How and which materials and designs are architects using to make buildings environmentally friendly?

Question

How and which materials and designs are architects using to make buildings environmentally friendly?

Answer 1

Insulation is being improved constantly to provide the consumer with a way to conserve energy in the home. Proper insulation will keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, thus reducing the energy you use in heating and cooling. Caulking and sealant around windows and outlets have been improved to handle weathering and last longer (They reduce drafts).

Answer 2

The sad part of your question is the local government has the say in how and what one builds a house from.  Their only view is one of resale and equity increase.  This keeps the tax base going up and up.

I could build a house from the stuff that is going to the landfill, but would they give me permission ?

Imagine a house that requires no heat or AC.

Imagine a house the makes its own power.

Imagine a house that makes all your food and water.

Answer 3

They use products whose "environmental footprint" (which means their overall environmental impact from the beginning to the end of their life cycle, so from extracting the resource to the disposal of the resource) is relatively small, like sustainable-crop woods to make sure they aren't contributing toward clear-cutting or recycled materials (including things like recycled denim as wall insulation, I have read).   They incorporate solar power where possible and make sure that homes are well-insulated to prevent wasted energy in added heat or cooling.  They use automatic window darkening or shades to take advantage of the sun's heat in the morning and prevent over-heating during the day, and motion-sensor technology to control the use of lights (so lights, which are the more expensive, long-lasting sort, turn off automatically when nobody is around).  Some people have designed homes partially under the ground, using the ground-cover (e.g., grass and dirt!) to help regulate temperature within the house and to reduce the environmental footprint of the house by keeping more greenspace.  They can also design homes and buildings so that the house naturally takes advantage of and protects itself from the sun just based on the way it is laid out (how many windows, which way they face, etc...).  There's a lot of fascinating technology that is constantly evolving to make buildings greener at the construction stage and during their lifetimes (in terms of energy use, etc.).  I just read an article about how some people are proposing harnessing the body heat generated by commuters in subways in Sweden or somewhere to heat the water and other areas of the station there.     You can look at various websites about this kind of thing, but might want to decide whether you care more about residential or office buildings, which have different concerns.  Just Google stuff like "eco-friendly design" "environmentally friendly construction" "Green buildings"  "Green homes"....