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…
# California Academy of Sciences and the Green Roof That Breathes I remember standing in Golden Gate Park looking up at what appeared to be hills that had somehow materialised…
When I first heard about a 26-storey residential tower in New York being built to Passive House standards, I’ll be honest: I was sceptical. The physics seemed brutal. Here’s the…
# 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…
# The World’s Most Important Green Architecture Projects: A Crew Debate Right, so we finally sat down and hashed this out. Took us three sessions, nearly ended a friendship between…
# Choosing Indoor Plants That Actually Improve Air Quality and Where to Put Them I spent the better part of a decade convinced that filling my flat with plants would…
I was walking past a building site in Norwich about eight years ago when I saw something that made me stop dead. The builders were installing these massive triple-glazed windows…
I built my first structure without planning permission when I was twenty-three. Nothing as ambitious as a whole house, mind you – just a garden shed that was probably six…
I’ve spent the last five years watching architects discover cross laminated timber with the enthusiasm of children finding out they can build actual treehouses. The conversations follow a predictable pattern.…
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…