sustainable design

Following its Pritzker Prize win, Grafton Architects isn’t creating another stone building as you might expect. Instead, the firm has designed a light-filled all-timber college research building that it hopes will highlight the versatility of wood.

Assuming Vincent Callebaut's Rainbow Tree is actually realized, the greenery-covered timber tower will rise to an impressive height of 115 m. It will also feature significant sustainable design, including solar panels and wind turbines.

Studio Okami has recently completed a green roof home that, from a certain angle, vanishes into its natural landscape setting. Dubbed Sloped Villa, the three-bedroom family home is built into the sloping hillside of Mont-de-l'Enclus in Belgium.

French architectural firm FUGU has revealed a series of energy-efficient geodesic cabins designed for adventure lovers. The geodesic eco-lodges are modular in design, fully customizable, and suitable for even the harshest of climates.

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.

Oceanco, in collaboration with naval architects Lateral, has adopted a sustainable design approach for its 357-ft Bravo Eugenia superyacht. The vessel rethinks traditional superyacht design, boasting eco-conscious principles and hybrid propulsion.

Practice Architecture has built a family residence using prefabricated panels made with hemp. The result is a sustainable three bedroom home dubbed Flat House, which boasts a flat-pack design using materials grown on the 20-acre property.

We recently reported on a planned timber skyscraper in Rotterdam and now another impressive sustainable project is coming to the city too. Due to begin construction soon, Floating Office Rotterdam is a green-roofed solar-powered office-on-the-water.

A team from China has created an environmentally-friendly household cleaning appliance that can sanitize and disinfect your home by using water and salt. Egret creates electrolyzed water to combat germs, bacteria, odors and viruses.

Brazilian architectural studio Gustavo Penna Arquiteto e Associados (GPA&A) in partnership with steel industry company Gerdau has recently completed a 45-sq-m (484-sq-ft) minimalist home built using mining waste.

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.

The Global Grad Show is the world’s largest annual gathering of university design graduates, showing off their most innovative projects. New Atlas was at this year’s show to offer a glimpse at the most inventive ideas from the planet’s top students.