Given the rate of growth in Dubai, we’re seeing an endless stream of media reports about building plans and strategies there. At Worldchanging, we’ve also had a relatively consistent trickle of news about Dubai and the UAE in general, but the green and sustainable projects we talk about here represent only a tiny fraction of the total activity there, most of which races ahead on unsustainable ground. Little by little, though, an assortment of models are emerging, from office parks to housing developments to skyscrapers. It may not be long before the UAE has a full package of potential sustainable designs for future architects to learn and work from. One new arrival on the scene comes from a German architect, Eckhard Gerber, who currently holds CAD drawings for the tallest zero-emissions, zero-energy skyscraper in the world. As Der Spiegel reports, the Burj al-Taqa (“Energy Tower”), is “a giant 68-story building projected to rise to a lofty height of 322 meters (1,056 feet), which would make it number 22 on the list of the world’s tallest buildings.” Together with engineering company, DS-Plan, Eckhard designed a cylindrical building in order to expose the least possible area of the façade to sunlight, and… (more)
(Posted by Sarah Rich in Green Building at 3:04 PM)