One of San Francisco’s most exciting green projects, the construction of the new California Academy of Sciences building, has finally come alive. Designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano in collaboration with engineer Rana Creek, the building is topped by an undulating, functional and HUGE living green roof of 2.5 acre. Not only does this roof provide all the sustainable benefits that living roofs bring to a structure, but it is also visible from within the exhibition spaces, connecting inside and out, and engaging the context of San Francisco’s flora-filled backdrop.

All set to open to the visitors from 27th September, this new Academy Building houses an aquarium, planetarium, and exhibition spaces. Aside from its green roof, the building is a feat of institutional green building, using some of the most cutting-edge energy efficiency strategies, daylighting, possible biofuels, and water reclamation.
The architectural design of the new Academy responds to the Academy’s mission, history, and setting. Inspired by the natural world, nature becomes part of the building itself. Its taken ten years and great vision to unify the Academy’s twelve buildings into one notable structure, standing in the middle of the city’s Golden Gate Park.

With 60,000 photo-voltaic cells covering a glass canopy that frames it, the 410,000 sq ft compound involved a cost of US$500 million. See it ones and you’d acknowledge, it’s WORTH IT!!
Via luxury-insider

Those who can afford a rooftop garden or a plush green lawn do that. What about those of us who put up in flats and only dream about having a mini garden for ourselves within our houses? For such folks, Dutch designer Daniel Schipper has created an affordable, foldable greenhouse to plants your own mini-greens in form of tiny flower varieties or may be even grass sprouts!

The mini-garden delight is lightweight, portable, eco-friendly (made out of recycled plastic) and has a foldable roof for easy storage. Its base is also recycled out of plastic composite. The no-fuss and minimalist appliance requires just 3 little steps: unfold, snap, and water. The greenhouse is carved for small spaces like balconies, roof terraces, town gardens or city houses.

A passout of The Design Academy Eidhoven, Schipper loves to churn out simple, easy-to-use and sustainable designs for products like shelters, chairs etc. A look at his portfolio will tell you how ’simplicity’ as a principle is at the core of the designer’s varied products. All his projects accentuate upon three aspects viz. functionality, fold-ability and like I mentioned earlier aswell, sustainability.

His latest greenhouse project has been well appreciated in Netherlands and he is now on the lookout for some like-minded fellow to help him put this nouveau creation of his in production.

Via DanielSchipper