Eighty percent of Australians live within 80 miles of the sea; 50 percent of the country’s houses sit less than 8 miles from a beach.

The new buzz words of the 21st century—“organic,” “ecofriendly,” “sustainable”—have inundated today’s architectural vocabulary despite their indifference to definition.

Restrictive zoning, rather than necessity, is often the mother of architectural invention. Made to withstand the harsh winters of Martha’s Vineyard while treading lightly on the island, the VH R-10 gHouse, designed by architect Darren Petrucci, AIA, was so profoundly shaped by local restrictions that it adopted the zoning district—R-10—as part of its name.

It’s hardly a secret that Germany has long been at the forefront of energy-saving design. Even back in the early Modern days, its health-oriented obsession with getting natural light and cross ventilation into living quarters paved the way for later passive-energy-saving strategies.

It is said that the Palmyra tree can be used in 800 different ways. Its leaves make fine hats, thatching, umbrellas, mats, and baskets; its fruits and their sap, popularly called toddy, are a local delicacy.