Why are we so hard on architects? I’ve never designed a building, so I suppose that should instantly disqualify me as an authorized critic. Even so, as an appreciator of all things artsy, my subjective views of new buildings is still relevant, and ultimately unsullied by formal training, or the clutches of any official status. Although we’ve featured numerous hits and misses, it seems as though new architecture geniuses are few and far between, as it all seems to be the same. This makes it all the more sweet when we come across something that is a true diamond in the rough, such as the Tribeca Development. Alison Brooks Architects have designed three buildings for the “Tribeca” development in Liverpool, which will act as a ‘beacon’ at the prominent corner of Great George Street and St James Street. The buildings will be a combination of 93 apartments and colonnaded commercial space at street level.

Property Developer Urban Splash invited four architects to work with them on the project: Liverpool’s shedkm, London-based Alison Brooks Architects, Riches Hawley Mikhail, and Austrian practice querkraft. Urban Splash revealed earlier this year that its development will be called Tribeca. It will be the largest residential scheme in the city to date with over 700 new homes being created. The site forms three distinct triangles, so Urban Splash put the phrase together “Triangles Beneath Cathedral” to create Tri-be-ca, Tribeca. It echoes its famous New York counterpart which was named because the area was made up of a series of triangular sites which sat beneath Canal Street.

Seems like everywhere we turn these days there’s green news on the Olympic front. HC2 has written about the London 2012 Olympics stadium, and commented on the greening of the upcoming Summer Olympics in China. Even as the 2008 Summer Games have yet to start, the 2010 Winter Olympics are making headlines with the intent to become the green envy of eco-minded Olympic planning committees everywhere. Much to our delight, the 2010 Winter Olympics Athletes’ Village will be built to a remarkably high level of sustainability and meet the LEED standards. The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, taking place in Vancouver where both the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee. There will be two Olympic Villages: one in Vancouver’s Southeast False Creek area (Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village), and the other one within the scenic Cheakamus Valley (Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village).

The Vancouver Olympic Village in the Southeast False Creek area will be completed during the first phase. The village will have 16 buildings constructed on an area of 1.4 million square feet, and a community center. All the buildings will be built to LEED Gold standard and the community center will be built to LEED Platinum. All of the buildings will be fitted with solar panels and feature green roofs. Rain water will be harvested and be used for the irrigation of the green roofs and landscaping. In-slab hydronic system will be used for heating and cooling of the buildings, and the latent heat of sewer pipes will be harnessed by an innovative heat exchange system. All parking will be underground, and plans are afoot to achieve water neutrality as it will collect as much rain water as it uses.

The two villages will be connected through latest and state-of-the-art communication technologies, and athletes will travel conveniently between the two. The Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village will have the capacity to house 2,100 athletes and officials; and the Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village will accommodate 2,400 athletes and officials. After the games the villages will serve as valuable legacies, and will be developed as models of sustainable community and sustainable living. Go Canada!

The only thing better than eco-tecture, LEED certification and green building initiatives is when the structure is actually green in colour. Architect Juan Herreros recently won 2nd place in an international competition for the construction of the CEA Cadarache Research Center. Defending his rather box-like design, Herroros argued that long buildings reduce the impact of construction in order to keep the forest density. I for one am not totally sold on that argument, nor do I think that crystal clear renderings of the Centre give a fair portrayal of the impact construction really has. Buildings can create runoff, require the displayment of flora and fauna.

According to the Herreros, the “deployment strategy is compromised to build without altering the conditions of the forest, to inhabit the forest without violence creating a symbiotic architecture with its microclimate and its density. To do so, we are disclaiming to open large breaks on the continuity of natural cycles and are proposing to build linear buildings of optimum and constant width that occupies corridors from which have been lifted only the required trees, allowing the maximum proximity of the remaining facades. The original density of the forest will always be present and architecture appears filtered through the foliage.” Again, although the idea of being nice to mother nature is grand, I think it’s impossible to build without impacting your surroundings.

I created this awesome, hilariously witty commentary on the futile battle between sneaker pimps Nike and Adidas, but low and behold, it vanished without a trace. The story documented both companies foray into “fringe” sports, endorsement deals, and their pursuit to conquer East Asia. Not by sweatshops, but rather by focusing on China, which is fast becoming a white hot market for both Nike and Adidas. So, the long and the short of the first paragraph also included something about Nike opening up a 13,000 square foot retail outlet in China back in 2007, which was at the time the sporting giants largest store. But in an effort to be competitive, Adidas followed suit with their own new mega-store.

Nearly equal in size, the new Adidas shop opened up earlier this month, just in time for the Olympics. The store is much more impressive than the re-skinned brick building that Nike calls home, as it’s glass and black panelled facade make it seem larger than life. Inside, patrons can try out technologies that were typically reserved for star athletes, which help gauge body type and performance abilities, thereby matching consumers with the right gear. Adidas plans on saturating the market with 2,300 new stores in China, to be completed by 2010. Whether you prefer the swoosh or the three stripe is up to you. We just hope things don’t go all “Jenifer Government” in the near future.

