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Case Studies & Projects

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• 150 best sustainable home ideas / Francesc Zamora Mola. 2013.
• 21st century sustainable homes / edited by Mark Cleary. 2011.
• 150 best eco house ideas / editor and text, Marta Serrats. 2010.
• Blue houses : sustainable homes / [editor], Cristina Paredes Benítez. 2011.
• Culture-nature : green ethics, habitat, environment / a cura di = edited by Alessandra Coppa, Fortunato D'Amico. 2010. Catalog of an the 2010 Venice Architecture Biennale.
• Earthships in Europe / Mischa Hewitt and Kevin Telfer. 2012.
• Eco living / Chris van Uffelen. 2013. 124 international examples of residential architecture, from single-family homes to housing estates, that incorporate exemplary ecological living solutions, all of which take different approaches. Includes architects' index.
• Eco solutions : sustainable approaches for a bioclimatic home / editorial coordinator, Claudia Martinez Alonso; edition and texts, Marta Serrats. 2012.
• The ecological house : sustainable architecture around the world / text, Marco Moro, Beatrice Spirandelli ; preface, Ecosistema Urbano. 2011.
• Ecological living / edited by Manuela Roth ; [texts: Elke Weiler ; translations: Yannick Van Belleghem...[et al.]]. 2009.
• Environmental tectonics : forming climatic change / edited by Steve Hardy. 2008. The projects presented here emphasize multiple aspects of the environment, often addressing issues of aesthetics and pleasure alongside ethics.
• Green architecture / [editing, Chen Liu]. 2010. 42 international award-winning projects detailing award-winning reasons and materials.
• Green is beautiful : the eco-friendly house / [Claudio Santini ; text by Dafna Zilafro]. 2009.
• Green life : building sustainable cities / edited by Maria Berrini and Aldo Colonetti. 2010.
• Green houses : new directions in sustainable architecture / [editor, Josep Maria Minguet ; co-author, Óscar Mira]. 2013. Profiles eleven international projects which illustrate close co-operation between everyone involved - architects, engineers, interior decorators, landscapers and client - in all the project phases.
• Green school primer : lessons in sustainability / edited by LPA, inc. 2009. Eight case studies examining why and how schools should be made "green."
• The hybrid house : designing with sun, wind, water, and earth / Catherine Wanek. 2010.
• Inspired homes : architecture for changing times / Avi Friedman with Emma Greer. 2013.
• Innovative houses : concepts for sustainable living / Avi Friedman. 2013. Discusses and illustrates recent and notable residential trends. Organized into four broad areas of interest: demographic and social trends; design and production methods; energy and resource efficiency; and innovative landscaping.
• New natural home / Dominic Bradbury ; photographs by Richard Powers. 2011.
• Prefabulous + almost off the grid : your path to building an energy-independent home / Sheri Koones ; foreword by Robert Redford. 2012. Profiling thirty-two homes in the United States, this book explains many of the materials, systems, and techniques available to create a more energy-efficient, comfortable, and healthy home.
• Prefabulous + sustainable : building and customizing an affordable, energy-efficient home / Sheri Koones ; foreword by Robert Redford. 2010.
• Prefabulous world : energy-efficient and sustainable homes around the globe / Sheri Koones ; foreword by Robert Redford. 2014.
• Rural Studio at twenty : designing and building in Hale County, Alabama / Andrew Freear and Elena Barthel, with Andrea Oppenheimer Dean ; photography by Timothy Hursley. 2014.
• Small eco houses : living green in style / Cristina Paredes Benítez, Àlex Sánchez Vidiella. 2010.
• The sustainable Asian house / Paul McGillick ; photography by Masano Kawana. 2013.
• Sustainable design II : towards a new ethics for architecture and the city / Marie-Hélène Contal, Jana Revedin ; with the kind participation of Benno Albrecht and Elisa Brusegan. 2011. Presents the 2009 and 2010 winners of the "Global Award for Sustainable Architecture."
• Sustainable homes / [Pilar Chueca]. 2009. A sampling of highly innovative sustainable designs in the United States including upscale residences, posh cabins, and a geodesic dome.
• Geng xin Zhongguo : wei le yi ge ke chi xue de wei lai = Updating China : projects for a sustainable future = Nachhaltiges Planen und Bauen in China / curated by Li Xiangning ; edited by Li Xiangning, Christian Dubrau. 2010. Highlights 40 projects in China. Text in Chinese, German, and English.
• XS : small structures, green architecture / Phyllis Richardson. 2007.

FILMS - In-library viewing at the Media Resources Center in Moffitt Library

• Design e² [videorecording] : the economies of being environmentally conscious / director, Tad Fettig ; series producer, Elizabeth Westrate ; narration writers, Mark Decena, John Kenney ; produced by kontentreal, LLC. [Alexandria, Va.] : PBS Home Video, c2006. Watch additional episodes online .

