LM Project in Copenhagen, Denmark

Steven Holl architects have won "the LM project" to design a new harbor entrance to the city of Copenhagen. Connecting office towers and civic spaces with a public walkway 65 meters above the harbor, the project is intended to form an iconic landmark for the city. The design consists of two towers with two bridges meeting
at an angle. Public amenities such as cafes and galleries are also included in the design. The project utilizes sustainable solutions as both towers have high performance glass curtain walls with a veil of solar screen made of photovoltaics; collecting the sun's energy. Wind turbines line the top of the pedestrian bridge roof; providing all electricity for lighting the public spaces.
More of this project and others from the enterprise can be found at www.stevenholl.com.

Nanotechnology for Green Builidng

As I had stated in a previous post, Architecture will never cease to evolve as long as technology evolves. Therefore, nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the molecular scale, is opening new possibilities in green building through products like solar energy collecting paints, nanogel high-insulating translucent panels, and heat-absorbing windows. Even more dramatic breakthroughs are now in development such as paint-on lasers that could one day allow materials to send information to each other (remember this!), windows that shift from transparent to opaque with the flip of a switch, and environmentally friendly biocides for preserving wood. These breakthrough materials are opening new frontiers in green building, offering unprecedented performance in energy efficiency, durability, economy and sustainability...Please welcome the future of Architecture!
I would like to encourage you to visit greentechforum.net for more info as the director of the forum as well as associate professor in the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University in Indiana, Dr. George Elvin, produces webinars for the particular topic and all its innovations and advantages.

Vertical Farms

The concept of indoor farming is not new. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate the increasing population which according to certain demographic trends could go up to 3 billion by the year 2050! 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. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

Some of the advantages of vertical farming include:
year-round crop production;
no weather-related crop failures due to droughts, floods, pests;
all VF food is grown organically: no herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers;
VF returns farmland to nature, restoring ecosystem functions and services;
VF converts black and gray water into potable water by collecting the water of
evapotranspiration;
VF adds energy back to the grid via methane generation from composting non-edible parts of plants and animals;
VF dramatically reduces fossil fuel use (no tractors, plows, shipping.);
VF converts abandoned urban properties into food production centers...

The above building is a concept called the Pyramid Farm by Eric Ellingsen.