03.Aug.2010 Weekly Fuel – Efficiency Edition
by Jay Cox-Chapman, Design Build Assistant
The twisting concrete form connects the buildings elegantly
From Studio Bellecour, a green office building in Toulouse, France
Things being destroyed, very slowly. The sound effects are a bit much, but still, awesome.
Flickr user theclosedloop, via the Industrial Designers’ Society of America, reminds us that “there is no away”
Google Earth gets even more real
Google has added real-time weather monitoring to Google Earth. Representing environmental data is a complex design challenge–it often requires splitting up information between different views — but Google appears to be taking the comprehensive approach. This will be fun to follow in the next few years as it gets even more sophisticated. (Treehugger)
HVAC "Magic Box" for super-efficient spaces
At the Box Office, Stack installed efficient heat pumps and energy recovery ventilators, allowing for a tight envelope with excellent indoor air quality. These are two separate units. Equipment developed for the Passivhaus standard combines these two functions into one “Magic Box” that performs heating, cooling, and conditioned ventilation, all in one unit, saving energy and space.
