The future of resourceful living: these cutting-edge examples of green buildings combine innovative design with eco-friendly solutions. From low-energy houses with green roofs to a recyclable emergency shelter by the Norman Foster Foundation, explore a world of architecture where style meets sustainability.

Travel across continents and climates to experience architecture that's rewriting the rules of sustainability. Like the other titles in our Homes for Our Time series, each of the 63 projects in Sustainable Living opens a window into a unique dwelling inspired by the pressures and possibilities of a warming planet with finite resources.
The result is a sweeping story of architects, ranging from Norman Foster to the Sn√∏hetta practice, building in bold new ways that honor the ecosystems our planet depends on. Homes that strive to leave the lightest possible imprint, from the moment their materials are sourced to the day they're returned to the earth. Energy-efficient envelopes, low-impact structures, recycled and biodegradable materials, designs attuned to sun, wind and rain. Each construction is an illuminating chapter in architecture's evolving quest to do no harm, beautifully photographed and annotated, alongside biographies of the architects who created them.
No single region or style holds the monopoly on eco-friendly innovation. Discover the multiplicity of inventive responses: affordable bamboo structures rising above floodwaters in Hanoi, a home created from locally-quarried rock and slate in a Japanese forest, a brick cube encouraging passive cooling in the heat of Ahmedabad, an emergency shelter literally unrolled in a Venetian garden, a passive house nestled beneath Australian treetops.
Whether modest or monumental, these enviable projects prove that sustainability isn't a look or a pose, but a mindset that transcends traditions, borders, and budgets. Each one invites us to design smarter, live lighter, and waste nothing.

Details

ISBN13: 9783836596893
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 496
Edition: Multilingual edition
Publication Date: 04 Jun 2026
Publisher: Taschen GmbH
Publication City, Country: Cologne, Germany
Dimensions (cm): 37.2(H)x24.6(L)x5.1(W)4093
Weight (gm): 4093

Author Biography

Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard and edited Connaissance des Arts for over 20 years. His TASCHEN books include the Homes for Our Time series and monographs on numerous major architects, including Norman Foster, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel, and Zaha Hadid.

Reviews

Today, the term 'sustainability' concerns not only the environmental cost of operating a home, but also that of building it. * Philip Jodidio *