Passive House

Following the completion of its award-winning Valley development comes another project by MVRDV that’s defined by an impressive mountain-like exterior. Ascension Paysagère is part-built to the Passivhaus standard, and features significant greenery.

MAD Architects has completed its first project in Europe. The Unic apartment building in Paris, France, is enlivened by an eye-catching curving facade, is impressively energy efficient and has been constructed to exacting Passive House standards.

NAW Studio has completed a contemporary home with a unique facade that embraces passive air flow. Flow House is located just outside of Da Nang City, Vietnam and is made up of three structures that aid the flow of air from one section to the other.

Urban Agency's high-rise boasts an ambitious sustainable design, and is defined by a stepped form inspired by Canada's topography. The greenery covered building will be largely made from wood and is slated to meet the stringent Passivhaus standard.

Talina Edwards is the very first female in Australia to complete a certified Passivhaus. Owl Woods Passive House is only one of 20 certified Passivhaus projects in Australia and boasts a design that is sustainable, functional and flexible.

Residential architecture is one of the most diverse areas we cover. Reflecting this, our selection of 2019's best houses runs the gamut from a multi-million dollar floating home to low-cost social housing.

Architectural firm Mecanoo recently finished a three-part villa in the Netherlands that puts a modern spin on the traditional Dutch barn-house or "hoeve." Villa Vught comprises three closely built dwellings positioned around a central courtyard.

Energy-efficient public housing development Goldsmith Street, by Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley, has been declared the 2019 Stirling Prize winner.

Britain's Imperial War Museum (IWM) recently gained a new archive to help house its vast collection of records. The IWM Paper Store is one seriously energy efficient building and is also the most airtight Passivhaus project to date, according to International Passivhaus Association records.

2018 has been an interesting year for residential architecture, with advances in tech and sustainable building practices resulting in many great homes. We've narrowed them down to 10 favorites, including a starchitect-designed luxury house, a 3D-printed mud hut, and a sustainable hobbit hole.

The Mountain House in upstate New York, by Amalgam Studio, very much follows a low-energy approach to heating and cooling, while honoring the history of the area with all the aesthetic hallmarks of a good ol’ fashioned countryside barn.​

​​Today’s architects have a lot of considerations to juggle when drawing up new homes, from the aesthetics to the functionality to the environmental footprint. Here we present eight that adhere to the low-carbon Passive House standard and are particularly easy on the eye. ​