April 2015 ~ Home Improvement Hacks

Energy-Efficient Statoil Headquarters boasts an energy class B rating in Norway

7:04 AM Green Energy

Global energy (read oil and gas) company Statoilis housed within an energy-efficient headquarters in Fornebu, Norway. Designed by A-Lab, the Statoil Headquarters is composed of a series of 5 rectangular prefabricated volumes stacked on top of one another. The cantilevered design works to minimize the overall building footprint, while the high-performance facade minimizes energy use. The center of the volume features an arching glazed roof that creates a massive central atrium that functions as the heart of the building.

Statoil Offices, A-Lab, eco office, prefab office, high performance facade, energy efficient design, norway

Back in 2009, A-Lab won a competition against 40 other entries to design Statoil’s new offices. Located in a park-like setting in Fornebu, Bærum, Norway, the office is composed of five rectangular volumes stacked on top of each other. Parts of the volumes cantilever out over the grounds, but the building has a small overall footprint that maximizes the surrounding park space. Each volume is 3 stories high, approximately 140 meters long and 23 meters wide and the building was largely prefabricated off-site to reduce overall construction time. At the center of the stacked volumes is a large airy, light-filled room topped with a glass atrium that serves as the circulation center and meeting space.

The envelope is key to the building’s overall energy efficiency – it carefully balances energy loss against solar heat gain and daylighting. The long ends are clad in powder coated aluminum that acts as a rain screen, while the gable ends feature grey solar shading glass from the bottom to the top of the volume. Heat is provided via a remote centralized heat source, and 85% of that heat is then recycled. Overall the building achieves an energy class B rating and it has a calculated energy use of 103 kWh/m2. A-Lab’s Statoil office won the WAN 2012 Award for Best Office Building.

+ A-Lab

Via Dezeen

Images ©Luis Fonseca, Trond Jõlson and A-Lab

from Green Living - Building, Home, Auto & Lifestyles http://ift.tt/1NL7SeU

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MIT researchers 3D print superior bulletproof armor inspired by fish scales

6:32 AM Green Energy

We can learn a lot from the nature, if only we know where to look. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology used biomimicry of fish scales to develop Flexible Scale Armor, a superior bulletproof material that can be used in military armor and even space suits. The fish-scale inspired material is 3D-printed and can be customized to fit different body types.