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Copenhill

10 Most Popular Eco-buildings in the World


As the world shifts to more eco-friendly ways of doing things, our buildings are also changing. This change means that Eco-buildings are becoming the way of the future and the leaders in architecture and design are catching on, finding creative ways to incorporate green features into their designs. The finished product is great for the environment but is also stunning to look at. Due to the stunning visual aesthetic, eco-buildings are also becoming a popular feature for amateur photographers. We’d suggest you make a plan to go and check the best one’s out, but for now, a quick image search or a peek on Instagram will have to suffice.

Luckily for us, Instagram can give us a pretty vivid idea of what’s out there, with thousands of people visiting the buildings and sharing their pictures online through the app. At the same time, Instagram therefore also gives us a pretty solid idea of the most popular eco-buildings. This can be calculated by looking at the number of Instagram tags each building has. Thankfully, the team at Insulation4less have done some digging and collated a list of the top eco-buildings based on Instagram tags. According to the research by Insulation4less and our own eye for style, these are the 10 most popular eco-buildings in the world.

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Bosco verticale

Image: Stefano Boeri Architetti

1. Bosco Verticale

Completed in 2014 and easily one of the best eco-buildings in the world, Bosco Verticale in Milan is the height of modern eco-design. The building takes the form of two towers and you’d be easily mistaken to think you were looking at a forest rather than a building. The residential towers are home to 2,280m2 of luscious types of trees and shrubs. Not only does it look green and beautiful, but it also helps reduce pollution by producing large amounts of oxygen in an urban space. It also naturally insulates the building and creates a home for a diverse range of insects, which promotes biodiversity.

Location: Milan
Country: Italy
Instagram tags: 124,632

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Shanghai tower

Image: Wikimedia Commons

2. Shanghai Tower

It may not be known that one of China’s tallest skyscrapers is also one of the most popular and powerful eco-buildings. The build was completed in 2015 and boasts over 40 different sustainable technologies. These states of the art technologies include renewable energy, landscaping which works to cool the building and a spiralling parapet that collects rainwater. Who knew a building could do so much?!

Location: Shanghai
Country: People’s Republic of China
Instagram Tags: 97,709

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Torre reforma

Image: Torre Reforma

3. Torre Reforma

Torre Reforma is Latin America’s greenest building, and also one of the best-looking. Not only is the sleek, skyrocketing design a beautiful sight to look at, but it also has countless sustainable, energy-saving features. The building makes a significant amount of savings in water consumption and over 80% of its materials were regionally sourced.

Location: Mexico City
Country: Mexico
Instagram Tags: 18,244

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Vancouver convention centre

Image: Wikipedia

4. Vancouver Convention Centre

We’d go as far as to say that the garden roof on top of the Vancouver Convention Centre is the largest, and best, in the world. The garden roof sits at just over six acres and houses over 4,000 different plants and grasses. If you don’t like bees, maybe skip a visit to this building – there are plenty buzzing about. And if you’re wondering how they water the garden, the water is recycled from the centre’s own treatment plant!

Location: Vancouver
Country: Canada
Instagram Tags: 15,689

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Museum of tomorrow

Image: Architectural Digest

5. Museum of Tomorrow

As far as eco-buildings go, the Museum of Tomorrow in Brazil is one of the most innovative green buildings around. Our favourite aspects of the building are the moving solar panels which are designed to maximise the sun’s rays and the rainwater collection system which is recycled through the building’s air conditioning systems.

Location: Rio de Janeiro
Country: Brazil
Instagram Tags: 9,176

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Pwc london building

Image: The Times

6. PWC London Building

This building could almost be mistaken for a spaceship, and the futuristic design perfectly complements the state of the art energy-saving strategies the building incorporates. The shape of the building alone is designed to offer shade and insulation. Other green features we love include its use of solar panels and its green roof.

Location: London
Country: United Kingdom
Instagram Tags: 8,133

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Copenhill 2

Image: The Architect’s Newspaper

7. CopenHill

The king of all things green and sustainable, no list of the top eco-buildings would be complete without an entry from Scandinavian green energy powerhouse- Denmark. CopenHill is the cleanest waste-to-energy power plant in the world, turning tonnes of waste into clean energy every year. The best bit- the roof doubles as an all-year-round open-air ski slope!

Location: Copenhagen
Country: Denmark
Instagram Tags: 7,673

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Cube Building Berlin

Image: ArchDaily

8. Cube Building

Search up the Cube Building on Instagram and expect to see a geometric vision like no other. The exterior of the office building is coated with solar panels and other smart solutions that work to capture heat energy. So not only is the glazed exterior a visual extravaganza, it’s highly energy efficient.

Location: Berlin
Country: Germany
Instagram Tags: 3,222

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Marco polo tower

Image: Archello

9. Marco Polo Tower

Another example of sustainable architecture that looks like something straight out of the future, This Hamburg gem seamlessly merges design and eco-living. The main drawcard of the building is its use of solar panels. A large number of solar panels produce a huge amount of solar energy, which is used to cool the rooms- perfect for the hot German summers.

Location: Hamburg
Country: Germany
Instagram Tags: 2,677

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One angel square

Image: ArchDaily

10. One Angel Square

One of the final Eco-buildings to make the list, One Angel Square in Manchester is a beautiful display of aesthetic, smart, sustainable architecture. The most unique aspect of the building is its heating technology, which heats in the winter and cools in the summer. Headquarters to the COOP, it a fitting design and was the first building in the UK to receive a BREEAM outstanding rating!

Location: Manchester
Country: United Kingdom
Instagram Tags: 1,438

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General FAQs

What is the most popular green building on Instagram?

The most popular green building on Instagram is the Bosco Verticale building in Milan, Italy.

What makes a building eco friendly?

There are plenty of elements that make a building eco-friendly, including use of solar energy, choosing sustainable materials, and using innovative methods to reduce carbon emissions.

Which country has the smallest carbon footprint?

Tuvula, an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania, has the smallest carbon footprint.

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