At present, material energies – that is thermal variation, air velocity, spectrums of light and electricity – remain a largely untapped source of innovation and inspiration for architects. Commonly relegated to the production of ambience – ‘moods’ or ‘effects’ – energies tend to be explored, in a design context, as little more than metaphor or poetics. Alternatively, they are regarded wholly as a resource for providing preconceived, rule–of–thumb interior comfort zones or as a set of measurables for determining ‘energy efficient’ buildings. Energies looks at ways of elevating these materials from their dependence on surfaces and services and in so doing, deploying them as building materials in themselves; thus redefining our physical boundaries through a wholly new means of spatial organisation. The publication propels the sustainability debate forward by making ‘material energies’ the catalyst for experimental design. The issue deals with a wide range of scales of design, from architecture to building design and that of landscape and urban planning Contributors include Michelle Addington, Petra Blaisse, Penelope Dean, Helene Furjan, An Te Liu, Zbigniew Oksiuta, Philippe Rahm and WEATHERS.