Beyond Green: How These 3 Homes Use Carbon-Negative Architecture

As a result of escalating climate change, the architectural world is moving beyond traditional sustainable practices and sustainable architecture, towards carbon-negative architecture. Carbon-negative architecture refers to design and construction practices that remove carbon from the atmosphere compared to the amount they emit throughout the building’s lifespan. This eco-friendly practice of green building is achieved by using carbon-neutral materials or bio-materials like cane, wood, and bamboo while building homes, implementing minimal energy in construction practices, and off-site prefabrication to reduce waste and emissions. 

While architects and designers have previously focused on reducing environmental harm by minimising waste, conserving energy, and using eco-friendly materials, they now aim to reverse the damage caused. Carbon-negative architecture actively removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to cool off and heal the planet. This approach is adopted by using biomaterials and regenerative design principles. 

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 As modern-day concrete cities suffer from ever-rising temperatures, pollution, and diminishing natural resources, carbon-negative architecture will be the solution to move ahead. These three homes use sustainable, natural, and reusable materials, and can be fine examples for stepping towards a future of carbon-negative architecture.

1. Conservative Construction Rules With Contemporary Design

An interesting way to use carbon-negative architecture and build sustainable homes is by using conservative construction rules. Designed by Kollam-based NO Architects, Designers and Social Artists, this Kerala home, aptly named ‘Cloud House,’ uses conservative construction rules with contemporary designs. The design team is inspired by the concept of ‘No.’ This means they don’t just focus on style or looks but also want to bring about social change by exploring what shapes society, culture, and everyday life. “This experimental house has widened our understanding of residential typologies, to include a multitude of possibilities, often questioning the existing, and being in a constant state of aporia”, states the design team.

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The architects have repurposed parts of a dilapidated structure that had previously occupied the site, forming the regenerative design of this house. The front of the structure looks simple, covered with roof tiles that were present in the old structure. The tiles are placed in neat, repetitive patterns to enhance the symmetry. The columns on the sides are made from broken concrete pieces that were a part of the old building, thus avoiding wastage. Around the building structure, easy-to-maintain plants are placed to grow in the local weather. By smartly reusing old materials, the designers show the tropical feel of the space and incorporate sustainable architecture in the designs.

2. Eco-Friendly Design With Discarded Toys

Another way to incorporate carbon-negative architecture is the use of eco-friendly designs and the reuse of sustainable materials. The Toy Storey Residence in Kerala is constructed from 6,200 discarded toys. Designed by Vinu Daniel and his team at Wallmakers, the house is a great example of eco-friendly design. Old, thrown-away toys are creatively used as building materials, showing the use of recycled items in construction. The use of the toys also encourages the movement of breeze and sunlight. 

The Toy Storey Residence is designed to stay cool naturally using smart technologies and eco-friendly architecture. The climate-responsive layout of the house helps to beat the heat in the tropical weather of South India. The open courtyard in the centre of the house includes ‘Toy Jaali Wall’, made from earth blocks, with small openings and mesh detailing to let air flow through the house. The Storey Residence is an eco-friendly space that satisfies the planet and its inhabitants. 

3. Old Textile Blocks And Fabric Waste As Construction Materials

To incorporate carbon-negative architecture, one can also incorporate old and refuse as construction materials, like this home in Mumbai. Collage House in Mumbai’s Nerul locality  designed by S+PS Architects, headed by Shilpa Gore Shah and Pinkish Shah, takes into consideration adaptability and reuse. The team says, “The front facade sets the tone for what lies within, with a ‘corner of windows’ that recycles old windows and doors of demolished houses in the city.”

The interiors are made from reusable materials such as textile printing blocks, colonial-style furniture, and leftover fabrics. The floors are built with old Burma teak wood from beams to roof supports. The house also has 100-year-old columns from an old building that give the space a nostalgic touch. The roof has a light steel and glass space with solar panels to enjoy the hillside views. The central courtyard is one of the highlights of the house. The entire wall is made from metal drainage pipes arranged like a bamboo forest to collect rainwater. The house uses multiple reusable materials, regenerative design, and sustainable architecture techniques.

The designers and architects of these homes have used sustainable architecture, climate-responsive designs, and reusable materials in their construction, are are a fine examples of stepping towards carbon-negative architecture.