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passive design

timber home on stilts

Low-budget, bioclimatic home boasts a minimal energy footprint in Costa Rica

When clients Luis and Marce approached design collective YUSO proyectos for their new home in Costa Rica, they...

sunset view of the cultural centre towers and city

Zaha Hadid Architects completes highly complex Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre

Zaha Hadid Architects completed the Nanjing International Youth Cultural Centre, a striking mixed-use facility...

white rectangular home on a green hill

Striking home in Greece uses bioclimatic features to be energy-efficient year-round

Tucked into a sloping hillside looking out over the Aegean Sea, the TRIF House designed by Sergey Fedotov boasts...

woman walking toward a barn

Old barn and granary gains a new life as an inspiring community hub

Cambridge-based design practice MCW Architects has completed the transformation of a heritage barn and granary...

gray concrete home lit up at dusk

This holiday home in Montauk produces all of its own electricity

East of the Hamptons sits a solar-powered, holiday home that celebrates indoor-outdoor living. Wrapped in exposed...

tall tan brick building with many windows

Delhi High Court’s new expansion taps into green building principles

New Delhi-based architecture practice Design Forum International has completed the New Courts Complex, a modern...

large black home with several windows in a forestscape

A dark, timber home rests peacefully among evergreen pine trees

San Francisco- and Oslo-based firm Mork Ulnes Architects has unveiled a black timber home tucked into a forestscape...

a horizontal beach home with extended roof

Stunning Costa Rican beach home uses passive features to stay cool

Located mere steps away from idyllic white sand beaches on one side and a coconut grove on the other, this beach...

white and timber home with pool in foreground and greenery draping over roofline

This breezy, green-roofed home in Singapore embraces nature from all angles

Whereas many modern buildings in Singapore rebel against the country’s tropical climate with air-conditioned,...

home with green roof surrounded by trees

Natural stone and an expansive green roof blend the stunning Gozu House into the Andes Mountains

When it comes to creating a serene living space, Medellín-based firm Opus Studio put nature first in their design...

side view of the white and timber home

Energy-plus home is a beacon of sustainability in Tel Aviv

Israeli architecture firm Geotectura recently completed a striking modern home that can produce more energy than...

a concrete home with mesh walls

This striking concrete home uses mesh walls to connect with nature

When it comes to home design, architects around the world are forgoing the conventional for the experimental -...

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Self-sufficient Skilpod home generates all its own energy, pops up in less than a day

Belgian construction company Skilpod has produced a prefabricated home that can generate all its own energy and...

tent house, Spark Architects, Australia, indoor/outdoor living

Shapeshifting Tent House blurs the line between indoor and outdoor spaces

Spark Architect’s Tent House is a seasonal shapeshifter. Situated close to Australia’s famed Sunshine Coast,...

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Fallingwater Institute adds four timber ‘portals’ to Frank Lloyd Wright landmark

Students participating in the Fallingwater Institute's summer residence program will now have a beautiful new home-base...

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New net-zero Solar Farmhouse from Deltec generates all its own energy

In these uncertain times of erratic weather and changing climate patterns, net-zero energy (or NZE) is quickly...

Sunbeams Music Center by Mawson Kerr, Sunbeams music center, Sunbeams Music Trust, Sunbeams Music Trust in Cumbria, Sunbeams Music Trust building, music therapy center, music therapy architecture, Cumbria eco friendly design

Green-roofed music center built of natural materials harmonizes with the landscape

Tranquility is at the heart of the handsome Sunbeams Music Center, where music is used as therapy to soothe the...

Multipod Studio and Arc A3 Sud Touraine, PopUp Houses, lego classrooms, pop up classrooms, modular building, prefab buildings, breathable materials, passive buildings, PopUp building for Rollinat High School, accessible design, Alfred de Vigny High School, Indre-et-Loire, France, sustainable design, green design

French schools create extra classrooms with Lego-style PopUp Houses

  Two savvy private schools have just upped their learning space by almost 4,000 square feet with the incredible...

