Cutting-edge, sustainable architecture around the world is the subject of new book Green Architecture by Philip Jodidio. Experimental perhaps, but many green buildings today tap into age-old traditions of harnessing heat through orientating them towards the sun, or by gaining thermal mass through use of thick stone or mud. The book also celebrates technological ways of controlling global warming caused by construction, which accounts for a high proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. Here is a selection of its projects, from the monumental to the modest.

Panyaden School, Thailand

The bamboo roof of the school seems to hover above the ground (Credit: Ally Taylor)

Chiefly influenced by nature, Dutch practice 24 Architecture created a layout inspired by the tropical staghorn fern for this primary school in Chiang Mai. The building broadcasts its ecological aims through its extravagantly organic form, use of locally sourced materials and low carbon footprint. Its low-hanging, undulating, Gaudíesque roof – supported by columns made of fast-growing, ultra-sustainable bamboo – seems to hover above the floor, which is made of rammed earth.

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