ONLINE RESOURCES

History: Groundbreaking Books and Historic Sources

• Architecture and the urban environment : a vision for the new age / Derek Thomas. 2002.
• Big & green : toward sustainable architecture in the 21st / edited by David Gissen. 2002.
• Building cities: towards a civil society and sustainable environment / edited by Norman Crowe, Richard Economakis and Michael Lykoudis; with Mark Gage, et al. 1999.
• Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things / William McDonough & Michael Braungart. 1st ed. 2002. Focuses on the nature of sustainability and the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design.
• Culture, architecture and nature : an ecological design retrospective / Sim Van der Ryn ; edited by Richard Olsen. 2014.
• Design outlaws on the ecological frontier / Chris Zelov, executive editor; Phil Cousineau, co-editor. Philadelphia, Penn.: Knossus Publishing, 2000 ed. Companion book to Ecological design [videorecording] : inventing the future . (director, Brian Danitz ; produced by Brian Danitz and Tzelovanikov ; writer, Phil Cousineau. 1994.)
• Design with nature / Ian L. McHarg. 1st ed. 1969. (Classic) Helped to define the fields of landscape architecture, urban and regional planning, and ecological design. Discussion of mankind's place in nature and nature's place in mankind within the physical sciences and humanities. Offers a blueprint for a new, healthier relationship between the built environment and nature. see also -- To heal the earth: selected writings of Ian L. McHarg / edited by Ian L. McHarg and Frederick R. Steiner; foreword by Robert D. Yaro. 1998. A retrospective collection of essays by Ian McHarg, written while he was at the University of Pennsylvania.
• Designing with nature: the ecological basis for architectural design / Ken Yeang. 1995.
• Environmental literature: an encyclopedia of works, authors, and themes / compiled by Patricia D. Netzley. 1999. Very good for historical references, includes important people, authors, events that have "advanced knowledge and changed the perception of the environment."
• The environmental tradition: studies in the architecture of environment / Dean Hawkes. 1996.
• From Bauhaus to ecohouse [electronic resource] : a history of ecological design / Peder Anker. 2010. Also available in print .
• From eco-cities to living machines: principles of ecological design / Nancy Jack Todd and John Todd. 1994.
• Gray world, green heart: technology, nature, and the sustainable landscape / Robert L. Thayer, Jr. 1994.
• Green shift: changing attitudes in architecture to the natural world / John Farmer; edited by Kenneth Richardson ; with supplementary text by Judith Farren Bradley, et al. . 2nd ed.1999.
• The greening of architecture : a critical history and survey of contemporary sustainable architecture and urban design / Phillip James Tabb and A. Senem Deviren. 2013.
• The nature of order: an essay on the art of building and the nature of the universe / Christopher Alexander. 2002. (classic) Center for Environmental Structure series; v. 9. Alexander develops a comprehensive theory of how matter comes together to form coherent structures.
• Planning for sustainability : creating livable, equitable, and ecological communities / Stephen M. Wheeler. 2004.
• A primer on sustainable building / Rocky Mountain Institute, Green Development Services; Dianna Lopez Barnett with William D. Browning. 2004. Topics include site and habitat restoration, transportation integration, edible landscapes, energy-efficient design, indoor air quality.
• Something new under the sun: an environmental history of the twentieth-century world / J.R. McNeill. 2000.
• The sustainable urban development reader / edited by Stephen M. Wheeler and Timothy Beatley. 2nd ed. 2009.
• Sustainable architecture and urbanism : concepts, technologies, examples / Dominique Gauzin-Müller ; with contributions by Nicolas Favet. 2002.
• Sustainable architecture white papers / edited by David E. Brown, Mindy Fox, Mary Rickel Pelletier.1st ed. 2000. selected essays by architects, designers on the current state of sustainable architecture and its many facets.
• Sustainable architectures : cultures and natures in Europe and North America / edited by Simon Guy and Steven Moore. 2005.
• Taking shape: a new contract between architecture and nature / Susannah Hagan. 2001.
• The timeless way of building / Christopher Alexander. 1979. (Classic). The Timeless Way of Building is the first volume of a three-volume set; Alexander presents a different perceptual framework for conceiving of, and creating architecture. In the second volume of the series, A pattern language , he discusses his own exploration of architecture within this perceptual framework and the two hundred fifty-three patterns that he has intuited. In the third volume, The oregon experiment , he explains how this "language" of two hundred fifty-three patterns was used in practice to design a building complex at the University of Oregon.
• Understanding sustainable architecture / Terry Williamson, Anthony Radford, and Helen Bennetts. 2003.
• Urban design: green dimensions / Cliff Moughtin with Peter Shirley. 2nd ed. 2005. Shows how sustainable urban design can be implemented on every scale. Second edition includes the Urban Park and Bio-diversity.

Sustainable Design should be beautiful

(Source: Fincube © 2010 )

A Case for Why Sustainable Design Must be Beautiful : Architect Lance Hosey argues that the way toward green design is through aesthetics rooted in nature.

