How to design a net zero energy building: proven strategies that work
Recent podcast episodes
- Season 6
- Episode 2
- Architecture, Governance, Urbanism
As land in cities becomes scarce and expensive, public spaces are bearing the brunt. Can new models of urban development reconcile communal needs with profit?
- Season 6
- Episode 1
- Architecture, Culture, Interior Design, Urbanism
In a warming, anxious world, can buildings heal both mind and planet? Unpack how wellbeing is reshaping sustainable architecture from the inside out.
- Season 5
- Episode 10
- Architecture, Practice, Urbanism
Think design competitions aren’t worth your time? Laura Viscovich, Executive Director of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, shares how competition entries can turn into career breakthroughs, even if you don’t win.
- Season 5
- Episode 9
- Architecture, Landscape, Urbanism
When it comes to extreme weather, our first instinct is to build higher walls and stronger barriers. Discover how sponge cities are turning convention on its head by embracing water instead of resisting it.
- Season 6
- Episode 2
- Architecture, Governance, Urbanism
As land in cities becomes scarce and expensive, public spaces are bearing the brunt. Can new models of urban development reconcile communal needs with profit?
- Season 6
- Episode 1
- Architecture, Culture, Interior Design, Urbanism
In a warming, anxious world, can buildings heal both mind and planet? Unpack how wellbeing is reshaping sustainable architecture from the inside out.
- Season 5
- Episode 10
- Architecture, Practice, Urbanism
Think design competitions aren’t worth your time? Laura Viscovich, Executive Director of the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, shares how competition entries can turn into career breakthroughs, even if you don’t win.
Limited webinar series
- Webinar 10
- Architecture, Carbon emissions, Construction
Timber is having its moment in the global sustainability discourse. Will it replace concrete and steel, or be used in combination to usher in a new era of low-carbon construction?
- Webinar 8
- Architecture, Carbon emissions, Landscape, Regenerative development, Urbanism
In many cities today, there is a striking disconnect between people and nature. Can biocentric urban landscapes help integrate social functions with natural systems?
- Webinar 6
- Architecture, Construction, Practice
A hyperlocal building taps into the knowledge, skills, and resources indigenous to a place. How can the very act of constructing it engage and positively transform a community?
- Webinar 5
- Adaptive reuse, Architecture
In resource-constrained places, small can be powerful. How can a building, acting strategically as an acupunctural node, transform its neighbourhood socially, economically, and ecologically?
- Webinar 10
- Architecture, Carbon emissions, Construction
Timber is having its moment in the global sustainability discourse. Will it replace concrete and steel, or be used in combination to usher in a new era of low-carbon construction?
- Webinar 8
- Architecture, Carbon emissions, Landscape, Regenerative development, Urbanism
In many cities today, there is a striking disconnect between people and nature. Can biocentric urban landscapes help integrate social functions with natural systems?
- Webinar 6
- Architecture, Construction, Practice
A hyperlocal building taps into the knowledge, skills, and resources indigenous to a place. How can the very act of constructing it engage and positively transform a community?
Recent blog posts
- Greenbuild 2024
Greenbuild International Conference & Expo is the world’s leading green design and construction event today. Ecogradia’s report on the 2024 edition comes directly from its expo and conference halls in Philadelphia, USA.
- Tone Wheeler
Despite post-war research into passive solar house design, Australia’s sprawling suburbs are today dominated by non-climate-adaptive dwellings. But Tone Wheeler believes sustainability is finally becoming a desirable asset.
- Surat Diamond Bourse
Surat Diamond Bourse in India’s Gujarat state hosts the most sizeable community of diamond workers on the planet. The vast office building designed by Morphogenesis boasts a strong agenda for reducing energy consumption.
- Singapore Pavilion, Expo 2020, Dubai
At Expo 2020 Dubai, WOHA’s Singapore Pavilion was a prototype for a lush and sustainable built environment of the future. This three-dimensional tropical garden functioned as a self-sustaining ecosystem.
- Greenbuild 2024
Greenbuild International Conference & Expo is the world’s leading green design and construction event today. Ecogradia’s report on the 2024 edition comes directly from its expo and conference halls in Philadelphia, USA.
- Tone Wheeler
Despite post-war research into passive solar house design, Australia’s sprawling suburbs are today dominated by non-climate-adaptive dwellings. But Tone Wheeler believes sustainability is finally becoming a desirable asset.
- Surat Diamond Bourse
Surat Diamond Bourse in India’s Gujarat state hosts the most sizeable community of diamond workers on the planet. The vast office building designed by Morphogenesis boasts a strong agenda for reducing energy consumption.
Recommended podcast episodes
- Season 2
- Episode 8
- Landscape, Urbanism
Water is a pressing design challenge of the climate crisis. Too much or too little and we struggle to survive. What is the sweet spot where we, our cities and the ecosystems that we rely on, can thrive?
- Season 2
- Episode 9
- Architecture
Extreme weather is often a matter of life and death. How do we design for the growing frequency and ferocity of storms? Do we resist at all costs or should we build structures that give in a little to save the whole?
- Season 4
- Episode 4
- Architecture, Engineering
Tackling the carbon dilemma requires a fresh perspective. Stuart Smith reveals how considering a building’s entire life cycle impact can simplify carbon reduction decisions, guiding us towards more sustainable choices.
- Season 3
- Episode 3
- Manufacturing
As we aim to ‘do good’, we often wrestle with what to buy. Which materials are less harmful to the planet? But can a product also be net positive? Could manufacturing help reverse global warming?
- Season 4
- Episode 6
- Architecture, Conservation, Urbanism
Navigating conservation and social equity, Brinda Somaya reveals how these considerations blend into a position on sustainability in India. She offers a blueprint for design that is low-impact, contextual, and compassionate.
- Season 2
- Episode 6
- Architecture, Urbanism
Tropical architecture: is it a perspective on place or a question of performance? How can architects from nations along the equator, like Indonesia, draw on local know-how rather than imported technology?
- Season 2
- Episode 7
- Architecture, Finance
More than a billion people are without shelter today. They could be 3 billion by 2050. Is the growing demand a giant opportunity? What if houses for those in need could produce both renewable energy and long-term profits?
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