inhabitat

green building materials

brown building blocks in a pile

Potato peels offer a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials

Many of the typical building materials used in construction — like medium-density fiberboard (MDF) — contain...

home design with slanted roof covered in solar panels

1960s home remodeled with energy-efficient and non-toxic hempcrete

When homeowner Pam Bosch was looking for ways to remodel her 1960s home in Bellingham, Washington, she was determined...

turnips, carrots, and beets

Green foods could clean up the construction industry

We've all heard of eating our vegetables, but what about building with them? A new study by Lancaster University's...

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The world’s first “Biological House” opens in Denmark

Danish firm Een til Een just unveiled the world's first "Biological House." The designers developed a process that...

Anwa Junior Academy, Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), Kenya, sustainable school, green school, locally sourced wood, bamboo, local building materials, green building materials, green architecture

New green school in Kibera slum replaces original started by concerned Kenyan mothers

A group of concerned mothers started the Anwa primary school in Kibera, Kenya, where extremely disadvantaged children...

Forschungs + Architekturbüro AG, cow barn, barn design, barn renovation, stick structures, natural building materials, green building materials, sustainable building materials, cow bard design, green roof, grass-topped roof, green design, agriculture, basel barn, swiss architecture

Beautiful cow barn in Basel is made of tree branches topped with a grassy roof

Swiss architects Forschungs + Architekturbüro AG have made some lucky cows very happy with a stunning new barn...

Sun Room pavilion, bamboo, shelter, pavilion, China, University of Hong Kong (HKU), weaving, green architecture, green building materials, digital fabrication, CNC machine

Woven bamboo pavilion offers shelter to passion fruit farmers in China

A team of students at the University of Hong Kong is exploring the limitless potential of bamboo as a sustainable...

Dome of Visions, Metsä Wood, Atelier Kristoffer Tejlgaard, geodesic dome, curved wooden beams, laminated veneer, sustainable wood, Kerto LVL, greenhouse, green building materials, green architecture

Spectacular ‘Dome of Visions’ greenhouse pushes the envelope for wood construction

Finnish company Metsä Wood is known for pushing the envelope when it comes to building with wood. Their latest...

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Sustainable Konbit shelter replaces home destroyed by Haiti earthquake

Many Haitians are still trying to rebuild their lives seven years after a powerful earthquake devastated much of...

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Beautiful bamboo building withstands floods and storms in Vietnam

Architecture firm RÂU ARCH created this beautiful thatched roof building burrowed deep into the lush rainforests...

TZANNES architects, International House Sydney, cross laminated timber, timber construction, timber homes, timber buildings, mass timber construction, CLT buildings, green building materials, recycled timber, Barangaroo South, 3D digital documentation, recycled timber, sustainable timber, green building, green design, sustainable design, green architecture, australian architecture,

Australia’s largest commercial timber building rises in Sydney

Timber constructions are rapidly carving their rightful place in urban environments all over the world, and now,...

Grown Structures, Aleksi Vesaluoma, Brunel University London, Astudio, mycelium, mushrooms, green building materials, zero waste, natural building material, biomimetics, green architecture

These amazing zero-waste buildings were grown from mushrooms

Could the buildings of the future be grown instead of built? Brunel University student Aleksi Vesaluoma has found...

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Dilapidated 1800s dairy barn resurrected into a stunning home in Wyoming

Architecture firm JLF Architects has breathed new life into a dilapidated 1800s dairy barn by transforming it into...

Forest in the Sky, Vietnam green residences, vertical walls, green design, green residencial towers, eco friendly homes, green living, garden walls, rooftop garden, vietnam residences, vietnamese architecture, energy efficient design, efficient lighting, green building materials, eco living, green apartments, sutainable building, green homes, eco friendly design,

Vietnam’s “Forest in the Sky” apartment building is topped with 50,000 trees

This lush residential complex in Hanoi takes green living to the extreme. More than 50,000 trees, shrubs and colorful...

Husk-to-Home, affordable housing, rice husk, Bourns College of Engineering, sustainable building material, termite-resistant materials, green building materials, green architecture, waste materials

Students use rice husks to build affordable homes in the Philippines

Rice husks used to be considered a waste product good for nothing but fire or landfills, but now enterprising companies...

