A second home in Connecticut features an earthy materials palette that is detailed to look clean and contemporary.

Architect Alan Organschi’s experience as a cabinet maker and carpenter colors his firm’s thoughtfully detailed designs, which celebrate materiality. He believes this hands-on approach has set the ethos for his practice, Gray Organschi Architecture, which he founded with partner Lisa Gray in New Haven, Connecticut. The duo has designed a range of institutional, commercial, and residential projects, such as the Kent House. The design of this home exemplifies the unique balance the firm has achieved between functional and bespoke.

SubCat Studios by Fiedler Marciano Architecture

The addition of an independent recording studio was an ideal fit for Syracuse, New York’s burgeoning local arts scene, but who would consider building a recording studio on a site surrounded by noise?

Although it is situated between downtown Syracuse’s Armory Square district and the Near Westside, two artsy neighborhoods on the rise, the Redhouse Arts Center is physically isolated. The 89-seat theater occupies a "private island" of sorts, severed from the urban fabric by highly trafficked roads and a freight rail overpass. Now it is no longer alone. When the adjacent three-story masonry structure known as 219 West became available, a benefactor of the Redhouse Arts Center, who is also an associate of the owner of SubCat Studios, saw a mutually beneficial opportunity to cement this little island’s status as a cultural destination.

The first skyscraper in the United States to achieve LEED Platinum also utilized the principles of biophilia in its design, helping to bring the feeling of nature into the heart of New York City.

When One Bryant Park – also known as the Bank of America Tower – was completed in 2009, it became the second tallest structure in New York City (after the Empire State Building). It was also the first skyscraper in the United States to achieve LEED Platinum certification. The list of its energy-efficient and environmentally friendly features is impressive and has been much discussed.

Old is made new again – and made greener – in this Phoenix-area home, designed by Circle West Architects.

Is an architect's toughest client himself? Not when he has a crystal clear vision for his family’s home. Phoenix-based architect Peter Koliopoulos, AIA, founder and president of Circle West Architects, drew on his Miesian training at the Illinois Institute of Technology to transform a 30-year-old concrete block and stucco home in the residential neighborhood of Paradise Valley into a modern crystal that rises from the revegetated desert landscape.

Green is here to stay! Here’s what to watch for in the next few months.

With 2011 quickly drawing to a close, it’s time to take out our crystal ball and conjure up the green home trends that will shape our choices in the coming year. Many of these trends will sound very familiar; some have evolved out of economic necessity, while others exist thanks to great advances in technology. Whether you already own a home or plan to build a new one, there’s bound to be at least one trend that appeals to you.

In the past year, we’ve seen many wrenching images of post-tsunami Japan. What has happened since March, and how much hope is there for the affected area’s recovery?

Media coverage was intense following Japan’s Tohoko earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Despite the scale of this disaster, coverage inevitably shifted to other news stories. The people of eastern Japan still have a long road ahead in the rebuilding and recovery process. How are they faring, nine months later?

The ultimate in green design is nature itself. Here, experts explain the concept of biomimicry and give examples of how buildings can take inspiration from natural systems.

If the past 3.8 billion years have taught us anything, it’s that nature knows best. The field of biomimicry is built upon this premise, drawing inspiration from nature’s systems and processes to find solutions for human needs: “innovation inspired by nature.” The implications of biomimicry for the field of architecture could alter the way we design, the materials we choose, and ultimately even the forms of our buildings.

HOK / Vanderweil's retrofit of a government building takes the notion of incorporating nature into design to a whole new level. The facade uses algae-housing tubes to serve multiple functions, including using algae as a fuel source.

When building green, it’s easiest to start from scratch, but the blank slate is an ideal rather than a reality: our stock of existing buildings necessitates energy-efficiency retrofits.

Recently completed is architect Renzo Piano's addition to Le Corbusier's Ronchamp Chapel. The expansion includes a visitor's center as well as an Oratory and housing for nuns from the Community of Poor Clares.

No student escapes architecture school without learning about—and likely becoming enamored of—the Chapel of Notre Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier. This icon of 20th century architecture is situated atop a hillside in Ronchamp, France, a single structure in communion with the natural landscape. Now it has company.

Next year London, England, will host the Summer Olympic Games for the third time, and constructing the buildings and infrastructure required to support the  Olympic Games is on a par with constructing an entire new city. Although some events can be accommodated within existing buildings in the city and elsewhere in the United Kingdom, London’s new Olympic Park, located near Stratford City in East London on the site of a former industrial park, will comprise several significant structures by notable architects.