Smart Heating Controls and How to Cut Energy Use Without Freezing
# Smart Heating Controls and How to Cut Energy Use Without Freezing Your heating bill arrives and you wince. Again. The house feels cold in the mornings, scorching by afternoon,…
How the Amazon Spheres Brought a Rainforest Into the Office
# How the Amazon Spheres Brought a Rainforest Into the Office I’ve been walking past construction sites my entire career, watching another glass box go up, another sterile corporate campus…
Biophilic Design for Renters and What You Can Do Without Permission
# Biophilic Design for Renters and What You Can Do Without Permission Most biophilic design advice assumes you own your space. Install a living wall, they say. Knock through to…
Straw Bale Construction and How It Went From Novelty to Certified Building Method
I still remember the first time I saw a straw bale house being built. This was fifteen years ago, and I was working on a conventional extension project nearby. The…
How Austrias Bruck Estate Proved Passive House Works at Scale
There’s something deeply satisfying about watching an industry myth get demolished by actual performance data. For years, sceptics claimed Passive House standards were too rigid for anything beyond single family…
The RuMa Hotel Kuala Lumpur and Passive Principles in Tropical Heat
I’ve been watching Kuala Lumpur’s hotel scene for fifteen years, and something’s been bothering me. You walk through these gleaming towers, all glass and marble, and they’re pumping artificial air…
Biodiverse Roof Design and How to Create Habitat Not Just Greenery
# Biodiverse Roof Design and How to Create Habitat Not Just Greenery Most green roofs are ecological disasters dressed up in marketing speak. There, I said it. You see these…
How Much Weight Can My Roof Support and Do I Need a Structural Survey
# How Much Weight Can My Roof Support and Do I Need a Structural Survey You’re looking at that flat roof on your extension and wondering whether you can transform…
ZEB Pilot House Norway and What a True Zero Emission Home Looks Like
I’ve been working on sustainable building projects for over ten years, and I’ll be honest – most of what passes for “zero emission” housing makes me want to tear my…
Inside Jewel Changi Airport and What Makes It a Biophilic Masterpiece
# Inside Jewel Changi Airport and What Makes It a Biophilic Masterpiece I’ll be honest with you. When I first heard about an airport terminal with a 40-metre waterfall and…