE (Open Network Ecology)
RiverGym can get you to work emission-free, powered by the strength of your exercise routine.

Courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

The Chicago Central Area De-Carbonization Plan tracks buildings’ energy-efficiency and carbon emissions. Highest users are accented in red and lowest in green.

Sarah Moore/MEDILL

(L to R) Mitchell Joachim, Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill shared futuristci designs that bring science fiction scenarios a lot closer to home.

Courtesy of Terreform ONE (Open Network Ecology)

Matrix-esque blimp buses can carry city-dwellers from work to home and back again without them ever climbing into a car.

Sarah Moore/MEDILL

Mitchell Joachim presents In-Vitro Meat Hab, a dwelling made entirely of test tube-grown and permanently cured meat. It's called a "victimless shelter."

A hundred and fifty years ago, Elisha Graves Otis invented the elevator, and predicted it would revolutionize cities everywhere.

Now houses made of trees, high-rise wind tunnels and cars that climb walls to find parking could do the same thing, said ecological designer Mitchell Joachim at the Field Museum Thursday night.

Speaking about the Future of Sustainable Design, Joachim and Chicago architects Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill painted a dramatically innovative and greener future.

“We’re looking at a more holistic, pluralistic approach,” said Gill, speaking after the event. The Chicago partnership of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is doing just that.

In a planned retrofit of Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower), the partners propose to reduce electricity use by 80 percent, the equivalent of 68 million kilowatt hours or 150,000 barrels of oil per year.

Smith and Gill presented a string of similarly mind-boggling statistics throughout a half-hour lecture that covered wind-farms built into high-rises, self-insulated structures that operate like thermos bottles to eliminate air conditioning and green roofs.

Their Chicago Central Area De-Carbonization Plan even proposes to create an emission-free downtown by 2030.

Smith said that when people think of climate change, they don’t realize that buildings contribute a whopping 50 percent of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, beating out the more commonly-conceived villain: vehicles.

With the city's help, the partners built an interactive model of the Loop with massive amounts of data on building use, emissions, square footage and other details structure by structure.

“We realized this was an enormous challenge and we wanted to understand what it would mean to meet that challenge or exceed it,” said Gill.

A New Yorker with the design firm of Terreform ONE, Joachim also had a lot to say about the revolution he hopes to see in cities.

For starters, he wants to reinvent the wheel.

With just a little vision, cars could contribute, rather than detract, from a greener future. By stacking cars that operate something like shopping carts horizontally along a curb, drivers could park over 300 of them in a single block. By changing the wheel structure, cars could move vertically up the sides of building. By "talking" to each other through “smart” technology, cars and streets could find the driver a parking spot without endless circling and searching.

Cars could even be made of Nerf-like plastics. Joachim calls them “Soft Cars,” with built-in collision-proofing.

It doesn’t end there.

Joachim’s idea for a living tree house, designed with a team from MIT and named Fab Tree Hab, is composed of 100 percent living nutrients – trees grafted into place with reusable scaffolds. He also proposes water-borne gyms, powered by the pump of your workout.

There’s no reason these visions can’t become a reality: the trick is changing the value system, all three speakers said.

Joachim used the example of New York City, which produces enough waste every hour to fill the Statue of Liberty. What if waste were seen as a resource? What if it could be used as a construction material instead of merely contributing to landfill?

“We imagine a future city where nothing is thrown away, we just move from creation to creation to creation,” he said.

If this seems a little futuristic, that’s because it is. If it seems a little familiar, that’s because Joachim helped work on the technological vision behind the movie “Minority Report.”

But that’s what makes his work so commendable, said Stephanie Comer, president of Chicago's Comer Science and Education Foundation. The foundation funds climate change research and initiatives such as a series of five symposia at the Field Museum. The Future of Sustainable Design marked the fourth annual event.

“What Mitch had to say was out of the box but very much rooted in reality: holistic, organic, with a lot of soul,” she said. “He dares to dream.”

Comer said she has confidence in the presenters’ ability to help solve these issues.

“They have a lot of experience working in a variety of major cities and working on urban issues,” she said.

Comer is the daughter of the late Gary Comer, founder of Lands’ End and a well-known philanthropist who supported climate change research and development by scientists across the country. Comer continues her father’s legacy.

Almost 200 people attended the talks given by the three speakers with a follow-up Q&A.

The previous three programs focused on the nature of climate change, global responses and domestic responses.

And this year?

