Shipping containers are known for their inherent strength, wide availability and relatively low cost — making them a practical and sustainable option for affordable housing. Last year, South Florida-based design, manufacturing and retail company, Envision Prefab set out to create a eco-conscious home, the “E-House,” constructed of sturdy cargo containers. They also wanted to educate homeowners about sustainability, so they recorded all the steps involved in retro-fitting shipping containers to construct the home and shared it with Jetson Green.

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As the winter winds begin to blow, we’d thought we say one last goodbye to the things of summer by featuring Icelandic architectural firm Glama-Kim Architects’ modern, modular, eco-friendly summerhouses situated in the Western part of Iceland, in the town of Stykkishólmur. Project architect Olafur Mathiesen led the design, which boasts spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, as well as the use of readily available materials combined with the ease of construction and simplicity of design.

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Toby Long, principal architect of CleverHomes and tobylongdesign, recently led the effort to produce one of the first CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools) certified relocatable classrooms in the United States. Working with the Chartwell School, Long and his San Francisco-based design/build/prefab company designed, prefabricated, and installed two green portable classroom structures, which were completed this summer in four weeks flat.

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Aquaquest is a beautiful addition to the Vancouver Aquarium that was conceived as an education center to teach the surrounding Canadian community the importance of eco-friendly living. True to its nature, the complex demonstrates these principles through an impressive set of sustainable building strategies including a leafy green wall, rainwater harvesting, and a highly efficient heating and cooling system.

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Recover, restore, and reuse.  That was the mantra employed by Portugal-based architecture team Ezzo, led by César Machado Moreira, in designing Paço De Pombeiro, a twentieth-century rural hotel in Felgueiras, Portugal. The hotel is located on 24-acres of farmland which are primarily used as vineyards, and had existing sixteenth-century buildings. The architects wanted to revive the old structure, so they designed the hotel to complement and enhance the characteristics of the existing structures — and provide space and amenities for up to 22 guests and an outdoor swimming pool.

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In the wake of the United State’s recently terminated Car Allowance Rebate System, Russia has announced that it will be implementing a “Cash for Clunkers” program of its own early next year. The plan aims to encourage domestic vehicle sales while emphasizing the environmental benefits of purchasing more energy-efficient vehicles by offering 50,000 rubles (approximately $1,500) for the trade-in of vehicles that are more than 10-years-old towards the purchase of a Russian-made car.

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Vancouver-based architecture firm Bricault Design’s vegetation-clad house in Venice, California is a sexy study in green. The mod abode incorporates sustainable design in a new residential addition that features a lush living wall on three sides of the house and a breezy roof garden perfect for relaxing in the sun. Read on to see the other eco-conscious touches that make other homes green with envy.

Oregon-based Studio Gorm has created a complete kitchen in which energy is conserved and cooking waste is recycled and used to grow plants. Dubbed the flow kitchen, the design successfully integrates nature and technology into a system where drying dishes helps water plants and composting food waste helps to fertilize them.

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Driven by a progressive environmental strategy that will exploit sustainable energy design, Spanish-based firm Moho Arquitectura’s design for a mixed-use tower in San Jose will become a new benchmark for eco-friendly design in Costa Rica. In addition to its eco-conscious features, the unique “peeling” quality of the tower is sure to turn some heads!

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This sleek modern hilltop residence was designed by Japan-based architecture firm Suppose Design Office to make optimal use of passive solar building principles. Every aspect of the residence’s innovative design has been carefully considered to make the best use of available sunlight and natural ventilation, demonstrating how efficient building practices can inform and give shape to elegant modern architecture.

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Bridging the gap between good design and giving back to the community, Canstruction, the annual international design/build competition where architects, engineers, designers, and students compete to design and build gigantic structures made entirely from full cans of food, is coming to New Jersey in October!

Charlotte, North Carolina-based architecture firm Little Diversified Architectural Consulting has conceived of an incredible project that transforms a vacant parking lot in Dallas into a completely self-reliant eco-city. Dubbed the Entangled Bank, the project features a green-walled citadel emblazoned with solar panels, an agricultural field, and an extensive system for greywater treatment and recycling, providing its residents with sustainable sources for food, water and energy.