• DIDI : Design Idea Dictionary / compilation, DAMDI Publishing Co. ; editor in chief, Pyo Mi Young. 2013. 10 volumes : color illustrations and color plans - not strictly a dictionary, more akin to a design sourcebook.
• Dictionary of architectural and building technology / Henry J. Cowan and Peter R. Smith ; with contributions by W.K. Chow et al.. 4th ed. 2004. Includes illustrations, definitions, modern terms, environmental definitions such as wind scoops, natural ventilation.
• A dictionary of environment and conservation [electronic resource] / Chris Park. 2007. Also available in print .
• A dictionary of architecture / James Stevens Curl. 2nd ed. 2006.
• Dictionary of architecture & construction / edited by Cyril M. Harris. 4th ed. 2006. Also available in print.
• Dictionary of ecodesign : an illustrated reference / Ken Yeang and Lillian Woo. 2010.
• Dictionary of environment and sustainable development / Alan Gilpin. 1996.
• The elements of architecture : principles of environmental performance in buildings / Scott Drake ; illustrations by Adam Brown and Tristan Wong. 2009.
• Elsevier's dictionary of environment in English, French, Spanish and Arabic / compiled by M. Bakr. 1998.
• The environment dictionary / David D. Kemp. 1998. Entry includes definition, illustrations and further reading list.
• The environmental regulatory dictionary / compiled by James J. King. 2005.
• Environmental encyclopedia / William P. Cunningham, et al., editors. 2nd ed. 1998. Includes definitions, cultural movements, biographies, regional events, community actions and a short bibliography for each entry.
• The Facts On File guide to research / Jeff Lenburg. 2005. Facts on File library of language and literature. Includes a chapter on "Ecology and the Environment".
• Green Building A to Z: understanding the language of green building / Jerry Yudelson. 2007. Offers the basics of green building and shows how it relates to key issues such as, water conservation, healthy buildings, use of recycled materials, reduction of carbon dioxide, and environmental site planning.
• Green cities: an A-to-Z guide / Nevin Cohen, general editor. 2010. UCB Only.
• Illustrated dictionary of architecture / Ernest Burden. 2012.
• Sustainable built environments / Vivian Loftness and Dagmar Haase (eds.). 2013. Selected entries from the Encyclopedia of sustainability science and technology.

