In Vals, Switzerland, modern architecture has been problematic for quite some time now – there’s a beautiful untouched landscape that just takes your breath away there, and the local community is mostly in agreement that architects are slowly destroying it with their new designs. Knowing that, it’s hard to imagine a house that’s both stylish and accepted by this community – but SeArch architects, together with Christian Müller, have managed to pull it off – the house is built underground, therefore it doesn’t affect the landscape in any significant way.

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Looking at the LEED Silver building, or the Koll Airport Professional Center it would be difficult to believe that this was once an industrial building. The old building wasn’t razed to the ground to build this one, in fact, LPA Inc., which was hired by the Koll Company, has transformed the old building giving it a new look.

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When completed in 2014, the Lotte Super Tower 123 will be the tallest building in Asia, and the second tallest in the world. A project of the Lotte Group, the tower will hold the company’s headquarters, and will be built by Lotte Construction, a subsidiary of the Lotte Group.
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The VARYAP Meridian Project, which was unveiled in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, recently has been described as Turkey’s “most green” development. A mixed-use, super-development which will house Istanbul’s new financial and business district, the project is located the Atasehir district.

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Designed by Goettsch Partners, this triangular skyscraper has managed to win the design competition held for the new Soochow Securities Headquarters. A credible accolade of the design were the ingenious features that reduce the buildings overall energy requirements. The triangular skyscraper is a 21-storey building that renders 344,400 sq ft of office space and 86,100 sq ft for the stock exchange, meeting rooms, classroom, cafeteria and enough space in the dock to park 400 cars and 800 bikes.

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The US Green Building Council has readied its new headquarters and the Council is now seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. Interestingly, it is the USGBC that has devised the Green Building Rating System and it now remains to be seen how the council will maintain transparency here.

It may be a case where the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) will review the surroundings to evaluate the LEED worthy surroundings. Now considering that the GBCI shares the office with USGBC, we are not very certain of the transparency.

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Sustainable structures that consume very low levels of energy should be a major share of our community structures as they will help meet the energy crisis. Green Architects reveal how such buildings can be part of the everyday system with their Bibliosphere design. Bibliosphere is a globe like design which will together house the City ( all its major offices) and the University.

The Earth Death Star like replication of this structure is no coincidence, as the architects have done it on purpose. As a structure it offers a number of  low-impact and sustainable features.

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Clayton Homes unveiled their green modular i-House at last week’s Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders meeting. With a focus on energy saving, the i-House is expected to be 30% more energy efficient than traditional homes. Monthly energy bills are expected to go south of $70. Or you could move into Silicon Valley where are monthly energy bills are less than that already.

i-House by Clayton Homes

Designed with a contemporary feel and featuring solar panels (if the orientation permits it) on a butterfly roof that gathers rainwater, the i-House comes with Ikea fixtures, dual-flush toilets, low-flow faucets, easily renewable bamboo flooring, recycled content decking material, Japanese-style climate control in each room and low E efficient windows.

As for prices – there are two versions of the i-House. One is smaller with only one bedroom and one bathroom, covering 723 sq ft and priced at $74,900, while the other one is larger covering some 1,023 sq ft with a structure that accommodates two bedrooms and a bathroom for $93,300. Now here is where we charge your $500K for a minuscule lot to put the house on thus defeating the purpose of having cheap energy prices.

And if anyone was wondering, we really like the clean sleek design and the modernish interior. Good news for the housing market eh? Great news for the green industry.

There is absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind at this point that the Middle East is the sand box for eco-architects and designers who wish to incorporate green designs with fluid forms, creating structures of beauty, utility and majesty. Since there’s a demand for unique, astonishing and eco-friendly buildings, the Helix Hotel is just one of those.

Designed by Leeser Architects and forming a captivating corkscrew from top to bottom with no clear breaks, the entire structure garners green energy from both the sun and the wind, and flows from retail and residential to hotel suites and saunas. All set to take shape in Abu Dhabi, the specially designed GROW panels made from 100% recyclable polyethylene on the exterior of the Helix Hotel will harness both solar and wind energy for the power needs inside.

And all these are being put together, while a spectacular ocean-fed waterfall in the atrium  will help maintain interior climate and humidity levels! Add to this the fact that no two rooms of this 280-roomed building will be alike and you have a one-of-a-kind hotel that merges green function with sizzling form…

Another jewel in the crown of Dubai, eh? [via Inhabitat]

The IBS 2009 in Las Vegas will bring along with many fresh ideas, some cool new blueprints for future buildings that will steal the spotlight in the coming years. But one tradition of the congregation that will once again be looked at closely for more reasons than one is the New American Home for 2009 that Microsoft and a few other select tech companies were involved in designing.

Though this year’s building was expected to be less lavish and more economic than previous versions because of the slowdown seen by the global economy and the real estate sector it’s just as grand as always, and has a plus. It introduces a whole new energy efficient concept.

Spread over 8,721 square feet in size, the home is a net zero-energy design – anything but a modest enterprise, that features nothing less than 56 solar panels that are responsible to generate all the energy it needs on a daily basis. Other than that, the house also uses ICFs, LED lighting, tankless water heaters, Energy Star appliances, airtight building construction and energy efficient windows.

• 55% whole house energy savings compared to benchmark (w/o solar)
• 77% whole house energy savings compared to benchmark (w/ solar)
• Total utility costs are ~$2,500 per year (electrical & natural gas)
• There’s a 10.64 kW solar pv system made of 56 solar panels

The New American Home seems to be like a blueprint for the future homes; grand and green. It’s one of the most amazing designs I’ve seen in a while and calling it a “dream home” just doesn’t do justice. Check out the gallery after the break.

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