'Cool’ roofs, cooler designs as the building industry embraces energy sustainability

The southwestern New Mexico town of Columbus, site of a 1916 raid by Pancho Villa, is now home to a border entry center that is powered by the sun and landscaped with recycled concrete “sponges” that harvest rainwater.

An apartment complex in Los Angeles created expressly for formerly homeless men and women has features that maximize natural light and airflow, a roof designed to minimize heat inside the units during summer, and a rooftop garden that attracts migratory birds.