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 5
- Episode 5
- Architecture, Governance, Urbanism
New capital cities rarely succeed. Will Nusantara — Indonesia’s largest urban gamble to date — be different? In this episode, we find out how Nusantara will avoid the pitfalls of planned cities from the past.
- Season 5
- Episode 2
- Culture, Energy, Regenerative development
The solarpunk movement in fiction, art, fashion, and activism imagines a sustainable civilisation and considers how we get there. After gaining traction for a decade, how does it align with the latest thinking in regenerative design?
- Season 2
- Episode 5
- Landscape, Urbanism
Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, is sinking fast, like many other cities around the world. How can urbanists turn this congested megacity, threatened by flood and saltwater intrusion, into a resilient amphibious metropolis?
- Season 4
- Episode 7
- Carbon emissions, Energy, Interior Design, Manufacturing
Imagine a world where your carpet reduces atmospheric carbon. In this episode, discover how Interface is making this a reality. Liz Minné discusses a range of innovative strategies that redefine our expectations of flooring.
- Season 4
- Episode 5
- Architecture, Landscape, Practice
Explore the reality of greenery in architecture — pragmatic sustainability or mere aesthetics? Leonard Ng navigates the fine line, urging honesty in distinguishing between environmental impact and visual appeal.
- Season 5
- Episode 1
- Architecture, Practice, Real Estate, Regenerative development, Urbanism
None have reached age 40 yet, but each is in a position of influence in the sustainability space. Looking back, did it all go to plan? How is passion kept alive, against the odds? When saving the planet, is work-life balance a luxury?
- Season 3
- Episode 9
- Architecture
How does the architecture we praise today square up with a sustainability mandate? Do green imperatives dampen the spirit at the drawing board or can they lift design excellence to new heights?
Listen & share,
review & follow
Just head to these podcast directories or listening apps to hear Ecogradia episodes, share them, write a review and click to follow the show.
Subscribe to our newsletter
and be the first to know
Sign up to find out who’s next on the show, which ideas and solutions are moving sustainability forward. Get our newsletter in your inbox once every two weeks.