Lilypad: A Solar-Powered Villa Afloat on Sydney Harbour
Moored off exclusive Palm Beach, Lilypad blends solar engineering with resort-level comfort for a quietly luxurious escape on water.
Rotterdam Rocks: MVRDV Unveils A Sensational Biophilic Landmark
A cluster of seven boulders, Rotterdam Rocks fuses sustainability storytelling, hospitality and public terraces on the Dutch city’s south bank.
Tara Lal and T__M.space weave Aranyani Pavilion with Indian mythology and top it with a living roof of native plants
With its sinuous design, green rooftop and layers of invasive and native species, the Aranyani Pavilion in New Delhi invites you on a journey inspired by sacred groves, blending ecology and architecture.
A Sand Dune Come to Life: Ghaf Woods Experience Centre in Dubai
Ghaf Woods Experience Centre, designed by architecture firm aoe, is a dune-inspired hub where nature and biophilic design converge to shape sustainable living.
Picoplanktonics: Canada Pavilion in Venice tests 3d-printed living structures for a greener future
The Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale merges architecture and biotechnology with Picoplanktonics, an exhibition featuring bioarchitectures thriving with CO2-absorbing cyanobacteria.
Building Biospheres: plants are in charge at the Belgium Pavilion in Venice
A subtropical forest within the Belgian pavilion ‘controls’ irrigation, lighting, and ventilation systems to purify the air and lower the temperature. The Building Biospheres exhibition investigates the potential of plants in architecture.
The Enfold Pavilion by DEOND is a “Holistic Embrace of Body and Technology”
Entirely crafted from corrugated cardboard, the Enfold Pavilion features an AI-infused ‘second skin’ fabric that “could help treat anxiety and de-accelerate the mind and body.”
Stefan Diez’s Vert pavilion is a ‘greening machine’ boosting urban biodiversity at London Design Festival
Within a courtyard at Chelsea College of Arts in London, the Vert pavilion is a cutting-edge, sustainable, modular urban-cooling timber structure designed to tune with cities’ infrastructure.
Farming Architects: architecture merges with ecology and agriculture
With the Farming Architects pavilion at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, Jordens Architects looks into the future of construction.
HW Studio’s peaceful stone house in Mexico reinforces deep contact with the elements
HW Studio creates a peaceful stone house in perfect dialogue with the unique natural landscape of the Guanajuato region.
UNDERBAR at Stockholm Furniture Fair
Jonas Bohlin and Christine Ingridsdotter created Underbar, a temporary and 100% circular bar where every element and material from furniture to walls, lamps, and ceiling will have a second life after the fair.
Expedition Aequalis: a design exploration towards an eco-centric future
Expedition Aequalis ongoing project and exhibition at Dutch Design Week explored new design thinking paths tuning with Nature’s priorities.
MAD Architects nests Quzhou Stadium under a gentle green slope
Architecture should merge with the natural landscape instead of standing out against it, believe at MAD Architects. Their Quzhou Stadium submerges itself into nature to welcome everyone to gather and share the sports spirit.
The Greenhouse Silent Disco deciphers the silent language of plants
The Polish Pavilion at the 23rd Triennale Milano International Exhibition presents Greenhouse Silent Disco, a greenhouse of the future where sensors capture plants’ reactions to humans and the environment. Such reactions are then translated into a concert of lights and sounds.
Heatherwick Studio creates a kinetic glasshouse in the English countryside
Heatherwick Studio and the British National Trust unveiled a pyramidal kinetic glasshouse that literally unfolds to reveal an immense space full of sub-tropical vegetation paying tribute to the ancient trading Silk Route.
Cristina Celestino ‘domesticates’ Nature at the Florilegio exhibition
Crafted wall orchids, exquisite textiles and a rug with patterns inspired by butterfly wings. At the Florilegio exhibition, the historical spaces of a Milanese flower shop dialogue with contemporary pieces by Italian designer Cristina Celestino.
Beijing sub-centre library by Snøhetta is inspired by a ginkgo tree forest
The Beijing sub-centre library by Snøhetta features an amphitheatre-like space promoting interaction and exchange of knowledge. Extended from the sculpted reading landscape are columns that support the roof creating a ginkgo forest-like canopy.
Singapore Pavilion at Dubai Expo is a “tropical oasis in the desert”
The Singapore Pavilion by WOHA Architects in Dubai features a lush tropical urban landscape and innovative technologies, reflecting the city-state’s vision of becoming a City in Nature.
Flexible sliding cabin ‘ANNA Stay’ connects people with Nature
ANNA Stay’s dynamic architecture is derived from “a desire to live with nature’s elements, rather than shielding them off,” explains Caspar Schols. Initially conceived for his mum, the project has won the prestigious 2021 Architizer A+ Awards Project of the Year Award.
CON-NECT-ED-NESS: the Danish Pavilion in Venice evokes an indelible sense of connection between people and Nature
A cyclic water system connects visitors, senses and surroundings at CON-NECT-ED-NESS, the biophilic exhibition at the Danish Pavilion.
House of Hungarian Music by Sou Fujimoto is nearing completion in Budapest
Inspired by sound waves, Sou Fujimoto’s ‘House of Hungarian Music’ is topped by a white roof, punctuated with almost 100 holes for trees to grow through.
Jean Nouvel unveils the sustainable ‘Aquarela’ residential complex in Ecuador
Verdant balconies and green canyons define Jean Nouvel’s biophilic high-rise AQUARELA apartment complex near Quito, aiming to combine sustainability with social justice.
Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter designs 48°Nord landscape-hotel in France
Plunged in the northeastern French countryside, 48°Nord sustainable village hotel combines Scandinavian countryside cottages architecture with local traditions.
The Plus: BIG and Vestre unveil “the world’s most sustainable furniture factory”
Tucked in the heart of the Norwegian forest, The Plus factory by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group for urban furniture manufacturer Vestre was “envisioned as a village for a community dedicated to the cleanest, carbon neutral fabrication of urban and social furniture.”
Snøhetta’s Tungestølen hiking cabins offer breathtaking views of a Norwegian glacier
Designed as an architectural reaction to changing weather conditions, architecture firm Snøhetta’s Tungestølen hiking cabin in the western part of Norway on a small plateau overlooks the Jostedalen glacier.
Atelier Boelhouwer’s ‘Insectology: Food For Buzz’ project let urban bees thrive
Urban greenspaces are not that bug-friendly. With the ‘Insectology: Food For Buzz’ project Matilde Boelhouwer teamed up with engineers and biologist to devise artificial flowers allowing bees, bumblebees and other impollinators to thrive and literally make some buzz in town!
Bird-friendly ‘Mirror Houses’ by Peter Pichler Architecture
Peter Pichler Architecture’s Mirror Houses completely disappear in the landscape while providing breakthrough views on the South Tyrolean Dolomites. The floating building’s reflective surfaces are laminated with an UV coating preventing birds collision.
‘BioBombola’ domestic algae garden by ecoLogicStudio fills the house with oxygen
A kids’ school project during lockdown inspired ecoLogicStudio to devise BioBombola, a pioneering algae garden inviting individuals, families and communities to cultivate a healthy domestic algae garden as a sustainable source of vegetable proteins.
Plant Fever upcoming exhibition explores the hidden potentials of plants
8 brilliant designs on show at the upcoming PLANT FEVER exhibition. From a digital interface that allows them to communicate with their owner to artichoke-chairs and pine needles rugs.
Net-zero prefabricated LivingHomes by Plant Prefab Koto Design
The accessible and affordable LivingHomes take inspiration by the sustainable imprint of Scandinavian design and invite to fully immerse in nature.