A solar-powered safari lodge in the Botswanan wilderness built from repurposed boardwalk planks. A subterranean apartment anchored by ceiling beams made from plastic bottles and construction dirt. A carbon-neutral furniture factory that doubles as a 300-acre public park. These are just a few of the latest design-driven buildings that are reimagining sustainable architecture, according to Architectural Digest.

In the face of the climate crisis, the magazine’s international issue features a number of innovative projects offering solutions to high carbon emissions, energy consumption and wasteful construction materials. “Sustainability, as a concept, has become a bit of a catchall,” wrote AD’s global editorial director Amy Astley over email. “We at AD use the word to convey strategies that prioritize longevity, whether looking at a building, a community, or our planet, and make great efforts to clarify the ways in which a project strives to be sustainable.”

The Reggio School features a cork facade to encourage biodiversity. – José Hevia/Architectural Digest

Among the buildings highlighted is the Reggio School, an education facility in Madrid which managed to reduce its material usage by 48% after Spanish architect Andrés Jaque embraced the structure’s exposed mechanical systems and bare interior walls. Outside, 80% of the school’s facade is wrapped in cork — a natural material that encourages biodiversity. “The irregular surface of the cork projection is designed to allow organic material to accumulate. The envelope of the building will eventually become the habitat of numerous forms of microbiological fungi, vegetal and animal life,” read a press release from Jaque’s architecture firm.

Kep reading on msn.com