via Inhabitat
Check out some of the pictures on Inhabitat of the carbon neutral city, Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Theres some more here as well. This city is planned to house 40,000 residents and hundreds of businesses and will house state of the art clean technologies and architecture. This place probably cost a fortune to build out so it is no surprise that it is located in the UAE.
12 comments May 3rd, 2011 Alex
You cant get any better than this. Imagine living in a floating apartment complex. The Dutch are working on a new development called New Water and it would be the world’s first floating apartment complex. The project was designed by Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio out of the Netherlands. The Citadel will have 60 luxury apartments and also have a floating road. This could lead to a pretty cool breakthrough. For a place like Hong Kong for example where land is scarce, it could lead to some interesting ideas.
More images can be seen at Waterstudio and Inhabitat
Add comment July 30th, 2009 Alex
In San Francisco, Cubix Yerba Buena is a new condominum complex located conveniently in the heart of the city. There are ninety-eight studio homes designed by SF architect George F. Hauser. The prices start at $259,000. Is that a typo? no, is it a mistake of some kind? no, the reason is because the studios range from 300 – 800 sq ft. That is not just one room either, it includes a kitchen area and a bathroom. The goal of these studio homes is to have an affordable home that appeals to single people who want to be close to everything with easy access to business offices, restaurants, and shops. It is not exactly the best place to have parties, but if you are out all the time and just want a place of your own to go home to, then this could be the perfect solution. The homes are designed as efficient as you can get with space saving kitchens, a common laundry room, and City Car Share vehicles located in the garage.
For people who are used to living in similar situations in Hong Kong or Japan, this would be a perfect move. Obviously, there is a particular market that these homes appeal to, but the prices of homes anywhere in the vicity cost a lot more. The rent in the area is also extremely high and for the price of these homes, owning your own home in the heart of the city can become a reality.
Add comment October 5th, 2008 Alex
The 2008 West Coast Green will be taking place on September 25-27th 2008 at the San Jose Convention Center in the heart of Silicon Valley. The focus this year will be towards green building, innovation and technology. There will be over 380 exhibitors and over 100 experts and leaders presenting.
The featured keynote speakers will be former Vice President and Noble Prize Winner Al Gore, Sarah Susanka, author of “Not So Big House” series, and David Suzuki, author and TV Host of “The Nature of Things.” There will also be a showcase of the SG Blocks Harbinger Showhouse that is built from reused shipping containers. Below is a slideshow of the construction of the LEED certified Harbinger House that will be on display at the convention.
Official website: http://www.westcoastgreen.org/
1 comment September 24th, 2008 Alex
Dubai has recently been on the forefront of technology and advancements for quite some time now. Dubai has also strived to achieve breakthroughs in architecture and this will definitely be a sight to see when it is completed. Architect David Fisher and the firm Dynamic Architecture have revealed plans on building the first spinning residential skyscraper in Dubai. A second and third will follow in Moscow and New York. The Dubai Tower will have 80 floors at 1,380 feet tall. It is expected to be completed in 2010 and will cost $700 million to build. Each floor spins independently and large wind turbines are mounted horizontally between floors to generate electricity for the whole building and possibly even power neighboring buildings. It will be a luxury residence with prices starting at $3,000 per square foot. The largest unit will be under 12,900 sq ft at around $39 million while the smallest will be 1,330 sq ft and cost $4 million. The tower is circular and the middle core is stationary as the outside spins at a slow undetectable motion. It also has a car elevator so that your car can go up to your floor. This makes it easy for your butler or chauffeur to carry your groceries from your Maybach to the kitchen for your master culinary chef. The chicks that feed you grapes on your thrown do not come with any of the units but I am sure getting that would not be a problem. It sure is nice to dream and imagine how the other half lives. More design images are here.
Add comment July 8th, 2008 Alex