the capital B.

Dubai Metropolis Originally uploaded by twocentsworth

On Saturday I take off for Dubai. It is going to be quite an adventure. I’ve never been there before and I am keen to see what is going on in this crazy Emirate.

Follow my adventure on my blog.

Berlin Originally uploaded by henningthomsen

Well I have to admit that my blog has been somewhat quiet for a while. Work simply has been to absorbing and timeconsuming. Big joy therefore that we took off to Berlin in the winter holidays.

Berlin was great as ever. Sunshine and lots of walking around seeing the city, the buildings, museums and people watching. The Berlin Film Festival was on, and Potsdamer Platz and the area in front of the Hyatt Hotel was packed with paparazzis - this it seems is where the big stars stay. Saw Ben Kingsley from afar.

Took lots of pictures. Check them out on my Flickr pages.

Potsdamer Platz

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Holocaust Mahnmal

Worldchanging Home Page Originally uploaded by kitseeborg

I just discovered, that the editor of WorldChanging, Alex Steffen, has done us all the favour of ‘organizing’ the many stories brought on the WorldChanging webpages, in a topical overview.

Browse through articles on bright green principles, climate, food and many more topics.

Helenekilde, Tisvildeleje Originally uploaded by henningthomsen

Three days of DAC management course is terminated.

The seven of us - the new management group at DAC - spent 2½ days together at Helenekilde in Tisvildeleje. We told stories, discussed challenges, made plans, aborted plans, made new plans, told new stories - and reflected on old ones. It was extremely valuable. It was extremely productive. Our experiences and ideas will be turned into a 90-day plan soon to be presented to the entire staff at DAC.

Adam Vaughan of the Guardian has tried and tested environmentally friendly furniture, featuring recycled and sustainable materials.

Check out his choices here. Is it cool stuff?

Source: The Guardian.

Masdar, Dubai Originally uploaded by onikasi

WWF and the government of Abu Dhabi have launched a Sustainability Strategy to deliver the world’s greenest city.

Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, meeting or exceeding a set of stringent sustainability goals established under the “One Planet Living” programme established by WWF and environmental consultancy BioRegional.

The city is part of the Masdar Initiative, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted investment in the exploration, development and commercialisation of future energy sources and clean technology solutions. A model of the Masdar City will be unveiled on January 21, at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Pooran Desai OBE, co-founder of BioRegional and Technical Director of the One Planet Living Communities programme, said Masdar would be the largest and one of the most advanced sustainable communities in the world.

Read more about Masdar City. (Source: Environmental News Network)

Check out images of the new city on Foster & Partners website.

Leonardo DiCaprio & Al Gore @ Live Earth, Giant Stadium Originally uploaded by Hardcore Shutterbug

Stranded polar bears, melting glaciers, dried-out rivers and flooding on a horrific scale - these were the iconic images of 2007. So who is most able to stop this destruction to our world?

The Guardian panel (from the UK newspaper), taking nominations from key environmental figures, met to compile a list of our ultimate green heroes.

You will find nominations such as London mayor Ken Livingstone, german kansler Angela Merkel, US actor Leonardio DiCaprio, australian politician Peter Garrett, malaysian architect Ken Yeang, and a string of other devoted people.

Check out the list here.

Do you know someone who ought to be on the list?

Source: The Guardian

Facebook Originally uploaded by Laughing Squid

Why are the Danes suddenly so in to Facebook?

Check out Malene Charlotte Larsens article on the Danish Facebook craze on Kommunikationsforum.

Check out Malenes profile on Facebook.

Check out Malenes PhD-blog.

Are you on Facebook? And if, why?

ken yeang Originally uploaded by gianin

Dr. Ken Yeang is the Director of Design at Llewelyn Davies Yeang. He is regarded as one of the foremost eco-designers, theoreticians and thinkers in the field of green design and planning, with specialized expertise in designing signature high-rise buildings (both single-use and mixed-use).

His expertise in the field of green design originated from his early doctoral dissertation from Cambridge University (1971-74) followed by his ongoing R&D work which has since led to the publication of a number his treatises on the topic of ecological design and planning, bioclimatic design and high-rise design. His publications include: The Skyscraper: Bioclimatically Considered, John Wiley & Sons (UK) (Reprinted 1999); The Green Skyscraper: The Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings, Prestel, Munich, Germany (1999) (republished in Spanish by Guistavo Gilli, 2000); and his latest book, Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design, published by John Wiley & Sons (UK) (2006).

He is a member of the RIBA and is registered with ARB. Over his 35 years of professional practice, he has seen to completion over a hundred projects on site including having designed over 50 skyscrapers, with over 12 completed, and currently 3 towers under construction.

He is best-known as the inventor of the Bioclimatic Skyscraper (as a genre of low-energy skyscrapers based on bioclimatic design principles), and for his novel ideas on designing the high-rise building type as vertical urban design’.

References for Dr. Yeang:

‘…The sun, wind and rain for many architects are their enemies, but for Ken Yeang they are elements to be designed with…’, Brad Pitt (Actor) in the PBS Documentary Design e2 (2006).

‘…Ken Yeang has developed a distinctive architectural vocabulary that extends beyond questions of style to confront issues of sustainability and how we can build in harmony with the natural world (…) Among his many achievements as an architect, he has been to show the world how the tall building can be reconceived as an environmentally sensitive mechanism. At the core of his approach is his reversal of the established model of the high-rise…’, Lord Foster of Thames Bank OM (2006).

In 2005, Dr. Yeang received the award of DMPN from the Government of Malaysia that carries with it the title of ‘Dato’. The award is roughly regarded as equivalent to the UK’s OBE. He has also won numerous awards for his buildings that include the RAIA International Award, the Prinz Claus Award from Netherlands, a Hon. D. Lit from Sheffied University, a Hon. FAIA from the American Institute of Architects.

Selected project experience:

• Masterplan for Lakeside, Thurrock: Masterplan completion: 2006
• Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London: New imaging department facility including an ensuite angiography and MRI room.
• Masterplan for Chatham, Kent: Masterplan completion: 2007
• Signature Green High Rise Development for South London Towers: Concept completion 2006
• National Library, Singapore which received the Green Mark Platinum Award for green buildings
• Ispartakule Area Masterplan, Masterplan and Residential Tower design for the Ispartakule Ara, Istanbul, Turkey
• Premier City Masterplan, Masterplan and Residential Tower design for 1300 units, Premier City, Almaty, Kazakhstan
• University of Amsterdam, Netherlands: New complex to house 192,800 m2 of additional faculty buildings for research and teaching and associated facilities
• Elephant & Castle Eco-Towers, London, UK: Three eco-towers including a 35-storey residential tower of approximately 27,000 m2, and two 12-storey towers totaling approximately 10,000 m2, all sitting above retail and commercial base
• Bishopsgate Towers, London, UK: 157,000 m2 mixed use, mixed income sustainable high-density residential development in the Bishopsgate Goodsyard.

Dr. Ken Yeang spoke in Copenhagen at the IFHP 51st World Congress in september 2007.

Source: IFHP 2007 Copenhagen webpage

Næstved - 31 December 2007 Originally uploaded by henningthomsen

On your marks … get set … GO 2008!