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When it comes to sustainability in the craft brewing industry, more often than not the focus is on ingredients. Organic and sustainable hops and malts are old news at this point and are considered by most people to be good practice rather than true sustainability. Some breweries, however, have taken the concept of sustainability and applied it not only to their products but to their build-outs and operational models. Spearheading this movement toward greener building for craft breweries is Mother Earth Brewing in Kinston, North Carolina.

John McAslan + Partners created a canopied addition to the historic King's Cross Station, leaving the original western facade intact.

Heralded for its historical importance but rather drab, London’s King's Cross Station recently underwent a multimillion dollar redevelopment, reopening to the public on March 19, 2012. The newly overhauled King’s Cross Station was lit up in celebratory bright colors, creating a concert-like atmosphere – appropriate to its new youthful vibe. It was a timely redevelopment, as the XXX Olympic Summer Games will be held in London in 2012. The station’s western concourse, at 7,500 m2, is Europe’s largest single-span station structure. Each year 45 million people pass through King’s Cross Station, and that number is predicted to rise by 10 million by 2020.

Improvements in horizontal well drilling and subsurface rock fracturing technologies have greatly enhanced natural gas production in North America over the past several years. These technologies have significantly increased our known natural gas reserves in shale plays across the U.S., the largest in many ways being the Marcellus Shale. Natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale formation throughout southern New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, western Maryland, and most of West Virginia can now be economically recovered and marketed. The Marcellus Shale formation serves as a good illustration for this industry boom. Jim Daley of Greenhorne & O’Mara Consulting Engineers helped Buildipedia.com investigate the basic engineering considerations of natural gas drilling and collection systems, along with the more traditional construction tasks required by this industry: surveys and stormwater management, as well as road, bridge, and pipeline construction.

Columbus, Indiana is an architectural destination that continues to reinvent itself. A major infusion of modernist structures in the mid-20th Century established a precedent for place building that continues today.

Most people who know and love Columbus, Indiana have moved beyond its story of unlikeliness. Still, a great deal of what’s written about Columbus plays up the improbability angle: how does a city like this, with more than 70 modernist masterpieces designed by internationally-acclaimed architects and artists, spring out of soybean fields? Unlike the obvious architectural hubs in the United States, such as Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., Columbus has a ‘have-to-see-it-to-believe-it’ quality. But it has earned its stripes: the American Institute of Architects rated it sixth in the U.S. for architectural innovation and design— next in line after the aforementioned cities.

Structural and mechanical systems used in the Swenson Civil Engineering Building, located on the University of Minnesota Duluth campus, serve as a teaching tool for the program’s students.

In 2008, The University of Minnesota Duluth began offering a B.S. in Civil Engineering. The new program required the construction of its own building, and Ross Barney Architects were hired to design the 35,300 sq. ft James I. Swenson Civil Engineering Building, which was completed in 2010.

Rooftop decks can be a smart value-add to your home. Learn the essentials here.

As large corporations face increasing pressure from the public to institute sustainable marketing practices, “green” advertising innovations have finally taken root within marketing budgets.

Get a preview of what one billion dollars will do at the San Diego International Airport’s Terminal 2

This summer, the second portion of the High Line will open between West 20th and 30th Streets along the west side of Manhattan. An elevated railway had been abandoned for decades, a piece of urban detritus with grass growing between the tracks. Now it is teeming with wildflowers, having recently been transformed into an urban park known as the High Line, designed by James Corner Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The surrounding West Chelsea neighborhood, a popular location for art galleries and nightclubs, has experienced a surge in development in the form of luxury residential towers, pressing westward to claim views of the High Line. The HL23, located at West 23rd Street and 10th Avenue, not only succeeds in pushing to the front of the line, it billows over.

New York City's infamous Bowery is quickly evolving into a trophy case for Pritzker Prize-winning architects. First, SANAA stacked their blocky New Museum among the area's restaurant supply stores, then the rippling facade of Morphosis's new academic building redefined nearby Cooper Square. The latest modern injection into the botoxed Bowery is Foster + Partners' Sperone Westwater Gallery. Its defining feature? The elevator.

Building a house over water can be challenging, but floating homes offer a unique way to connect with the landcape.

When Vandeventer + Carlander Architects, LLC were asked to create a Lake Union residence, it was assumed that they would be thinking outside the box, but oddly this time their thinking was required to be within a box. The Lake Union Floating home, located in the heart of downtown Seattle, is not the only residence of its kind, although it is far from being a commonplace building type in the United States. The landscape in the Seattle region is interlaced with waterways and has a long tradition of floating homes that take advantage of the area's gorgeous scenery. However, construction of the Lake Union Floating home presented challenges as well as advantages, and Vandeventer + Carlander Architects’ design navigated the site’s limitations while capturing its many assets.

Water is essential to grass. Healthy grass is composed of 75 - 85% water, and water assists with seed germination, maintaining plant temperature, and tissue development, along with food and nutrient processes. Without water, grass is susceptible to disease, will brown and wilt and, although very resilient, may die. Healthy, lush, green grass is achieved from thorough, regular watering, which develops deep, drought-resistant roots. The amount of water, frequency, and method of watering depends on where you live, what type of grass you grow, and how you approach completing the task. Common methods include manual watering and automatic sprinkler systems.