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Sustainability is a concept we’ve all heard no less than a billion times over the past decade. It’s also one perpetually tugging at the pant legs of architects across the globe. Environmentally-kosher designs have become a near obligation within the industry and are no longer strictly reserved for the drafting boards of wide-eyed visionaries. Many firms are now bent on out greening one another as state and local governments, in addition to other clients, are demanding that their projects earn LEED-certification.
Kohn Pedersen Fox worked wonders with the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, which opened its doors to the public in December 2009. The goal of the designers was to, according to the group’s website, “achieve a building design that was as durable and energy efficient as possible within the taxing Las Vegas climate.” Not only did the Mandarin Oriental garner an LEED stamp of approval, KPF managed to achieve 34 percent more energy efficiency than required by local and national regulations. The building utilizes a thermal facade system comprised of sustainable materials that incorporate day-lighting controls, effectively producing low-level emissions and a reduction in solar heat gain. The Oriental’s unique, floor-to-ceiling windows also offer guests breathtaking views and plenty of natural, power-saving light.
Earlier this year, the American Institute of Architects complied an impressive list of 2010’s greenest buildings. Among the entries is the Special Number 9 House in New Orleans, designed by Kieran Timberlake for Brad’s Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation and the plenary but somewhat drab Omega Center for Sustainable Living in upstate New York. The firm deserves major kudos for incorporating a unique waste water disposal system into the facility. Used water flows into a 4,500 square foot greenhouse with an “Echo-Machine” that purifies it through a biological filtering system comprised of plants, bacteria, algae, snails and fungi.
While the OCSL may be the first green building to net both LEED Platinum and “Living Building Challenge” certification, we’ll be passing along our 2010 award in this category to Italian architect Renzo Piano. In addition to having a name worthy of a Thomas Pynchon novel, Piano’s Building Workshop has received accolades for sophisticated projects that are both green and like gelato for the world’s eyeballs.
His collaborations on the astral Centre Beaubourg in Paris helped turn it into a tourist attraction, drawing an average of 25,000 visitors a day. Piano’s efforts on the New York Times Building have yielded an icon straight-out of the Metropolis skyline (the Superman version or Fritz Lang’s, take your pick). It opened in 2007 and makes excellent use of a forward-thinking lighting system fueled by a mere 1.1 watts of electricity per square foot, several rungs below New York City’s current standards.
New York Times Building
The architect’s latest completed project, an expansion for the Art Institute of Chicago, is both futuristic and breathtaking. It opened in May of 2009 and takes advantage of a “flying carpet roofline.” This exuding sunscreen has cantilevered blades that can both shade and reflect sunlight into the galleries. Photovotaic cells in the museum’s window shades also control light and conserve energy.
Art Institute of Chicago's new Modern Wing
Piano’s upcoming work is equally stunning in its conceptual stages. His draft for a new opera house in Malta, destined to replace the one destroyed in World War II, is dazzling, as is his blueprint for the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens. Here’s a description, in his own words:
“The Cultural Center’s proximity to water, and the natural warm breezes and light of Athens were particularly inspiring during the design process. It was immediately clear that we must take advantage of all these elements to ultimately design a zero emissions building that expresses movement and energy”.
Renzo Piano’s imagination combines tranquility with innovation and ambition with environmentally-sound principles. Here’s hoping this “Master of Sustainability” keeps up the good work.
—Brandon Hartley