inhabitat

local materials

Stone home with outdoor patio surrounded by forest

This weekend home in Mexico blends in with the forest landscape

Mexican architecture firm AM30 Taller de Arquitectura has inserted a site-specific weekend home into a forested...

exterior view of solar powered house

Solar-powered mountain home is a sustainable prototype for Aspen development

Like in many places across the U.S., the real estate market is booming in Aspen, Colorado. And, as companies move...

front view of an oak barn with nearby trees

Gorgeous barn is built of reclaimed, century-old oaks from the site itself

In 2017, Dutch design firm HilberinkBosch Architects found out that seven of their century-old oak trees were in...

The Kumaon by Zowa Architects, The Kumaon in Uttarakhand, The Kumaon in India, The Kumaon hotel, Indian Himalayas rustic hotel, bamboo clad concrete buildings, bamboo clad hotels, rainwater harvesting hotel

Soak in views of the Indian Himalayas at this bamboo-clad hotel villa

Perched high in the mountains of Uttarakhand, India sits The Kumaon, a rustic yet elegant hotel with breathtaking...

Laboratory for Visionary Architecture youth hostel, youth hostel Bayreuth, Y-shaped architecture, modular wooden wall system, modular custom built-in furniture, contemporary youth hostel, LAVA youth hostel, Bayreuth youth hostel by LAVA, sports youth hostel in Germany

Y-shaped German hostel looks at sustainability from all angles

A newly opened youth hostel in Bayreuth, Germany offers much more than just a clean bed and shower—the 180-bed...

Tower of Winds, temporary structures, renewable lifespan, modular design, modular architecture, Tram-Anh Nyugen, Impermanent Devices, Périphérique, Paris, local materials, interactive facade

Tower of Winds embraces impermanence with a striking kinetic facade

The Tower of Winds reimagines common water reservoirs as structures in constant evolution. Designed as a competition...

Bird Nest luxury suite, Bird Nest by Daniel Pouzet, Bird Nest Kenya, Bird Nest luxury hotel, NAY PALAD Bird Nest, Bird Nest Segera Retreat, Segera Retreat hotel, luxury hotel in Kenya, luxury hotel Laikipia

Kenya’s Bird Nest is a breathtaking safari suite in the African wilderness

If we ever won the lottery, this breathtaking Bird Nest in Kenya is where we’d like to spend the night. The award-winning...

Observation Tower Negenoord by De Gouden Liniaal Architecten, Maasvalley Riverpark observation tower, rammed earth observation tower, rammed earth and concrete architecture, gravel clay rammed earth, sandblasted concrete core

Rammed-earth walls clad an observation tower to blend into a Belgian nature reserve

Mother Nature has reclaimed a former gravel extraction area in Maasvalley Riverpark, a 2,500-hectare nature reserve...

Lifehaus, Nizar Haddad, NH-Architectes, Lebanon, sustainability, off-grid, low-cost, energy neutral, sustainable building, sustainable home, sustainable homes, architecture, design, sustainable architecture, clean energy, renewable energy, passive design, rainwater collection, recycled materials, local materials

Amazing low-cost, off-grid Lifehaus homes are made from recycled materials

This amazing home by Lifehaus blends low-cost off-grid appeal with with holistic living and luxurious details....

Slate Cabin, Snowdonia National Park, cabin, Trias, local materials, reclaimed materials, green architecture, natural light, birch, slate tiles, stone facade

This tiny off-grid cabin in the UK is clad with reclaimed slate tiles

This rustic writer's retreat in UK's Snowdonia National Park is covered with local stone and slate tiles reclaimed...

Layer House by Robson Rak Architects and Interior Designers, Robson Rak Architects and Interior Designers, Layer House in Victoria, Layer House Australia, Australia sustainable architecture, rammed earth houses, rammed earth contemporary home, rammed earth and timber architecture

Elegant Australian home shows the beauty and toughness of rammed earth

Rammed earth may be an ancient building material, but the modern homes that use compact earth are anything but...

University of California San Diego, NASA, Mars, Mars soil, Mars soil simulant, Mars dirt, Mars dirt simulant, Martian, Martian soil, Martian dirt, block, blocks, brick, bricks, building material, building materials, local material, local materials, locally sourced material, locally sourced materials

Scientists create super-strong bricks from mars-like soil

Future Mars dwellers may actually be able to use locally-sourced materials for their buildings. Four University...

Nguyen Huy Hai, Do Van Thoan, Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, Nguyen Dac Nguyen, Nguyen Dang Quang, Ba Vi mountain, green space, solar gain, Mian Farm Cottage, Idee Architects,

Mian Farm Cottage is a lush getaway from city life with an on-site farm

Tucked in a grapefruit grove in Vietnam sits the Mian Farm Cottage, a remodeled home that features ample green...

Zubabox by Squire and Partners, Zubabox by Computer Aid International, solar learning lab, Cazuca Zubabox, Zubabox redesigned, Zubabox computer lab, shipping container computer lab, Solar energy learning lab in remote areas, converted shipping container into solar learning lab

Old shipping container recycled into solar-powered learning lab in Colombia

Computer Aid International first approached Squire and Partners in 2014 for a more cost-effective and enjoyable...

ecopods, solar-power EcoPods, The Azores EcoPods, TADA The Azores, sustainable EcoPods the Azores, TADA, John Stenton, flat-packed EcoPods, off-grid EcoPods

Solar-powered EcoPods are flat-packed tiny homes with a low environmental footprint

"We recognize a window of opportunity to develop a network of pop up eco-resorts using locally-sourced materials,...

