Costa Rican Residential Project Recognized for Passive Design and Regenerative Material Innovation

COMO, CO, ITALY, September 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The A' Design Award has announced Floating House by Oliver Schutte as a Silver winner in the Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design category. This recognition places Floating House among notable works evaluated within one of the highly respected design competitions in the field of sustainable product and architectural design. The Silver A' Design Award acknowledges the project for its thoughtful integration of passive design strategies, renewable energy, and locally sourced materials. Located in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, Floating House represents an ongoing exploration into regenerative development. The recognition reflects the rigorous standards by which sustainable design contributions are assessed.

The Silver A' Design Award for Floating House holds relevance for the sustainable product and architectural industries, where demand for low-impact and resource-conscious solutions continues to grow. Floating House demonstrates how passive design, prefabrication, and local material sourcing can be combined to reduce environmental impact while maintaining comfort and quality of living. The project aligns with the shift from sustainability toward regenerative development, an emerging priority across the sector. For homeowners and stakeholders, the design offers practical benefits including natural climate moderation, solar energy harvesting, and a harmonic relationship between interior and exterior spaces. These qualities position the work as a meaningful reference point for industry practitioners.

Floating House is set on a hillside location, creating a suburban oasis with spectacular views of the surrounding landscape and the Costa Rican capital, San Jose. A series of interrelated volumes and outdoor spaces follow the logic of the sloped site, with ample roof overhangs protecting individual spaces from rainwater and solar radiation. Private rooms float above a sandwiched garden level, resulting in three vertically stacked conditions that respond to the terrain. Large glass doors and sliding walls dynamically moderate the relationship between interior and exterior spaces according to the rainy or dry season. Hanging gardens and balconies merge interior rooms with adjacent exterior gardens, while solar energy is harvested on the roof.

The Silver A' Design Award recognition supports the continued development of the No Footprint House series, of which Floating House is an expression of ongoing material innovation. The project advances industrial and prefabricated building techniques described as the first of their kind in Central America, combining them with renewable and locally sourced construction materials. This acknowledgment encourages further exploration of multistakeholder approaches aimed at lowering and leveling emissions across sectors. The recognition serves as motivation for continued innovation in regenerative architecture and sustainable building practices.

Interested parties may learn more about the award-winning design, view additional details, and explore the work of its designer at the dedicated page provided by the A' Design Award.
https://competition.adesignaward.com/ada-winner-design.php?ID=183497

About Oliver Schutte
Oliver Schutte is an architect from Costa Rica whose practice extends beyond conventional disciplinary boundaries to engage development in a broader and global sense. Influenced by admired mentors and colleagues, he established an office focused on interdisciplinary co-creation that breaks the limits of single professions or perspectives. His work applies participatory and multi-stakeholder approaches, leading to a wide variety of topics and scales addressed on a daily basis. This methodology consistently yields results that find meaning and added value through collaborative effort.

About the Silver A' Design Award Recognition
The Silver A' Design Award recognizes designs that demonstrate excellence, functionality, and innovation through a rigorous, criteria-based evaluation process. Within the Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design category, entries are assessed against considerations such as innovative material use, energy efficiency, waste reduction, life cycle assessment, carbon footprint minimization, sustainable manufacturing, recyclability, durability, and renewable energy integration. Further criteria include resource conservation, user-centric design, eco-friendly materials, longevity, sustainable supply chains, water efficiency, and local sourcing. Recipients are acknowledged for contributing to higher industry standards and advancing the practice of sustainable design. The recognition reflects a notable level of technical skill, creativity, and meaningful environmental impact.

About A' Design Award
The A' Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design Award is an esteemed competition that welcomes designers, design agencies, companies, brands, and influential contributors within the sustainable product, project, and green design fields. Entries are blind peer-reviewed and evaluated against pre-established criteria by a world-class jury panel of design professionals, industry experts, academics, and journalists. Organized since 2008 and now in its 18th year, the A' Design Award is an international and juried competition open to entries from all countries and across all industries. The ultimate aim of the A' Design Award is to recognize and promote superior products and projects that benefit society, guided by a philanthropic mission to create a better world through the transformative power of good design. Interested parties may learn more about the A' Design Award, explore jury members, view past laureates, and take part with their projects at the following url: https://sustainableproductawards.com

Makpal Bayetova
A' DESIGN AWARD & COMPETITION SRL
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