This month, we’re celebrating buildings that put nature at the heart of their design. From homes that are woven into the landscape to projects that actively encourage biodiversity, these examples show how architecture can tread lightly on the planet while still inspiring and delighting.
Here’s our team’s favourite nature-friendly buildings that prove great design works hand in hand with the environment.
josh
New Forest House
pad studio
“A self-sufficient home that seems to grow out of the forest floor, New Forest House is carefully nestled within its woodland and heathland setting.”
“The modestly scaled building is clad in untreated timber and topped with flat green roofs, allowing it to weather naturally and blend seamlessly into its surroundings rather than standing apart.”
“Designed to be low-impact and off-grid, the house makes use of renewable technologies and its orientation maximises natural light and views.”
“A generous, full-width timber deck runs along the length of the home, extending the living spaces outdoors and stitching together the building, its reflective pond, and the sweeping grasslands beyond.”
paul
Mellor Primary School
Sarah Wigglesworth Architects
“I love the witty, joyful way they turn the architecture into something much more. The classrooms extend into the woodland, where children can watch nature and daily life unfold.”
“The playful habitat wall, crafted with reclaimed materials, makes learning tactile and alive, blurring boundaries between indoors, outdoors, and imagination.”
anna
Garden House
Hayhurst and Co architects
“They’ve really turned a tight, tricky site into something special. Garden House makes clever use of its roof with bespoke planter trays that are arranged in stepped terraces, letting the owners grow over 800 plants, sedums, heathers, flowers so it’s a roof you can garden.”
“The design was developed together with the clients, tested carefully (they even built a full-size prototype) and finished with thoughtful materials so the roof beds work well for growth, drainage, and long-term maintenance.”
“It shows you can do something lush and alive even where space is limited.”
mami
Honor Oak Park
downen farmer
“This development is a great example of putting landscape first.”
“The homes sit tucked into an urban woodland under existing mature trees, with construction methods that protect root systems and let nature breathe around the buildings.”
“The result is not just a place to live, but a setting that feels calm, rooted, and in harmony with its natural surroundings, rather than dominating them.”
alan
BedZed
Bill Dunster Architects
“BedZed is a pioneering sustainability focussed housing development completed in 2002. Its unusual form and chimney cowls which provide natural ventilation are pretty iconic for architects and I was lucky enough to have a flying visit recently.
The development features a number of nature friendly features including nature corridors, green roofs and community gardens. But what I loved most about the development when I visited were the narrow mews streets that access the houses. I loved how the scale of these and how everyone’s balconies and roof gardens looked onto these.”
“But I also loved how they’d been taken over by climbing plants. It’s easy to focus on what a project looks like just after it’s been completed but often this can be quite sterile in comparison to how it feels 20+ years later. I’d say BedZed is looking fantastic for its age.”
george
Linford Lakes Nature Reserve
eco design consultants
“I used to go there as a kid, but the centre became a bit run down so EDC were employed to renovate the concrete-framed building into an EnerPHit standard retrofit with internal reconfigurations.”
“The project included a mono-pitched bird-watching platform, exhibition spaces and a separate overnight accommodation space.”
Looking for a home with a wild side?
We can help you create a nature-friendly and sustainable home .