Taliesin – Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, Little Shelters, Taliesin West, temporary shelter in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona shelter, shelter built from local materials

Taliesin West students built protective desert shelters using mostly local materials

The project was initially conceived as individual exercises where Daniel Chapman, Mark-Thomas Cordova, Jaime Inostroza,...

Njoro Children’s Library by Patricia Erimescu, Patricia Erimescu in Tanzania, Patricia Erimescu, Mailisita architecture, Tanzania library, children’s library, compressed earth architecture

Off-grid Njoro Children’s Library in Tanzania keeps naturally cool with compressed earth

Since the Njoro Children’s Library is located in a fairly remote area on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro,...

Seaside Retreat by Patterson Associates, remote cabin in New Zealand, honeymoon destination New Zealand, South Pacific cove architecture, turf-roofed architecture,

Remote eco-cabin is a gorgeous seaside getaway in New Zealand

The Seaside Retreat may be small, but the remote cabin commands magnificent views of the Bay and the distant Rocky...

Kigutu, Burundi, corrugated metal, Louise Braverman, Village Health Works Staff Housing, Village Health Works, Village Health Works by Louise Braverman, solar array, solar power, off grid, off grid housing, rainwater collection, solar water heaters, local materials,

Off-grid healthcare housing is powered entirely by solar in Burundi

Braverman created the self-sufficient Village Health Works Staffing Housing project as part of a wider masterplan...

Spooky buildings, haunted homes, GEOtube, The Crypt Gallery, Wim Delvoye, Faulders Studio, Dubai, saline home, local materials, London, x-ray windows, Hang Nga, Vietnam, Crazy House, spooky eco-house, accordion house, sweden, 24H architecture, dragsplhuset, in vitro habitat, archinode, terreform, green design, eco design, sustainable design

Top 6 Creepiest Buildings for a Frightful Halloween

Check out the 6 Creepiest Buildings for a Frightful Halloween: GEOtube is a Building That Grows its Own Weblike...

dan hisel, dan hisel architecture, sauna, cadyville sauna, upstate new york, mirrored sauna, local materials

Hide from the world at this mirrored sauna that disappears into the woods

The Cadyville Sauna is simple but smart like Hisel's other designs. The structure was built from local western...

Snohetta, isolated cabin, Norway, Bjellandsbu - Åkrafjorden, angular green roof, local materials, cozy interiors,

Tiny isolated cabin in Norway is only accessible by foot or horse

Architecture firm Snøhetta built a stunning remote cabin that is only accessible by foot or on a horse. Located...

Chaukor Studio, Chaukor studio school, modular school, modular structure, plug n play structure, plug n play school, modular building, prefab building, local materials, green building, green school, sustainable building, sustainable school, sustainable materials, solar power, thermal power

Plug n Play is a modular classroom that can be modified to suit local conditions

Chakour Studios is aiming to provide creative and comfortable spaces for children where they can learn and play using...

Edi table, Nikari table, Edit by Nikari, Nikari furniture, reader submission, renewable energy, local wood, local materials, renewable materials, renewable energy, sustainable furniture, sustainable interiors, sustainable home goods

EDI is a sleek, modern table made out of local, renewable wood using renewable energy

EDI is a new table made using 100% renewable materials and 100% renewable energy by Finnish brand Nikari. Nikari...

texas a&m, design for health, environmental design, roatan island hospital, roatan island, honduras hospital, architecture student design, humanitarian architecture

Texas A&M students design much-needed new hospital for Roatán Island, Honduras

Roatán Island lies around 35 miles off the coast of Honduras, and is home to a population of some 100,000 people—yet...

green design, eco design, sustainable design, CORE Architecture, Charles Gane, Monument Channel House, Georgian Bay Ontario, modern cottage, solar powered cottage

CORE designs solar-powered holiday home for founder’s family

Perched on a remote rocky hill that overlooks Georgian Bay, the Monument Channel holiday house was built primarily...

House SPI, Spado Architects, Alpine farmhouse, Austria, gable roof, larch, locally sourced larch, locally sourced materials, local materials, Carinthia, sunshades Görtschitz Valley

Local larch clads this contemporary Alpine farmhouse in Austria

The House SPI was built with a clean and expressive silhouette that stacks a gable wood-clad volume atop a smaller...

Earth Home Project, The Earth Home Project, Pakistan, exterior finish

Earth Home Project helps Pakistani villagers rebuild homes destroyed by floods

  The devastating 2010 flood in Pakistan destroyed houses across the country, leaving 6 million people...

Brick House, iStudio Architecture, Wada, Mumbai, India, local materials, locally sourced materials, natural light, brick, stone, wood, bamboo, ferro-concrete, rat-trap bond, arched windows, passive cooling,

Curvaceous Brick House uses passive cooling and local materials in India

Inspired by the works and philosophies of architect Laurie Baker and Nari Gandhi, the Brick House’s curvaceous...

smartphone, NOEM, Ecological House 3.0, smartphone, automated home, energy efficient, renewable materials, local materials, energy efficiency, energy efficient home, modular home, prefab, prefab home, wireless, bioclimatic, modules, wood, laminated wood, solid structural panels, wood fiber panels, high performance glass, passive home

The Ecological House 3.0 is a prefab bioclimatic dwelling that’s controlled by a smartphone

The 1,033-square-foot Ecological House 3.0 boasts a modern design with rounded edges to match its innovative, 100%...

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