“This year we are trying to understand sustainable design on a larger architectural scale,” said Beth Crownover, director of education at the Field Museum.

The lectures are slowly focusing in on the problem, Crownover said, adding that she was excited by the different approaches the speakers were taking to similar problems.

“Next year we will continue to look at applied approaches but drill down deeper and look at what the everyday individual can do,” Crownover said, adding that the possibility exists for extending the Comer Symposia.

Shawn Baldwin for The New York Times

Designers at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi unified on saying 'yes' to fight global climate change, but the fight doesn't have to be ugly or even comfort restricting.

The fight is all about community living, returning to the good old days and the good old cities, which functioned on interaction and interconnection, and in the words of Lord Richard Rogers, "beauty and function combined is one of the great drives of sustainability."

A superhero among urban planners and designers, Lord Rogers is a British architect, who has in his portfolio iconic buildings such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Millennium Dome, the Lloyds Bank in London and the terminal four of Madrid Airport. His message to Abu Dhabi? Build a city that everyone can enjoy. "There is a direct link between social inclusion and a beautiful environment. If you live in a slum, life will be very difficult and it will brutalise you," said Lord Rogers. With population growth expected to reach 80 per cent by 2050, and the threat of climate change, which may lead to death, poverty, migration and wars, future urban planning must be sustainable. One element of sustainability that Lord Rogers emphasised on was public transport. Individual cars are not just big polluters and "infesters" of carbon emissions, but they also slow down the economy, as people get stuck and waste hours in heavy traffic.

"In Mexico City the congestion is bringing the traffic to a standstill and this will happen in Abu Dhabi too if the public transport is not developed," he warned. Gerald Evenden, also an architect and senior partner at Fosters and Partners in UK, could not agree more.

"When cars dominate, people become second," he said.

"Even well designed, electric cars will create congestion."

For Evenden, who is involved in the urban design of Masdar city, the cities of the future look more like the cities of the past. This means that the city must be built, sustainably, for a community, not a bunch of individuals, with easy access to public transport, pedestrian walkways and attractive public spaces.

"When designing sustainable buildings, two big elements must be considered the orientation and the shading of buildings," added Evenden.

For Masdar, he proposed two such types of buildings a high rise structure that absorbs light and disperse it indoors to create evermore pleasant spaces for people, and low buildings, ideal for homes, with lots of shading that keep them cool and reduce energy consumption. For the award-winning architect, author and professor of architectural engineering, Susan Roaf, who has conducted a lot of research and studies in the Middle East, this is not good enough.

Back in the 60s, western travellers coming to the Gulf used to say that the best way to cool off in summer days was to hide in mountain caves and beat the drum to scare off the heat.

Anecdotes apart, Roaf pointed out that back then, people's houses here were built in such a way that it kept them cool enough. "Leed buildings do not save energy, they are just more efficient consumers of air conditioning," she said.

Leed certified buildings are supposed to use resources more efficiently when compared to conventional buildings, but they concentrate primarily on the efficient use of fossil fuels, rather than sustainable alternative energy sources.

Along the National Mall in Washington, D.C., memorials honor the service of Americans in wartime, but the site’s newest addition will be one that fosters conflict resolution and peace. The 150,000-sq-ft permanent headquarters for the U.S. Institute of Peace, being built at the mall’s northwest corner near the Lincoln Memorial and the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge over the Potomac river, will greet visitors with a dramatic new structure that its designers say both respects the context of its historic surroundings and offers a strikingly modern contrast.

Photo: Clark Construction, By Bill Fitz-Patrick

The New York City office of Moshe Safdie and Associates, Somerville, Mass., designed the base of the five-story building, which is clad in precast panels to blend with its neoclassical neighbors and features a sweeping white glass roof intended to make a strong statement of the institute’s mission. Designed as three buildings connected with glass-enclosed atriums, the structure is topped with two large-span undulating roofs, including one that evokes the image of a white dove of peace in flight. “We see it as a gateway to the city from the Roosevelt bridge,” says Paul Gross, Safdie principal in charge of the project. “It respects the vocabulary of the National Mall and offers a symbolic gesture to the city.” The $108-million project is funded by public and private monies.

Bringing this visual statement to reality created significant challenges for Safdie’s design team and construction crews, led by Clark Construction Group, Bethesda, Md. German firm Seele, LP, was added to the team in late 2006 to assist design and installation of the steel-frame and glass-panel roof system. Using building information modeling with Autodesk Revit and Rhino, designers devised two grid-shell systems that would be built using preassembled pieces of roughly 400 sq ft each in surface area. The south roof has a total surface area of 12,000 sq ft and spans 80 ft between buildings. The north roof has 7,500 sq ft of surface area and a 55-ft span. Project engineer is U.K-based Buro Happold.

