GAB Report library
Commercial
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Buildings That Follow the Sun
Can building floor plates rotate in response to sun movement? Sir Richard Branson seems to believe it’s possible. He recently introduced Virgin Buildings, a new generation of ultra-green skyscrapers aimed to positively change the landscape for the environment, architecture, and cities around the world. Sir Branson envisions Virgin Buildings to provide their own food, water,…
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No Border School Project Empowered by Traditional Construction
Editor’s Foreward: Portuguese architects João Guimarães and Miguel Magalhães of Aware Collective have designed No Border School, a 208 square meter modular and sustainable school for Burmese refugee children in Mae Sot, Thailand. The project is awaiting funding and I hope they will be able to realize such a thoughtful project which could have a…
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The Ideal Home Show Tree House
Back in October 2013, Blue Forest, a UK-based tree house design and construction company, was approached by Quiet Mark to design and build an ambitious and extraordinary next-generation tree house as the central feature for London’s Ideal Home Show 2014. After a few months of design and planning, The Quiet Tree House by Quiet Mark…
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Building Carbon Zero California 2014
The What: Passive House California’s (PHCA) annual conference, Building Carbon Zero California, will focus on how we can move California towards the carbon reduction goals mandated by the State of California while increasing the health and comfort of our built environment. There will be in-depth presentations given by experts and a specially curated selection of…
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Global Exchange of Green Design and Construction at Ecobuild 2014
Ecobuild in London will take place from March 4-6, 2014 at the ExCel Center. It is an international and leading event for sustainable design, construction, and the built environment. More than 500 exhibitors will be present this year and more than 43,000 people from 121 countries attended Ecobuild 2013. Ecobuild will also launch the 2014 Climate…
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5 Terre Vertical Farm Concept Addresses Urban Population Growth
Editor’s Foreword: Capellini Architects is an architecture studio based in La Spezia, Italy. The firm was selected as one of the 30 finalists among hundreds of contestants for the 2013 Vertical Farm & Botanical Garden SkyScraper (Seoul) Competition organized by SuperSkyScrapers. For its competition entry, Capellini Architects created a 250-meter tall skyscraper built to cultivate fresh, high…
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Net Zero Energy Through Design and Operation Strategies
On October 15th, the Packard Foundation announced that it had “achieved the goal of operating its headquarters building at net zero energy by generating more than enough electricity to meet is needs during the first full year of occupancy.” It is the largest building to-date to receive Net Zero Energy Building Certification through the International Living…
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The Packard Foundation’s Headquarters Is a Conservation Success
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to take a private tour of The David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s newly built headquarters. It’s an elegant, well designed, and very green office building located in downtown Los Altos, California. It has an understated presence that respects its surrounding neighborhood and provides a strong anchor for the…
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Wind Turbines Ride the Wave to Renewable Energy Future
Editor’s Foreword: Earlier this year, the first full-scale prototype of a revolutionary floating support structure for offshore wind turbines made its debut off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal. It was inaugurated and celebrated by Portuguese government officials, clean-tech investors, and its engineers and builders. Each floating support structure, known as the WindFloat*, is a three-column…
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Drawing More Power Than You Think
Energy efficient building design has come a long way to improve building system energy performance. But what happens when the users move in? Additional equipment and appliances added after occupancy can dramatically impact actual building performance with surprising and expensive results. Plug loads and process loads have been long considered outside the design team’s scope…