Unlike other arts, architecture is generally limited by practical matters, including what materials can do, how things stand up, and in most cases (but not so much this one) an array of challenging local building codes.

A firm in Mumbai, India called sP+a developed this vaulted brick library roof with a playful purpose in mind, allowing people to walk up and over it like a bridge to cross the school grounds it sits in the middle of — on a cool evening, the heat-absorbing bricks also create a cozy open-air reading area.

The idea is conceptually simple: the ground simply extends up and over the top. In most places, a railing would be required, if the steepness didn’t stop the design in its tracks, but not here.

“On our first visit to the site it was interesting to see geodesic structures built by an engineer for a few of the school buildings, we were somewhat encouraged by this to pursue a project that followed from a construction intelligence,” explains sP+a. “We hence parsed through several possible material configurations ranging from concrete shells to brick vaults for building this ‘architectural landscape’.”

“The design team became interested in the material efficiencies of the Catalan tile vault from the 16th century, its use by Spanish architect Guastavino in the early 19th century, and the details used in the work of uruguayan engineer and architect Eladio Dieste. to articulate a pure compression form for the library, sP+a used rhinoVAULT — a form-finding plug-in developed by the block research group at ETH zürich. consequently, the Maya Somaiya Library is the result of lessons learned from different time periods as well as geographic locations.”

It may not stop Fido from tracking in mud on his paws, but this doghouse can reduce your best friend’s carbon footprint while providing different levels of entertainment (plus bonus treat storage drawers).

Topped with a green roof (accessed by a sod-covered ramp), the house features a built-in water fountain that can be used both to irrigate the upper lawn and quench a pup’s thirst. A solar-powered fan also provides indoor cooling for hot dogs.

That green roof ramps down to connect to a lawn below, tying it in functionally and aesthetically to the surrounding yard. All in all, the place combines the aesthetic of a traditional dog abode, a cozy cabin and a modern house.

On the side of the home, a hidden drawer opens to reveal food, toys and other rewards for good dogs, making use of the space under the ramp (much like under-stair storage in a normal house).

Best of all: this sustainable dog house was auctioned off to a good home by Carmel Canine Cottages, its proceeds going to benefit the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Meanwhile, no one is stopping dedicated pet owners from building their own!

A pair of island municipalities between Denmark and Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean has been bridged by a work of architecture and engineering, a town hall that crosses a river below and features a green roof bridge above.

Designed by Henning Larsen Architects of Copenhagen, this new town hall for Norðragøta blends naturally into its surroundings. Despite an angular modern shape, its colors and greenery tie it to surrounding stones and lush grasslands.

The structure is relatively small and thin, as much a bridge as a building, and made to be visited by locals and travelers alike. Inside, tall glazing frames the surrounding landscape and a glass section of floor offers views of the river flowing below.

“A central theme in traditional Faroese architecture is the blurred line between nature and building, the fact that the spectator has difficulties distinguishing where the landscape ends and the building begins,” says designer Ósbjørn Jacobsen.

“The primary conceptual idea behind the design of the town hall is driven by the notion of this fleeting line between landscape and building.” A light and sound installation designed to pair with the structure welcomes visitors to cross it above or enter from below.

Iranian architects have developed a Concave Roof system to collect rainwater in arid climates with low precipitation, helping cool buildings in hot and dry regions of the world. The water can in turn be filtered for drinking or integrated into interior graywater systems.

These systems help reduce reliance on artificial air conditioning (or work were it is unavailable). They could ultimately help keep people in their home regions who might otherwise have to move due to climactic changes.

BMDesign Studios’s addresses rapid evaporation with the bowl-shaped roof additions, designed to channel even the smallest amounts of accumulated rain, coalescing them into drops big enough to harvest before they evaporate.

These inverted shells also provide shade while allowing air to pass between upper and lower roofs, acting as a cooling system in the process.

Reservoirs tied into the system are situated between building walls to take advantage of the thermal capacity of the water to regular interior temperatures.

The courtyard and circulation spaces are also sunken to further cool the complex. Temperatures are higher and precipitation in parts of Iran is as much as 2/3 lower compared to global averages, so every drop counts.

Google has rolled out a search engine with a specific target in mind: your house, more specifically how much area of your roof could be covered in solar panels, what that would save you and where you can look for companies to install a system for you.

Interested homeowners can input their addresses and get realistic illustrations of how many solar panels would fit and what their potential cost savings on energy bills are likely to be.

A complex data comprising everything from your home’s location and orientation to the presence of shade from adjacent trees or buildings – but this set is broken down into simple information for users.

Google, of course, is well-positioned to make this Sunroof tool effective, combining its Google Maps and Earth data that can sort out not just the footprint of a building but its 3D space too, and thus shadows. It also has all of the other information at hand, like average temperatures, sun exposure, cloud cover.

Users of the tool can tinker with variables, but ultimately are given a recommended installation that maximizes the potential output and thus puts more back in homeowner pockets long-term. For now it is limited to the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston and a few other locations, but they have plans to expand around the country.