A framework of 4-in. by 8-in. hollow steel beams holds 1,500 triple-layered glass panels, the majority of which measure 4 ft by 4 ft, except for custom-sized pieces along the edges. Each panel is fritted on the exterior to give it a white appearance at all times during the day. A white translucent membrane along the interior side of the panels gives it a white glow when illuminated from inside at night.

Clark broke ground on the project in March 2008 and roof installation began in June 2009. Because the roofs would span multiple structures and be exposed to winds blowing off the Potomac, structural analysis was a critical element of the complex design. To minimize loads on the concrete-structure buildings, designers opted for a mix of sliding and spring connectors that would allow for up to 2 in. of expansion.

Portions of the roof also cascade off the edges. Along the south elevation facing the National Mall, one “wing” of the roof extends 40 ft away from the building. Three 35-ft-long steel props fan out from a horizontal structural beam along the facade and meet the roof near the middle of the cantilever, leaving the tip of the roof untouched.

“Those moving connections were the most challenging part of the design,” says Mark Goodwin, project executive with Clark Construction. “Once you allow the facade to move a few inches, then you are dealing with tie-ins to other materials such as a metal roof to the north, a PVC membrane along the roof and fixed metal flashings above it. You need to create expansion joint details to allow this structure to move significantly compared to the building.”

Since the roof is going up in vast atrium spaces, a complex scaffold system had to be designed to not only fill the void between the buildings, but also be precisely tiered to match up with the roof curvatures. The five-story, 20,000-sq-ft horizontal scaffold is fully loaded down to slab-on-grade at the parking level below the main floor. Reshoring was added in the garages to support the scaffold above. After several months of design, the scaffold took nearly six weeks to assemble.

To build the roof, sections of the shell were preassembled on the ground using mostly bolted connections to minimize welding in the field. Each piece was then picked up and placed with a tower crane. Once the entire shell is set, the scaffold is designed to allow workers to stand in each frame and receive each 200-lb glass panel as it is individually picked and placed by the tower crane. Placement of the first glass panels began in mid-October and is scheduled to finish next month. Substantial completion for the entire project is scheduled for October 2010.

As panels move into place, the signature white dove is beginning to reveal itself to city residents, commuters and throngs of tourists. “When it first came out of the ground, it looked like your typical Washington building,” says John Stranix, owner’s representative for the institute. “Now that the roof has started going up, people are taking notice. This is going to be a very important addition to the mall.”

Via archrecod

Architecture student Magnus Larsson details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself.

Solar panel manufacturers are hoping to pick up orders from alternative energy projects in the UAE and the Middle East.

A number of projects similar to Abu Dhabi's $22 billion (Dh80.8bn) Masdar zero-emissions city are being planned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and other countries, said an official from Sharp Solar.

They include Dubai's proposed eight million sq ft Enpark, the Qatar Energy Park, the Shams Maan project in Jordan and a zero-emissions city in Saudi.

"Masdar is the first major alternative energy project in the region but there are others in the pipeline in other emirates, Qatar and Jordan," Mohannad Al Shami, Solar Business Development Manager at Sharp Middle East, told Emirates Business at The Big 5 exhibition.
"Enpark, Dubai's first energy and environment free zone, is a long-term project to address power shortages in the city and the industrial areas of Sharjah, Ajman and Ras al Khaimah. It was announced earlier but has been delayed by the financial crisis.

"Such projects will require not only solar panels but also other power infrastructure. There is great potential for tapping solar energy in the emirates. There are 310 sunny days in the region and solar power can be integrated into the grid to provide power to factories during daytime."
Many industrial units in the free zones and other industrial areas in the Northern Emirates face acute power shortages and there are serious plans to develop alternative energy, especially solar power. "A number of factories in the Sharjah industrial zones and many new buildings in Ajman and other Northern Emirates depend on diesel generators," said Al Shami. "Some factories in industrial areas get only five or six hours of electricity each day."

Sharp, which is showcasing its solar products at The Big 5, has expanded its production in six factories to meet the expected demand.

