5 of the Most Innovative Trends in Sustainable Design

Visible Solar

The chunky, highly visible rooftop solar panels of the past are on their way out thanks to technology, but is this a good thing? Certainly, ultra-thin solar panels that blend seamlessly into a building’s roof will help retain a design’s aesthetic appeal. However, studies have shown that one of the biggest motivating factors for homeowners to install solar is seeing them on the roofs of other homes and buildings. Architects are taking note of the importance of visible solar panels and are making panels an integral part of their designs.

Green Everywhere

Plants are taking over – and that’s a good thing! The rooftop garden trend has begun to spread. Vertical gardens – on both interior walls and the exterior facade of a building – are another way to replace some of the greenery lost due to spreading urbanization. Aside from improving air quality, rooftop and vertical gardens provide space to grow fresh produce. Plus, rooftop gardens, groundcover gardens – even grass driveways – provide a way for stormwater runoff to filter back into the earth.

Say Goodbye to Non-Renewables

There has been an explosion over the last few years in renewable building materials. While some come to us thanks to technological advancements, many are revivals of centuries old building practices such as straw bale construction. A key differentiation between renewable and non-renewable building materials is that renewable materials are derived from regenerative resources like plants as opposed to finite resources like oil, gas and coal deposits. And while we might not be ready to fully let go of non-renewable materials such as plastic quite yet, their farewell most likely is on the horizon – with building materials derived from bamboo, cork, cotton, flax, hemp, rosin, rubber and straw set to take their place.