Leading green design specialists discuss green building practices in China at Scaling Up: From Green Buildings to Green Cities in the US and China.
The US and China are rapidly becoming the global centers for green design promotion, development, and investment, and many other Asian countries are beginning to follow suit.
Bio
Dan Geiger
Dan Geiger is the Executive Director of US Green Building Council - Northern California Chapter.
Jeffrey D. Heller
Jeffrey D. Heller, FAIA, an architect member of the Board since November 2002, practicing architect for 37 years, and is the founder and president of Heller Manus Architects in San Francisco. He currently serves as president of the AIA San Francisco.
He also serves as an advisor and consultant to several San Francisco City planning and design projects including the San Francisco City Planning Department for Urban Design Guidelines. Heller earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is presently serving on the Board’s Executive Committee, Professional Qualifications Committee and IDP Implementation Task Force.
Paul Holland
In addition to coordinating the CleanTech practice at Foundation Capital, Paul's primary focus is on helping early-stage start-ups go from zero to $100M in revenue. He helped take public two venture-funded software start-ups, Kana Communications (KANA), and Pure Software (RATL). Paul currently serves on the board of directors for Bella Pictures, CalStar Products, Serious Materials, Coverity, Chegg, Ketera, and Serious Materials. Prior to joining Foundation Capital, was senior vice president of worldwide sales at Kana Communications. Paul went on to build a team of over 350 people, helping Kana become one of the top ten IPOs of 1999. Before Kana, Paul was a vice president and general manager for another highly successful start-up, Pure Software, helping raise their market value from $2 million to over $1 billion in his five-year tenure there. Paul received an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley; an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia; and a BS from James Madison University.
Marc Porat
Marc Porat is Chairman of Serious Materials, CalStar Cement, and ZETA Communities.
Dan Winey
Dan Winey is Managing Principal, Asia Pacific Region for Gensler.
Winey has been Gensler's Northwest region managing principal since 1995, responsible for offices in San Francisco, San Jose, San Ramon, Seattle, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. He's been on the firm's board of directors since 2000, and on its management committee since 1998. Prior to joining Gensler, he was a managing principal at San Francisco's Whistler-Patri Architects.
Dan Winey of Gensler describes his company’s sustainable skyscraper design for Shanghai Tower, which was conceptualized as multiple neighborhoods stacked vertically.
Entrepreneur Marc Porat details the likelihood of an energy recession in China if steps are not taken to green the country's building practices. He says demand for energy will far exceed the available supply.
Programs pursued as a means of improving the urban environment and achieving certain social and economic objectives. Evidence of urban planning can be found in the ruins of ancient cities, including orderly street systems and conduits for water and sewage. During the Renaissance, European city areas were consciously planned to achieve circulation of the populace and provide fortification against invasion. Such concepts were exported to the New World, where William Penn, in founding the city of Philadelphia, developed the standard gridiron planthe laying out of streets and plots of land adaptable to rapid change in land use. Modern urban planning and redevelopment arose in response to the disorder and squalor of the slums created by the Industrial Revolution. The urban planner best known for his transformation of Paris was Georges-Eugène Haussmann. City planners imposed regulatory laws establishing standards for housing, sanitation, water supply, sewage, and public health conditions, and introduced parks and playgrounds into congested city neighbourhoods. In the 20th century, zoningthe regulation of building activity according to use and locationcame to be a key tool for city planners. See alsoPierre-Charles L'Enfant.
When I first arrived in view of the metropolis I am looking out, and down from a window hovering above. The room I am in is dark, and I am alone. Looking out and down, I see that this city is unlike any city I have ever seen before: all the structures seem to circle in towards the center- it is huge, expansive, intricately embroidered with technical diversity; architecturally abstruse the buildings are opaque extending to odd heights and angles- not unlike crystal formation. Out from the center the architecture starts to blend into buildings of mason, stone, and steel. As I look closer I notice long white cylinder trains spiral in and out from the city center. I move away from the window, to try now to adjust my vision to grasp this darkened room. I move with my hands sweeping the area in front of me, trying to feel something, arriving with my palms flat on a wall- that echoes ever so faintly with the rhythm of motion. I follow the feel of the smooth wall until I arrive back once again at the window. I look out and find that in my absence we had gained elevation. I could now see that the city was in fact circular- with a diameter approximately ten miles across. The entire inner city is environed by a garden/green belt maybe one mile wide. In this green belt I can see pebbled pathways, sculpted gardens, and courtyards full of activity, with the faint details of people in motion throughout. The trains continue to spiral outwards/inwards. We gain more elevation, I can now see for miles. Out from this green belt, is the agricultural belt, it is by far the largest area of the whole- approximately twenty miles wide- extending the entire perimeter of the metropolis. Lakes and streams are in abundance. I can see greenhouses, open farmlands, grain and orchard, other areas I see cattle grazing, horses, and other livestock. The trains continue their spiral inwards/outwards towards the last perimeter of thewhole- the entire perimeter is environed by brick buildings, some up to ten stories high. Beyond this outer structure- the perimeter that encloses the metropolis within- there are the natural landscapes. I imagine for a moment the wealth and pride each member of this society must enjoy as they look out their windows each and every day, and there is something inside me that yearns for our return. Beyond this city, heading off through natural landscapes, I see the faint detail of trains heading out towards other circular cites in the distance, and beyond.
Below is one of the most recent San Francisco's sustainable projects - California's Academy of Sciences http://fora.tv/2009/05/20/Censored_2...of_2007-08#%20 Just been there last week - it's amazing! On Thursday night they have a DJ and wine
Although US is ahead of the planet in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design) construction, the most ambitious green buildings are being planned in Shanghai and Dubai. Just recently I came across an promising design of sustainable city block in Dallas, TX http://www.dbarchitect.com/words/new...0First%21.html Does anybody have any info on other on the sustainable projects here in US?
President Obama’s initiative promoting green sustainable development finally echoed in China. Boasting to become a second tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower project looks amazing, especially taken into consideration huge reductions in energy and water consumption it provides. The question is whether it will get enough funding from Chinese government and investors while world’s economy still in ruins. There are numerous examples of ambitious projects that fell victims of the global economic crises. Here's a few examples below http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/c...?story_id=4828