Not every office environment can be a multi-billion-dollar geodesic conservatory filled with tens of thousands of tropical plants, but there are lots of different ways to make boring workspaces more livable with the power of vegetation. These office interiors go way beyond bringing in a few houseplants to improve the air quality, incorporating planters into sculptural desks and spiral staircases, offering park-like grassy hills to sit on or covering virtually every surface with something green.

The Spheres: Amazon’s New Geodesic Seattle Headquarters

Say what you will about Amazon (and its effect on Seattle), but it’s hard to argue that the new addition to its headquarters by NBBJ is one of the most lush, verdant office environments ever created. Not only do the geodesic structures contain more than 40,000 plants representing 400 species from around the world, including an 18-ton ficus, a 40-foot fern and a huge glass tank full of Amazonian aquatic plants, it offers a highly unusual work environment. Five levels of workspaces include offices that are open to views of the Sphere interiors, a deck full of recliners and a treehouse meeting space with a suspended bridge.

Living Spiral Staircase at a London Office Building by Paul Cocksedge

The spiral staircase at the center of the Ampersand office building in London is basically a four-story planter. Designed by Paul Cocksedge, the structure transforms what previously felt like a cold and impersonal space. Each of the three circular wooden landings offer bench seating so employees can spend time among the greenery.

Park-Like Office for a Tourism Company by Studio Haps & 07Beach

While the occupants of standard office buildings daydream about breaking free of their poorly lit, improperly ventilated cages, employees of this Vietnamese tourist company are basically already working in a park. The interiors of these Ho Chi Minh offices are a collaboration between Studio Haps and 07beach, aiming to promote the well-being and stimulate the creativity of its staff.

Garden in a Former Steam Factory by Jvantspijker

Not everyone has the ability to go big when it comes to livening up their workplaces, but this project by architecture studio Jvantspijker at its own renovated offices show off the impact a smaller project can make. A new volume within the former steam factory offers a glazed meeting space on the first level and an indoor garden on the top, elevated above the workspaces and enjoying views of the sky through the space’s large windows.

Panoramic Garden Boardroom in Slovenia by Sadar + Vuga

The VIP boardroom in Ljubljana where the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia meet is full of swooping white lines carrying vines and other greenery throughout the space. Sadar + Vuga created an interior garden that stays green year-round, supported by a steel ribbon that undulates around the room, complemented by glazed walls and ceilings.

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Whole Lotta Lush 10 Verdant Offices That Feel Like Theyre Outdoors

Why stop at parks when we could make cities lusher and greener by integrating thousands of plants right into the facades of urban buildings? Vertical greenery improves air quality, shades the buildings, adds privacy and creates habitats for native birds and insects. These 13 examples include a parking garage, private residences, retail spaces and the world’s tallest vertical garden.

Vo Trong Nghia House Renovation

Created as an example of how greenery can be incorporated back into urban Vietnam, this house renovation incorporates a galvanized steel screen that acts as a trellis for climbing plants, enhancing privacy and security while also filtering air and sunlight.

Stacking Green by Vo Trong Nghia

Another approach by the same architecture firm, Vo Trong Nghia, uses 12 layers of concrete planters to create a vertical garden around a tall and narrow home that’s 65 feet deep but only 13 feet wide. Staggered spaces between the layers offer room for different heights of plants.

Bosco Verticale: Twin Green Towers

Nearly 1,000 trees, 5,000 shrubs and over 10,000 other small plants have been added to the city of Milan in these two urban towers alone. The twin towers of the Bosco Verticale by Stefano Boeri were designed to meet all of the needs of a heavy load of plants, including irrigation, root systems and weight. The greenery brightens up the city, provides shade and cleaner air for residents, and offers habitats for regional birds and insects.

Biological Concrete Absorbs Water & Grows Moss

Building materials could be made with the growth of greenery in mind, making a layer of moss or ivy on the exterior a natural part of the structure rather than a potential problem. Scientists at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona are developing a ‘biological concrete‘ that captures rainwater to create living walls of moss and fungi.

Green Cast by Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma and Associates created a patchwork aluminum facade with spaces for plants to grow for a pharmacy and clinic in Japan. Ventilation shafts and rainwater downpipes are concealed within the panels to keep the plants healthy.

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Forested Facades 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery To The City

In the ‘Venice of the North’, bridges over the many 17th century canals are plentiful, but nearly all of them are for vehicles and bicyclists. The Iconic Pedestrian Bridge competition by AC-CA sought design concepts for a bridge that would go beyond a simple structure spanning the Amstel River in Amsterdam, adding additional functionality. Though it was not chosen as a winner, this proposal by Aïe Architectes certainly stands out: a grass-covered bridge that functions as a public park and water filtration system.

The bridge itself is an undulating structure mimicking waves on the surface of the water, with raised areas for ships to pass beneath as well as planes that meet the surface of the river for water-based activities. Covered in grass, the bridge functions as a public park with a central pedestrian and bike path running through it.

The Amstel River-Yard Project is adaptable, able to become space for urban farming or forests if necessary, and offering a picturesque venue for events. At one end is a bicycle repair station and at the other is a sloping building with cafe, office, bathroom and shower facilities. Its roof provides a gentle incline for sledding in the winter. The grass on top filters rainwater before it runs into the canal.

Says Aïe Arcitectes, “The project provides fertile land which is gained on the canal, soil which in return purifies the water flowing beneath. Urban activities slide in between land and water, putting man in the heart of our project. This platform can take on any shape or size and be reproduced to become part of a new living space network in Amsterdam…”

Producing power used to be so simple when it seemed like fossil fuel would last forever. But since we’ve wised up and realized that finding and developing viable alternatives is a rather urgent priority, amazing concepts have abounded. From wind power to foot power and from the predictable to the slightly insane, these 10 concepts could one day power our world.

