Environmentally-conscious design is already old news in the architecture world, and most states now make it mandatory for new buildings to drastically reduce their ecological impact. That said, we present a list of notable buildings with the best form, function and eco-friendliness.
The Crystal (United Kingdom)
Located in London, The Crystal takes inspiration from the design of the Opera House in Sydney, Australia. It is spectacular as it is sustainable, and it has a couple of clean-energy tricks up its sleeve.
With both a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum designation and a Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment (BREEAM) "Outstanding" certificate under its belt, The Crystal uses no fossil-resources and runs entirely on electricity instead. What's more, the roof of the building collects rainwater and the sewage treats are designed in such a way that recycles and re-uses the waste.
The Edge (The Netherlands)
The Edge takes the cake and is regarded as the most sustainable building in the world. The office building hosts Deloitte's Amsterdam Headquarters alongside notary firm AKD. The 430,000 square-foot edifice sports a full array of sustainable technologies, rendering it carbon neutral. BREEAM gave The Edge the highest sustainability ranking in history, of 98.36 out of 100.
Earlier this year, Ben Bronsema, a recent Ph.D. graduate at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands talked about building a zero energy hotel in Amsterdam.
Collaborative Life Sciences Building For OHSU, PSU And OSU (United States)
Portland State, Oregon State, and Oregon Health and Science University put their efforts together to build this research center. The fact that they share the labs and classrooms means that the complex is used 90 percent of the time, lowering maintenance costs.
Built on a former brownfield, the building is made from 30 percent recycled materials, and includes features like a plumbing system that recycles rainwater, a green roof, and 400 parking spots for bikes. Two-thirds of students and professors bike, walk, or use public transit.
The 650,000-square-foot health, academic and research building features multiple energy-efficient mechanisms. Some of these are heat recovery and stormwater management, which allows for non-potable water to be used for flushing.
Shanghai Tower (China)
At its 632 meters (2,073 feet), Shanghai Tower takes second place in the world's tallest building competition, after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The ambitious Chinese project wants to be among the first in sustainability, too.
The parking areas of the building, as well as its outer lighting receive power from the wind turbines that are at the top of the structure. There is a reduced need for artificial lighting, since transparent glass allows natural light to enter the building in many places.
An automatized system monitors heating, ventilation and lighting. This helps reduce consumption and consequently, energy bills. Looking at the numbers, as much as $556,000 will be saved due to lighting controls and 34,000 metric tons of carbon footprint will get reduced, thanks to the overall green technologies integrated in the Shanghai Tower.
Bahrain World Trade Center (Bahrain)
The futuristic design of the World Trade Center in Bahrain uses wind power by embedding three giant wind turbines on its façade. As much as 15 percent of the power used by the building comes from the turbines. The impressive feat of architecture and engineering uses turbines 29 meters (95 feet) in diameter to holster the power of the wind and transform it into electrical current. The Bahrain WTC also works on a heat recovery system and solar-powered lighting.
King Abdullah University Of Science And Technology (Saudi Arabia)
The largest environmentally-friendly entry on our list is the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology from Saudi Arabia. The titanic project is the biggest LEED Platinum project in the world, as it occupies no less than 5.5 million square-feet. In its 27 buildings, KAUST recycles all waste water, leading to cost savings per annum as high as 30 percent.
Pixel (Australia)
The Aussie building might have a peculiar design style, but it is beyond question one of the best green constructions in the world. At the time of its inauguration, it scored 105/105 points in the LEED rating. The building sports eco-friendly features such as solar panels that follow the position of the sun, vacuum flush toilets and a system that converts human waste into heat.