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Germany recently joined the ranks of the green elite with the completion of Citigroup’s stunning new Data Center in Frankfurt. Designed by leading sustainable architecture and engineering firm Arup Associates, the 230,000-square-foot facility’s efficient use of energy and resource-conserving design have made it the first data center in the world to achieve LEED Platinum! That’s no small task considering the energy required to keep stacks of servers running smoothly in a climate-controlled environment.

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Israeli-based architect Zvika Tamari of TeaM Architects recently proposed a conceptual plan for the burgeoning city of Modiin in Israel that takes the form of an incredible grass-roofed eco-dome. Situated at the center of the city and surrounded by a series of green spaces, the Globe Ecological Hub functions as a museum and multi-use urban center that promotes sustainable living. The grass-crowned hub takes advantage of natural ventilation, daylighting, active solar systems, and a host of other green building strategies.

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Hungary-based design team Urban Landscape Group recently completed an extraordinary summer project that allows visitors to float down the Danube in a portable pool! Dubbed Barge Beach Budapest, the sandy sailing island acts as a contemporary Turkish bath and open air pool situated in the waterways between the river’s edges. The pop up beach is constructed from three recycled barges and provides residents with a brand new public space to bask in the sun.

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Santa Monica-based architecture firm Jesse Bornstein Architecture, known for their environmentally conscious custom single-family residential homes, recently completed a sustainably designed and built 5-unit townhouse project aptly named “Green on 19 Townhomes” located in Santa Monica, California. READ MORE >

Although it seems like the media often regards China as the biggest greenwasher in the world, it is hard to dispute sustainable building when pure architectural facts and innovations are involved. The Foshan Pearl Gymnasium, China’s newest addition to its green array, is an excellent illustration of this point. Designed by Japan-based firm Mitsuru Man Senda and Environment Design Institute in direct response to the sub-tropical climate of the surrounding area, the vast athletic center examines the relationship between internal and external spaces and provides further support for China’s environmentally responsible attitude towards green building and design.

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On track to become the first green building to achieve both LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge Certification, the Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OSCL) embodies the synthesis of wastewater recycling, clean energy, and eco-friendly architecture. Designed by sustainable design firm BNIM Architects as a functioning model for the nonprofit organization Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, the state-of-the art environmental education and water reclamation facility in Rhinebeck, New York serves as a teaching tool to educate visitors on Omega’s ongoing environmental initiatives, including innovative wastewater strategies.

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Intent on producing one of the greenest buildings in Latin America, SPACE Architects + Planners have unveiled their Efizia Tower design for the Santa Fe district of Mexico City. The 33 story tower will be made from 30 percent recycled materials, including aluminum, reinforced concrete, and glass, and will boast numerous eco-friendly features. Efiza Tower was named one of the three best tall building projects at the 2009 MIPIM Architectural Review Future Projects Awards, and is currently under the LEED certification process, having already obtained the gold standard at its pre-certification stage.

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Argentinean architects Gustavo Dieguez and Lucas Gilardi of Estudio a77 transformed an existing 1950s house on a small lot in an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires into an innovative eco-friendly dwelling. Constructed from recycled and reclaimed materials, this ‘demolition house’ turns trash into a treasured abode. Using approximately 50 meters of recycled highway guard rails from the General Paz (a highway surrounding Buenos Aires) and 300 meters of discarded metal profiles, wood, iron doors and windows found in scrap yards, Dieguez and Gilardi rework demolition materials into fully functioning structural elements.

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Delft-based firm Mecanoo Architecten recently began construction on a new green public housing project in Málaga, Spain. Sustainability plays an integral part in the construction of the project, which is located in a new development on the outskirts of Málaga called Universidad. The development comprises 170 residences and it was designed with solar paneling to minimize energy use, and alternating heights of five or six stories to allow natural ventilation and natural light to penetrate the interior spaces.

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Known for showcasing the latest innovations in architecture, construction, design, and green-building practices on the West Coast, Sunset magazine’s Idea House program recently debuted its latest project, the Modern Cottage, this past weekend at the magazine’s annual Celebration Weekend. Created and designed by Norwegian architect Casper Mork-Ulnes, Co-Founder and Director of Design of the San Francisco-based pre-fab building company Modern Cabana and Co-Founder and Director of Building, Nick Damner, the house incorporates green design with affordable living spaces.