Handbooks, Guides, and Other Selected Reference

• Adapting buildings and cities for climate change : a 21st century survival guide / Sue Roaf, David Crichton and Fergus Nicol. 2009.
• Aesthetics of sustainable architecture / edited by Sang Lee ; foreword by Kees Doevendans ; with contributions by Nezar AlSayyad ... [et al.]. 2011. Essays by leading architectural designers, theorists, and scholars.
• The Ahwahnee principles for smart economic development: an implementation guidebook / Rick Cole, et al. ; editing by Paul Zykofsky, Brad Norton and Dave Davis. 1998. Written for local policymakers, communities, regional development ideas.
• Architecture 3.0 : the disruptive design practice handbook / Cliff Moser. 2014. Focusing on the concept of disruption, the book provides a set of ideas and tools in order to create a new sustainable practice.
• Architecture in a climate of change : a guide to sustainable design / Peter F. Smith. 2005.
• The barefoot architect : a handbook for green building / Johan van Lengen. 2008.
• Be a successful green builder / R. Dodge Woodson. 2009.
• Building to suit the climate : a handbook / Gerhard Hausladen, Petra Liedl, Mike de Saldanha. 2012. A manual for integrated planning in the international context -- offers a comprehensive analysis of the interplay between climate, the building structure and the building envelope.
• Cities going green : a handbook of best practices / edited by Roger L. Kemp and Carl J. Stephani. 2011.
• Closing the loop : benchmarks for sustainable buildings / Susan Roaf, with Andrew Horsley and Rajat Gupta. 2004.
• Cohousing cultures : handbuch für selbstorganisiertes, gemeinschaftliches und nachhaltiges Wohnen = Cohousing cultures : handbook for self-organized, community-oriented and sustainable housing / ID22, Institute for Creative Sustainability, Experimentcity. 2012.
• Ecological design handbook: sustainable strategies for architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and planning / Fred A. Stitt, editor. 1999.
• The economy of sustainable construction / edited by Ilka & Andreas Ruby and Nathalie Janson. 2014. Contained within its 400 pages are essays, reports, and case studies that examine the relationship between commercial and sustainable values, and explore the paths that construction will take in the 21st century. Packed with info-graphics.
• Environmental planning for site development: a manual for sustainable local planning and design / Anne R. Beer and Catherine Higgins. 2nd ed. 2000.
• The environmental resource handbook. / 2013/14. Directory of associations, awards, research, green city rankings. Includes statistics for brownfields, air quality, children's health, drinking water, noise pollution.
• A green vitruvius : principles and practice of sustainable architectural design / Vivienne Brophy and J. Owen Lewis. 2011.
• Going green : a handbook of sustainable housing practices in developing countries / [principal author, Emma-Liisa Hannula]. 2012.
• Green building : a professional's guide to concepts, codes and innovation : includes IgCC provisions / Anthony C. Floyd and Allan Bilka. 2012.
• Green building : project planning & cost estimating : a practical guide for constructing sustainable buildings : cost data for green materials, components & systems; special project requirements; financial analysis & incentives. / 2002.
• Green building and LEED core concepts guide / U.S. Green Building Council, 2011.
• Green neighborhood development : LEED reference guide for neighborhood development / U.S. Green Building Council, 2009.
• The green studio handbook : environmental strategies for schematic design / Alison G. Kwok and Walter T. Grondzik. 2011.
• Green town USA : the handbook for America's sustainable future / Thomas J. Fox ; introduction by Daniel Wallach. 2013.
• A green Vitruvius: principles and practice of sustainable architectural design / Vivienne Brophy and J. Owen Lewis. 2011.
• Handbook of sustainable refurbishment : housing / Simon Burton. 2011.
• The HOK guidebook to sustainable design / Sandra Mendler, William Odell, Mary Ann Lazarus. 2nd ed. 2006. Shows how to integrate sustainable design strategies into projects. Includes case studies, glossary, top 10 internet resources, bibliography.
• Homes reference guide / U.S. Green Building Council. 2008.
• Home work : handbuilt shelter / Lloyd Kahn. 2004.
• How to design and build a green office building : a complete guide to making your new or existing building environmentally healthy / Jackie Bondanza. 2011.
• Modern sustainable residential design : a guide for design professionals / William J. Carpenter. 2009.
• The natural building companion : a comprehensive guide to integrative design and construction / Jacob Deva Racusin and Ace McArleton. 2012.
• Rough guide to sustainability : a design primer / Brian Edwards. 2010.
• Sustainable and resilient communities : a comprehensive action plan for towns, cities, and regions / edited by Stephen Coyle ; foreword by Andrés Duany. 2011.
• The sustainable building bible : an insider's guide to eco-renovation & newbuilding / Tim Pullen. 2011. Rev. ed. of: Simply sustainable homes. 2008.
• Sustainable building sourcebook : supplement to the Green Building Program / Austin Energy. 2000. The general sections of the Sourcebook are Water, Energy, Building Materials, and Solid Waste. Each resource section and the appendix are hyperlinked for quick location.
• The sustainable design handbook : China : high environmental quality cities and buildings / Serge Salat, editor in chief. 2006.
• Sustainable healthcare architecture, 2nd edition / Robin Guenther, Gail Vittori. 2013. Also available as an electronic resource .
• Sustainable school architecture : design for primary and secondary schools / Lisa Gelfand, with Eric Corey Freed. 2010.
• The whole building handbook : how to design healthy, efficient and sustainable buildings / Varis Bokalders and Maria Block. 2010. Originally published in Swedish in 2004.
• Sustainability Hub – Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
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Sustainability & Green Design

Civic Purpose: Urban Design in Private Practice

PI59 Offices / V8 Architects

The Art of Architectural Grafting

The Bothy and Tùr at Cuningar Loop / jmarchitects

Together: Towards Collaborative Living

Grande House / Patio Livity

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Terrapin Report

Biophilic design case studies.

Explore the case studies to learn about the practice of biophilic design across building typologies and scales. Click here to read more about  our biophilic design services  or contact the Terrapin team to learn more by emailing us at [email protected] .

Description

Implementing biophilic design into our workplaces, healthcare facilities, schools, and neighborhoods has profound health and economic benefits. Building managers can retain higher rents; companies are more likely to see improved productivity of employee salaries and benefits; healthcare providers and patients can see financial benefits from faster recovery rates; and schools can experience gains in student performance and reduced absenteeism.

Based on the 14 patterns of biophilic design, Terrapin has compiled a series of case studies that best demonstrate successful biophilic design. These case studies encompass a wide variety of building types, locations, scales, and uses, including urban parks, office buildings, campuses, health care facilities, and residential buildings. Each case study analyzes the patterns present, how they were implemented successfully by the designers, and the health outcomes they each support. These case studies are meant to help designers, building owners, and corporations better understand how biophilic design can be successfully implemented to maximize its health and economic benefits.

Case Studies

Each case study features….

