Examples of Sustainable Architecture Around the Globe
The past decade has seen a huge rise in sustainable building practices and designs. In this article, we’ve compiled our favorite green buildings located all around the world. These buildings combine innovative sustainable ideas and creative designs. Let’s have a look!
1. Beitou Public Library – Taipei Taiwan, by Kuo Ying-Chao
The Beitou library is located near the Beitou Hot Spring park. It is considered Taiwan’s first-ever green library. The library features multiple solar panels that can store up to 16W of power. It also has a rainwater collection system as a renewable water source to water indoor plants and flush toilets.
The Beitou library’s main feature is the large wooden balcony railing. This conserves energy by absorbing the heat during the day and prevents it from entering the room, keeping the building cool throughout the day.
2. Manitoba Hydro Place – Winnipeg Manitoba Canada, by Kuwabara Payne Mckenna Blumberg Architects
The Manitoba Hydro Place is an office tower located in Manitoba Canada. It uses 70% less energy compared to an office building of its size and design. The building features plenty of active and passive systems that work together to achieve this minimal energy consumption.
It also has south-facing winter gardens, programmable lighting, a solar chimney, and more. All of these systems take advantage of natural processes and the surrounding environment of the building to save energy as much as possible.
3. Sanko Headquarters – Istanbul, Turkey by RMJM Milano
This uniquely designed building will house offices, meeting rooms, an auditorium, and even a restaurant. Sanko Headquarters features sustainability systems such as outside greenery that help cool down the building, reducing the need for AC systems everywhere.
The building also features an opening in the atrium that allows natural light during the day to illuminate the building’s interior. This further lowers the consumption of energy during the day.
4. Vertical Forest – Milan, Italy by Boeri Studio
This unique residential building features a plant-based facade that is built using steel and glass. It doesn’t reflect the sun rays but instead filters them, creating a well-regulated humid microclimate that doesn’t have any negative impact on the environment. It is indeed a very creative and unique design for a sustainable building.
5. Museum of Tomorrow – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Santiago Calatrava
The Museum of Tomorrow is an impressive example of sustainable architecture. The building has multiple sustainability features but its main feature is a system that channels water from Guanabara bay.
It uses the water to help regulate the temperature of the building and also as the water supply for the reflecting pools in the Museum. The water also helps regulate the temperature of the building’s solar panels.