Mixing sustainable living and style is not easy. Much modern green-technology has yet to go ‘post-modern’, making it stand out in art-deco cities such as New York.

However urban high rises are beginning to spring up that are at the fore-front of conversation minded development. From solar panels on roofs, to grey-water systems in lavatories, to basements with ground-heated water pumps – green has become the new black. And black is always in.

Manhattan’s Battery Park is seeing some innovative green buildings being built in conjunction with the United States Green Building Council. Manhattan is home to some of the very first family-oriented high rises in the world that are built to green-design specifications.

Green family apartments are setting quite a precedent and the designs are paying off in many ways. Building a high-rise with green technology results in a saving of energy consumption of about 35%, and uses only half the water used in standard high-rise buildings.

Rooftop gardens are nothing new to New York City, but their use in green building, is beyond the aesthetic or horticultural. Over five layers of different technology ensure that the roots of plants used on the roof have a very good chance at long life-span, acting as a long-term natural insulator that keeps the building cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Water conservation is a large part of new green high-rise projects, but solar power also has its part to play. Contemporary solar paneling for tall buildings can now power the equivalent of fifteen homes.

Waste water treatment plants take these buildings to the next level in conservation. The unique element to green minded high rises is that they will often have an on-site water treatment system as opposed to relying upon out-sourced, council or contracted companies to do the work. Water that has been used by humans can be re-used without having to leave the building, for purposes such as irrigating the buildings green areas and flushing toilets. This is an example of a black-water treatment system (we’ve previously written about grey-water systems). The difference is that black-water systems also deal with organic waste which means matter that might in the past have ended up in the sea, is re-used wherever needed, from room heating to parks.

Population density means that high-rise buildings are going to be with us for some time, and so it does make sense to ensure they are as green as possible.

Green-minded design for high-rises can produce a very exciting, in-house demonstration of self-conversation and show just what is possible from the roof to the basement.