• Project summary
• Detailed descriptions of patterns present
• Concluding critical analysis
• Supporting images and diagrams

Click the links below to view and download each case study:

• Greenacre Park, Hideo Sasaki, New York, NY – PDF (5 MB)
• Glumac – Shanghai Office, Gensler, Shanghai, China – PDF (2 MB)
• Coeur d’Alene Resort/Casino, Mithun, Worley, ID – PDF (1.9 MB)
• Kickstarter Commercial Headquarters, Ole Sondresen Architect, Brooklyn, NY – PDF (3 MB)
• Paley Park, Zion Breen Richardson Associates, New York, NY  – PDF (3.6 MB)
• 641 Avenue of the Americas, COOKFOX Architects, New York, NY  – PDF (1 MB)
• Windhover Contemplative Center, Aidlin Darling Design, Stanford University, CA  – PDF (3.7 MB)
• Seeking Parks, Plazas, and Spaces: The Allure of Biophilia in Cities – PDF (2 MB)
• Östra Hospital, White Architects, Göteborg, Sweden  – PDF (2 MB)
• Parkroyal on Pickering, WOHA Architects, Singapore – PDF (4 MB)  

Copyright & Commercial Use

This article is available to the general public without fee or other access control. Anyone may read this article or use it for their own personal or academic purposes. No commercial use of any kind is permitted unless specific permission is granted in writing in advance. The copyright of this article is by Terrapin Bright Green, LLC. The copyright of images is by cited photographers.

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Case Study: Green Design

Organization Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority

Case study topic & focus Green Design

Service area Sandoval and Santa Fe counties, New Mexico

Number of tribal citizens 4,492

Indian Housing Block Grant $754,517

Annual budget $1,000,000

Number of employees Seven Full Time

Website www.sdtha.org

T he Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority (SDTHA) is a nonprofit developer that plans, designs, develops, and manages affordable housing for the community of the Santo Domingo Pueblo. Established in 1995, the SDTHA is the pueblo’s tribally designated housing entity (TDHE) that provides affordable, safe, culturally tailored, sustainable and healthy housing to the community.

The Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo is a traditional pueblo located on the Rio Grande between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Its people have a rich local culture that has not been overwhelmed by the outside influences brought to the area by Spanish colonization, the railroad in the 19th century, or Route 66 in the 20th century.

Residents of the pueblo, approximately 3,000, maintain their traditional religious practices and social structure. The center portion of the old Pueblo Village is on the National Register of Historic Places and is still occupied by tribal members who actively use its historic plaza for the pueblo’s annual Green Corn Dance each August 4, as well as the sacred kiva spaces and historic church.

Project description

In 2015, the Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority applied for financing with the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) and included the use of Green Communities Criteria into the design and construction of the housing development. Green design was one of the options to meet threshold requirements to access tax credits.

Green design, or green architecture, is an approach to building that ensures minimal impact on the environment, both in terms of products and materials used in the construction. In the functionality of the building, green design minimizes harmful effects on human health and the environment. The “green" architect or designer uses eco-friendly building materials and construction practices.

Lenders and developers are interested in green design, as well as other stewards of housing resources. Many federal, state, and local funders and resource providers have turned to established programs developed to address these concerns.

Over the past 20 years, more attention has been given to the correlation between the structural design of a house and its building materials, and their impact on a healthy living environment. In green design, it all matters – sustainability and durability of the housing unit; the use, function, and contributions to a healthy environment; energy savings; and environmental quality of the community.

Promising approach

Green design can be comprehensive or it can be a light touch. It can be expensive (think of the LEED process) or can be minimal (think Energy Star appliances).

The Green Communities Criteria 2015, now in its fourth iteration since 2004, attempts to create a comprehensive yet manageable process to affordable housing. Cost of affordable housing is an issue nationwide so the core principles of a green program need to add value, but not cost.

Studies have shown that following the green criteria has reduced utility bills and provided a healthier living environment without adding more than 5 percent to a development budget. The long-term benefits to the owner, the residents, and the community are worth the incremental cost.

• Marketing – Offering a housing development with a green design certification indicates enhanced building standards have been used in the structures, which in turn shows a commitment to the environment and an investment in the health of the community.
• Green design criteria require resident education on the green design and materials, and support to make them function at their optimum.
• Lower utility bills, including water usage, is a plus for the residents, but also the owner as they typically pay water bills. At Santo Domingo, a high-desert climate and scarce water resources intensify the need to protect water resources.

Lessons learned

• Make an architect knowledgeable about green design as part of the development team early in the process.
• Make the entire development team aware of the green design process, especially the general contractor and labor.
• Document key practices and steps in the construction to support and ensure green certification.

Ongoing challenges

• Cost burdens for affordable housing has caused some funders to scale back green design in the belief that a noticeable cost savings will be realized.
• Benefits of green design take time to quantify, whether through utility comparisons, energy usage, or healthier residents. Many lenders and homeowners are impatient to realize cost savings without factoring in the slower long-term investment.
• New products are being designed all the time and can be incorporated in green design every year. Keeping up with innovative practices can be challenging, especially for a small community.

On the horizon

Like the Santo Domingo (Kewa) Pueblo, a community commitment is needed upfront to include green design into the building plans. As needs and priorities are developed for new housing, green design and environmental goals can be set, even before site selection.

Santo Domingo Pueblo had a positive experience in implementing green design into its housing projects. Not only did the design preserve scarce water resources, it also maintained the pueblo’s cultural values and preserved historically significant styles.

