Ski

If you’re looking for a relaxing getaway that can be used as your own personal Zen spa, you’ll find everything you could want within the House of Ki, a private estate in Texas that was designed by Stern and Bucek Architects. Combining wood, glass, tile, and touches of metal, this bathroom looks out to the neighboring Buffalo Bayou river through a substantial window wall.

The house, which is gently pushed into the hillside, has a large basement holding a garage, ski room, storage areas, and utility spaces as well as the entrance hall.

Copenhagen's future waste-to-energy plant features the a ski slope and a smokestack that will blow "rings" of CO2, which each represent one ton of emissions. Combining a environmentally sustainable building with a social program—the ski slope—represents Ingels' theories of "hedonistic sustainability" and "bigamy." Photo via B.I.G.

Black-stained and clear cedar siding offset the pitched roof, which alludes to the shape of evergreens.

Architect Bjarke Ingels says the Amager Bakke plant exemplifies “the idea that sustainability is not a burden, but that a sustainable city in fact can improve our quality of life.” The smokestack was designed to blow a smoke ring every time a ton of carbon dioxide is released.

Girodo describes LEAPfactory’s architecture as being “molded according to the needs and stresses imposed by context.” In this setting, strong winds and snow loads are serious concerns. The shell’s composite sandwich panels and aluminum shingles ensure that the school can withstand the elements.