On a more exclusive sustainable building note, Clearpoint Residencies will be the first sustainable apartment complex in Sri Lanka – and at 46 stories and a planned height of 186 m (610 ft), it will also be the tallest vertical garden in the world.
Construction is underway and expected to reach completion in 2016. The structure will house 164 apartments, and the vertical garden will circle and nearly enclose the entire building, reducing heat gain and energy use.
One of the main reasons for heat gain within an apartment is the fact that all apartments in Sri Lanka have windows which are directly exposed to sunlight. To counter this effect, we have consciously designed our entire building with windows that do not receive direct sunlight. We achieve this by extending ordinary balconies into large format terraces. This, while providing the practical benefit of shade, will also provide the occupants with extra external entertainment space.
The planted terraces will also absorb sound, produce oxygen, and filter the air before it enters the apartments. Filtered grey water will be mixed with rain water and used to irrigate the gardens as well as flush the toilets.
Image: Clearpoint Residencies
Solar panels will be installed on the roof to power public lighting, elevators, the grey water recycling system, the sewage recycling system, etc.
Image: Clearpoint Residencies
A simple cob house may be more my style, but I think this giant vertical garden is beautiful.
See more: Clearpoint Residencies
They call it “The Pod” – a small house in Australia
Shipping container student housing at Mill Junction
Seawer, the garbage removing seascraper
A shipping container home grows in Brooklyn