Building The Future: A Look At Sustainable Buildings Around The World

ACROS Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall, Japan

One of the greatest examples of green architecture, this hall was built by the award-winning Argentinian architect, Emilio Ambasz, often considered to be the father of the sustainability movement. 

The ACROS Prefectural Hall was originally envisaged as a government office building back in the 1990s. The building houses an exhibition hall, museum, proscenium theatre, conference rooms, governmental and private offices, and four underground levels of parking and retail facilities.

Hailed as a model of urban façade greening ever since its construction in 1994, the ACROS (Asian Crossroads Over the Sea) Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall in Fukuoka, Japan, addresses two seemingly contrasting demands—a developer’s desire to maximise the profitable nature of a site and the public need for more green spaces. The hall consists of two façades. The one to the south seamlessly extends the nearby Tenjin Park (among the last stretches of greenery in the concrete city) to nearly double its size, with a series of 15 low, terraced gardens. To visitors, it appears as a green pyramid or mountain, akin to the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and is the perfect space for activities such as exercising, meditating and relaxing. People can even climb to the top of this green pyramid, where a rooftop garden offers luxuriant views of the city, the surrounding mountains and the harbour. At the opposite end, overlooking the city’s financial district, the north face is made of striped glass, and has more than 1,000,000 square feet of multipurpose space. By successfully blending architecture with landscape, it is both a building as well as an enormous garden—a much-needed boon for Fukuoka.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, USA

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the first professional sports stadium in the US to be awarded the LEED Platinum certification.

The Mercedes-Benz stadium opened its doors in 2017. It is the home stadium of the Atlanta Falcons, an American football outfit, and Atlanta United FC, a soccer team.

One of the most sustainable sports venues all over the world, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, has several features that make it a model stadium worth emulating. Its focus on renewable forms of energy ensures that energy use is reduced by as much as 29%. The solar panels generate 1.6 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy each year—equivalent to powering 160 households. LED lights in the stadium use 60% less energy compared to conventional lights, while the halo board video display and the stadium’s façade (made using ethylene tetrafluoroethylene — a durable, light material that allows natural light to filter through) also significantly cut down on energy wastage. A rigorous zero-waste system, replete with zero-waste stations, is also in place that efficiently segregates it and ensures that over 90% of the waste generated never reaches a landfill. Instead, the materials are either recycled into unique products or turned to compost for the stadium’s urban garden. Of further note is the stadium’s efficient water-management system, that collects stormwater and conserves water (with the use of other features such as low-flow plumbing fixtures and waterless urinals) — all resulting in a 47% reduction in water use.

Museum of Tomorrow, Brazil

The Museum of Tomorrow is part of a larger revitalisation of Porto Maravilha, the port neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro.

The museum is aimed at answering five questions—where did we come from, who are we, where are we, where are we going and how do we want to live together over the next fifty years?

Inspired by Carioca culture and with the motive of exploring the relationship between the city and its natural environment by means of its architecture, the Museum of Tomorrow is both a temporary and a permanent exhibition space. The museum’s design focuses on sustainable cities and an ecological world, while incorporating natural energy and light sources, along with water from the Guanabara Bay that is used to regulate temperatures inside. Along with this, the building also has photovoltaic solar panels, which can be adjusted to the sun’s rays throughout the day to generate solar energy at all hours. Inside the museum, the exhibits address issues like population growth, consumption patterns, technological advances and changes in biodiversity.

Anandaloy, Bangladesh

The word anandaloy means 'a place of deep joy'—an incredibly apt description of the building itself.

The first floor has a therapy centre for people with disabilities, while the second floor hosts Dipdii Textiles, a studio for female tailors in the village.

Anandaloy won the prestigious Obel Award in 2020.

Bricks, concrete and steel may be the choice of material for modern buildings. But, that is not the case with Anandaloy, a disabled-friendly community centre-cum-textile studio in Rudrapur in Bangladesh. Anandaloy incorporates sustainability by resorting to age-old practices, and sticks to the core belief that architecture is meant to improve people’s lives. That is why this unique building, constructed in 2019, has been built by farmers and labourers using mud and bamboo, two locally-sourced materials. Mud may be considered inferior to brick, but, for designer Anna Herringer, this was just another challenge meant to be overcome creatively. Herringer used a technique called cob to explore the plastic abilities of mud to create a stronger framework. The technique also negates the need for a formwork— the reason why Anandaloy’s interior layout takes the shape of ‘dancing curves’ and not ‘rigid rectangles’. For Herringer, this is symbolic—the dancing curves symbolise deep joy and convey the message that diversity is wonderful. The same is the case with the giant ramp connecting the two floors, which represents inclusion.

Torre Reforma, Mexico City

Torre Reforma enjoys a Platinum certification from LEED, the most widely used green building rating system in the world.

