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Norway is Entering a New Era of Climate-Conscious Architecture (theatlantic.com)
The European Union has a target of making all new buildings zero-energy by 2020, but in Norway, carbon neutrality isn't enough. From a report: A consortium in Oslo made up of architects, engineers, environmentalists, and designers is creating energy-positive buildings in a country with some of the coldest and darkest winters on Earth. "If you can make it in Norway, you can make it anywhere," says Peter Bernhard, a consultant with Asplan Viak, one of the Powerhouse alliance members.
Bernhard says Powerhouse began in 2010 with a question: Is it possible to not only eliminate the carbon footprint of buildings, but to also use them as a climate-crisis solution? It was a lofty goal. According to the European Commission, buildings account for 40 percent of energy usage and 36 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions in the EU. But after undertaking several energy-positive projects -- building a new Montessori school, retrofitting four small office buildings, building a few homes, and breaking ground on two new office buildings -- Powerhouse has found the answer to the 2010 question to be an emphatic "Yes." In 2019, the collective's biggest project to date will open to the public: Powerhouse Brattorkaia, in the central Norwegian city of Trondheim.
Bernhard says Powerhouse began in 2010 with a question: Is it possible to not only eliminate the carbon footprint of buildings, but to also use them as a climate-crisis solution? It was a lofty goal. According to the European Commission, buildings account for 40 percent of energy usage and 36 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions in the EU. But after undertaking several energy-positive projects -- building a new Montessori school, retrofitting four small office buildings, building a few homes, and breaking ground on two new office buildings -- Powerhouse has found the answer to the 2010 question to be an emphatic "Yes." In 2019, the collective's biggest project to date will open to the public: Powerhouse Brattorkaia, in the central Norwegian city of Trondheim.
It's called a log cabin. Literally TONS of carbon are locked away for the lifetime of the structure. The more carbon you lock away in the form of trees, the more insulation and thermal mass you have as a result.
Aah, change is good. -- Rafiki
Yeah, but it ain't easy. -- Simba
It's not being chosen based on any individual's comfort level, it's being chosen based on the last couple centuries of explosive construction and population growth around the world. We have cities and farms in certain regions and we don't want them to be turned into salt marshes or deserts.
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Now you just need to build it five to ten stories high with fireproofed wood pulp bricks, include modern HVAC, fiber and telecom, water and sewage, other machinery,...
I think you were being sarcastic but in fact they are planning to build a wooden skyscraper in Tokyo.
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