Annual electricity demand in the UAE is growing at between seven and 10 per cent – double the global rate. Despite the slowdown, there will be a need for power and the proposed nuclear project will take many years to complete. – Emirates Business 24|7

zliten campus at asmariya university for islamic sciences by RMJM architects
image courtesy RMJM architects

RMJM architects have received the islamic architecture award for their work on
the zliten campus at asmariya university for islamic sciences in libya at the cityscape
awards in dubai, 2009.

the zliten campus is a new branch of al asmariya university, located 75 miles southeast
of tripoli. RMJM’s architects designed a campus master plan for the development of
the 202-acre site. core academic functions are organized in four quadrants within
a perimeter habitable wall that houses faculty offices and academic support functions.

with a total build-out of more than 1 million square feet, the new campus provides
academic and support buildings, a conference and student center as well as
administration, library, recreation and residential spaces for a population of 4,600 students.


image courtesy RMJM architects


image courtesy RMJM architects


image courtesy RMJM architects


image courtesy RMJM architects

Globalisation includes the increasing spatial division of labour and economies of scale in the

international economy, overriding any increase in transportation costs (which often, in any case,

are highly subsidised). Large scale, single use developments outside the main urban areas are

contributing to urban sprawl. The transport of goods and mobility of people continues to grow

steadily every year adding to the pollution of the global environment, the depletion of fossil fuels

and pollution and congestion at the local level. The development of transport infrastructure, and

particularly roads, responds to the economic pressures and in turn increases mobility and

accessibility, opening up rural areas to new urban development, with the demand for easing the

long distance and international flow of goods over-riding local sustainability needs.

The growth of mobility, of the transport infrastructure and other infrastructures, especially in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) is also resulting in the emergence of

new, more polycentric patterns of urban development, with a greater specialisation of functions

between centres (as well as increased competition) and the growing importance of networks of

cities. The challenge for urban design is to respond to these emerging patterns in a proactive way

that overcomes negative effects such as excessive car-based mobility and urban sprawl.

Growing prosperity and wealth and increasing demands for an improved quality of life are

reflected in the increasing consumption of land and space, demand for privacy and better living

conditions and access to green space. Demographic trends, including an ageing population and

the growth of smaller and single person households, are adding to the demands for new housing

and to the pressures for suburbanisation in rural areas (as well as for improvements to the quality of the environment and everyday life in inner city areas). Valuable agricultural land, amenity space and natural reserves of biodiversity are being lost. At the same, increasing land values and property prices in cities make housing in locations that are accessible to livelihood opportunities and services increasingly unaffordable for many sections of the population.

The relationship between the housing market and public land and housing policies and urban design is critical. Urban design can provide the framework for achieving a good quality of life when the attempt to meet these challenges may require higher densities and better mixes of development.

The overall aim of sustainable urban development is to achieve a healthy and high quality of life

for all people in this and subsequent generations, with equitable and geographically balanced and

socially cohesive economic development, which reduces the impact on the global and local

environments.

These days it seems there are plenty of reasons for homeowners to consider the switch to solar power, not the least of which is a pretty attractive tax rebate from the good ‘ole federal government. But for those who also take aesthetics into consideration in their home improvement decisions, there has always been the pesky issue of plunking the somewhat bulky panels on top of your roof for all the world to see…until now.

Thanks to the work of SRS Energy, a Philadephia-based company that develops and manufactures premium solar roofing tiles designed to seamlessly integrate with traditional roofing products. (See image above where blue solar tiles have been added to a traditional mission-style tiled roof). Marketed as the Solé Power Tile™, these SRS Energy roofing tiles are designed to capture and convert sunlight into cost-saving electricity without compromising aesthetics. The tiles are offered as an integrated upgrade to a traditional roofing purchase. Added to the protection and curb appeal expected from a premium roofing system, homeowners are able to capitalize on solar electricity as sustainable value

When it comes to convention centers the Melbourne Convention Centre is a convention center like no other - Australia’s premier convention center. An innovative design concept by NH Architecture and Woods Bagot turns traditional convention center design inside out and presents a building that is distinctive and worthy of its prime riverfront location in the South Wharf precinct. It also managed to set a new world benchmarks as the first convention center to be awarded a ‘6 Star Green Star’ environmental rating by the Green Building Council of Australia.

The center is also raising standards to new heights in innovation, technology, imaginative catering and service options. The green building’s innovative sustainable design and operational features ensure the comfort of delegates and protection of the environment go hand-in-hand. Displacement ventilation takes care of low level air delivery and high level air exhaust in the plenary hall and foyer areas provide effective air flow with high indoor air quality at low energy consumption. The glass facade allows availability of natural light to the foyer and pre-function spaces. This reduces the need for artificial light and provides good thermal qualities during the winter.

