Paris-based Vincent Callebaut Architecture has come up with a plan for a mixed-use complex located in Cairo that combines vegetation and structure to communicate Egypt's inclination toward progressive architecture, designboom reports. The proposal's main purpose is to raise awareness of sustainable architecture designed to combat global warming.
The roof is solar, and shades green rooftop terraces and sky villas. This conserves energy otherwise needed for cooling, as do the solar panels and heating tubes on the roof.
Nine stories of housing contain 1,000 residential units, all within a series of rectangular volumes situated around a central boulevard, according to designboom. Four stories of underground parking, a supermarket, office space, and three levels of retail space are also included in the complex.
The retail areas will be fronted by a transparent curtain wall punctuated by green walls to indicate the main entrances towards the shopping mall. The roof of the whole development is set as a big community garden comprised of an area of orchards, infinity swimming pools, and sports facilities.
The scheme includes eight specific sustainability features:
1. Windcatchers
2. A passive geothermal cooling system
3. Solar photovoltaic cells, which cover all the solar roof and the west and east facades
4. Solar heater tubes, located on the roof above each core
5. Wind turbines, integrated along the axial spine at both ends of the promenade
6. Roof food gardens cover the whole complex, improving the thermal inertia of the roof
7. Living walls
8. The use of recyclable and/or recycled furniture.
Check out more renderings below, courtesy of Vincent Callebaut Architecture.
Related Stories
| Oct 22, 2014
Customization is the key in tomorrow's workplace
The importance of mobility, flexibility, and sustainability in the world of corporate design are already well-established. A newer trend that’s gaining deserved attention is customizability, and how it will look in the coming years, writes GS&P's Leith Oatman.
| Oct 21, 2014
Passive House concept gains momentum in apartment design
Passive House, an ultra-efficient building standard that originated in Germany, has been used for single-family homes since its inception in 1990. Only recently has the concept made its way into the U.S. commercial buildings market.
| Oct 21, 2014
Hartford Hospital plans $150 million expansion for Bone and Joint Institute
The bright-white structures will feature a curvilinear form, mimicking bones and ligament.
| Oct 21, 2014
Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid release plans for resorts in Nanjing and Wuhan, China
Jumeirah Group, a hotel group forming a part of investment group Dubai Holding, has chosen Zaha Hadid and Norman Foster to design two of three of its proposed resorts in Nanjing, Wuhan, and Haikou.
| Oct 21, 2014
Inside LEED v4: The view from the MEP engineering seats
Much of the spirited discussion around LEED v4 has been centered on the Materials & Resources Credit. At least one voice in the wilderness is shouting for greater attention to another huge change in LEED: the shift to ASHRAE 90.1-2010 as the new reference standard for Energy & Atmosphere prerequisites and credits.
| Oct 21, 2014
Perkins Eastman white paper explores state of the senior living industry in the Carolinas
Among the experts interviewed for the white paper, there was a general consensus that the model for continuing-care retirement communities is changing, driven by both the changing consumers and more prevalent global interest on the effects of aging.
| Oct 20, 2014
Singapore Sports Hub claims world's largest free-spanning dome
The retractable roof, which measures a whopping 1,017-feet across, is made from translucent ETFE plastic panels supported with metal rigging that arches over the main pitch.
| Oct 20, 2014
Institute for young innovators breaks ground at the University of Utah
The five-story, 148,000-sf building is designed to function like a student union for entrepreneurs and innovators, with a 20,000-sf “garage” that will be open for any student to attend events, build prototypes, and launch companies.
| Oct 20, 2014
UK's best new building: Everyman Theatre wins RIBA Stirling Prize 2014
The new Everyman Theatre in Liverpool by Haworth Tompkins has won the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the best building of the year. Now in its 19th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize.
Sponsored | | Oct 19, 2014
The Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral dazzles visitors
With a mission to provide the experience of a lifetime, the Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral, Fla., is designed to inspire, as visitors learn about the history and nature of the port and beyond. SPONSORED CONTENT
