Greenfield Living

GREENFIELD LIVING •Innovative Architectural solutions are the primary Philosophy of the design. That includes; building orientation, massing, window location, shading, insulation arrangement and air tightness. If these are not properly optimized, no amount of sustainable materials nor mechanical engineering can make the building a “ true low-energy` building.

Goods Shed North

 

The refurbishment of the Goods Shed North, in Docklands, a heritage listed railway goods shed, presented an incredible opportunity to renew an integral part of Melbourne Australia's history. One of the few heritage buildings left in Docklands, the Goods Shed was originally built in 1889 at the centre of the Melbourne Goods Yards. It was derelict for over 30 years and became redundant in the 1980’s, later being bisected by the Collins Street extension which created the North and South side. The Good Shed North’s transformation into a vibrant workplace shows what is possible when adaptive reuse of building stock is undertaken with a clear vision and a shared goal.

Engineered Biotopes in Piraeus Tower

The program of the facade varies through its vertical expression. On the outside of the first two floors, the plant nursery consists of a grid of glass tubes used to nurture seedlings.  From a distance these appear as a shimmering form, reflecting light onto the street provoking the attention of the passerby.

Floors 3-22 consist of small biotopes that produce low vegetation for the workers and visitors inside the building. This system consists of a robotic crane and specially designed modules where plants are grown. The crane is connected to a computer, which re-positions the modules based on the weather conditions, sun light and water consumption. If a crop is receiving too much sunlight, the module is moved to the shade either horizontally or vertically until finding the required position.

Camouflage House

The Camouflage House sits on a steep lake bluff, its narrow, linear volume nestled into the hillside. Approaching the house from the rugged access road weaving through the site’s heavily wooded plateau, the building’s faint, low-slung silhouette virtually disappears in the surrounding vegetation. With its simple plan, restraint use of materials, and precise detailing, the house achieves an elegant clarity and a rustic warmth that nevertheless avoids bucolic sentimentality.

Cahill Center

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) scientists who study the outer reaches of space got some space of their own with the official opening of the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics.

The building is both highly functional and visually impressive. Everything about this building has that thought-through feel; from its address (1216, in angstroms, is the wavelength of ultraviolet light emitted by hydrogen atoms) to the view from the lobby up an ever-narrowing staircase to the skylight on the third floor (which mimics the experience of peering up through a telescope) to the cut-through hallways on each floor (which connect Caltech's north and south campuses and serve to orient the building's occupants).