potentially fun chores

i would promise to never complain about weekend chores if they all could be as pleasant as this:

Project description

Whereas supermarkets in most countries continue to use the drab monotony of trapezoidal sheet metal and precast concrete panels, some of Austria’s retail chain stores have been following a different track by developing individual buildings that blend in with the character of their surroundings for years now. Spar AG, one of the largest retail businesses in Austria with approximately 1500 shops, is no exception and has joined the trend. In recent months, the company has broken new ground by developing so-called ‘climate protection’ stores. They are part of a comprehensive business strategy to reduce – in comparison to current standards – the energy consumption of all refurbished and new stores by at least a third. The climate protection stores are considered prototypes for the technologies Spar intends to use to achieve these targets. For each one of the new builds, Spar hopes to be awarded a Gold Certificate by ÖGNI, the Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate.

Project details

building type: commercial and retail buildings, supermarket
support structure construction: mixed construction
facade construction: façade
roof construction: flat roof
support structure material: wood
facade material: metal, glass, steel, solar control glass
topic: green
issue no.: GREEN 2/2012

Name of architect

LOVE architecture and urbanism

Source

DETAIL Green 2012/2 

via: detail online
and: LOVE architecture

or this: 

Project description

Not far from the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, London, Sainsbury’s new “green” supermarket has opened its doors – conceived as a model ecological scheme for the second-largest trading concern in Britain. A fifth of the area designated for fresh produce is reserved for biologically cultivated wares. Thanks to the overall architectural concept, the energy needs for the present scheme are only half those of a comparable supermarket in a conventional form of construction. The aims of the architects are already evident externally. Large solar panels and wind turbines supply the energy for lighting the extensive company advertising signs. The curved south face is divided by the broad, glazed main entrance. The solid walls enclosing the supermarket are masked in the entrance area by untreated oak boarding. Along the adjoining facade areas, earth was banked up to a height of five metres and planted. This natural form of insulation protects the building against wind and extremes of heat and cold, thereby helping to ensure constant temperatures internally. Almost nothing is wasted. Ninety per cent of the energy given off by the refrigeration plant is recovered and used to warm the floor of the sales area. Rainwater from the roof is channelled to a pond on the north side and serves to water the plants, while waste food from the shop is sent to be composted and is later used as a natural fertilizer.

Project details

building type: commercial and retail buildings, supermarket
support structure construction: mixed construction
facade construction: façade
roof construction: pitched roof
support structure material: reinforced concrete
facade material: wood, glass, natural wood, laminated safety glass
roof material: solar modules, photovoltaics
interior work material: concrete, concrete block
topic: green, building with light, interior space/interior work
issue no.: 03/2004

Name of architect

Chetwood Associates

Source

DETAIL 03/2004 

via: detail online
and: chetwood architects