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Case Studies: Use Green Engineering in the Design and Operation of Industrial Processes

Green engineering is being incorporated across the chemical processing industry to lower risk, reduce waste, and improve the economics of chemical manufacturing. Toward that effort, EPA’s Green Engineering Program provides case studies that can be used as examples in the application of the green engineering principles to industrial processes.

These case studies are meant to be:

• Stepping stones for those with interests in the chemical processing industry to use in developing their own industry-specific scenarios.
• A way to improve across government and non-government entities the knowledge and broad application of the nine Principles of Green Engineering.

Read the Principles of Green Engineering.

Case studies: Green engineering in industrial processes

Reactive distillation.

• Automobile emissions
• Hazordous chemicals

Professors M. Doherty and M. Malone of the University of Massachusetts Department of Chemical Engineering explored the topic "Recent Advances in Reactive Distillation." In comparing traditional versus reactive distillation methods, such as in the production of methyl acetate, the latter methods have the advantage of being able to:

• Reduce raw materials usage
• Reduce byproducts prevent pollution
• Reduce energy use
• Avoid separating reactants
• Eliminate/reduce solvents
• Enhance overall rates
• "Beat" low equilibrium constants

Example: Graphic comparison of production of methyl acetate using traditional and reactive distillation methods.

Reducing automobile emissions and saving energy

William Obenchain and Marcel van Schaik of the American Iron and Steel Institute, and Pete Peterson of the U.S. Steel Group conducted a case study on the UltraLight Steel Auto Body-Advanced Vehicle Concepts (ULSAB-AVC), in which reductions in automobile emissions and improvements in gas mileage were observed as a result of using lightweight steel in the construction of cars.

The ULSAB-AVC is a complete conceptual design for steel intensive compact and mid-size sedans. The designs were developed by a consortium of 33 steelmakers from around the world. The designs specify gasoline and diesel powered models; in the U. S. combined driving cycle the mid-sized sedan will achieve 52 miles per gallon when powered with a gasoline engine and 68 miles per gallon if equipped with a diesel engine. This equates to only 0.32 (diesel) - 0.38 (gasoline) lbs of CO 2 per mile.

ULSAB-AVC: Comparison of mileage and CO 2  emissions

CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for automobiles and trucks

Minimizing hazardous chemicals in the paper industry

Carl Houtman of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Product Service and of the University of Wisconsin at Madison conducted a case study on minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals in the paper industry. To eliminate the use of and exposure to hazardous chemicals in the bleaching process, a new delignification agent (a polyoxometalate, or POM) is used to provide the basis for closed-mill bleaching technology.

This technology eliminates the use of a hazardous chemical while maintaining effective lignin removal. The two flow charts below compare the traditional bleach process and the new "green" process using POM.

Graphic comparison of l ignin removal from wood using traditional and "green" methods . 

While this delignification process completely eliminates beach plant effluent, it requires increased steam and energy usage as well as new capital equipment. As demonstrated in the table below, the trade-offs are that the POM process requires higher process flow temperature and has a high steam requirement to run the oxidative reactor.

Furthermore, the increased capital cost in mills already built prohibits immediate implementation. The challenge will be to reduce process temperature and to eliminate the oxidative reactor to decrease steam requirements.

Paper bleaching: comparison of process stream and energy inputs

POM = polyoxometalate process, uses no ClO 2 or NaOH, DEop = traditional method of bleaching

Minimizing worker exposure to mist in the auto industry

Exposure to mist from machining fluids can cause serious health problems, including cancer, respiratory problems, and allergic reactions. To limit exposure from inhalation of this mist, Professors Manke, Gulari, and Smolinski of the Wayne State University Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science tested the effect of adding polymers to both water-based and straight-oil machining fluids.

A cost-effective method of reducing mist from oil-based fluids has already been widely implemented in the auto industry. For water-based fluids, however, the economics of mist suppression techniques are not yet as favorable, and engineers continue to look for practical ways to meet this challenge.

For straight oil fluids, polyisobutylene (PIB) can be added to control mist. An addition of 70 ppm of PIB results in a 40 percent reduction in average mist levels and a 67 percent reduction in peak mist levels. This additive has been used extensively in auto manufacturing facilities. Its costs are relatively low and only weekly replacement is required.

Graphic showing influence of polymers on atomization of machine fluids.

Chart showing reduction of mist of machining fluids using PIB additive.

To control mist from water-based machining fluids, engineers are exploring the use of polyethylene oxide (PEO) for this purpose. The results are promising. However, high treatment levels are needed (up to 500 pm), the polymer is relatively costly, and daily replacement is required.

To improve the economics of treatment for water-based fluids, researchers are investigating optimization of polymer-surface interactions and synthesis of "designer" antimisting systems.

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Biophilic Design Case Studies

Implementing biophilic design into our workplaces, healthcare facilities, schools, and neighborhoods has profound health and economic benefits. Building managers can retain higher rents; companies are more likely to see improved productivity of employee salaries and benefits; healthcare providers and patients can see financial benefits from faster recovery rates; and schools can experience gains in student performance and reduced absenteeism.

