"Sustainable Living" shows how sustainable living works

How do you live when the planet is gradually beginning to groan under the weight of man and machine? Sustainably, of course. But there is not just one answer to what this overused word really means in relation to living. The illustrated book “Sustainable Living” from Taschen Verlag presents 63 unique buildings that could not be more different, but whose construction methods pursue the same goal: to leave the smallest possible ecological footprint over their entire life cycle. The creative building solutions are not only a feast for the eyes for architecture lovers, but also provide hope for a liveable, sustainable and creative future.

Thick stone walls ensure that you can keep a cool head in this modern building in the middle of Mexico and that the temperature inside remains constant.

Building sustainably can mean assembling something from seven prefabricated modules, like this building on the Scottish island of North Uist.

The artfully curving beams of this hidden retreat in India were made from 4,000 recycled plastic bottles and encased in soil residue.

The province of Esmeraldas on the island of Portete in Ecuador was shaken by an earthquake in 2016. While the 80 local families relocated to the mainland, the architects planned to rebuild the traditional bamboo and toquila thatch houses – on stilts and so thermally efficient that no air conditioning is required.

The central Japanese city of Okazaki is known for its 400-year-old granite quarry. Granite was also used for the walls of this house.

The “sola-no-niwa”, a roof garden, allows this Japanese house to merge with the surrounding rice fields.

An orchard and solar panels on the roof, an automatic irrigation system in the fish pond at ground level: this house in Vietnam shows how self-sufficiency works.

For those who don’t like neighbors: this building is located on a one-hectare plot in New Zealand and is perfectly hidden thanks to native grasses on the roof.

Homes for our Time. Sustainable Living

“Welcome to the Anthropocene”, says the introduction to “Homes for our Time. Sustainable Living”. And yes, this Anthropocene, the age in which humanity exerts considerable influence on our planet, comes with a number of hurdles and challenges. The biggest of these: how do we live with climate change – and ideally, how do we stop it? Not with sustainable building alone, of course. But the diverse solutions and suggestions for living presented in this illustrated book are a step in the right direction. And provide inspiration to use our resources more consciously.

Philip Jodidio, “Homes for Our Time. Sustainable Living”, Taschen, 496 pages, approx. 75.-, taschen.com

Looking for inspiration for a sustainable home? Then get the book here.

Also sustainable and quite playful: Modern tree houses for adults.

“Sustainable Living” shows how sustainable living works

Josefine Zürcher

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