HOK is a global architectural firm that specialises in planning, design and delivery solutions for buildings and communities. Their London office is rated LEED Gold, which in case you are unaware means that it is quite environmentally friendly, with only LEED Platinum being a higher rating. The London office is green to its core, beginning with the actual construction project. The company’s plentiful resources allowed it to become the first LEED Gold building in the United Kingdom. Designers selected low formaldehyde and low volatile-organic compounds when selecting the finishes, furniture, and carpet.

To add to that environmentally friendly build, the London branch also features a central patch of grass which is keenly used by the company’s employees to have lunch and just generally relax.  There’s even  a picnic table with a classic red-and-white checked tablecloth at one end, and  small trees interspersed throughout the building.

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TNT Express is a shipping company that specialises in speedy courier services of various kinds. The company ships items all over the world, with a capacity of over 30,000 vehicles  and 50 aircraft that allows them the infrastructure to deliver and ship parcels quickly (or at least thats the idea anyway!). They’ve just opened a new HQ in Hoofdrop which is in Holland. The office is sustainable and as green as can be, achieving LEED Platinum ratings, and taking TNT one step closer to their goal of being the first carbon-neutral shipping company in the world. The office space was designed by the architectural firm Paul de Ruiter.

These offices are very nice indeed, I especially love the little private nook areas which are intended to act as hotdesking spaces. However the office does perhaps lack a bit of colour, who says environmentally sustainable design needs to be bland? What do you think?

[Pictures by Oliver Schuh, via Office Snapshots]

The Paris based architectural firm  influx studio has designed a concept building it calls the ’algae green loop’. The design is aimed at being an algae retrofitting of the marina city towers in Chicago, USA.The concept aims to use the natural CO2 absorbing characteristics of flora to help decarbonise urban environments. The buildings recognise the growing need for sustainable cities, something which many of us realise will only become more and more pertinent as the world continues to ceaselessly develop. By retro-fitting and using pre-existing structures not only would they be creating a new environmentally friendly building design, but they would  also be working very realistically towards a zero footprint project.

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At an exhibition held in Cairo, Karim Rashid presented his version of the future of ecological housing. Rashid calls it the Komb House – a super colorful showcase of the most cutting edge eco-technologies available. What is especially interesting is that he fuses traditional Islamic design principles with contemporary sustainable design. If nothing else, this Egyptian designer demonstrates that being eco-friendly can also be über cool!

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BP’s new Rotterdam office seems to be an integral part of the landscape, almost swallowed up by the ground itself!  The building is designed with a green roof that serves as both insulation and physical protection; this is because the office is located so close to a refinery it needs to be explosion proof.  The interior of the office is simply stunning, making great use of natural materials such as wood and stone.  One can only imagine that a company who has had such a PR disaster in recent times is trying to repair their image nudging it towards environmentalism and nature.

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This environmental complex will be located near Singapore’s Marina Centre and Civic District. It was designed by Foster + Partners to be sustainable and will therefore incorporate various alternative energy sources and green design techniques. The Green Complex, as it has come to be known, will be fitted with solar cells and specially designed facades to catch wind and direct it downwards to allow natural cooling of the lower parts of the building. The project will feature extensive sky gardens in order to make the space more aesthetically green, but also to bring natural vegetation and ambient temperature moderation into the equation; the total size of the project will be nearly 15,000sq meters.

If you are looking for office space or services in Singapore click here to find out more.

Zecc architects has developed a fully functional residence from an old abandoned water tower. The water tower dates back to 1930s and is located in Soest, it was originally designed by H.F. Mertens in 1931. Zecc were tasked with converting the 24meter structure into a luxury dwelling while still preserving the characteristics from the past.

According to the architects, the transformation processes was a challenging one.

“Many problems had to be overcome; letting more daylight in and strengthening the relationship with the back courtyard by inserting a three-level high window frame; maintaining the interior’s industrial characteristics by working with materials like steel, concrete and glass; and in the tower, ensuring an effective, efficient layout for several small round rooms that lay one on top of the other, while preserving the tower’s spaciousness, to name a few.”

[ Via Environment Team]

A new IT campus in the Noida region of India has recently been designed by STL, a building which has the potential to be a true bastion of modern Indian architecture. STL is a Chicago based architectural firm and design studio and they called the new campus Spiretech.The inner space of the project serves not only as the civic heart of the complex, allowing for congregation and public functions, but also the green hub too. This is because the interior is lined with a lush garden that rises 20 stories up. The wall incorporates a variety of plants and flowers and looks absolutely stunning.

We think this is Indian architecture at it’s best and we can’t wait to see more such projects crop up over time!

Stanislaw Mlynski designed this Ecological Wall as a project for a competition organised by the National Taipei University of Technology School of Architecture. The building is essentially an ecological Office block. The competition was international in scope and so the submission had to be something quite spectacular.  The structure is covered with organic vegetation, allowing it to absorb CO2 and move it into the plants.

According to Mlynski:

“I proposed to create structural wall using organic waste containers. I believe that arrangement of elements, as well as their shape have potential to create shelters for animals, gather water, reduce CO2. The solar system has the aim to ensure energetic independence.”

In essence the Ecological Wall aims to accommodate vegetation into everyday life. It creates an organic space within  the urban setting, allowing everything from the food and water we consume to the very fabrics we use to develop all around us. This design is truly inspiring, not only does it look beautiful but it creates a vehicle by which we can incorporate organic materials more into our daily lives, allowing us to live in both an urban and environmental surrounding!

The unique design of this bike makes it stand apart from the numerous folding bikes out there. Unlike the vast majority of folding bikes which are popular with city dwellers, this bike even posses the ability to collapse its wheels to minimize the space it takes up in the folded position. This is achieved by making the wheels out of six pieces and curved spokes. The spokes fold into the rim, making a compact unit when the bike is folded.

The cool thing is that when you open up the bike for use again the spokes automatically fold out and align. We think this is a great solution, allowing you to use a bike with full sized wheels that function properly and yet can be easily folded up for ease of storage when you aren’t using it!