All Posts Tagged With: "green architecture"

The saltbox is one of the country’s oldest home construction techniques and an excellent example of American colonial architecture. Dating from the 1600s across New England, the saltbox’s shed roof and single story would face north with little to no glass in an effort to deflect winter winds. The two-story side of the design faced south, using large windows to passively collect solar energy. The Litchfield House is an effort to implement the principles of the historical saltbox using modern green building techniques. Perhaps the biggest difference in the Litchfield House from a traditional saltbox is that the house’s large roof faces south instead of north, allowing a rooftop photovoltaic system to collect nearly 13,000 watts of solar power annually.

The intellectual property law firm Darby & Darby moved into the 41st and 42nd floors of LEED Gold-certified 7 World Trade Center last June. Gerner Kronick + Valcarel, Architects designed the firm’s 80,000-square-foot space, which includes a stainless steel, tension rod-suspended glass staircase that connects a two-story conference/multi-purpose room. GKV’s design emphasizes the natural light provided by 7 WTC’s floor to ceiling windows. Stretch fabric ceilings were installed in each of the office’s conference rooms and glass sidelights connect perimeter office doors to maximize light penetration into the interior.

The Dynamic Tower- a 1380-foot, rotating residential high-rise, will break ground in Dubai within a few months, according to Italian architect David Fisher, who discussed details about the project at a press conference today at the Plaza Hotel in Midtown. According to Dr. Fisher, a second Dynamic Tower will soon follow in Moscow with a third to come here in New York City. Although he did not provide specific details, Fisher noted that he is already talking to developers about bringing the concept to Gotham.

Frank Sciame Construction Co. recently topped out Cooper Union’s new $150 million academic building at 41 Cooper Square (on Third Avenue between East 6th and 7th Streets). The 9-story, 175,000-square-foot tower was designed by 2005 Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne and his Morphosis firm and is seeking at least a LEED Gold rating, with Platinum still a possibility. Cooper Union calls the project New York City’s first green academic building.

Back in March, CoStar released a well-disseminated study purporting to evaluate the financial performance of EnergyStar- and LEED-certified commercial office buildings. The results of the study were highly touted with respect to LEED as CoStar found that such buildings sold at a 64 percent ($171 per square foot) premium and rented at a 36 percent ($11.33 per square foot) premium over non-certified buildings. Last week, Scott Muldavin, Executive Director of the Green Building Finance Consortium, released a report critiquing the CoStar study. Mr. Muldavin suggested a number of reasons why euphoria over the staggering green premiums ought to be tempered.

British Airways announced yesterday that it will spend $30 million over the next 18 months to refurbish its Terminal 7 out at JFK International Airport. The project is slated to break ground in June and BA plans to pursue first LEED rating to date for any facility at JFK. Specific details on green design features aren’t available yet, but the new terminal will maximize natural daylight and presumably incorporate other LEED-standard credits. The New York Observer suggests that “modernist furniture, clean lines and general sleekness seemed to be the prevailing theme” for Terminal 7 at yesterday’s unveiling.