Archinect - News

UGC Wants to Put a Stop to 'High Cholesterol' Glass Towers

2014-07-15T16:38:00-04:00

The Urban Green Council, which calls these glass towers “high cholesterol buildings,” published a report earlier this month, which asserts that high energy use associated with the use of clear glass degrades air quality and exacerbates global warming... the Council is urging for the reduction of transparent glass, replaced with heavily insulated solid walls or highly advanced glass facades that would be more expensive.

Seduced by the View

2013-12-10T19:43:00-05:00

With help from volunteers, we took pictures of dozens of buildings and found that on average, blinds or shades covered about 59 percent of the window area. And over 75 percent of buildings had more than half of their window area covered. As the study puts it, “Tenants are moving into these rooms with a view, but more often than not, can’t see out the window.”

Task force created to prepare New Yorkers for extreme weather

2013-06-13T15:01:00-04:00

New York City must take urgent steps to protect New Yorkers and its buildings from the next extreme weather event, according to a report released today by the Building Resiliency Task Force at a press conference.

In the devastating aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn charged the task force with giving recommendations to improve the resiliency of city buildings and maximize preparedness for extreme weather conditions like high winds, high temperatures and flooding. Urban Green Council led the 200+ member task force.

Highlights of specific suggestions:

Create stronger buildings—require new and replacement doors and windows to be wind resistant; anchor homes to their foundations; design sidewalks to capture storm water.
Ensure reliable backup power—make it easier for buildings to use backup generators and solar energy; require buildings to keep stairwells and hallways lit during blackouts; add hookups for roll-up generato...