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This magnificent school campus in Bali is made entirely from sustainably harvested bamboo. Architecture firm PT Bambu developed the rich environment, which consists of four classrooms, housing, offices, cafes, a gym, and the Heart of the School, a spiraling, multi-story building. The school also runs on clean energy systems like solar power, a biomass boiler, and a micro-hydro generator. Of course, sustainability is a core element of the children's education.

Modular thinking has gone high-tech with Project FROG's Zero Energy Classroom, which is a meticulously designed kit that allows a school to get up and running in as short a time as possible. The design's success is not just due to its speedy installation however - the carefully concieved space is flooded with indirect daylight and is precisely engineered to provide plenty of clean air. The buildings are also designed to exceed energy code by 25%, keeping the school's budget intact. With the installation of optional solar arrays, the buildings can be zero energy.

We could argue that the greenest new building is the one made from materials sourced from right where it is built. This art school in Oaxaca, Mexico took it even one step further by using the tailings of other rammed earth projects for its new rammed earth campus studios. Taller de Arquitectura worked with artist Francisco Toledo to create a truly organic campus that includes an earth-bermed stone walled building, ample courtyards, and native low-water plantings. Large north-facing windows provide plenty of natural light, cross-ventilation helps keep the indoor from becoming stuffy, and the massive walls minimize ambient noise.

LOT-EK came up with this funky art school made from shipping containers in Korea. The building's yellow kinetic shape is a dynamic presence made from 8 angled converted shipping containers lifted 3 meters off the ground. Two studios, a large meeting room, and a gallery make up the inside program, and the covered open area below serves as an amphitheater and performance space.

This impressive German High School is actually an old WW II Armory transformed into a solar-powered, daylit marvel. While the structural elements remain, the new roof is covered in translucent solar panels and glass, bringing the outdoors in while producing 225 kW of clean energy. Prefab classrooms tucked inside the naturally ventilated building provide an energy-efficient space to learn in.

One of the most elegant buildings we have ever come across is Singapore's green-roofed art school at Nanyang Technological University by CPG Consultants. Like a stroke of calligraphy writ large, two sweeping green roofs create a mesmerizing effect that turns the building into pure landscape. The roof is as smart as it is beautiful - the carpet of grass controls storm water by soaking up monsoon, significantly reduces cooling loads, and adds biodiversity to the campus.

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This magnificent school campus in Bali is made entirely from sustainably harvested bamboo. Architecture firm PT Bambu developed the rich environment, which consists of four classrooms, housing, offices, cafes, a gym, and the Heart of the School, a spiraling, multi-story building. The school also runs on clean energy systems like solar power, a biomass boiler, and a micro-hydro generator.

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Read the message on the left hand side from the headteacher

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Read the message on the left hand side from the headteacher

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St Luke's Church of England Aided Primary School exists to provide education with a caring and Christian ethos.

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At Freshome we've talked a great deal about about green homes and buildings. And while we know that you understand that "green" means environmentally friendly - we wanted to help you better understand what it really means for a building to be green. In the paragraphs below we break down for you what a building must have to be "green." We go beyond talking about the raw, eco-friendly materials used for building, such as cork, bamboo, brick, reclaimed wood and granite.

What makes a building "green?"

A building that is green is often referred to as being sustainable, or environmentally friendly. This means that the design, construction and materials used for construction employ and incorporate an array of strategies that, together, make the building more energy efficient, healthier and don't deplete natural resources. The use of sustainable materials is very important in building construction. But this is just one aspect of the overall process.

These materials must be used in such a manner that a building's maintenance and costs are reduced. These materials will aid in energy conservation and improve occupant health and productivity. Greater design flexibility may result as well.

The description of a "green" building:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) best describes green building as "the practice of creating healthier and more resource-efficient models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition." We were rather surprised to learn that in the United States there is no singular comprehensive federal green program. LEED has become the standard in the US, and there are others including The Green Building Initiative and The Architecture 2030 Initiative, both whom have their own practices and requirements.