The Toyota Homes unit accounts for 0.5% of the company’s $262 billion in annual sales, while the auto maker would like to beef that up a little bit. With the roll-out of the plug-in hybrids beginning in 2010, Toyota would like incorporate their environmentally-friendly, prefabricated homes. According to the Wall Street Journal, Toyota Homes are built from six or more modules in under 45 days. They have a conservative home model called the Smart Stage that sells for $200k. It’s a 1,000 square foot, two-story home. There’s also a more expensive, custom-built 2,600 square foot home that sells for around $800k. Toyota Homes are strong and guaranteed for about 60 years, which is twice the average lifespan of a home in Japan. As you might imagine, homeowners must be Toyota car owners.

The company sold 5,000 homes in 2006, which was reduced to 4,600 homes in 2007 due to the housing slump. But what’s interesting about that number is that it shows how effectively homes can be manufactured using the same techniques that are used in the auto industry. And the Toyota Homes unit is profitable, too. That’s some pretty incredible scale, if you ask me. Plus, imagine the purposeful relationship of a plug-in Prius, Toyota Home with solar panels, and technology that charges the car during off-peak hours. If you can do this, you’re not only going to stick it to the oil man, but you’re going to stick it to the coal man, natural gas man and so on. I like the sound of saving money.

For today’s post, we’re going to back to Middle Earth, more specifically the land inhabited by Hobits known as the Shire. No, not really. From architect Peter Vetsch comes the earth house, which is essentially built right into the earth. Peter explains that “compared to traditional residential houses built on the ground, the aim of building an earth house is not to live under or in the ground, but with it. If ground and house are separated, a house is built into the air, resulting in the loss of heat and humidity, and the exterior shell of a building loses lifespan. The earth-house concept uses the ground as an insulating blanket that efficiently protects it from rain, low temperatures, wind and natural abrasion. The earth house is a flexible construction which can be built according to the wishes of its owners, fulfilling the need for individuality, environmentally friendly construction and energy saving.”

Just make sure you don’t build your earth house near a flood plain, or coastal region, as I’m sure it could become the new submerged headquarters of Team Zissou. Back to Peter’s plan. “The structural engineering of an earth house provides for an organic design requiring spatial sense and creativity. Earth house architecture brings to mind habitable sculptures, incorporating artistic claim and sculptural quality. Earth houses by Peter Vetsch are based on the interpretation of an environmentally conscious, ecological and progressive architecture. They stand out due to their closeness to nature and allow an experience beyond the usual four walls and their right angles. The earth house concept uses its surroundings as an advantage – the surroundings are not adapted to the building, the house is shaped in order to preserve the natural environment.”

In the Dead Sea region, control of water is a source of political friction and presents an ecological quandary that threatens the drinking supply for inhabitants. A research project from New York-based architect Phu Hoang Office seeks to address and solve these site specific issues with No Man’s Land, a series of artificial islands that would provide recreation, tourist attractions, renewable energy, and create fresh water.

The project was shortlisted in the Architectural Association’s Environmental Tectonics 2007 competition for its innovative approach to a complex issue. Showing how architecture can be part of multi-disciplinary solutions, No Man’s Land tackles the environmental, political and humanitarian problems related to the procurement of fresh water for the region.

As a network of built islands with three distinct designs, No Man’s Land would create an artificial archipaelago that employs a variety of building technology. In order to become a source of fresh water, the islands will extract water molecules from the air to be desalinated. Salinity gradient solar ponds, water purification tanks, and water filtering processes will all be integrated into the designated “water islands” of the chain. The other two island designs will be for tourists and solar energy production, providing self sufficient power as well as creating revenue.

Foster + Partners is back, not that they ever left, with a the new headquarters for Ernst & Young at the gateway to the Vivaldi-park area of the new Zuidas district, south of Amsterdam. Commissioned by ING, the tower establishes a landmark on the route into the city with its diagrid façade. Ten per cent more efficient than the target Dutch environmental standards, the building also extends the public realm with a water court at its base. The 24-storey building is divided into two twelve metre-wide column free towers with open, flexible floor plates. The blocks are staggered in plan to admit as much natural light as possible and to make the most of the northerly city views. The northern façade is fully glazed, while partial thirty per cent glazing to the east, west and south limits solar gain. Combined with ground water storage to further save on energy for cooling, the overall environmental strategy is highly efficient.

Linked by a shared transparent core, the offices are serviced by double-height meeting spaces and light-filled social spaces allowing communication between different floors. The structural steel diagrid is clad in silver aluminum and is offset by opaque black panels, which reduce the definition of the individual floor levels. This lattice scales the entire 87-metre high facade and gives the building its identity. At the base of the building the height of the diagrid creates a triple-storey lobby space, while at the top of each tower north and south-facing terraces are set into the structure. The towers are approached via a water-court with an ecological pond beneath an overhanging canopy. Defining the relationship between public and private, this space houses the social functions, such as staff restaurant, terrace, auditorium and bar, clustered around the water-court. Coupled with a green roof on the restaurant building, the pond has an important environmental contribution. 65 per cent of rainwater is retained on site while the run-off feeds into the Amsterdam canal system to control water levels following peak rainfall. The pond is naturally cleansed by a planted biotope of reeds, water grasses.