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Ben Sin

Although the term 'green' is subjective and covers a wide range of elements, environmental groups say these five  buildings are among the most eco-friendly in the world:
Independence Station, Oregon  
Completed last year, this 57,000 square foot plaza - with offices, home units, restaurants and shops - is powered mostly by the sun and vegetable oil from its restaurants. Throw in  floor heating and cooling, and an indoor vertical garden, and this could be the greenest building in the world.   
Bank of America Tower, New York 
The first building to be certified platinum (highest honour) by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Council, the 55-storey tower in midtown Manhattan dedicates a floor to a natural-gas-powered cogeneration plant, which captures heat energy that would otherwise be wasted, and features a massive water tank in the basement of the building that freezes enough water to  provide a quarter of its air conditioning needs during the day.  
Pixel Building, Melbourne 
Australian construction firm Grocon's colourful office uses energy generated from solar panels and wind turbines. Other green elements include a raised floor (for cooler air circulation) and a vacuum flushing system that uses minimal water. 
The Robert Redford Building Santa Monica, California 
This 15,000 square foot, three-storey structure, which serves as the Southern California headquarters of the Natural Resources Defence Council, is considered to be one of the greenest buildings in the world for its creative reusable water system - rainwater is collected for toilet flushes - and  design that maximises the use of sunlight.  
Taipei Public Library, Beitou branch, Taiwan  
Completed in 2006, the Taipei Public Library was hailed as one of East Asia's most eco-friendly buildings for its wooden structure, large windows and solar panels. The developers  even built an electronic display next to the front desk that shows how much energy is being used. 
(Sources: US Green Building Council; Bloomberg)



The eco-friendly five