Torre Reforma reaches a staggering height of 807 metres. The tower consists of 57 floors.

It can withstand earthquakes and seismic activities. For this purpose, the concrete walls of the building were designed to bend.

It may not be evident at first glance, but much thought has gone into the building of Torre Reforma, the highest tower in Mexico City. It resembles a solid concrete-and-steel tower in the shape of an open book, with a glass façade enclosing it. Furthermore, its ground-site area may seem insufficient for a building that high, but rest assured, every single feature of this building is designed to cut down on energy consumption and increase its aesthetic appeal. The use of concrete and steel in the building’s construction, besides lending immense structural stability, is also a subtle nod to the conventions of pre-Hispanic and colonial Mexican architecture. And according to the architects responsible for the building’s construction, the slimness of the building ensures that the maximum amount of light is let into the building, thereby significantly reducing the dependence on and use of electric lights. Weather permitting, the windows can automatically open before dawn to let in cool air as a form of ventilation. The glass facade can also turn 45 degrees to offer the best views of the city, while interior triple gardens create useful micro spaces within the building.

Pixel Building, Australia

The building is Australia’s first carbon-neutral office building. It is a former brewery run by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB).

This visually appealing building in Melbourne is a classic example of sustainable design technology and innovation. The Pixel Building opened its doors in 2010, generating its own power and water through a system of on-site wind turbines and a green roof. Built with sustainably sourced building material, the outpost is a self-sufficient one and can even function when disconnected from the mains supply. The building’s design also employs low-carbon concrete to reduce its embodied carbon content, and has bagged the highest-possible and highest-ever rating from the Green Building Council of Australia.

Agrotopia, Belgium

Agrotopia is touted to be largest public building dedicated to urban food production in Europe.

It has been constructed by Belgian studio META Architectuurbureau and Dutch practice van Bergen Kolpa Architecten as a commission from Inagro (the Flemish research institute for agriculture and horticulture) and REO Veiling.

Located in the city of Roeselare, Agrotopia is an urban food-production centre that aims to both produce farm food and educate people on agriculture. Built in 2021, Agrotopia is a 9,500-square-metre greenhouse built on top of the REO Veiling agricultural auction market. Inside, the greenhouse is divided into four climatic zones for the cultivation of different fruits and vegetables. The building also has research facilities and an educational trail for people, with ‘box-in-box’ spaces creating a more suitable climate for the people, the researchers and the educators. A double-height conservatory enables cultivation in vertical spaces, while the horizontal-faceted construction lets in sufficient sunlight for the crops and generates a reflection-free view at the ground level. Outside, silos store rainwater at the foot of the greenhouse for irrigation purposes, while run-off from irrigation is also constantly recycled and reused. The heating is facilitated by the residual heat generated from a waste incinerator nearby. The whole effect has been aptly described as a “circular symbiosis within the city”.

CopenHill, Denmark

CopenHill is an integral part of Copenhagen’s goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025. It provides clean electricity and heating to 1,50,000 nearby homes.

One can also enjoy a tree-lined hiking, running trail to the top of CopenHill.

Spread across 41,000 square metres, CopenHill in Copenhagen is a waste-to-energy plant whose furnaces, steam and turbines convert 4,40,000 tons of waste annually into clean energy. However, it also doubles up as an excellent recreation-cum-sports centre. Here, people are able to enjoy activities such as skiing, hiking and even rock climbing. The centrepiece is a 9,000-square-metre ski terrain formed by the precise positioning and placement of various machinery to create a sloping rooftop. The green roof absorbs the heat, eliminates particulate matter from the air and minimises stormwater runoff.

Bosco Verticale, Italy

One of the four finalists for the 2018 RIBA International Prize, Bosco Verticale absorbs 30 tons of carbon dioxide and generates 19 tons of oxygen every year. According to architect Stefano Boeri’s estimates, there are two trees, eight shrubs and 40 plants for each human resident here.

The Bosco Verticale was inspired by Italo Calvino's 1957 novel, The Baron in the Trees.

“Green buildings” are, perhaps, the first words that come to one’s mind as they stare at Bosco Verticale, two residential towers measuring 80 metres and 112 metres in Milan, Italy. Literally translating to “Vertical Forest”, Bosco Verticale is widely considered to be one of the most intensive green façades in the world. According to the estimates of the building’s architect Stefano Boeri, a staggering 20,000 trees, shrubs and plants spill out of curiously irregular balconies, inching their way along the sides to the top. These serve to drastically improve the air quality, not just in the environs of the towers but the city as a whole as well. Additionally, the buildings, Boeri says, harbour hundreds of birds from over 15 species. So noticeable are the verdant offerings of these apartments that their other special features often slip under the radar. For instance, Bosco Verticale also has exemplary geothermal and wastewater-treatment facilities, which are just as vital to the functioning of these green paradises as the other more observable features are.