Image: Phelps Construction Group 2600 sqm Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island NYC.
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Australian Technology Park – which has recently had its name changed to South Eveleigh – was bought by Mirvac from the NSW Government in 2015. It is adding retail spaces and office blocks, and there are plans to redevelop the heritage-listed Locomotive Workshop.
Designs have been released for what is set to be Australia’s tallest building, pending approval by government bodies. The design is composed of two towers with twisting glass facades, and vertical and rooftop gardens.
Greenery and diverse plant life will take over the roof of 1 Treasury Place to create an urban oasis, in a joint $2.5 million Melbourne City Council and Victorian Government initiative (not-for-profit Hort Innovation, a horticulture research and development company, has also contributed funding).
In Paris, an urban initiative aims to green roofs, facades and walls with the help of public and private partnerships. Currently at its half-way point, what has already been done?
Garfield Green will meet Passive House standards, an environmentally friendly building standard that drastically reduces energy use. All of its energy will be supplied by solar panels, and most of its green roof will grow food and mitigate stormwater, according to the city statement. Planned commercial tenants will have a climate change tie-in, such as a clinic to address an increase in asthma rates, the statement said.
Hassalo on Eigth_Portland USA
Image: GBD Architects
Portland, Oregon is one of the USA’s most ecologically-minded cities, and Hassalo on Eighth is one of those unique projects which elegantly combines beauty, sustainability, and practicality into one stunning showpiece of green infrastructure.
One Central Park in Sydney has been lauded for its design, which heavily incorporates vegetation.
Humans, on average, spend the vast majority of their time indoors. Yet scientific studies on human health conclude that spending time in and around nature, or even just looking at natural elements, can have wide-ranging benefits. The real estate industry is closing the gap between these conflicting concepts by bringing nature indoors with biophilic building design.
LESSONS FOR AUSTRALIAN MAYORS:
Image: Hudson River developments NYC Courtesy: Related-Oxford
The New York mayor celebrated Earth Day by announcing a proposal that he claims would bar construction of many of the glass-and-steel towers that have joined the city skyline in recent years. The plan, which requires legislation in the City Council, is part of what he termed his own Green New Deal.