An eco building is using efficiently the resources, whether energy, water or materials. At the same time it has a low environmental impact (due to reduced pollution) or on human health (due to air quality improvement).

New Green Tower from Miami looks like a giant Swiss cheese with uniform holes in the “shell” that is wrapping the building. The shell is actually called an exoskeleton and it is an efficient structure that insulates the building, sustains the turbines and provides shade for natural cooling. The skyscraper at 116 meters, which is the collaboration between Chad Oppenheim architecture and design, the energy consultant Buro Happold and Seinuk Ysreal, engineer, needed 40 million dollars.

The building incorporates both residential and commercial space. The house prices vary between 400,000 and two million dollars. The green technologies used are wind turbines and photovoltaic panels to generate hot water using sunlight. In addition, the floors are made from recycled glass and bamboo.

The most successful green buildings

In the business world, more and more corporations are choosing to build eco. In 2005, Citi Bank started building a 15 floors green building in New York. The investment amounted to 310 million dollars. Approximately 90% of the materials used are recycled. The building has a pool that collects rainwater, which is used to cool the building and irrigate the landscape around it.

The most successful green buildings

Thus, the construction saves two million gallons of water per year. The energy is generated in a proportion of 100% of wind sources and the windows provide maximum heat retention in winter and cool air in summer. The building avoids the emission of 768 tons of carbon dioxide. The construction received the Gold Award from The US Green Building Council an institution that certifies eco buildings.

There are several justifications for this:

• First of all the design according to the local climate is both economically and ecological. Will result in a decrease in costs because it decreases the energy consumption in building operation. It will be reduce the overall energy consumption by using non-mechanical equipment (passive).
• The second explanation derives from the fact that this concept has an impact on users. The building that responds to a certain climate improves the feeling of well-being of those who use that building. It is permitted to realize the outside climate, it minimizes the impact of the construction on the clime and implicitly the climate on the construction, also minimizing both investment costs and operating costs.
• The last justification is a regional one. The climate, seen from a global perspective of human history and its settlements is the single most important factor in our landscape, except for the geographical structure.

Bioclimatic architecture

In addition to these justifications, there are certain elements that must be necessarily taken into account:

• Planting and the vegetation are integrated into the project. The vegetation is an important aspect of the place, outside the fact that it is vital from an ecological point of view.
• Creating different area depths in front of the building facades, sometimes as transitional spaces, sometimes as interstitial spaces or residual spaces. These areas can be in the form of a high atrium, opened to the sky, ventilated- under the form of balconies or yards of light. These spaces, which have a particularly success are evident in the traditional architecture from tropical climates – porches, terraces. These spaces are an important part of the way of life on the ground floor level.

Bioclimatic architecture

• The studies on the exterior wall as a variable membrane that is changing the sectional profile depending on the orientation of the sun led to a concern for a variable wall project.
• The exploration of the air currents as an element that influences the project. The wind has an energy that can be integrated to increase the ventilation or it can be used for putting into service the mechanical systems of the building.

There are plenty of developers now that offer green projects, with houses built on your direct specifications, but which also respect the environment and help keeping the nature clean. So, if this sounds appealing for you and you are looking to have your own home in the near feature, maybe some of the following will come in hand:

If you go to www.greenisuniversal.com you will have a nice surprise; built on a rather simple platform, there is also the option to play an online game in which you can design your perfect house, as green and ecological as you want. In the very constructive game you have a budget of 100,000 dollars and some features to chose from, so that you can create the best house, using the minimum of resources and making it as effective as possible. Besides the fact that allows you to spend around 5-10 minutes of constructive time, you can also learn some important values from the game such as the best materials to build from, each clime, its goods and drawbacks and, of course, the best ways to produce or recycle energy in order to have low-prices bills and maximum efficiency. So that, you find out things about best green materials like wood, brick, earthen or recycled. Using alternative energy items such as solar panels, heating, wind power generators or hydroelectricity will make your construction up to 300% more efficient than a common home that uses non of the above. In terms of efficiency items, buying  energy efficient lightning or using recycled materials will also help you have a greener house. Using the smart home technology will help you save wasted energy, water and heating.

