Dutch Tiles Make Sloped Green Roofs Easier To Install

Artist's conception of how the Roel de Boer system can be applied to an existing sloped roof. Image via Roel de Boer.

Design firm Roel de Boer has created a lightweight roofing tile that can be retrofitted on existing sloping shingles, making green roofs possible in difficult urban locations. Read more →

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Building Affordably In A Small Dutch Town

Deckhouse EXs

A Dutch university town has set up a prefab home supermarket for first-time home buyers, with diverse designs from 20 different architecture firms. Read more →

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Green-Walled World Court Breaks Ground In The Hague

Artist's conception of the new International Criminal Court outside the Hague. Image via Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.

To convey “openness and transparency,” the design for the new International Criminal Court includes green walls and a generous use glazing for ventilation and daylighting. Read more →

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Warehouse Adapted For Collaborative Innovation

The meeting spaces of the RDM Innovation Dock hang from former crane supports. Image by Theo Peekstok via Groosman Partners.

A massive maritime warehouse in Rotterdam is converted into modular classroom space, saving on building costs and reducing the raw materials needed to build new classrooms. Read more →

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Self-Sufficient Isolée House Design Treads Lightly

The Isolee house is designed to interact as little as possible with its environment. Image via Tjep.

Looking more like a piece of toy furniture that a dwelling, the self-sufficient Isolee house runs on a wood stove and solar power, barely touching the surrounding natural environment. Read more →

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Self-Sufficient House Fits Sculpted Dutch Landscape

The Bridge House straddles a wedge-shaped gap in the Dutch countryside. Image by Christiaan de Bruijne via 123DV.

This Bridge House uses the traditional Dutch “terp” method of embedding a building in a low mound to harness the geothermal properties of the soil and live off the grid. Read more →

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Green Roof Keeps Science Mixing Chamber Cool

The new Amsterdam University Colege building, showing its angled green roof. Image via Mecanoo.

A new college science building in the Netherlands employs sustainable techniques, such as a green roof, natural daylight and thermal massing, to help foster a sense of community. Read more →

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Holland’s Floating Pavilion Designed For Rising Seas

Rotterdam's prototype floating city project will be moored to the waterfront through 2015. Image by William Veerbeek/Flickr.

To prepare for expected flooding of the countryside due to global warming, Dutch architects are designing a "climate-proof" prototype city that can rise along with the average sea level. Read more →

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Holland’s Former Defensive Works Turned Into Playgrounds

The old Fort "Werk aan 't Spoel" now transformed for picnickers. Image by Rob 't Hart via Rietveld Landscape.

In two separate projects, former Dutch military strongholds have been transformed via adaptive reuse into green spaces where people can relax and enjoy picnics. Read more →

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Green Lab Raises The Bar With Cradle-To-Cradle Design

Netherlands Institute of Ecology

The Netherlands Institute of Ecology is a serious lab in a seriously green building, built around cradle-to-cradle design and smart, tailored strategies. Read more →

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