Solar hot water systems can offset more than 40 percent of general hot water requirements and can provide 100 percent of public amenity hot water requirements. Light fittings have been selected and positioned in order to minimize resource and energy consumption. For instance, energy efficient lighting is achieved with daylight and motion detection control features.

A black water treatment plant collects building waste water and some storm water to provide treated water for toilet flushing, irrigation and cooling towers. Radiant slab heating and cooling in the foyer (with pipes in the concrete floor carrying hot or cold water to heat or cool the slab) provides a more comfortable internal environment with good thermal comfort levels. Carbon dioxide monitoring and control is part of air conditioning systems and ensures fresh air is continually delivered to the convention center.

And all of those features were achieved with usage of carpets, paints, adhesives and sealants that are low in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and the use of low emission building materials. They also used FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) timber, which is environmentally friendly, rather than non-renewable timber. Usage of sustainable furnishings and floor covering and substitution of PVC with more environmentally-friendly materials were also applied.

The Melbourne Convention Centre is fully integrated with the exhibition center, creating the largest combined exhibition and convention facility in Australia. Thirty-two meeting rooms of various sizes, a grand ballroom and a state-of-the-art plenary hall that can be divided into three self-contained, acoustically separate theaters, offers clients unlimited options in event planning.

The most sophisticated but simple to use audio visual, communications and information technology available is inbuilt into every meeting room of the new convention centre which significantly reduces the normal additional costs associated with the provision of this level of technology. New self prompting ‘smart lecterns’ offer event organizers and guest speakers unprecedented self-manageable capabilities all monitored in-house via centralized or satellite control rooms.

source: http://www.robaid.com/tech/green-architecture-melbourne-convention-centre.htm

Only few months ago i started using Ecotect to analyse energy usage of an old barn i was converting. I was surprised on how easy it was and how come I've never used it before of been told about it for that matter!

Now, Autodesk announces Ecotect Analysis 2010, an even better version of the software with more features making sustainable design the easy option.

ECOTECT is an industry leading building analysis program that allows designers to work easily in 3D and apply all the tools neccesary for an energy efficient and sustainable future.

This is a screenshoot i took for a project:

and this is the new Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2010:

Furthermore, “Customers who add subscription to their Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software license can access the Autodesk Green Building Studio webbased service for the duration of their subscription and use the service to more quickly evaluate multiple design alternatives for energy efficiency and carbon neutrality…”

what do you think? have you used the software before, any comments? 

For more info visit autodesk 

Architect Richard Hawkes and his wife Sophie have plans for the good life in Kent. Their dream house is an ambitious eco project that will give Richard great scope to experiment

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/grand-designs/episode-guides/weald-of-kent-eco-arch-the-story-09-02-18_p_1.html

Eco-house: The unusual dome-like design is based on a Medieval technique, originating in Spain, known as ‘timbrel vaulting’ Photo: MASONS NEWS SERVICE

The zero carbon building, developed by University of Cambridge architects as a prototype for future living, is based on a 600-year-old Medieval design that retains heat from the sun while cooling naturally in the summer. Read more…

AWAITING PIX ‘Eco-house’ based on Medieval architecture could be home of the future - Telegraph.

Categories: Conservation · Green Design · Green Living · Green Technology ·Recycle · creative force · eco-living · renewable energy
Tagged: green technology, green design, eco-living, Green Living, eco-design,eco technology, green architecture

Innovative new homes of remarkable strength, economy, and beauty, brought to life by an elegant new architecture and the discovery of a new source of pollution-free energy. We will show you a method of building homes and offices in which natural materials and natural forces are used to create a comfortable environment without the use of fuel or electricity.


Once completed, even before you move in, these new homes will have come alive with a natural atmospheric cycle, like the Earth, on which they are based. A built-in "biosphere," in gradual but constant motion, draws energy from the sun, and geothermal stability from the ground, creating a temperate climate that buffers the primary living space.

A better way of bulding homes: Hybrid Solar House

Natural Homes has created a pretty mashup of Google Maps and natural homes in the world.To help others who are thinking of going green we have launched our mapping system so that natural homes around the world are more accessible.Click a natural homes icon below to see a picture and follow the links to the owner's website and check if you are Natural.



Works fine in Firefox, maybe a little buggy in IE ...