The federal government offers tax breaks for those replacing older, low-efficiency appliances with new more energy-friendly models. Individually, state by state, new programs are being implemented. California seems to be leading this movement as its governor recently signed an executive order mandating that all new and renovated facilities must have a silver LEED or higher.

What is LEED?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design. It has set the standard for today's new building criteria - construction and design. It is the building tool that addresses the needs of the entire building and life-cycle from initial conception and design to maintenance.
Europe is ahead of the United States in sustainable building:
Europe, especially Germany and the Netherlands, and Asia, especially Japan, are considerably more advanced in sustainable building than the US is. For example, the Miho Museu in Kyoto, Japan (designed by Chinese architect IM Pei) was built with 80% of the structure underground so as to preserve the natural landscape. It is traditional for Asian buildings to be designed with the land in mind.

The US joins forces with International forces

On July 16, 2013 The US Green Buildings Council issued a press release announcing that the World Group Bank and The World Green Building Committee "will collaborate and rapidly scale up the construction of green buildings to emerging markets." This new partnership reveals a mutual commitment to "playing a leadership role in transforming the built environment and mitigating climate change." World Group Bank will connect its network of green building councils to IFC's investment and advisory program with the intention of disclosing solutions to reduce energy, water and material usage bt 20%.

Furthermore this partnership "will focus on urbanizing countries with surging population growth that need to build sustainably." Emphasis will be made to avoid emissions growth, bolster energy and minimize resource depletion. The built environment is expected to double by 2050 with China alone adding a potential 53 billion square feet - approximately the size of the entire building stock of Latin America!

In short, Green Materials will offer:

Specific benefits to owners and occupants which include but are not limited to:
Reduced maintenance/replacement
Energy savings
Improved occupant health

Green materials are composed of renewable resources and they must:
Resource efficiency
Improve air quality
Be energy efficient
Conserve water, and
Be affordable.

Green materials are:
Made up of recycled content
Contain natural, plentiful or renewable content
Locally available
Salvaged or refurbished or remanufactured
Reusable or recycled
Durable - The must last longer than their conventional counterparts.

Worldwide building and construction activities consume 3 billion tons of raw (unprocessed) material which equals 40% of total building usage.

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What Makes a Building Green ? - Freshome.com

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At Freshome we've talked a great deal about about green homes and buildings. And while we know that you understand that "green" means environmentally friendly - we wanted to help you better understand what it really means for a building to be green.

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Commercial buildings are adopting a variety of sustainable strategies.

Sustainable strategies used for commercial buildings range from energy-saving to the holistic approach addressing wider environmental issues such as water use, selecting sustainable materials and carefully managing waste.

Renewable energy
Renewable energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide. Examples of renewable energy include solar photovoltaics (PV) and small wind-power technologies.

Green roofs
Roof-top planting lowers greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide, helps reduce and treat stormwater run-off, and provides an attractive environment for the occupiers.

Rainwater collection
Collected rainwater can be used to flush toilets or water landscaped areas. Using rainwater minimises mains water use, reduces flood risks, and saves on energy costs required to pump water up into the building.

Passive heating and cooling
Insulate using materials with good thermal mass properties to reduce energy used for heating and cooling.

Lighting
Ensure maximum daylight use and install energy-efficient light bulbs and sensors regulating the brightness as required.

Electronic technology
Controls for heating and cooling bring significant savings. User interfaces, such as screens showing occupants how much energy the building is using, can raise awareness and influence positive behaviour.

Fine tuning
Make sure that building systems work efficiently so that water and energy is not wasted.

Construction waste
Use an environmental management system to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, and to control stormwater and sediment run-off.

For large-scale developments, sustainability should be addressed from the beginning of the design process. Tell the design team what is required before they begin work. Many decisions are made about a project in the first 10 minutes of the first meeting.

New Zealand Sustainable Business Network

The business network helps business owners learn about their options and how they can benefit:
The Sustainable Business Network

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Make a commercial building more sustainable

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Commercial buildings are adopting a variety of sustainable strategies. Sustainable strategies used for commercial buildings range from energy-saving to the holistic approach addressing wider environmental issues such as water use, selecting sustainable materials and carefully managing waste. Renewable energy Renewable energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide.