Top Ten Green Arechitecture Projects of 2008

A design project in Singapore is among Inhabitat’s ten most impressive green architecture projects of 2008. From LED platinum superstructures to innovative recycled and reclaimed buildings, we revisit some of the best green design/architectural developments from last year!

green team

10. GREENPIX Zero Energy Media Wall Lights up Beijing

The Greenpix Zero Energy Media Wall is the world’s largest color LED display, and has a self sustaining energy life-cycle. Harvesting sunlight collected during the day via photovoltaic solar cells, the wall uses stored solar energy to light up the LED’s for a spectacular nighttime show. (Click photo to read more)

9. SOM’s Stunning Cathedral of Christ the Light

The Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland is a stunning feat of architecture with its beautiful use of glass, fly ash concrete, fsc-certified wood and use of natural light. (Click photo to read more)

8. The New Green California Academy of Sciences!

The California Academy of Sciences is currently the only institution in the world to feature an aquarium, a natural history museum, a living rainforest, a planetarium, and world class research and education programs all housed under a 2.5 acre green roof. (Click photo to read more)

7. The World’s First Energy-Generating Revolving Door

Netherlands-based Natuurcafé La Port installed an energy generator in a rotating door, so every time someone walks in for a cup of coffee, they give just a little bit of their energy back to the coffee shop. (Click photo to read more)

6. Thai Temple Built From One Million Recycled Bottles

The temple, which sits in Thailand’s Sisaket province, roughly 370 miles northeast of Bangkok is made of more than a million recycled glass bottles. “Wat Lan Kuad” or “Temple of Million Bottles” features glass bottles throughout the premises of the temple, including the crematorium, surrounding shelters, and the toilets. (Click photo to read more)

5. China’s Spiraling Shanghai Tower

The slender, elegantly spiraling Shanghai Tower will rise 632 meters, making it the latest super-tall to spring up in China’s rapidly developing Luijiazui Finance and Trade Zone. A beacon for a more sustainable future, the skyscraper will feature a high-performance façade that shelters no fewer than nine sky gardens, a rainwater recycling system, and a series of wind turbines perched beneath its parapet. (Click photo to read more)

4. Recycled Subway Cars Turned into Studios in London

To combat expensive rentals in the London, furniture designer Auro Foxcroft created an environmentally conscious solution by taking old subway cars and mounting them on a rooftop for office space. (Click photo to read more)

3. ZIGGURAT: Dubai Carbon Neutral Pyramid will House 1 Million

Dubai-based environmental design firm Timelinks recently released some eye-catching renderings of the gigantic eco pyramid – aptly named Ziggurat. The enormous pyramid will cover 2.3 square kilometers and will be able to sustain a “community” of up to 1 million. (Click photo to read more)

2. Ewok Eco Sphere in the Trees

Canada-based Tom Chudleigh creates these Free Spirit Eco Spheres amidst the coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest. (Click photo to read more)

1. Amazing Green Roof Art School in Singapore

The amazing green roof at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore is part of a 5 story facility. This wooded corner of the campus exhibits an organic, vegetated form that blends seamlessly with the landscape and structure, nature and high-tech and symbolizes the creativity it houses. (Click photo to read more)