"The Living Tower" by Pierre Sartoux

The Problem:
By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth's population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?

A Potential Solution: farm vertically
The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient (cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world's urban centers.

The Vertical Farm Project



Vertical Farm Design by Chris Jacobs

Seattle, February 2009 - Destination design firm WATG provided complete architectural design services for Bardessono, a 62-room boutique luxury inn and spa opening this week on a 4.9-acre site in Yountville, California, in the heart of Napa Valley.

The inn includes a spa with four treatment rooms, a 75-foot-long rooftop infinity pool, a fine-dining restaurant, and meeting space. The design reflects a blending of the Valley's agrarian character, the high refinement associated with its wines, and the indoor/outdoor character of local living.

The project uses solar and geothermal energy, sophisticated energy management systems, sustainable building materials, and organic landscape management practices. The project is pursuing a LEED Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council.

Some of the unique elements of the inn include a lobby without a front desk - guests are greeted in the foyer by the staff; every room has its own courtyard that allows for absolute guest privacy; and spa treatments will be available in every guestroom.

"Guests will be able to take their showers outdoors, underneath the stars," said Susan Frieson, WATG associate and lead architect on the project. "That’s just one of many experiences at Bardessono that will connect people with their environment."

Some of the sustainable design features of the property include:

• Eighty-two 300-foot-deep geothermal wells to heat and cool guestrooms and to provide hot water.

• 940 solar panels on the buildings' flat roofs, hidden from view by parapets that produce 200 KW of power.

• Rammed-earth sculptural walls and 100-year-old olive trees.

• Paving stones and sand for the entrance road, to allow water to seep into the soil, and valet parking, which will allow guests to walk - rather than drive - throughout the property.

• Automatically-controlled exterior Venetian blinds to let the sun and heat in early in the day and out later in the day.

• Dual-pane glass, designed to take advantage of natural light while controlling glare and heat gain.

• Fluorescent bulbs and light-emitting diodes. Everything electric in the rooms is on motion-detectors that shut them off when a guest leaves. When they return and put their key in the door, the current go back on.

• Dual-flush toilets and low-flow fixtures that save water.

• Filtered water, which takes the place of bottled water.

• Drought-resistant landscaping and underground emitters for outdoor watering.

• Re-use and treatment of gray and black water for irrigation through Yountville's water system.

The project is managed by MTM Luxury Lodging and was developed by Phil Sherburne, who also developed Willows Lodge in the Seattle area and Inn of the Spanish Garden in Santa Barbara, CA.

WATG has a legacy of environmentally sensitive planning, architecture and design. A hallmark of WATG is its sensitivity to the influences of the local culture, the natural resources, the people and the spirit of the place. From its offices in Seattle, Irvine, Honolulu, Orlando, Singapore and London, WATG has designed hotels and resorts in 160 countries and territories across six continents. For more information, visit www.watg.com.

Smart Home: Home in 90 Seconds

photo: Michelle Kaufmann

There is certainly a stigma attached to community developments. I mean where do I start? Building a mcmansion an hour away from work only to spend your life sitting in traffic. Building more house than you need, wasting supplies and sucking up energy. But it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, community living can be greener than you think.

Acclaimed green architect Michelle Kaufmann is now trying to parlay her success with prefab homes into green community living in her new white paper Embracing Thoughtful, Walkable Neighborhoods. Green communities are critical to changing the face of American growth because currently "if everyone in the world lived in a style similar to that of an average American, we would require three Earths to support the demand on our natural resources,” says Kaufmann.

In the white paper she designs a road map for the future of green development. It's put simply with her 10 EcoPrinciples for Communities. These principles include smart design, energy efficiency, water conservation, reducing waste, creating a healthy environment, diversity, smart location, respecting the land, smart auto strategy, and sharing resources. Read a detailed description of each EcoPrinciple.

By building green communities close to urban areas thereby reducing the dreaded sprawl, she asserts that we can change the green image of our generation. Additionally, Kaufmann's building methods reduce consumption, waste, costs, and building time by between 50 percent and 75 percent over conventional building methods. These modular homes come in several configurations or you can choose a custom made green home.

If more architects, urban planners, and designers would start to see the importance of not just green home construction but creating self-sustaining communities as well it would really have a green impact on our future development. Communities like this not only lend themselves to sharing resources like organic gardens, playgrounds, and mass transit but they also create a healthy atmosphere that improves air quality, makes exercise easy, and decreases the stress that goes along with a long commute.