Based on the 14 patterns of biophilic design, Terrapin has compiled a series of case studies that best demonstrate successful biophilic design. These case studies encompass a wide variety of building types, locations, scales, and uses, including urban parks, office buildings, campuses, health care facilities, and residential buildings. Each case study analyzes the patterns present, how they were implemented successfully by the designers, and the health outcomes they each support. These case studies are meant to help designers, building owners, and corporations better understand how biophilic design can be successfully implemented to maximize its health and economic benefits.

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The Urban Design Case Study Archive is a project of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design developed collaboratively between faculty, students, developers, and professional library staff. Specifically, it is an ongoing collaboration between the GSD’s Department of Urban Planning and Design and the Frances Loeb Library. This project received funding from the Veronica Rudge Green Prize for its development and was originally envisioned by professors Peter Rowe and Rahul Mehrotra.

As a collection of case studies, the project aims to support the study of the built environment in urban areas through a rich data model for urban design projects and their related descriptions, interpretations, drawings, and images. It makes use of excellent data entry tools that support the sophisticated search and visualization needed to support its pedagogical aims and scholarly research. Each case study includes digital photographs of the urban context, the projects themselves, and other graphic representation such as site plans, sections, and elevations, as well as texts, commentary, articles, analyses, bibliographies, people involved and interviews to facilitate and encourage discoverability and a flexible navigation within and across case studies depending on research interests.

The project launched in 2023 with urban design projects awarded the Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design and will continue to cover urban design projects of excellence across the globe. We thank the funders, faculty, staff, students, and the developers Performant Solutions, LLC for bringing this project to fruition.

Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design

Rahul Mehrotra, John T. Dunlop Professor in Housing and Urbanization

Peter Rowe, Raymond Garbe Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor

Ann Whiteside, Librarian/Assistant Dean for Information Services

Bruce Boucek, GIS, Data, and Research Librarian

Alix Reiskind, Research and Teaching Support Team Lead Librarian

Ines Zalduendo, Special Collections Curator

Research Staff

Boya Guo, DDes ‘22

Liene Asahi Baptista, MAUD ‘23

Yona Chung, DDes ‘25

Priyanka Kar, MAUD ‘24

Sarahdjane Mortimer, MAUD ‘23

Enrique Mutis, MAUD ‘24

Developer/Development Team

Performant Software

Jamie Folsom

Chelsea Giordan

Derek Leadbetter

Ben Silverman

With special thanks to all the image contributors who have generously granted us copyright permission to include their images in the Urban Design Case Study Archive.

Case Study: Gabriel Contassot’s Portfolio — 2024

A look into the making of Gabriel’s 2024 portfolio website, complementing minimal design choices with subtle animations.

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Working with Gabriel on his new portfolio has been a great experience. He initiated the project with a minimalist yet well-conceived design, incorporating animation ideas and maintaining an open-minded approach. This flexibility fostered extensive experimentation throughout the development process, which, in my experience, yields the best outcomes.

The core of the website features a two-page “loop,” transitioning from a main gallery on the homepage to a detailed project view. The objective was to ensure cohesive animations and provide striking, colorful transitions when navigating from the dark-themed homepage to the brighter case studies. As this is a portfolio, the primary focus was on showcasing the content effectively.

There’s a commented demo of the main effect at the end of this case study .

Structure / Stack

Whenever possible, I prefer to work with vanilla JavaScript and simple tools, and this project presented the perfect opportunity to utilize my current favorite stack. I used Astro for static page generation, Taxi to create a single-page-app-like experience with smooth page transitions, and Gsap Tweens for animation effects. Twgl provides WebGL helpers, while Lenis manage the scrolling.

All content is delivered through Sanity , with the sole exception of case study videos, which are hosted on Cloudflare and streamed using Hls .

The website is statically generated and deployed on Vercel, both via CI/CD and from Sanity to rebuild when the content updates.

The CMS structure is quite simple, just a collection for the work, one for pages like /about , and a group for generic data (which in this case is only contact info). In this instance the website is pretty simple and this configuration is not really needed, but considering the headless nature of this setup this was the best way to ensure the content side of things could outlive the website, and for a next version we could (or whoever will work on it) potentially build on top.

The official integration for Astro/Sanity came right in the middle of the project, enhancing the interaction between the two. We’re also leveraging the Vercel Deploy plugin, so who uses the CMS can freely deploy a new version when needed.

The whole repo looks something like this:

Astro + Sanity

In this case we’re using Astro at a 10% of it’s potential, just with .astro files (no frameworks). Basically as a templating language for static site generation. We’re mostly leveraging the component approach, that ends up being compiled into a single, statically generated html document.

As an example, the homepage looks like this. At the top, in between the --- there is what Astro calls frontmatter , which is simply the server side of things that in this case executes at build time since we’re not in SSR mode. Here you can see an example if this.

You can check out my starters here , where you’ll find both the Astro and Sanity starters that I used to spin up this project.