Ezequiel Farca Architects, Vallarta House, homes in puerta vallarta, green roofs, green walls, living walls, vertical living walls, green rooftop, seaside homes, seaside architecture, interior design, mexican architecture, home design, natural materials, passive heating, passive cooling, passive design, sustainable design,

Insulating veil of plants envelops stunning seaside home in Mexico

Nature-inspired design has never looked so good. Los Angeles-based Ezequiel Farca Architects have camouflaged...

AB Residence, Varda Studio, home design, thermal insulation, vertical wall, natural insulation, interior design, passive solar gains, passive design, Envelop 3D system, fiberglass thermal insulation, cyprus, cyprus home design, natural ventilation, green design, concrete tube exterior,

Screens made out of raw concrete pipes provide privacy for this chic modern home

Cyprus-based architects Varda Studio are proving that industrial chic can be sustainable. The designers have just...

2226 building, Austria, baumschlager eberle, natural ventilation, residential building, passive cooling, passive house, passive design, green architecture, thermal insulation, minimize heat gain

Austrian residential building relies entirely on nature for heating, cooling, and ventilation

Good design really does make all the difference when it comes to energy conservation. This residential building...

Roberts Pavilion at Claremont McKenna College, sustainable Roberts Pavilion, sustainable gym, eco-friendly gym design, green gym architecture, Roberts Pavilion by John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, California drought friendly architecture

Sustainable fitness center combines good looks and an eco-friendly mantra in California

How much do you remember about your college gym? Not much most likely. Many university fitness centers are unremarkable,...

skyville, singapore architecture, woha, patrick bingham-hall, passive design, prefabricated design, solar roof, community living, passive housing, communal space, solar powered housing

WOHA’s solar-powered SkyVille in Singapore boasts a deep-green public skypark

Singapore just took a green leap forward with the SkyVille housing complex, uniting communities together with an...

Tiny House Scotland, Jonathan Avery, NestHouse, NestHouse by Tiny House Scotland, tiny house, tiny houses, tiny home, tiny homes, passive design, sustainable, sustainability, energy efficient, energy efficiency, Scandinavian design, Scotland

Charming off-grid Scandinavian-inspired tiny home is passive and energy efficient

Vivid colors and a light-filled interior beckon tiny house aficionados to NestHouse, designed by Jonathan Avery...

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Ecocor starts production on groundbreaking new prefab passive homes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvRvvkXcfaQ The Goldenrod design is 1,051 square feet, and preliminary pricing...

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Japanese box house uses passive design to slash energy bills

Designed by Japanese firm Sola Sekkei Koubou, which specializes in passive design, Fukuoka H House is a two-story,...

BKSK architects, Washington Square Park House, solar panel array, ground source heat pumps, passive design, LEED Platinum certification, LEED Platinum nyc, green design, sustainable design, energy efficient buildings nyc, nyc green design, 2016 AIANY COTE Awards, architectural awards, urban design, sustainable urban design

Washington Square Park toilet house boasts LEED-certified loos

The 3,100-square-foot building is characterized by a curved design that sits quietly in the corner of the park,...

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8 inexpensive earth homes almost anyone can afford

1. Dome-shaped earth bag house keeps residents cool in Colombia La Casa Vergara’s uncommon dome shapes may captivate...

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New Zealand company offers small earthquake-resilient starter homes

Hennessy's first house, Papa #1, is 430 square feet, which means it just misses the 400 square feet and below benchmark...

Bluefield Houseboats, energy efficient houseboats, passive design houseboats, prefab houseboats, modular houseboats, energy efficient floating homes, floating homes by Bluefield, prefabricated houseboats,

Beautiful prefab houseboats let you live on the water with a minimal energy footprint

Though Bluefield Houseboats is based in Ireland, the design/build firm delivers worldwide and handles all aspects...

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