Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles
Brooks + Scarpa
This apartment/office complex is built on the site of the old Cherokee recording studios in Los Angeles, which once hosted the likes of David Bowie and Warren Zevon but is now home to one of the greenest buildings in the U.S. The design uses passive cooling that takes advantage of the Southern California climate, and it has day lighting that minimizes the need for electric lights — most of which are high-efficiency LEDs.

• The Eco-Utopian Visions of Architect Vincent Callebaut