As with all things there are exceptions to every generalization to follow.

Solarpunk buildings should be built to fit their environment – what’s practical, energy efficient, and even what materials are available will depend on where the scene is set. A solarpunk community set in the desert would have to look much different than one in a temperate rainforest, or a prairie.

This is a departure from our current society, with its wealth of fuel and concrete, which tends to drop the same cookie-cutter buildings into every climate and just burn more fuel to heat or cool them rather than adapt the design to its surroundings.

That said, solarpunk doesn't generally take a clean slate approach to worldbuilding, and reuse of structures that already exist is almost always going to be more efficient than new construction.

Geopolymers