Oasis Tower is a Spiraling Vertical Farm for Dubai

Dubai is quickly emerging from the desert sands and more people are moving into the famed city. With limited land available for agriculture already, Dubai may soon be in need of an alternative solution for growing food for its residents. One solution could be this Oasis Tower vertical farm designed by Rahul Surin. Covered in ETFE and powered by renewable energy, this farm could grow enough food to feed up to 40,000 people while providing housing for some Dubai residents.

Located in close proximity to the center of Dubai, the Oasis Tower would have clear views of the Burj Khalifa. Surrounding the tower are extensive grounds as well as a lake and a number of ponds at the base of the tower. The skyscraper itself is composed of three towers spiraling around a central core. The exterior is covered in ETFE cushions, which provides both structure and insulation for the interior. A solar coating would be painted onto the exterior of the ETFE to generate power.

The tower would also be powered by vertical axis wind turbines placed in between the floors of the central tower. Grey water would be treated and reused, and a methane digester utilizes the waste created on-site to generate even more power. Inside, the tower would be mainly designated for food crops, but some of the floors would be available for housing units. Surin estimates that a vertical farm like this would be able to feed 40,000 people and help divert a food shortage crisis.

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Amazing House Built From 6 Million Beer Bottles

If you read Inhabitat, chances are you’re a pretty avid recycler – but we’re pretty sure that you’re no match for Tito Ingenieri, who takes his recycling a bit further than your average sorting between paper, glass and plastic. He’s spent the last 19 years building a giant house in Quilmes, Buenos Aires out of over 6 million beer bottles! We can only hope he had a frat house nearby to help him source materials.

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University Of North Texas to Build a LEED College Football Stadium

Inhabitat reader Erin tells us that the University of North Texas is in the midst of building another LEED certified college football stadium. The first LEED certified college football stadium opened in September 2009 at the University of Minnesota with their TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. After The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved UNT’s proposal back in October the university held a groundbreaking ceremony to commemorate the special occasion. The new stadium will replace the 57-year-old Fouts Field, and is one of many green projects happening on campus as part of the UNT “We Mean Green” initiative.

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Italian Architecture on the court side

Designed by Italian firm, Tam Architecture, the idea for the complex was conceived when the architects noticed the leftover containers lying around the construction site and wanted to reuse them. Using them to provide the international staff of the cardiac center with a place to stay seemed like the perfect opportunity. The housing units are 20 sqm and consist of a bedroom, a bathroom and a small veranda on the court side. There is also a cafeteria which is made out of smaller 7 ft x 40 ft containers.

In addition to being fabricated out of shipping containers that were already at the site (no extra fuel costs or shipping emissions!), Tam took extra measures to make the complex energy-efficient. The containers are insulated with a layer system: 5 cm insulating panels on the inside and a second insulated roof and a bamboo brise soleil panel system on the outside, meaning that the sun’s rays never make contact with the containers. Solar panels supply hot water for the compound and an air conditioning system that utilizes photovoltaic panels and chilling machines has been tested for the complex.

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Stacked Shipping Container Medical Complex in Sudan

You know how much we love shipping container architecture here at Inhabitat, and we get especially excited about buildings that contribute to the greater good of an area or community. Well, we couldn't have found a more shining example of that than this beautiful medical complex in Soba, Sudan. The breezy complex sits right near the Nile river around a courtyard of mango trees, and is constructed of discarded 90 ft x 20 ft containers taken right from the construction site of the adjacent Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery.

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