Moshe Safdie’s Habitat ’67 designed for Montreal World Fair a model of sustainable living. Image via Wikipedia. Sustainable building is gaining some speed in the Middle East, but at a pace that is powerless against escalating climate damage. The Gutman…
Hassan Fathy, an Egyptian architect saw the value of natural building long before it became a fad in the west. Green Prophet has railed against projects like Dubai Burj Tower. We have pounded our chests at the audacity of Masdar…
While many countries are taking pride in their sustainable of “green” building technologies, and LEED certification as we learn from Qatar, Israel may have gotten the upper hand by unveiling what it refers to as a “living building.” It even…
Qatar’s new LEED-certified convention center could be as “green” as Masdar City. It will boast a world first of LED lighting in exhibition halls. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are not the only Persian Gulf locations building environmentally sustainable projects. Now,…
We’ve had our eyes on Greek-Israeli green architect, Elias Messinas, for a while. President of the NGO ECOWEEK (active in Greece, Cyprus, and Israel), and an environmental consultant to the Kramim Eco Village project in Israel, he’s also been busy…
A week ago England’s Department of Health published practical recommendations to prepare for a potential heatwave which is also the central theme of their 2009 Heatwave Plan. The Heatwave Plan for 2009 has been updated with extra guidance that outlines…
Green building is becoming a fad in Arab countries. We’ve all probably heard of the world’s first carbon neutral city Masdar being built in Abu Dhabi. Now Qatar, another UAE state — this one wealthy from natural gas –– is…
Just a few hours after Jews of all stripes gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to celebrate “Birkat haChama” – the blessing of the sun – Aria Penkava slid a tray of kosher-for-Passover cookies into a solar oven to…
There’s a phenomenon that’s hit the world, and Israel is no exception: designers, restaurants, grocery stores, companies and architects “in the green know” are talking about sustainability. Gone are the days when a soup company can paint a “recyclable” logo…
Green Design – From Theory to Practice (see preview post here), a major international architectural seminar took place this week here in Jerusalem, bringing together leading experts from the worlds of architecture, design, and integrated studies. Despite the recent war…