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
- Webinar 4
- Architecture, Carbon emissions, Energy
The path to net-zero energy is filled with promise. Campus buildings offer a unique opportunity: they can be testbeds for new ideas and may also double as teaching tools.
- Season 1
- Trailer
- Architecture, Urbanism
Are buildings and cities doing enough? Are they rising to the challenge of an uncertain future? And are we doing what needs to be done fast enough?
- 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 3
- Episode 8
- 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?
- Season 4
- Episode 10
- Architecture, Carbon emissions, Energy, Urbanism
All the noise around sustainability can be dizzying. In this episode, Bjarke Ingels returns to discuss BIG’s Plan for the Planet. Can a global framework based on real-world strategies help us achieve better individual solutions?
- Season 2
- Episode 3
- Architecture, Urbanism
Should our buildings and cities minimise harm or do ‘good’ by design? In a world already at risk, less harm is no longer enough. We must repair, regenerate and create new life. So where do we start?
- Season 4
- Episode 8
- Architecture, Construction, Practice
How to unlock the mind to produce better designs, faster? Võ Trọng Nghĩa explores this question, revealing a philosophy where meditation is the key to healing ourselves and saving the planet.
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