All in all, the game doesn’t have the purpose to entertain only, but to draw a message to those of you interesting in building a green house that respects nature and the environment, and which will also make you spend less money on monthly charges. Not to mention it will provide you with unlimited sources of energy that you can later use to power an intelligent system that will run through your entire home, from refrigerator to computer, AC and loads more.

There are many ways in which we can first of all get better informed regarding the concept of green living and of the ideas sustained by it so that we might all become able to understand what we should and should not do and to decide the way in which we might decide to change our lifestyle in order to improve the quality of our lives. Building green homes is one of the important steps which should be followed by all of us as in this way we can all protect the environment and we can all improve the quality of life on Earth.

Building green homes is not hard if we are well informed about this. We need to know how and with what kind of materials we want our homes to be built of in order to be able to ask for what we want from persons who are going to build our house. It is also possible to ask specialized persons in this domain who will know exactly how to build green homes. Being informed is in any case advisable as in this way we will be able to understand why one type of materials is better to be used and we will also be more informed in the building of our own home at least by understanding how and why are things done in a certain way.

There are many solutions, ideas, tips which have been considered related to the idea of green living and which can be analyzed by every person interested in protecting the environment and in this way the life on earth. Among these ideas, there are also important to be mentioned the ones related to buildings and the way in which they should be constructed and the materials which should be used in their construction as many of these materials can be harmful for us to use.

This is why a list of green building materials might be useful to be made aware to all persons interested in building a new house by using some of them and in this way to live greener and to offer others around them the opportunity of  living in this way as well.

There are many changes which have been made in building constructions in the last few years as new types of technologies have been used and many persons have been interested in having their homes built differently than the ones that have been built before. Every person is interested in knowing something new, in changing things and when it comes to our houses we all want to have the opportunity of building a modern one with as many innovative technologies being included in its construction as possible.

We should also consider the necessity for us to protect the environment when we consider having a house built for ourselves, the necessity to protect ourselves and the persons living around us by building houses without using all sorts of materials that might prove to be harmful to us. In this respect, a list of green building materials and their functions as well as the benefit of using them might enable users to realize their importance and the great opportunity that we all have nowadays in using them.

When discussing about  a list of green building materials should be mentioned the cork flooring which is considered renewable because the materials from which it is being made are being removed from live trees, the cement, which is useful to us as it allows water to sink and not to pollute waterways being in this way environmental friendly, the insulation which should be considered as very important when building a green home because it is beneficial to us by conserving energy, ideas related to green roofing possibilities for us to choose when deciding to build a green home for us to live in because such roofs are considered to be durable and sustainable and many others.

In what concerns the glass we should also be aware of the fact that nowadays there are many ways in which glass can enable us to live greener. In this way glass has become very popular within the various lists of green building materials made in the last few years. There are many green building materials which can be included within a list from which we can all choose the appropriate ones when we decide to have a new house built for us. We should consider them as they bring us many benefits which enable us to live healthier and in this way for the quality of our lives to be improved.

It is very important for us to take this in account and for those who have not been aware of this to become familiar with the necessary factors and aspects as home building materials represent a very important part in green living as well as the necessity for the appropriate materials to be used in the appropriate way. There are many important aspects which can be analyzed in this respect and we should all be interested in them as sooner or later we might all decide to have a house built for ourselves and we should know the way in which this can be done without causing environmental damages.

There have been considered many possible characteristics for green home building materials so as for everyone to understand why they are recommended to be used. Some of these characteristics are represented by the fact that they save energy and water as well, which is a very important aspect in the green living concept, the fact that their components are healthy in comparison with all the toxic components included within other types of building materials, the fact that natural resources are saved through their manufacture which is not also true in other cases and many others which have even discovered along the years and which have determined many persons to seriously consider the possibility of using such green home building materials in the idea of protecting the environment.

