Whether or not a 100,000 square meter office complex could possibly come with even a net environmental benefit is debatable, but the fact that a design wrapped in green won an international competition for such a complex signals a potential shift in Turkey’s urban planning.
Every three years, the Aga Khan Architecture Award acknowledges projects relevant to Islam that are culturally, environmentally and socially superior. Accompanied by a generous $1 million prize, it is among the world’s most prestigious architecture awards. Apartment #1 by Tehran’s Architecture by Collective Terrain is one of 20 projects nominated, and though it faces stiff […]
Here’s a design that rivals the light bulb in its ingenuity: the Window Socket. The disc-like socket designed by the Korean duo Kyuho Song and Boah Oh has a base of mini solar panels and a suction cup that ensures effective adhesion to virtually any transparent glass surface that is exposed to the sun. The […]
Inspired by an Indian tradition of serving chai tea in clay cups, Israel’s Adital Ela has designed Terra – an entire line of interiors made out of nothing but foot-stomped earth!
If we only listened to mainstream media, we would know Beirut as a city full of bullet holes, terrorists and Syrian refugees – all of which are unfortunate realities in the densely populated capital of Lebanon, which borders both Israel and Syria. But it is also home to some of the world’s most interesting artists, designers, […]
Among nature’s most devoted heroes throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) has released renders of a new bio boat that will be used to educate children about the Red Sea’s numerous (albeit largely threatened) bio marvels. Funded in part by the U.S. Forest Service, which has […]
A former sailor, Alain Thibault knows what it means to pine after fresh water, so he designed a portable desalination device that uses the sun’s power to make fresh drinking water. What’s more, he and the rest of his team have introduced the technology to Sahara nomads, who frequently struggle to find water that isn’t […]
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building standard devised by the United States Green Building Council often comes under fire for being insufficiently rigorous – particularly for large commercial buildings. Now a new version – LEED v4 – has been established. Taking effect in November, 2013, LEED v4 incorporates four new standards designed to improve […]
A couple of years ago we questioned the “greenliness” of Foster + Partner’s new airport terminal at the Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan, and now the futuristic building has finally opened. Located just south of Amman, the domed structure is designed to mimic the black folds of traditional Bedouin tents out of deference, according […]
Yalın Mimarlık won first place in an international design competition for an archaeological museum on the site of ancient Troy. Renowned for the famous Trojan horse story in Homer’s Iliad, this historic site in the northwestern corner of Turkey reveals a lot about the country’s artistic and cultural development leading up to World War I; the […]
In 2012, Green Prophet reported from the front lines of the Solar Decathlon in Spain, but this year the event is taking place in China and students from Israel’s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design will be there. A US Department of Energy initiative, the biennial competition gives international architecture and engineering students a chance to […]
Foster + Partners, the same UK architectural firm that created the zero-carbon city Masdar, is about to break ground on their first project in Israel - a solar-powered center for brain studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
If there’s something that the Israelis do as well as or even better than clean tech, it is agriculture. When the state was established in the mid 20th century, the first pioneers faced large swaths of dry and barren land. It is part of the country’s legacy that they then proceeded to transform this wasteland […]
The Sea of Marmara is swamped with plastic pollution and other byproducts of our rampant consumerism, but according to ONZ Architects, the issue is “swept under the carpet” and most residents of Istanbul faced with continued development look the other way. The designers’ strategy to encourage a new awareness involves sweeping that carpet right back out […]
Images of Tadashi Kawamata’s extraordinary installation entitled Chairs for Abu Dhabi has been circulating the blogosphere the last few days. A follow up of a similar project featured in France, the piece consists of hundreds of chairs – mostly vintage and recycled – stacked on top of one another like a giant hollow mountain of […]