The dramatic improvement in recent decades in our understanding of sustainable design has shown that designing sustainably doesn’t have to be a compromise—it can instead be a benefit. When done correctly, sustainable design results in higher-performing, healthier buildings which contribute to their inhabitants’ physical and mental well-being.

The benefits of incorporating vegetation in façades and in roofs, as well as materials and construction systems that take energy use and pollution into account, demonstrate that sustainable design has the potential to create buildings that improve living conditions and respect the natural environment.

Below we have compiled 30 plans, sections and construction details of projects that stand out for their approach to sustainability.

Incorporation of vegetation: A layered system that incorporates the use of vegetation on roofs and facades—which can also incorporate other systems such as urban gardens or water recycling systems—provides significant economic, social and environmental benefits. These systems are particularly useful in improving sustainability in crowded urban areas.

01. AA House / IR arquitectura 

via © IR arquitectura

02. Lacapelle-del-fraisse / Atelier du Rouget Simon Teyssou & associés 

via © Atelier du Rouget Simon Teyssou & associés

03. Tarrawarra Abbey / Baldasso Cortese Architects 

via © Baldasso Cortese Architects

04. GPL House / Estudio BLT 

via © Estudio BLT

05. Casa Scout / BAAG 

Courtesy of © BAAG

06. Silvina and Omar House / IR arquitectura 

via © IR arquitectura

07. Edificio Consorcio Santiago / Enrique Browne + Borja Huidobro

via © Enrique Browne + Borja Huidobro

 

08. Once Building / Adamo Faiden 

via © Adamo Faiden

09. Green Cast / Kengo Kuma & Associates 

Courtesy of Kengo Kuma & Asociados

10. Pasaje Cabrer Collective Housing / AFRa 

via AFRA

11. Eco Boulevard in Vallecas / Ecosistema Urbano 

via © Ecosistema Urbano

Use of local materials and the study of construction systems: The choice of material responds to both the availability of local resources and to the local climate, allowing the interior spaces to be adapted to the external climatic conditions. The use of local resources and the design of a construction system which responds to the natural characteristics of the place also gives the benefit of a lower cost with respect to transportation and maintenance.

12. House in the Woods / Parque Humano 

via © Parque Humano

13. Lienzo de Barro House / Chaquiñán 

via © Chaquiñán

14. Centro Holístico Punto Zero / Dio Sustentable 

via © Dio Sustentable

15. Museum & Biodiversity Research Center / Guinée et Potin Architects 

via © Guinée et Potin Architects

16. Zenkonyu / Tadashi Saito + Atelier NAVE 

via © Tadashi Saito + Atelier NAVE

17. 21st Century Vernacular House / Edra arquitectura km0 

via © Edra arquitectura km0

18. Bamboo Wing / Vo Trong Nghia 

via © Vo Trong Nghia

19. El Guadual Children Center / Daniel Joseph Feldman Mowerman + Iván Dario Quiñones Sanchez 

via © Daniel Joseph Feldman Mowerman + Iván Dario Quiñones Sanchez

20. Hostal and Capacitation Center / IR arquitectura 

via © IR arquitectura

21. Kontum Indochine Café / Vo Trong Nghia Architects 

via © Vo Trong Nghia Architects

22. Temporary Pavillion at UNAM / México 

Courtesy of Taller Carlos Leduc Montaño UNAM

23. Snow House / Emilio Marin, Nicolas Dorval-Bory, Juan Carlos Lopez 

via © Emilio Marin, Nicolas Dorval-Bory, Juan Carlos Lopez

The study of bio-environmental design: When carrying out a project that aims to optimize building performance using only natural environmental factors, an understanding of the mechanics of those environmental factors is key. These buildings must take advantage of the natural energy of the sun and the wind, incorporating them into an architectural design.

24. Patagonia’s Sustainable Social Housing / Aysén, Chile 

via © B+V Arquitectos

25. Bioclimatic Dwelling in Tenerife / Ruiz Larrea y Asociados 

Courtesy of Ruiz Larrea y Asociados

26. World’s First Prefabricated Carbon Positive House / ArchiBlox 

via © ArchiBlox

27. Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion / Lake|Flato Architects 

via © Lake Flato Architects

28. Nest We Grow / College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley + Kengo Kuma & Associates 

via College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley + Kengo Kuma & Associates

29. Casa Meztitla / EDAA 

via © EDAA

30. Quito Publishing House / Estudio A0 

via © Estudio A0

13 Spectacular Living Roofs in Detail
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© BIG

BIG are known for unconventional buildings that often raise the question “how were they able to do that?” Such is the case for BIG’s Honeycomb, a luxury eight-story condominium currently under construction in the Bahamas. The project’s hallmark is its hexagonal façade made up of private balconies, each with its own glass-fronted outdoor pool. The façade was also the project’s greatest engineering challenge, with each balcony (including pool water) weighing between 108,000 and 269,000 pounds (48,000-122,000 kilograms) while cantilevering up to 17.5 feet (5.3 meters) from the structure. Tasked with this challenging brief were DeSimone Consulting Engineers, who previously worked with BIG on The Grove. Read on for more detail on the Honeycomb’s innovative engineering.

© BIG

Central to the Honeycomb’s design of is the use of a specially engineered concrete “superslab” which is able to cantilever over 17 feet without wall brackets below. This was achieved by reducing the slab’s weight while maintaining its strength and stiffness. As explained by Bill O’Simmons, the project lead at DeSimone, “to control deflection and reduce self-weight, 12-inch (300 millimeter) diameter tubes were embedded in a 17-inch (430 millimeter) thick conventionally reinforced roof slab.” These voids hollow out the slab, reducing its weight and increasing the section’s overall efficiency. This step also “eliminated the need for a post-tension slab, further reducing the overall weight and reducing the cost of the project.”

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

The balcony decks themselves are constructed from a 13-inch (330 millimeter) thick conventionally reinforced slab. What is especially clever, and what allows the slab to be kept at 13 inches, is that the slabs “fold down at the deepest point of the pool to align with the shear wall of the lower unit” for extra support.

© BIG

© BIG

Because of the staggered partition walls and varied façade, these shear walls sometimes connect to a structural column, acting “as a rigid bracket supporting the slab above and below.” At other junctions there is no column – here “the wall is not as stiff in these locations but still carries vertical load back to the column strip.” These 18-inch (450 millimeter) thick concrete shear walls not only increase structural support, but join into the sloped pool floors in order to form the hexagonal honeycomb structure.

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

While the depths of the cantilevers allow for plentiful outdoor space, the balcony’s utilities added further challenges. Both the summer kitchen and pool required a host of services, while also needing waterproofing and long-term serviceability. This meant the need for thoughtful detailing, with “nearly a dozen conduits that had to be carefully placed to get across the column strip and emerge on the sloped slab in the proper location”. The concrete shear walls were also once again utilised, with embedded pool drains serving as a path for balcony drainage.

© BIG

Because of the Honeycomb’s innovative structural system, conventional materials were able to be used, but used carefully. As all the concrete in the building is conventionally reinforced cast-in-place concrete, special attention was paid to the concrete mixture itself. To ensure durability, “limiting initial soluble chlorides, providing a tight water-cement ratio, and additional concrete cover over the reinforcing steel were critical design measures.” Finally, for further protection, an integral waterproofing admixture and surface applied coating were also used.

Courtesy of DeSimone Consulting Engineers

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