Leafy Vertical Garden Mural Beautifies a Boarded Netherlands Office

This Jacket Made From Pen Caps by Maison Martin Margiela Is On Display In Rotterdam

It's no secret that here at Inhabitat, we're fans of repurposing old materials into new, useful pieces. Maison Martin Margiela took those hunks of excess plastic that sit at the end of our pens and

Foster and Partners’ Towering Hermatage Plaza in Paris Gets the Green Light

Foster + Partners’ massive Hermatage Plaza will be placed right on the Seine River east of La Défense as part as an effort to revitalize the area. The core design strategy is the twist in the

Decaying 17th Century Italian Farmhouse Preserved as Sustainable Public Space in Milan

The groups see the project as a way of creating opportunities for the community to come together, supporting social inclusion. And by the look of their photo gallery they are already enjoying the open

Dutch Earnest Studio’s Multifunctional Furniture is More Than the Sum of Its Parts

Rotterdam-based designer Rachel Griffin created her multi-functional “Sum of the Parts” furniture collection by questioning why our objects are designed to be static when almost everything

Industrial Chic Dining Pods Pop up at Fabbrica Restaurant in The Netherlands

Fabbrica Rotterdam has a similar layout but the difference between that restaurant and the new one in Bergen lies in the materials. Whereas Rotterdam is shiny and glittery with massive chandeliers hanging

BP’s Green-Roofed Refinery Office in The Netherlands is Explosion Proof

The arced building is located in the transition zone between the harsh industrial landscape of the refinery and the lush, green wetlands of the Brielsemeer directly across the Hartel Canal. The man-made

Wood Research Institute NL Transformed Into Cozy Quarters with Sustainable Pine Plexwood

The SHR Wood Research Institute in the Netherlands knew that when it came time to renovate their office space, they'd have to be as innovative with their material choices as possible. Working with PFS

High-Tech Supermarket Farm to Grow Food for Cities in The Netherlands

Back in the day, a polder in the Netherlands was capable of providing all the necessary food for a nearby town. As the nation's population has grown and diversified it relies less on locally produced food

LEVS Architecten’s Beautifully Restored Dutch Barn Helps Vulnerable Youngsters Find Their Way

The barn consists of 2 living areas for 20 people, and even has an old bell that was lovingly restored. The home was fitted with tall bay windows that let in natural light, and clad in weathered corten

Study Finds Amazon.com’s “Free” Shipping Has a High Moral Cost

Many of us take advantage of Amazon.com’s free shipping offer, adding one or two more cheap items to our baskets to achieve the $25 minimum. But what we may not realize is the real moral cost of

Folkestone’s Seafront Rocksalt Restaurant Serves up Sustainable Seafood

From the street, the blackened exterior of the of Rocksalt appears as a curvilinear façade resembling a historic waterfront military fort. The architects used charred larchwood to achieve the facade's

Interview: Ruud Visser Transforms Old Churches and Water Towers Into Incredible Modern Homes

According to Visser, he first became interested in the preservation of old buildings when studying at the University of Delft in southern Holland. Since then, he has developed a strong belief in the

Stunning Saw-Toothed Roof Floods Swiss Vocational School With Light

The school serves as a training center for future stars of the building industry. It houses drafting studios, wood shops, and classrooms, and also has an outdoor teaching area. Since the area is located

Casa Cabrela Is a Spectacular Modern Structure Surrounding Beautiful Stone Ruins

The original ruins, complete with stone doorway and windows, were preserved and repurposed. Since the ruins were lacking a roof, Organica was inspired to use the space as an enclosed outdoor area.

Riverside Medical Center Gets a Gorgeous New Green Roofed Addition

Designed by landscaping company Ambius, the green roof crowns the new East Tower addition, which houses 160,000 square feet of new operating, delivery, ICU, and private patient rooms. The facilities in

Art Collector’s Flat Renovated with Reclaimed Wood from the Rotterdam Rijksmuseum

Located on the waterfront in Belgium, the large loft is bookended with large windows overlooking the Rubensplein. Ooze wanted to evoke a gallery-like setting that would not compete with the art work, so

Futuro Prefab: Spaceship-Shaped 1960s House of the Future Lands in Rotterdam

The Futuro prefab stands 10 feet high, is 26 feet in diameter, and comes complete with an airplane hatch entrance. Suuronen chose a round design not only for its strength, but also for its ability to feel

Bright Green Las Palmas Parasite Hangs on the Shoulder of Abandoned Rotterdam Warehouse

As the featured project of the exhibition, Las Palmas is a protype prefabricated home. Perched atop the warehouse’s elevator shaft, the fluorescent yellow residence hangs on the shoulder of the

MIT’s New Tools for Sustainability-Minded Designers and Developers

MIT researchers, in collaboration with China’s Tsinghua University, have recently created a new set of tools to evaluate the energy performance of large-scale development projects. The tools are a

Former Gin Distillery Transformed into Thriving Cultural Center in Holland

Originally constructed in 1692, the historic building remains remarkably intact. The design team remodeled both the exterior and interior to give it a new form and an upscale design. Complete with a youth

OMA’s Pixelated Stadskantoor Skyscraper Scores BREEAM Excellent

Office for Metropolitan Architecture won the commission in 2009 with an unorthodox design that met the use requirements set by the city while rising to the challenge of being the “most sustainable

Black Pearl House: Stunning Dutch Renovation is Harmoniously Eclectic

The reworking of the dilapidated building was anything but modest. The ground floor is now an open-air wood shop that leads to a bamboo garden patio in the back. The narrow, white stairs open to the main

Coachella’s Human Powered DJ Booth Blasts Renewable Blips and Bleeps

The 2011 Coachella Music Festival featured a DJ booth powered by an energy generating playground. Festival goers could choose from a series of different electricity producing installations that fed into a

Incredible Sculptures You Won’t Believe Are Made of Found Wood Scraps

Van der Ende isn't just one of those guys who collects the odd scrap here and there - he hoards wood like squirrels stock up on acorns for the winter. His sculptures rely on thousands of pieces of scrap

Diederik Schneemann’s Artpieces Made of Flip Flops Burst with Color and Energy

You might think that the life of your flip-flop is over once the strap snaps, but Rotterdam-based designer Diederik Schneemann knows better. He gathers flip-flops that have traveled far and wide before

Wind and Solar Powered Shipping Container Unfolds Into Traveling Cultural Exhibition

Kalliwoda describes his project as polliniferous, meaning it has the ability to carry pollen -- in this case, pollen is a metaphor for knowledge. World In A Shell is designed to carry knowledge around the

Villa Rotterdam: Ooze Architects Wraps a House With a Spectacular Geometric Skin

Ooze Architects was first hired to design a new kitchen, but the architects' scope of work quickly evolved into a complete renovation and extension - even though the house had been extended several times