Greenest Office Building in the World coming to Seattle

A 50,000 square foot space is headed for construction in Seattle and promises to be the world’s most environmentally conscious office.   The Bullitt Center will feature “100% onsite energy use from solar panels, all water provided by harvested rainwater, natural lighting, indoor composting toilets, a system of geothermal wells for heating, and a wood-framed structure (made out of FSC-certified wood)”. 

The success of the ambitious design relies on several Seattle-specific features (excessive rainfall, cheap energy, etc) so unfortunately it cannot be easily recreated elsewhere.  However, supporters are hoping the eco-friendly project inspires like-minded efforts around the globe.

(Source: fastcoexist.com)

Factories can be pretty.

More at Connie Zhou photography

Hey New Yorkers! 

On October 7 as a part of the Open House New York Weekend, visitors will have the rare opportunity to experience a sliver of that bygone time in travel. The newly restored TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City — one of the most iconic buildings of modern architecture — opens briefly to the public.

via Fathom

MUJI, the Japanese consumer and home goods company, has created a house in Mitaka, Tokyo completely furnished in MUJI goods and is offering a FREE 2 year stay in exchange for completing a monitoring process throughout your lease.  Enter the lottery to win by June 25th, 2012 on either  facebook or twitter but you may need to brush up on your characters as all monitoring communications will be in Japanese.

Via Spoon & Tamago http://bit.ly/LNLe7O

Fashion Week has hit NYC so it seems only fitting to see a mash-up of the best of NYFW with obscure architecture: http://bit.ly/xhEucJ

Christopher Labrooy is inspired by the iconic style features of renown architects such as Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid. Applying this inspiration to his 3D typography results in mini environments that we’d LOVE to walk around in. http://bit.ly/wwDd4U

Who knew that Ice Cube once studied architecture? Watch him wax lyrical on the Eames house in LA: http://bit.ly/smtis7

The new ‘it’ trend in hospitality is the mini hotel room, which are popping up all over the world especially in airports. Is the squeeze worth your zzzzz’s?  http://bit.ly/udq6nI

Red Bull have a new HQ in Amsterdam designed by Sid Lee Architecture. The space is designed to evoke an entrepreneurial spirit with freedom to develop innovative ideas and events: http://bit.ly/s6HFlk

It’s red and on top of a peak, we love it. The New Refuge Gervasutti by LEAPfactory, (a feat in cantilevering architecture) is a free mountain retreat open to the public… if you can get there: http://bit.ly/uuEkat

This is a border customs checkpoint. Believe it. Looks like we’re going for a trip to Georgia/Turkey. http://bit.ly/rG7ymL

The London Design Festival kicks off this weekend and there is soooo much to see. Be sure to see their numerous Landmark Projects around the city where designers and architects experiment with public spaces.
http://bit.ly/orjRq4

MIT demonstrated their leadership in energy-efficient technologies with 20 art installations. http://bit.ly/qusc9V

Maurice Dry Cleaners give customers a memorable experience through design. 1,000 feet of yellow clothesline is strung around the interior. http://bit.ly/onTcYU

Concert drainage pipes serve as hotel rooms at Tubohotel in Tepoztlan, Mexico. http://bit.ly/pBawtb