How 8 energy-efficient buildings were designed to combat the effects of climate change

A view of the Park Royal Collection Hotel at Pickering Street in Singapore.ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images

• Much of Singapore's infrastructure is designed to utilize natural resources to reduce temperatures.
• Buildings around the world have been attempting carbon neutrality for years.

With 2023 on track to be one of the hottest years on record, countries like Singapore are trying their best to keep temperatures down — or, at the very least, keep them from rising.

Singapore has been pouring its resources into keeping cool. Instead of turning to traditional methods, like air conditioning, they have been constructing buildings and greenspaces that work together with nature.

Buildings are designed to curb wind, walkways are surrounded by trees to reduce heat absorption by asphalt, and windows in buildings are designed to funnel cool air in and push hot air out.

Singapore is not the only country invested in making buildings that work with the environment instead of against it. Countries around the world are making eye-catching, energy-efficient buildings in an attempt to reduce emissions and increase sustainability.