Bolt-On Turbines

If you’ve seen the wind farms that are popping up all over the world, you’re probably already aware that wind power is one of the cleanest, greenest alternative energy sources out there. Aside from purchasing special “wind credits” from your energy company or installing a tall turbine in your backyard, there aren’t currently many ways to take advantage of the wind for powering your home. The Wind Cube concept would change all of that. It’s designed to work in an array, bolted onto the side of a house with a handful of other identical turbines. Just 15 of these small home turbines on a house could provide enough power for a family of four.

Subway Power

Few things in life are more frustrating than being stuck waiting for a train with absolutely nothing to do. The Charger Sofa would keep all mobile gadget-lovers supplied with plenty of power for their dying gadgets – and it would generate that power from the wind coming off of the passing trains themselves. The subway platform seat would feature fans in both ends that would spin with the wind, generating energy that could then be used by passengers through the outlets located on the sofa. Just a few minutes could give mobile gadgets a needed boost and keep them going until you get home or to the office.

Biomimicking Solar Leaves

Solar Ivy is a clever system that mimics nature to provide buildings with a boost of natural energy. Hundreds of tiny solar “leaves” soak up the sun on the exterior of buildings and send that captured energy inside. Thanks to software developed by the company behind Solar Ivy, the leaves can be placed in the perfect positions to catch the most rays without being obscured by shadows from surrounding leaves.

Paper Panels

One of the big barriers to getting solar panels onto more buildings has always been the prohibitive cost. A team of engineers at MIT might have that problem licked with their invention: solar cells that can be printed right onto a piece of paper or thin plastic. Even when folded hundreds of times the printed cells are just as efficient in gathering the sun’s rays as they were when brand new. There is a lot more work to be done on improving this new technology, but it’s a promising glimpse into the future of solar power.

Cardboard-Eating Battery

Typical chemical batteries – the ones we use in our flashlights and kids’ toys – are rough on the planet. Batteries that run on natural materials are much more eco-friendly but not usually as efficient. Such is the case with this cellulose battery. It uses special enzymes to break down and extract energy from cellulose, which is the same way termites digest wood. Although the system is woefully inefficient at this point, it is still early in the development phase. Hopefully someday natural batteries will be powerful enough to make harmful chemical batteries obsolete.

Running Theory

When you see people running in the park, you probably don’t think of them as the perfect electricity generators – but they could be. The Green Wheel concept would put huge human-size hamster wheels in scenic locations and invite the public to climb in and take a jog for the good of their community. The wheel generates energy as it turns, which is then passed on to streetlights, stoplights and other public electricity-grubbers. Everyone would benefit from a setup like this: runners would still get their exercise, the city could rely less on fossil fuels and everyone could pay less to keep the city lit at night.

Emergency Power Storage

In the case of a long-lasting power outage, how would you keep your essential electronics going? The Yill could be the solution. After being plugged into a power source for four hours, the portable device can power an entire computer workstation for three days. It can be used in conjunction with solar panels or wind turbines to store clean energy so that not one kilowatt goes to waste.

Speed = Power

As long as most of us are still using fossil fuels to fuel our vehicles, we might as well get some secondary energy from every gallon of gasoline. The Voltair Vertical Turbine concept involves setting up tons of turbines along busy roadways so that they are turned around and around by the wind from passing cars. As the turbines turn, they generate energy which can be used to power public utilities, toll booths, service areas and so forth. A concept that makes double use of polluting fossil fuels without creating any new waste sounds pretty brilliant.

Sun-Believable Solar Paint

Solar panels are great, but they seem a bit old-fashioned. And given their relatively low efficiency rating, our solar energy collection methods are long overdue for a tune-up. A research team at the University of Notre Dame has developed a solar “paint” that is cheap to mass-produce and would look just like regular house paint when applied to the exterior of a home. While the team is still working on making the paint significantly more efficient, the idea is an exciting leap forward for everyone who want to use solar power but doesn’t want to bolt those unsightly panels to the top of their home.

A Powerful Tail

The device above may look a little odd, but as its wearer walks around he’s generating valuable energy. Specifically designed for rural areas in Africa, the Green Erg is a clever dynamo generator that attaches to one’s waist and provides enough energy to charge a cell phone. It works by simply walking, and it will generate power on any type of terrain. Will it save the world? Probably not. But it’s a great example of adaptive design and can help to keep separated families in contact.

Fallingwater, the legendary architectural masterpiece of Frank Lloyd Wright, famously includes elements of its natural surroundings. Specifically, the house integrates the waterfall on top of which it was built. Like Fallingwater, this stunning home in Portland, Oregon celebrates the natural setting in which it exists.

(all images via: Robert Harvey Oshatz)

Architect Robert Harvey Oshatz conceived of the design when his client declared that he wanted a house which would not only be in harmony with its environment, but also be a physical representation of music.

The home’s lot includes a very steep slope, which allows the main floor to sit on the level of the tree canopy. Surrounding trees lovingly brush their leaves up against the gentle curves of the home’s levels.

Echoing the compelling natural flow of Fallingwater, the Portland house features vast uninterrupted walls of glass and organic shapes throughout.

Walls, floors and ceilings are made of natural wood, reinforcing yet again the feeling of being in a highly sophisticated tree house. Generous use of natural stone and curved shapes add fascinating nature-like elements to the impressive interior.

Overall, the home took seven years to go from concept to completion. The care and thought that the architect obviously put into the realization of the client’s wishes is evident in every facet of this truly poetic home.

Although the photographs are beyond impressive, according to the architect they do the property no justice. To really enjoy this unusual home, he says, one has to walk through it and take in every feature first-hand.