Architecture is art, but it is also, first and foremost, the way we humans build shelter for ourselves and protect ourselves from the elements. Today, the common way of doing this is to throw energy at the problem. Over a quarter of global emissions come from keeping the lights and heat on in our buildings. We have to wonder whether the trade-off is worth it: Is all that power worth the harm to our planet and the hurt to our pockets, especially when homes weren’t always built this way?

What if, instead of building homes as a border against the outside world, we…