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15 stunning examples of interior design using natural stone

Successful interior design creates aesthetically pleasing and healthy indoor environments that enhance how we live,...

Center of Hope Haiti, Thrive Architecture, Building Goodness Foundation, haiti earthquake, buiding in haiti, haiti schools, haiti rebuild, school design, humanitarian design, LED lighting, energy conservation, passive energy, recycled insulation, repurposed styrofoam, locally-sourced materials, green building materials, upcycled building materials

Haiti renovation project boosts community using local labor and materials

Nothing warms our design-loving hearts like a project built by and for communities, and with local resources to...

Biblothèque Laure-Conan, Laure Conan Library, Hôtel de Ville de La Malbaie, Laure Conan Library, library design, St. Lawrence River hotel, canada architecture, sustainable architecture, green building materials, green design, locally-sourced building materials, wood siding, urban design

Contemporary library melds into the landscape thanks to locally-sourced materials

There are few things as joyous as curling up with a good book while snow lightly falls outside the window. Local...

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How Habitat for Humanity recycles the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree to build homes for those in need

We contacted Habitat for Humanity to get the full story behind what happened to the ghosts of Christmas trees...

Zero Energy, Red Hook Studio, passive house music studio, passive houses nyc, passive building, green building, R-25 walls, R-100 roof, triple-pane windows, heat recovery ventilation, air-source heat pump, resilient building, green building materials,

Red Hook Passive House music studio will use 90% less energy than buildings built to code

If Passive Home design is music to your ears, you'll think architect Ryan Enschede's new Red Hook music studio...

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Gaza girls subvert Israeli blockade with building bricks made from rubble

Two engineering graduates from the Islamic University of Gaza have defied all stereotypes with their design of...

Natural stone interior, natural stone wall, stone interior wall

How stone can help you create a more sustainable home

From the pyramids at Giza, to Stonehenge, to Machu Picchu, it is no coincidence that all of the longest lasting...

Chlorella Oxygen Pavilion, Adam Miklosi, algaetecture, algae architecture, algae design, chlorella, algae, biodesign, Urban Pure, BioTower, Algaevator, Aquaponic Future Housing, Hybrid Fibrous Morphologies, Jellyfish Lodge, Oculus,Self Healing House, Chlorella paviliion, Biodesign Competition, bio design competition, biodesign futures, Architecture, Green Building, design competition, design competitions, xprize, xprize competition, X-prize for regenerative building, biodesigned futures competition, green building, green design, biomimicry, design for health, humanitarian design, resilient design, sustainable design, green building materials, sustainable materials, synthetic biology, bio-printing

Biodesign Competition winners announced – algae takes center stage

When it comes to design, mother nature has a lot to teach us. The field of Biodesign has emerged as an exciting...

Biodesign Competition to ideate the X-Prize for regenerative building

Biodesign Architecture Competition extends deadline to Sept 6th

Calling all future-forward architects and designers! How can we create buildings that heal themselves, ourselves,...

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Sublime reading cabin in upstate New York built with timber felled on site

According to the architects, the timber cabin's construction came about after building a main home nearby. The...

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First Cradle to Cradle Platinum certified product is reclaimed Bark House shingle

The unique bark shingles met the Platinum requirements in all five C2C certification categories: material health,...

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Designers, get ready for the BioDesign Competition – cash prize of $1000

Calling all future-looking designers and architects! We've got a cool new design competition coming up for you...

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Sustainable Home Building, Now and Onward: An Interview With Past President of the AIA | LA, Stuart Magruder

A growing number of architects are considering sustainability and the environment in their designs, and luckily...

Waugh Thistleton, timber structure, London, cross-laminated timber, glued laminated timber, glulam, green building materials, timber building, green architecture

New timber office building will be among the tallest of its kind in London

Architecture firm Waugh Thistleton designed an office block in London's Shoreditch district meant to be built entirely...

green roof home in Ecuador, Ángel Hevia Antuña, Luis Velasco Roldan, Ecuador traditional building techniques, green architecture Ecuador, wooden vernacular structure, lightweight wooden home in Ecuador

Tiny green-roofed house proves the superiority of Ecuador’s traditional construction techniques

Using locally-sourced natural materials, the architects managed to build the structure to be easily dismantled...

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