Sustainable

Although stand-up paddleboards are eco-friendly to use, they're typically made of not-so-green substances. German scientists are trying to change that, with a board made of sustainable materials – obtained partially from old wind turbine blades.

More and more, insect protein is being suggested as a more sustainable alternative to meat. Humans aren't the only omnivores, though, which is why a new insect-based cat food should soon be hitting the market – and it won't be the only one.

A slide, nets, a climbing wall, and a hidden entrance: it sounds like the description of a kid's playground, but it's actually the latest residential project by Austin Maynard Architects, a family home in Melbourne, Australia, called Union House.

Disposable diapers are not eco-friendly, not only because of their plastic outer shell, but also due to their petroleum-based absorbent inner layer. There could soon be a sustainable alternative to the latter, though, and it's made from wheat gluten.

K20 Architecture was commissioned to design a new community center in Bayswater, a suburb of Melbourne. In response, it delivered a building that makes use of local and recycled materials and features solar power and rainwater collection systems.

With its upcoming BRAC University campus in Bangladesh, WOHA has to work with a challenging city plot. The project involves turning what the firm calls a "polluted swamp" into a lush green campus that incorporates significant sustainable design.

Margot Krasojević has unveiled a new conceptual work, and as usual, it's thought-provoking, abstract, and ambitious. The proposal envisions a coastal sculpture gallery that uses hydroelectric energy to power up to 200 homes.

Henning Larsen recently revealed its plan for an entire timber neighborhood. Assuming it's built, the Fælledby development will house 7,000 people in an idyllic nature-filled community in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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.

In order to combat the hundreds of millions of empty toothpaste tubes that are destined for landfill across the world each year, Canadian entrepreneurs Mike Medicoff and Damien Vince have created a toothpaste that comes in the form of a tablet.

Greenery-covered buildings are very popular lately, with projects like Stefano Boeri's Bosco Verticale picking up architecture awards. MVRDV is certainly no stranger to the idea either and offers another example with Green Villa, a project that features a facade made up of potted plants and trees.

Stefano Boeri Architetti's line of greenery-infused architecture has made quite a splash by bringing a little nature to inner-city high-rise residents. The Italian firm's latest design in the same vein is slated for Egypt and consists of three cuboid buildings that are covered in plants and trees.