Earlier this year, BD+C reported on a net-zero apartment facility in Hamburg, Germany, that is touted to be the world's first algae-powered building. Arup, the project's lead engineer, recently posted a video on the project. The firm's European Research and Technology Leader, Jan Wurm, PhD, offers a tour of the new building and talks with other members of the façade development team.
Dubbed BIQ house, the building features a bright green façade consisting of hollow glass panels filled with algae and water. Sunlight makes the algae reproduce, with nutrients and CO2 provided by a network of pipes. The resulting pulp can be harvested periodically and then fermented in an external biogas plant, generating energy. More on the project.
Click on the image below to watch the five-minute Arup video:
Here are more photos of the project:
Related Stories
| Nov 11, 2011
By the Numbers
What do ‘46.9,’ ‘886.2,’ and ‘171,271’ mean to you? Check here for the answer.
| Nov 11, 2011
Streamline Design-build with BIM
How construction manager Barton Malow utilized BIM and design-build to deliver a quick turnaround for Georgia Tech’s new practice facility.
| Nov 11, 2011
AIA: Engineered Brick + Masonry for Commercial Buildings
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Nov 11, 2011
How Your Firm Can Win Federal + Military Projects
The civilian and military branches of the federal government are looking for innovative, smart-thinking AEC firms to design and construct their capital projects. Our sources give you the inside story.
| Nov 10, 2011
BD+C's 28th Annual Reconstruction Awards
A total of 13 projects recognized as part of BD+C's 28th Annual Reconstruction Awards.
| Nov 10, 2011
Grousbeck Center for Students & Technology opens doors
New Perkins School for the Blind Building is dedicated to innovation, interaction, and independence for students.
| Nov 10, 2011
Skanska Moss to expand and renovate Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
The multi-phase terminal improvement program consists of an overall expansion to the airport’s footprint and major renovations to the existing airport terminal.
| Nov 10, 2011
Suffolk Construction awarded MBTA transit facility and streetscape project
The 21,000-sf project will feature construction of a cable-stayed pedestrian bridge over Ocean Avenue, an elevated plaza deck above Wonderland MBTA Station, a central plaza, and an at-grade pedestrian crossing over Revere Beach Boulevard
| Nov 10, 2011
Thornton Tomasetti’s Joseph and Choi to co-chair the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat’s Outrigger Design Working Group
Design guide will describe in detail the application of outriggers within the lateral load resisting systems of tall buildings, effects on building behavior and recommendations for design.
