Qatar Sprouts a Towering Cactus Skyscraper

The Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture (MMAA) in Qatar is getting a brand new office building that takes the form of a towering cactus. Designed by Bangkok-based Aesthetics Architects, the

Mushroom Cities: Tropical Urban Rainforests

As cities stretch to accommodate the world's skyrocketing population, loyal Inhabitat followers are surely familiar with skyscrapers and other vertical solutions to cope with urban densification. Still,

MVRDV Designs Gwanggyo Green Power Center

Rotterdam-based architects MVRDV recently won the Gwanggyo City Centre Competition with their design of this incredible new city just south of Seoul, South Korea. Envisioned as a verdant acropolis of

Ask Nature: Using Biomimicry to Solve Design Problems

The Biomimicry Institute recently teamed up with Autodesk to launch AskNature.org, an incredible source of information for the growing community of professionals researching and applying the principles of

The Breezy, Beautiful Brazilian Leaf House

Outside of Rio de Janeiro, on a beautiful little beach with amazing blue water, sits a little house with a flowering roof that shades and protects like a big tropical banana leaf. Designed by Mareines +

The Watercube Wins Australia’s Highest Architecture Award

The Chinese National Aquatic Center, better known as the Watercube, recently won the most prestigious architecture award from the Australian Institute of Architecture! Although not officially a cube, the

The Solar Powered COM-BAT Spy Plane

In this season of specters and spooks, what could be scarier than a steel-winged robotic spy plane shaped like a bat? The aptly named COM-BATis a six-inch surveillance device that is powered by solar,

SPOOKY ECO HOUSE: The Dragspelhuset Accordion House

Photo courtesy of James Silverman Photography While this cabin looks spookily lizard-like, its unusual structure was created in response to Swedish environmental building regulations. The solar-powered

Solar LED ‘Leaf’ Streetlights by Jongoh Lee

What if instead of standard streetlights your nighttime walks were brightened by light-laden boughs of luminous leaves? That's the concept behind Jongoh Lee's elegant Invisible Streetlight, a

LILYPAD: Floating City for Climate Change Refugees

There are very few urban design solutions that address housing the inevitable tide of displaced people that could arise as oceans swell under global warming. Certainly none are as spectacular as this

HABITAT 2020: Future Smart ‘Living’ Architecture

One of the most effective ways to cut down the ecological footprint of buildings is to follow the lead of nature through biomimicry. Habitat 2020 is a future forward example of biomimetic architecture

Spiraling Calatrava Chicago Tower to be World’s 2nd tallest

Chicago's city skyline is about to be graced by a stunning new super-structure that will rise above its shore like a helical seashell. Designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the 2000 foot

NANO VENT-SKIN: CO2 Filtering Solar Micro-turbines!

There's nothing like a towering wind turbine to inspire NIMBY sentiment from neighbors and city councils alike. Enter a striking new alternative energy concept by Mexican-born Agustin Otegui, who works

SOLAR LILY PADS Proposed for Glasgow’s Clyde River

In a stunning example of biomimicry, Scottish architecture firm ZM Architecture have come up with a brilliant scheme to provide solar power to the city of Glasgow - and do so in a way that is provocative,

MILAN 2008: Helica Ceramics by Anouk Omlo Blossoms

The arrival of Salone Internazionale del Mobile marks not only the official start of spring in the design world, but also an inspiring cross-pollination of fresh ideas related to innovative furniture,

SMOOTH OPERATOR: The Clean Technology Tower

The Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill architectural firm has been busy stirring up the world's skyline with a slew of lean, green superstructures that push the energy-neutral envelope. AS+GG recently unveiled

ORQUIDEORAMA: A Beautiful Floating Meshwork of Modular Flower Tree Structures

We’re crazy about this gorgeous botanical garden in Medellin, Colombia that was renovated in 2008 by Plan B Architects. The Orquideorama is an organically expanding wooden meshwork of modular

Miami Art Museum by Herzog & De Meuron

When the Miami Art Museum required a new headquarters they decided to hire famous Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. They were expecting an incredible design worthy of a cosmopolitan

SAN FRANCISCO IN 2108? – The Hydro-Net Vision of the Future

San Francisco is already one of the greenest cities in the US, but check out this wild new concept from IwamotoScott Architects to completely remake the city into an ecotopia by 2108. The design,