When discussing about green home building materials, insulation is also an important aspect to be taken in account. This is because many times it includes recycled glass which is also important to be considered related to green living and eco constructions. What many green living persons might also be interested in finding out in this respect is the fact that the greenest type of insulation is known to be cellulose.

What is also important to be mentioned is the fact that it is also the most affordable one and in this way, it can be proved that there are also many inexpensive types of green living ideas and solutions made available for everyone so that we might all getting involved in the process of saving the planet and of improving the quality of life on earth and in this way of our own life.

There are many aspects which need to be considered when deciding to have a new house built for yourself as it is important for us to be more concerned in green living and in using green home building materials if we are interested in being able to live a good life in this world and to assure a good quality life on earth for the future as well.

Such environmental problems are also related to buildings and constructions and in this way we should all become aware that even the materials that we decide to use when we are having anew house being built for us can cause environmental damages which affect all of us. In this respect, green building materials are highly recommended to be taken in account and used by all of us so as for us to avoid damaging the environment in any way and in this way to still be able to live a good quality life in this world.

When discussing about green building materials it is also important to be considered the reasons for which they are recommended to be used and for which other materials are not considered as good ones to be used as well. In this respect, it can be mentioned the fact that these green building materials are said to include renewable type of plant materials which determine their appropriateness for being used in constructions as they are said not to affect the environment as bad as other materials are known to do this.

Such green building materials have been considered all sorts of ecology types of blocks, recycled types of metals being used, recycled stone as well, and many others which are said to be non toxic so that they can be used without any risk of environmental damage being caused to be taken by the persons using them. It is very important for all of us to be aware of the existence of such materials because in this way it is possible for us to consider them when deciding to have a new house built for ourselves as we need to be aware of the necessity for all of us to protect the environment as it is the only way in which this planet can be saved.

When discussing about green building materials it should also be included the idea of these materials to be manufactured locally as in this way a lot of energy will be saved as no transport of materials will be required to be done.

This is also important to be taken in account by persons interested in building a new house for themselves by following the green living concept and by employing the use of green building materials and the way in which energy can be saved and many other aspects which enables them to help protect the environment and in this way to improve the quality of life on earth. We should all consider these aspects as they are important and we might discover that we have nothing to loose if we try to do something in order to improve the environment and in exchange we will all have to benefit from this.

There are so many things that we sometimes do without even being aware of the bad effects that it can gave on the environment and in this way on the quality of all of our lives on earth and this is way it is very important for everyone to be interested in learning more about this concept and in this way in discovering ways in which to avoid any actions that might cause environmental damages. We are all responsible for the world in which we live and, in this way we are all responsible to preserve a clean environment surrounding us and a good quality life on earth for us and for the persons who will live here in the future. It is our duty and the only chance we have in preserving the life on earth.

Green living presents important ideas and solutions for all sorts of activities, domains and fields of activity so as for all of us to be able to do something in this respect. There have been considered for example many solutions related to ways in which green building can be created so that we might not cause environmental damages by using all sorts of materials which are not good for us to use.

In this respect, there have been considered as more appropriate to be used in eco constructions recycled green building materials as they present many environmental benefits for us, which should be taken in account by all of us when deciding to have a new hose built for us. We all have to become aware of important aspects related to the green living concepts such as the one related to the necessity for recycled green building materials to be used as we will all benefit from this knowledge once we have realized just how much it can help us improve the quality of our lives.

In a discussion on recycled green building materials and their environmental benefits have to be mentioned important aspects including the fact that these materials are already made and in this way no energy will be spent for their manufacture and transport and also the fact that it will no longer be necessary for other natural sources to be used in order to manufacture them which will also be very beneficial for the environment.

