architecture

How High?

- Agasel 2 Comments

Rising construction equals rising profits.  The Dubai Tower, or “Burj Dubai”, is slated to become the world’s tallest tower.  Located in downtown Dubai,  it reaches 79 floors so far.  By the end of 2008, it will extend at least 700 metres, and cost 1 billion dollars.

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However, Emaar Properties, the company promoting the tower, refuses to reveal the end goal.  Only when construction is finished will the general public find out how high the tower reaches.  “At the moment, we are not answering. We’ll say it (will be) more than 700 metres and more than 160 stories … The people who need to know, know,” says Greg Sang, the Emaar official in charge of Burj Dubai.

Every week, two stories are added to the tower.  It is expected to be the centerpiece of a 20-billion-dollar venture featuring the construction of a new district, “Downtown Burj Dubai”.  This new community will have 30,000 apartments and the world’s largest shopping mall.

Currently, the world’s tallest inhabited building is “Taipei 101” in Taiwan, which is 508 metres tall.

House of the Future

- Agasel 1 Comment

Students at the University of Nottingham are moving into a new, futuristic house.  This three-storey home is being built as an example to the world on how people can cut carbon dioxide emissions.  Over a period of 20 years, students will live in the house and monitor heat, light, and water consumption.  The goal of the experiment is to cut CO2 emissions by 60 percent.univhouse.jpg

The house features an earth-air heat exchanger for heat; a grey water management system to reuse shower water for the toilet; a rainwater-harvesting system to collect water for the washing machine, shower and gardens; solar heating; and a ventilation / heat recovery system.

Mike Hinman of Stoneguard, the company building the house, states, “This building is, quite simply, 44 years ahead of its time.”

Smart, Ever-Changing Buildings

- Adam Clare

Building green has been mentioned here before, and now there are buildings that are green and move. Buildings can be a lot more efficient and sustainable with this new technology, decreasing energy consumption.

“Shape-changing envelopes offer architects the ability to produce buildings that condition themselves in very simple, natural and sustainable ways,” says Sterk. “They enable buildings to be conceived of as systems that change shape to improve the way people live.”

Sterk said there are other advantages. Imagine a high-rise tower that braces itself against sudden strong winds by distributing stresses. Or a home that shakes the snow from its roof.

Window-Powered Buildings

- Adam Clare

glass A company, XsunX, is producing some really enlightening technologies. They envision buildings that produce their own energy through solar power, they imagine a future where the very glass you are looking through is also powering your computer.

Glass as solar panels, this just makes sense. Office towers need power during the day, which is conveniently when the sun is up. I hope that this company makes these products inexpensive.

“XsunX is also developing an opaque solar cell that is so thin and flexible that it can be integrated into other building materials, such as roofing and siding. The possibilities are virtually endless.”

Carbon-Neutral Buildings by 2030?

- Adam Clare

A Sante-Fe based architect has started the 2030 Challenge to encourage sustainable architecture. Modern buildings are notoriously inefficient when it comes to energy use and hopefully we’ll all benefit from green buildings in 2030.

“Simply put, he challenges architects, engineers and contractors to cut the carbon intensity of buildings by 50% from the average of their peers today, 60% below peer average in 2010, 70% below peer average in 2015, and so on, until 2030 by which all buildings should be carbon neutral (zero net carbon emissions).”

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