Category Archives: Sustainability

World Economic Forum: Top Stories – April 22, 2022

This week The World Economic Forum are highlighting 4 top stories – new solar panels that work at night, how Lithuania has cut Russian gas imports, first aid training in Ukraine, and how new e-chopsticks can add taste to your food.

Chapters: 00:15 Solar panels that work at night 01:45 Lithuania axes Russian gas 03:21 First aid training in Ukraine 05:46 E-Chopsticks add taste

Townhome Tours: Azura Aspendale, Australia (4K)

Developed by Lowe Living in collaboration with Chamberlain Architects and GOLDEN, Azura Aspendale showcases the very best of beachside living. A house tour of an exemplar modern apartment proves the property to be a well-considered complex, seeing each resident have direct access to the nearby ocean.

Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Apartment 00:43 – Meeting the Brief 01:45 – Beach Access 02:07 – Designing for the Landscape 03:00 – Sustainable Design Features 03:45 – Apartment Living Features 04:24 – Indoor-Outdoor Living 04:55 – Executing a Strong Idea 05:19 – What the Architect is Most Proud Of

Sitting on a slither of land between the beach and the railway in Aspendale, the modern apartment is one of 19 within the complex, which is complemented by eight townhouses. Behind the apartment is a designed landscape that uses walkways to directly connect residents to the beachfront, with the walkways leading to a purposeful cut in the front of the building.

Presenting as a singular form, the external architecture of Azura Aspendale picks up on the vast horizon that the modern apartment faces. The rectilinear structure of the building succeeds in light of its modest presence; as opposed to visually dominating the natural landscape, the development presents as architecturally timeless and in harmony with its context.

The interior design of Azura Aspendale follows from the surrounding landscape. Natural materials such as chalky limestone and textured granite subtly refer to the outdoors whilst testifying to the significance of material longevity. Windows to the front and back of each modern apartment complete the airy, externally focused interior design.

Standing as a highly admirable collection of residences, Azura Aspendale is a gem in the Lowe Living property portfolio. From its materiality to its well-developed connection to the outdoors, each modern apartment provides an elegant means of experiencing beachside living.

Tours: The ‘J&J Residence’ – Modern, Energy Efficient In Chandler, Australia

Refined and energy-efficient, J&J Residence is a modern house crafted by Hogg & Lamb. Using rammed earth as its hero material, the architectural design practice creates an aesthetically pleasing home that works harder for the environment than it may first appear.

Timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Home 00:31 – Entering the Home 01:20 – The Rammed Earth Wall 02:24 – Building a Sustainable Home 02:47 – Sustainable Design Features 03:18 – The Unexpected Quality of Rammed Earth 03:44 – Materials Used 04:23 – What the Architect is Most Proud Of

J&J Residence is located in the Brisbane suburb of Chandler – an evolving suburb with a growing number of large-scale residences. Externally, Hogg & Lamb breaks up the visual solidity of the modern house with sections of glazing across the home’s two floors – the resulting façade evokes the image of stone fingers rising from the eroded hillside. Entering the modern house, residents find that the low front doorway precedes an impressive double-height entry space.

By purposefully juxtaposing the scale of the doorway and entry space, Hogg & Lamb creates a sense of experiential release so that the internal architecture of the home can be appreciated with a sense of relaxation. The architecture and interior design of J&J Residence is largely influenced by the use of rammed earth walls.

Alongside travertine, spotted gum and Viridian EnergyTech grey glass, the textural material of rammed earth establishes a raw, natural and calming material palette. The material is also integral to the energy efficiency of the modern house, featuring high thermal mass that keeps the house warm in winter and cool in summer. J&J Residence represents a triumphant first project for Hogg & Lamb. A modern house of style and sustainability, the residence demonstrates the versatility of its material palette.

New Architecture: BEEHA Headquarters In Sharjah, UAE By Zaha Hadid (2022)

BEEAH Group’s new headquarters in Sharjah, #UAE, was opened on Wednesday, March 30 by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah.

Powered by its solar array and equipped with next-generation technologies for operations at LEED Platinum standards, the new headquarters has been designed by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to achieve net-zero emissions and will be the group’s management and administrative centre that sets a new benchmark for future workplaces…

Research: How Africa Keeps The Amazon Green

Jet streams sprinkle North African dust over the Amazon, providing the rain forest with much needed nutrients. Changing wind patterns and increasing smoke may shift the system.

Marine Life: Preserving Coral Reefs In Maldives

The One Ocean Summit opens this Wednesday in the French port of Brest. Seas and oceans cover around 70 percent of the surface of our planet, but continue to face an onslaught of problems, from pollution to rising temperatures. In the Maldives, coral reefs are dying because of climate change. However, locals are doing their best to save them. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24’s Wassim Cornet.

Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an archipelagic country in the Indian subcontinent of Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the Asian continent’s mainland.

Reforestation: Tanzania Restores Its Dry Land

Sustained droughts are making farming near impossible in Tanzania. The soil is to dry for planting. The organization Justdiggit wants to alleviate the situation by planting trees in a way that encourages moisture collection. Not only do the trees grow better, the soil is can recover in their shade.

Analysis: Will We Be Eating Insects Soon? (Economist)

By 2050 there could be 10 billion human mouths to feed. Eating insects could help solve the global food-supply problem.

Video timeline: 00:0000:47 How to feed our growing population 00:4703:23 The potential of insects 03:2305:31 Eating cricket powder in Madagascar 05:3106:30 Madagascar’s climate change famine 06:3008:00 Cricket farming in Africa 08:0011:30 Expanding insect production 11:3012:20 Insects: a green solution? 12:2013:12 Will insects become a staple?

Read more here: https://econ.st/3fTILxA