There’s plenty of cold weather still to come if you live in the Middle East, but the University of Haifa is preparing for the sun, with a new study that examines whether solar electricity panels and green roofs can work well in tandem. It is basically the question can 1+1=3? The Kadas Green Roofs Ecology […]
Geotectura sent us images of their recently completed Porter School of Environmental Studies. The buiding was underwrit through a generous donation by Dame Shirley Porter of the UK. Construction broke ground in December, 2011 on what is being called Israel’s greenest building, and now it’s complete.
Albeit better than neighboring Dubai’s skyline of what renowned architect Frank Gehry calls “cheap” and “anonymous” architecture, Abu Dhabi has grown into a dense urban environment with precious few green spaces. The municipality aims to rectify that, however, starting with a 19,000 square foot green-roofed “urban oasis.”
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.
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 […]
Istanbul residents have been dreading this moment: construction has broken ground on an enormous International Financial Center designed to position the Turkish economy among the world’s top ten. Despite some green concessions, including green roofs, on-site renewable energy generation, and plenty of urban green space, locals who must contend with greater traffic congestion and other […]
Clad in building-integrated photovoltaic panels and an aluminum skin that mimics the brain’s neural mapping 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. Working with […]
Israeli architects Moshe Fluhr, Lee Davidson Lehrer and Yinnon Lehrer submitted this design for a contemporary memorial home for Ramat Yishay – a community situated in northern Israel. The design competition for Yad Lebanim, which means Fallen Sons Commemoration, called for a mixed-use development complete with activity rooms, educational facilities, a library and an amphitheater. […]
Green roofs have become a widespread phenomenon over the last few years but very little research has been focused on perfecting the practice in the Middle East, where high temperatures and dwindling water resources have prevented widespread uptake. But that is all set to change as a new center dedicated to researching the efficacy, ecology […]
Supported by the women’s group Karama, families in Bethlehem’s Dheisheh refugee camp have begun growing fresh food on their rooftops Cramped conditions in the Dheisheh refugee camp of Bethlehem mean that any space – nevermind green space – is difficult to come by. The streets are narrow, families live in small homes and parks and […]
Although building a monument to nature is something of a contradiction in terms, o2a studio has done a wonderful job of finding balance between the built and unbuilt in this striking design for the Natural History Museum in Jerusalem. A subterranean facility with stone cladding, the museum is topped with a green roof that creates […]
23.2 is only the second house that Jerusalem-born Omer Arbel has parented since opening his own practice in 2005, but the Vancouver-based architect demonstrates a natural flair for projects of this scale. Keen to soften the edges between industrial design and architecture and gifted with a large stock of reclaimed Douglas Fir beams of varying […]
We are at the edge of one of the most important epochs in religious architecture. Architects working on mosque designs are bound by energy and resource constraints in addition to escalating temperatures and the threat of rising seas, but they are also restricted by the expectations of tradition. Which is what makes Suhail Mohammed Suleiman’s […]
Half as tall as the Burj Dubai, this soaring tower (if realized) could absorb some of Cairo’s crowds. How to deal with Cairo’s crowds is a complex dilemma that IAMZ Design Studio has approached with this soaring Father and Son Skyscraper. Inspired by the relationship between a father and son, the young Egyptian architect has […]
Kuwait used to have a strong agricultural movement, which this new school will hopefully help to revive. When we think of Kuwait, not only do we have a hard time getting past the young hunter who killed a wolf and then posed for a series of family shots, but we also envision an unforgivable industrial […]
We interview urban designer Wassim Melki who envisions a sustainable future for Beirut’s skyline. Beirut is almost completely bereft of public green spaces. Satellite images show expanses of grey apartment and office blocks and a depressing lack of trees or any other kind of greenery. But architect and urban designer Wassim Melki has a plan […]
This may look like an ordinary villa on a hill, but it’s not. This villa is part of a growing movement in Lebanon that is revolutionizing the green building industry. Instead of mistaking Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for happiness, or giant energy-hogging homes for class symbols, Lebanon could learn from Western regret by revolutionizing its […]