Big U.S. Towers Going Cheap in Distressed Market
from AP
The 40-story skyscraper sits on a prime corner in the country's wealthiest commercial market, steps from the Museum of Modern Art and a few blocks from Rockefeller Center and Central Park. It recently sold for US$100,000. The 1330 Avenue of the Americas building—which sold for close to US$500 million three years ago—was auctioned last month for the minimum to a Canadian pension fund unit after owner Harry Macklowe defaulted on a US$130 million loan. More

Durability Tops Architects Survey of Most Important Green Product Attributes
from Healthcare Design
Architects say durability is the most important attribute for a green building product, according to a new industry survey commissioned by PPG Industries. It was followed by ENERGY STAR® compliance, lifecycle assessment, no- or low-volatile organic compound (VOC) content and the ability to source products regionally. More

Supertower Offers Glimmer of Hope in Polluted Chinese City
from guardian.co.uk
You can see the carbon emissions rising by the day over the skyline of Guangzhou, where armies of construction workers are busy throwing up skyscrapers that will soon surpass anything in New York in terms of height and energy consumption. It is the same story all over China where, despite the economic crisis, engineers are completing four more tower blocks every day—almost all fitted with air conditioning, heating, lighting and lifts that will run on coal-powered electricity. More

Five Designers' Visions for Cities at Sea
from Fast Company
The Seasteading Institute, a self-described "society of ocean pioneers" has announced the winners of its first-ever 3-D design competition—five visions for floating a housing development the size of a small town on an ocean platform. More

IFMA CSPs
from Occupational Health & Safety
Using U.S. Department of Labor and Mine Safety and Health Administration data, Christopher Barnes and David Wagner, both doctoral candidates studying industrial and organizational psychology at Michigan State University, found that the number of workplace accidents spikes after Daylight Savings Time changes every March. More

Century-old Canadian Skyscraper Getting US$27 Million Makeover
from CBC.CA
The long-vacant Union Bank Tower on Main Street in downtown Winnipeg—Western Canada's first skyscraper—was given a new lease on life. The federal and provincial governments held a joint press conference to announced they are contributing US$15 million toward the redevelopment of the building, located next to city hall at the corner of Main Street and William Avenue More

Sustainable Design Criteria Should Include Robust Risk Management: Report
from GreenerBuildings
Criteria for sustainable design and operation should consider any risk factors resulting from green building and heightened energy efficiency—and incorporate risk management as an integral part of development, according to a recently released report compiled for insurer FM Global. More

Converting Garbage into Fuel
from Technology Review
Waste gasification, a process for converting garbage into fuel and electricity without incinerating it, may be a step closer to large-scale commercialization. Last week, Houston's Waste Management, a major garbage-collection and disposal company, announced a joint venture with InEnTec, a startup based in Richland, Wash., to commercialize InEnTec's plasma-gasification technology. More

Gordon Graff’s Skyfarm for Toronto
from Inhabitat
The United Nations predicts that we will need 60 percent more food over the next 30 years in order to meet the demands of the world’s ever-growing population, and one designer has found an interesting place to look for other alternatives for growing food as agriculturally viable land becomes more and more scarce. That is, up! Skyfarm is a vertical farm designed by Gordon Graff, a student in the Master of Architecture program at the University of Waterloo. The vertically set farm for Toronto is intent on meeting the needs of a tightly packed planet in the face of a limited food supply, while removing dependence on the food transportation via energy intensive and emission heavy methods. More

Researchers Create "Green" Building Materials
from Mercury News
The plank looks like a polished piece of plywood, and someday people may build coffee tables with it. But this wood was not grown in a forest—it was born from the greenhouse gases seeping from landfills. The Stanford University researchers who produced this wood alternative are part of a movement to support greener buildings by developing construction materials that are created and disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. More