Climate change and environmental pollution, rising energy prices and dwindling resources pose major challenges for the world of construction today. If sustainability is to become a global reality, it must also be designed and expressed with trend-setting aesthetics: The carefully selected sample projects of contemporary architecture show how this can be implemented in compelling ways.

They offer an informative overview of current, very different concepts, approaches and techniques. Sustainable building also means that ecological parameters involve not only all aspects of the actual building, but also the construction process and the afterlife in the sense of deconstruction and conversion, all of which must be considered by the planner as early as the design process. It is becoming increasingly important not to focus on short-term goals, but above all, on long-term ones.