Passive House

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. ​

Utah’s Summit Park is home to an eye-catching new hillside abode consisting of stacked cubes that gently rotate as they head up toward the canopy. The recently completed Treehaus has a big focus on energy efficiency to soften the blow of the area's harsh winter climate.

Perkins+Will has unveiled plans for a new building in York University's Keele Campus, in Toronto, Canada. Commissioned following an architectural competition, it's slated for LEED Gold certification, or higher, and will boast a significant amount of sustainable tech.

Residential architecture is going through an exciting time and this is reflected in the homes we've covered during the past 12 months. A floating off-grid luxury pad, a 3D-printed house, and a sustainable home that can be built in a few days all feature in our pick of the best houses of 2017.

An elevated 200-sq m (2,152-sq ft) Passivhaus treehouse, Dursley Treehouse is a stunning family home built above a series of screwpiles specifically designed for minimal impact on the ground.

The stunning 10 Star Home was built with a zero-waste philosophy and was designed to positively exceed its carbon footprint over its lifespan, anticipating savings of 203 kg (507 lb) of carbon emissions per occupant per year.