It is important to be made clear the necessity for energy to be preserved and for less natural resources to be used as only in this way the environment will be preserved and we will avoid all sorts of situations in which we will be the victims of our own mistakes or of the ones made by other persons. This is why it is important for a collective effort to be made in order for good results to be achieved in this respect. There are many building materials which can be recycled and used in green constructions so that these buildings might not because any environmental damage and might help us preserve the environment clean and a good quality life on earth.

The concept of green living has become very familiar in relation with eco constructions which nowadays have become off greater interest among people. In this respect, there are many important aspects which can be taken in account related to green recycled materials for building houses. It is much easier for us to get familiar with important information related to this type of materials being used in such green buildings.

There are many important aspects which can be taken in account by persons interested in building green homes for themselves. First of all it is very important for all of us to understand their huge importance as they can help improve all of our lives by improving the quality of the environment surrounding us. We must all become conscious of the impact that we all have on the ecosystems which are very important for the world in which we live. We can improve the quality of our own life by making the right decisions.

One of them can be considered the idea of building green homes for ourselves. We all have to gain something out of  this. In this respect, it is also important to mentioned the fact that when we decide to build a green home we have to take in account the way in which it is being built and the materials that we choose for the building. Certainly, we are not experts and we cannot be aware of all the important aspects to be taken in account in this situation but there are many specialized companies which have specialized persons dealing with these aspects and which can help us make the right decisions. We can talk to some of these persons specialized in this type of eco constructions and we can discover how we can choose to build a home that will not affect the environment and in this way our lives.

Another very important aspect which needs to be included in a discussion on the idea of building green homes for ourselves is the use of energy. We have to take in account aspects such as the amount of energy included in the materials that we choose to use, in the transportation of this type of materials and in the assembling process of such materials. The use of energy should not be considered only in relation to the building process itself but also concerning the after building periods.

In this respect, it is important for us to consider the quality of energy that will be consumed by the inhabitants of that certain home that we intend to build. The necessity of taking in account important aspects related to energy is due to the fact that it has a great impact on the environment and in this way on the quality of our life. When discussing about green living and persons interested in green recycled materials for building houses for themselves there are many important aspects which need to be taken in account. We all have something to learn from the analysis of such aspects. We should all be interested in understanding more of them.

Before discussing some aspects related to the history of green building it is important for all of us to get better informed about the concept of green building. In this respect, it can be said that it refers to the idea of increasing efficiency of energy, water and material usage by buildings and to the necessity of reducing building types of impacts on the environment surrounding us and in this way on the human health.  This reduction of building impact can be achieved by better designs being created and by establishing better operations and maintenance processes.

In a discussion on the history of green building it is important to be mentioned the fact that green homes have been built only for the last thirty years as earlier, the idea of green building had not really been put in practice. In the last thirty years, this idea has become more and more familiar among us and has attracted the interest of many people. Anyway, the history of green building is considered to date from before 1970. People have first of all become familiar with the idea of solar energy being transformed into electrical energy. Afterwards, people became familiar with the idea if solar power plants being built so as the sun energy for steam power to be used.

It was in 1970 that builders and all sorts of designers have began to consider the possibility of finding ways in which to build houses by taking in account the necessity for reducing their reliance on fossil type of fuels.  More efficient solar panels have been built since then and, in this way the idea of using solar energy has become more and more familiar among all of us. Nowadays, certainly, things have evolved much more and there are not used only solar panels in eco construction. When discussing about the history of green building it is also important to be mentioned the fact that building materials are very important in this respect. Such materials need to be sustainable and recyclable ones in order to preserve resources.

Another important aspect is related to the idea of durability. In this respect it has been wondered the necessity environmentally friendly materials to be replaced very often and what results this will have. Another important aspect in eco construction is related to the necessity for builders and designers to consider good locations as a fundamental item to be taken in account. These are only some of the important aspects related to the history of green building and eco construct. There are many others which users can take into account as we should all be interested in these aspects nowadays.