Bending the Reeds
Eric Chan’s bamboo armchair is not only a tribute to his native country, it’s a primer on the physical properties of one of our most renewable materials.
Sustainability
From the Interstate, Could a Smart Grid Grow?
What if we used our 46,000 miles of highway as the backbone of a new 21st-century infrastructure?
Spotlight: The California Academy of Science's Green Roof
The California Academy of Sciences balances a commitment to biodiversity with a demand for beauty.
Renzo Piano Gives Green Architecture a Grand Experiment
Nine years ago the California Academy of Sciences asked: What’s a natural history museum in the 21st century? Its stunning new building is the emphatic answer.
A Glossary for Green Interior Design
With countless products claiming the eco-friendly label—many bearing prominent “seals of approval”—a little definition might be in order.
The Right Materials: The Vinyl Question
Mainstream science and environmental groups have lambasted it, green customers and clients shun it, and companies are scrambling for alternatives. So why is PVC still so ubiquitous?
Made to Last: The Chair by Hans Wegner
Hans Wegner’s midcentury classic suggests that quality craftsmanship may be the ultimate green strategy.
Making a House From the Big Dig's Scraps
Using recycled materials from the Big Dig, Single Speed Design creates a house of monumental proportions.
Understanding and Evaluating Sustainability at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University’s new course, “Nature, Ecology, and Sustainable Design,” gathers students from all over the university to discuss and critique the definition and the development of sustainability. The undergraduate and graduate students taking the class have backgrounds ranging from…
Architects: Gatekeepers to the Global Thermostat
A veteran of green design has studied global warming and sees its cause—and possible solution—coming from the same unlikely source: architects.
Ed Mazria's Equation for Fixing Global Warming
A veteran of green design has studied global warming and sees its cause—and possible solution—coming from the same unlikely source: architects.
Carbon Fiber Future
Can a prototype skyscraper made entirely of composite materials survive the post-9/11 mania for safety?
