Green Homes

Best of all, its green roof channels rainwater through the craggy terrain to create a trickling fountain.

The structure makes a lap around a central courtyard, connecting the energy-efficient and drought-resistant residence with storage sheds and an indoor/outdoor patio.

Mole Architects fleshed out a prefab timber frame with passive house design principles and placed living areas on the second level to provide its retiree owner with great views.

The house harvests rainwater, lets in tons of natural light, and has a vivid viridian bathroom that matches the surrounding foliage.

The Rambla Climate House is meant as a model for reversing the scourge of nearby suburban developments by collecting rainfall and gray water to nurture the land.

The steel framework supporting the sustainable retreat is designed as housing to keep winged friends safe from predators.

Studio RAP implemented digital processes to minimize construction waste, using a CNC machine to precision-cut cladding and engineered lumber.

Building with wood was a requirement by the city, but it was their decision to build smaller—and smarter—for the sake of efficiency.

Archetypes of 1970s utopian living, these self-determining homes in the desert have been embraced by a younger cohort eager to create a more sustainable future.

Leftover urban space and timber by-products add up to the perfect solution for a small family.

Common Knowledge, a nonprofit in Ireland that teaches building skills, will soon offer free plans and a materials list for you to create a home of your own.

Writer Penny Craswell explores the potential of secondhand and upcycled materials to craft new homes.

“The tussocks camouflage the house, melting it into the landscape,” says architect Kate Brown.

Slow Studio Arquitectura designed the double-height space as a flexible living area, but it also optimizes the residence’s thermal performance.

Mork Ulnes Architects played off the owners’ progressive spirit by constructing the cabin-style residence from cross-laminated timber, which the firm says is one of the first in...

On the same site, they melded two prefab designs from local firm Go Logic to create a resilient, energy-efficient forever home.

Bizna Estudio combines passive house principles with a few regional materials to keep one family cool while on vacation.

Melbourne Design Studios creates a net-positive passive house and rear garden that freshen up the area’s industrial feel.

PAD Studio replaced a rundown cottage with a new gable-roofed timber design that looks as if it’d been there all along.

Nori Architects tests an earth-friendly vision for urban housing with a stripped-back design that the residents can modify and repair themselves.

Leaving the bustling city behind, a psychologist and an engineer start over with a set of rentable retreats clad in reclaimed wood.

As she updates her house with a green roof and “bat bricks,” Helena Rivera seeks to enhance life not only for her family, but for the animals of the surrounding woodland.

The owners of Long Island’s Old Orchard Nursery tap Ryall Sheridan Architects to develop a slice of their cherished site.

Whitney Thornburg shares a few of her favorite products—from well-loved kitchen towels to stylish reusable containers.

Located in an outlying village three hours north of Berlin, the remote property—which until recently lacked potable water—was transformed by architects Sierra Boaz Cobb and...

Slow Studio uses passive design techniques to create a brick house with a surprisingly light footprint.

Rafe Maclean Architects uses low-cost materials and a few green-building tricks to help a family in the Otago region stay within budget.

London firm McLean Quinlan built out from a dilapidated brick wall that once enclosed a garden, creating an energy-efficient home with an elegant facade.

Barcelona-based Slow Studio builds a bioclimatic home for a couple who work with the United Nations.

Architect Robert Swinburne deploys a collaborative building approach and hyperlocal materials to craft a home that celebrates the land it’s built on.

Drawing on a simple material palette of plywood and corrugated metal, architect Rafe Maclean designs a certified Passive House on a steep, challenging lot in Dunedin.

Built to Passive House standards, the New England home of Tom Risom and Pamela Austen is a trove of modernist design.

Check out our top picks from Model No., a direct-to-consumer brand that's infusing responsible design with clean-lined, contemporary cool.

A renovation by Lever Architecture focused on energy efficiency and well-being infuses a prairie-style home with new life while honoring its timeworn quirks.

Combining creative nous with careful planning, architect Mark Lawton builds a net-zero home inspired by the typology of a fisherman’s shack.

Architect Lee de Wit and his relatives work together to create a getaway where nearly everything in sight tells a story.