The Sol Duc Cabin is the latest project to come from the office of Inhabitat favorite, Olson Kundig Architects. Located in the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, this small retreat is perfect for taking fishing trips to the nearby river, or spending some quality time immersed in nature. Made from materials that have been prefabricated off-site, this cute and comfortable shelter is near suspended above the ground on four stilts for minimal impact on the land.

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Post tags: fishing shelter, Floating Houses, green holidays, low impact housing, minimal ground impact, olson kundig architects, Prefab Housing, prefab materials, Sol Duc Cabin, Sustainable Building, washington

The Arctic has long been described as a goldmine of untapped resources, and in recent years it has been the site for some international chest-thumping and the attempted claiming of rights. But given what lies beneath, it is not hard to understand why. According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic potentially holds an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil (13% of the world’s recoverable oil reserves), up to 50 trillion cubic metres of natural gas (about 30% of the world’s natural gas reserves), and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids – not to mention assorted precious metals and minerals. As a result, the race is on for various countries to exploit these reserves. However, rightfully so, scientists are worried about the environmental damage that could be unleashed on the region.

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Post tags: arctic environmental issues, arctic exploited, arctic gas reserves, arctic gold minerals, arctic oil geological survey, arctic oil reserves, arctic reserve resources, arctic resources, arctic resources issues, arctic russia, arctic statoil

Read the rest of Bulbous Handmade Paper Lamps By Paula Arntzen Hang Like Glowing Sculptures

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Post tags: bulbous paper lamps, green lighting, Light Fixtures, paper designs, paper lamps, Paula Arntzen, sculpture lamps

Read the rest of D-Hotel: Historic Windmill Transformed into a Modern Designer Retreat

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, d-hotel, eco design, eco renovation, eco-luxury hotel, eco-tourism, Govaert & Vanhoutte, Govaert and Vanhoutte Architects, green design, green renovation, Kortijk, luxury hotel, sustainable design, upcycled windmill, windmill

Read the rest of PICS: The Montreal Center for Sustainable Development Boasts a Lush Vertical Garden and Green Roof

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Post tags: “green wall”, “living wall”, Center for Sustainable Development, eco design, equiterre, glass powder concrete, green design, green roof, Marie-Claire Blais, Montreal Maison Du Developpment Durable, salvaged wood, sustainable design, vertical garden

If you’re planning to visit Iceland, bring a coat (or several!) – situated just south of the Arctic Circle, the Nordic country has a frigid climate. With winter temperatures in the negative double digits, and blistering glacial winds and dust storms, it’s called Iceland for a reason. The locals have spent centuries adapting to these challenging conditions, and their super smart green-roofed turf houses are some of the coolest looking hillside homes we’ve seen. Built with the simplest of natural materials, the turf house is a warm and cozy escape from the chilly countryside.

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Post tags: Architecture, eco building, eco design, Green Building, green design, green houses iceland, iceland homes, iceland houses, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, turf, turf homes iceland, turf houses, turf houses iceland

What makes a home worth a million dollars? How about a billion dollars? Irish artist Frank Buckley has taken this question to its logical extreme by building his very own home made from 1.4 billion Euro notes! Graced with very strict permission from the Central Bank of Ireland, Buckley has constructed and now lives in a home made entirely of shredded decommissioned Euros. He formed the bills into 6 inch by 2 inch bricks, each of which contains around 40 to 50 thousand Euros. The three room house is an amazing exercise in recycled materials as well as a social statement on Ireland’s housing and financial crisis.

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Post tags: 1.4 billion euro, 1.4 billion euro home, 1.4 billion euro house, eco design, euros, euros art, frank buckley, green design, greet art ireland, Ireland, ireland art, ireland recycled materials, irish artist, irish artist frank buckley, news, recycled art, recycled art ireland, recycled euro home, recycled euro house, recycled euros, recycled home, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

Read the rest of PHOTOS: Inhabitat Spends the Night in Quebec’s Hotel de Glace Ice Castle!

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Post tags: eco design, green design, Hotel de Glace, ice bar, ice carvings, ice hotel, LED lights, quebec city, snow hotel, sustainable design, The Northern Quebec, winter hotel

Read the rest of Amazing Stork Nest Farm Features a Gigantic Woven Bird Nest Riding Arena

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Post tags: “sustainable architecture”, arena, czechoslovakia, Daylighting, eco design, farm renovation, farmstead, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green renovation, natural ventilation, Prague, riding arena, sgl projekt, stork nest farm, storks nest, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Through an extremely in-depth report, paired with dazzling visual representations, design and think tank group Rollerhaus imagined an eco-centric future vision of Chicago that is without cars, with new systems for energy and water, and built in a whole new architectural language. Their project was started in response to the Living Future Institute’s Living Cities competition, whose challenge was to conceptualize what a city of the future may look like if it work like a certified Living Building. Their interpretation of a reclaimed eco-architecture city — featuring reused parts of building facades and billboards pieced onto skyscrapers — drew a lot of controversy, but we echo Rollerhaus in their proposal, which begged the question: Is a sustainable city really the picture perfect one we’ve seen in past architectural movements?

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Post tags: Architecture, concept, Eco, Futuristic, illustration, living cities, rollerhaus, Sustainable, virtual