what do buildings of the future look like? architecture marvels that are a confluence of cutting edge design and a leapfrog of technologies, a reflection of path breaking innovation that not only bring returns on financial investment but are also smart, and sustainable. in short, buildings that are nothing short of magic! however, it\u2019s important to realize that, what we build matters. it is not what we are building, but what it brings. to build for the future, we must look beyond aesthetics, utility, and economics, and build to solve problems by integrating the natural environment and the populations we are looking to serve. building for the future entails recognizing that buildings don\u2019t reflect society but help shape it. it fosters innovation by judiciously allocating scarce resources and co-creating sustainable, culturally and environmentally responsive structures.<\/p>\n
as rightly said by linus torvalds, to build for the future, \u201cwe needn\u2019t reinvent the wheel every time.\u201d instead, we can take what already works and adapt it to our needs. sn\u00f8hetta<\/a>, a norwegian design firm has shown us exactly how we can incorporate culturally and environmentally appropriate designs while catering to social and economic issues. they develop and construct buildings that produce more energy than they consume over the course of their lifetime, such as the powerhouse kjorbo<\/a> project.<\/p>\n in 2015, they designed the first powerhouse educational building, dr\u00f8bak montessori school<\/a>, on a forested site in dr\u00f8bak, norway. the design is derived from the energy concept, the montessori pedagogy, the physical context and a tight budget. the architecture is considered a social and educational tool, with the powerhouse concept as the main formative element. the rectangular building is positioned close to the forest edges, creating a large outdoor play area in close connection to the surrounding nature. passive measures such as a compact volume, high u-values and materials that are low in embodied energy, ensure the building\u00b4s low energy demand.<\/p>\n in the commercial space, in collaboration with arctic adventures of norway, asplan viak and skanska, sn\u00f8hetta has designed \u201csvart<\/a>\u201d the world\u2019s first powerhouse hotel, at the foot of the svartisen glacier that runs through mel\u00f8y municipality in northern norway. \u201csvart\u201d is the first building to be built after the energy positive powerhouse standard in a northern climate. not only does this hotel reduce its yearly energy consumption by approximately 85% compared to a modern hotel, but it also produces its own energy – an absolute \u201cmust\u201d in this precious arctic environment, while preserving the natural environment of the site and leaving a minimal ecological footprint.<\/p>\n