If you’ve been following our Instagram account, you may already know about some of the sustainable developments popping up all over the globe that we’ve highlighted. From the tundra of the Antarctic to islands off the coast of Malaysia, architecture that puts sustainability at the forefront of its design is becoming more and more prominent.
Below are just a few of the buildings that have caught our eye for their same green innovations that we utilise in our own Zero Carbon Smart Homes.
Tao Zhu Yin Yuan – Taiwan
The Tao Zhu Yin Yuan residential high-rise in Taiwan, with its twisting double helix design, aims to limit the ecological footprint of its future inhabitants by using renewable energies and carbon-absorbing vegetation.
Carrying 23,000 trees planted on the ground and the balcony, the architects were inspired by the symbiosis of human beings and nature, with the building itself therefore combatting rising local carbon dioxide levels. Sunlight, thermal and wind analysis also enabled them to improve the bioclimatic design of the project.
Øvre Forsland – Norway
Øvre Forsland, a hydroelectric power station in the forested mountains of Norway, has been designed to complement its beautiful, natural surroundings. It produces about 30 GWh of clean, renewable energy, enough to supply sustainable energy to 1600 homes a year.
Adapting to its surroundings, the design of this power station is a far cry from the usually hulking developments that make for an eyesore on the horizon. With a facade that represents the verticality and irregularity of the nearby spruce trees, Øvre Forsland was created to bring attention to hydropower, its benefits and its beauty.
Marina One – Singapore
Designed to complement Singapore’s vision of becoming a “City in a Garden”, Marina One will have its own free-formed, three-dimensional biodiversity garden within its high-rises, dubbed the Green Heart. The structure boasts solar panels, rainwater harvesting, motion-sensitive LED lighting and more.
With clean energy generation and an abundance of vegetation across multiple sky gardens, Marina One really does hold sustainability at its core.
Princess Elisabeth Antarctica – Antarctica
Princess Elisabeth Antarctica’s design and construction seamlessly integrate passive building technologies, renewable wind and solar energy and more to make it the world’s first zero emission polar research station.
The station is dedicated to researching the impacts of climate change and Antarctica’s key role as part of the global climate system, with findings that influence the future of sustainability. Run entirely on renewable energy and completely recycling all its waste products, Princess Elisabeth Antarctica represents the best eco-friendly practices internationally.
Forest City – Southeast Asia
Forest City will be built on artificial islands in Southeast Asia, incorporating abundant greenery and smart city design to keep a low energy profile. A quartet of islands off the coast of Malaysia and Singapore, it promotes a compact, walkable urban environment with no need for cars to reduce its carbon footprint.
The edges of the islands are designed not only to mimic naturally occurring features of local coastal ecosystems that provide marine habitats and support local fisheries, but also to absorb the impact of rising sea levels and increasingly powerful storms due to global warming.
Icefjord Center – Greenland
Greenland’s Icefjord Center will consist of a wooden framework that bridges the rugged landscape, offering undisturbed views of the glacial surroundings and educating visitors about climate change. Its gently sloping wooden boardwalk also functions as the starting point of the World Heritage Trail.
The interior will present 4000 years of cultural heritage and knowledge on the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, which scientists have been studying for centuries.
Gardens by the Bay – Singapore
Housing 226,000 plants from around the world, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore implements sustainable cycles in energy and water, using a suite of cutting-edge technologies for energy-efficient solutions in cooling.
The suite of technologies used can help to achieve at least 30% of savings in energy consumption compared to conventional cooling technologies. With two large-scale conservatories that are each a statement in sustainable engineering, the plants housed within are of high conservation value.