I use a single entry point for all my javascript ( app.js ) at a layout level as a component, and the interesting part starts from there.

In my entry point I initialise all of the main components of of the app.

• Pages — which is Taxi setup in a way so it returns promises. This way I can just await page animations and make my life a bit easier with keeping everything in sync (which I end up never doing properly and manually syncing values because I get messy and the delivery is coming up) .
• Scroll — which is simply a small lenis wrapper. Pretty standard tbh, just some utilities and helper functions as well as the setup code. I also have the logic to subscribe and unsubscrube functions from other components that need the scroll, so I’m sure everything is always in sync.
• Dom — holds all the DOM related code, both functional and animation related.
• Gl — that holds all the WebGl things, in this case pretty simple as it’s just a full screen quad that I use to change the background colour with nice and smooth values

In here there are my main (and only) resize() and render() functions. This way I’m sure I only call requestAnimationFrame() once render loop and have a single source of truth for my time value, and that listening and firing a single event for handling resize.

The animation framework relies on two primary JavaScript classes: an Observer and a Track.

An Observer , constructed using the IntersectionObserver API, triggers whenever a DOM node becomes visible or hidden in the viewport. This class is designed to be flexible, allowing developers to easily extend it and add custom functionality as needed.

Meanwhile, the Track class builds upon the Observer. It automatically listens to scroll and resize events, calculating a value between 0 and 1 that reflects the on-screen position of an element. This class is configurable, allowing you to set the start and end points of the tracking—effectively functioning as a bespoke ScrollTrigger. One of its key features is that it only renders content when the element is in view, leveraging its foundational Observer architecture to optimize performance.

A practical demonstration of how these classes function is evident on the case study pages.

In this setup, images and videos appear on the screen, activated by the Observer class. At the same time, the scaling effects applied to images at the top and bottom of the page are straightforward transformations driven by a Track on the parent element.

The page transition involves a simple element that changes color based on the links clicked. This element then wipes upwards and away, effectively signaling a change in the page.

The preloader on our website is more of a stylistic feature than a functional one—it doesn’t actually monitor loading progress, primarily because there isn’t much content to load. We introduced it as a creative enhancement due to the simplicity of the site.

Functionally, it consists of a text block that displays changing numbers. This text block is animated across the screen using a transformX property. The movement is controlled by a setInterval function, which triggers at progressively shorter intervals to simulate the loading process.

Scrambled Text

The text animation feature is based on GSAP’s ScrambleText plugin, enhanced with additional utilities for better control and stability.

Initially, we attempted to recreate the functionality from scratch to minimize text movement—given the large size of the text—but this proved challenging. We managed to stabilize the scrambling effect somewhat by reusing the original characters of each word exclusively, minimizing variations during each shuffle.

We also refined the interactive elements, such as ensuring that the hover effect does not activate during an ongoing animation. This was particularly important as some unintended combinations generated inappropriate words in French during the scrambles.

For the homepage, we replaced the hover-trigger with an onload activation for the menu/navigation centerpiece. We hardcoded the durations to synchronize perfectly with the desired timing of the visual effects.

Additionally, we integrated CSS animations to manage the visibility of elements, setting {item}.style.animationDelay directly in JavaScript. A Track object was employed to dynamically adjust the scale of elements based on their scroll position, enhancing the interactive visual experience.

Homepage images effect

This is probably the most interesting piece of it, and I needed a couple of tries to understand how to make it work, before realising that are really just absolute positioned images with a clip-path inset combined with a Track to sync it with the scroll that also controls the scaling of the inner image.

Color Change

It’s the only WebGl piece of this whole website.

Originally, the concept involved changing colors based on scroll interactions, but this was eventually moderated due to concerns about it becoming overly distracting. The implementation now involves a full-screen quad, constructed from a single triangle with remapped UV coordinates, which allows for a more flexible and responsive visual display.

The color values are dynamically retrieved from attributes specified in the DOM, which can be freely adjusted via the CMS. This setup involves converting color values from hexadecimal to vec3 format. Additionally, a couple of GSAP Tweens are employed to manage the animations for transitioning the colors in and out smoothly.

This use of WebGL ensures that the color transitions are not only smooth and visually appealing but also performant, avoiding the lag and choppiness that can occur with heavy CSS animations.

This is a minimal rebuild of the main homepage effect. Other than some CSS to make it functions, 90% of it happens in the track.js file, while everything is initialised from main.js .

The Track class is used as the base to create the ImageTransform one, which extends the functionality and transforms the image.

There’s a few helper functions to calculate the bounds on resize and to try and maximise performance it’s only called by lenis when a scroll is happening. Ideally should be wrapped by an Observer so it only calculates when is in view, but I kept it simpler for the demo.

It’s a simple website, but was a fun and interesting challenge for us nonetheless. Hit me up on Twitter if you have any questions or want to know more!

Tagged with: case-study webgl

Federico Valla

Independent creative director and dev working with agencies and brands on immersive, web based experiences.

Smooth Panel Scroll Effects

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