Zarkon Group, Author at Zarkon Group Real Estate Builders & Developers

Low-Cost, High-Value Opportunities to Reduce Embodied Carbon in Buildings

By Zarkon Group,14/10/2022

Buildings account for at least 39% of energy-related global carbon emissions on an annual basis. At least one-quarter of these emissions result from embodied carbon, or the carbon emissions associated with building materials and construction. The solutions for addressing embodied carbon in buildings have not been widely studied in the United States, leaving a significant knowledge gap for engineers, architects, contractors, policymakers, and building owners. Further, there is little information about the cost-effectiveness of reducing embodied carbon in buildings.

RMI’s new report, Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings: Low-Cost, High-Value Opportunities, helps fill this knowledge gap. The report demonstrates low- or no-cost options to reduce embodied carbon in buildings and provides design and construction strategies that can help limit a project’s embodied carbon. The case studies showcased in the report show an embodied carbon savings potential of 19% to 46% at cost premiums of less than 1%. Current practice indicates that we can achieve these reductions by specifying and substituting material alternatives with lower embodied carbon during the design and specification process. Far greater reductions are possible through a whole-building design approach.

This report was developed to help building owners, designers, contractors, and policymakers understand the low-cost and no-cost solutions for reducing embodied carbon in buildings. To accomplish that, we studied three building types and considered design strategies that can reduce embodied carbon at any stage of a project’s design and construction phases. The report quantifies the construction cost difference associated with low-embodied-carbon solutions and points to next-generation solutions that could drive even greater reductions.

Top categories of building materials for reducing embodied carbon.

Critical Materials Driving Embodied Carbon in US Buildings

In order to tackle embodied carbon in buildings, we first need to understand the carbon impact of the industries driving embodied carbon emissions. A building’s structure and substructure typically constitute the largest source of its up-front embodied carbon, up to 80% depending on building type. However, because of the relatively rapid renovation cycle of building interiors associated with tenancy and turnover, the total embodied carbon associated with interiors can account for a similar amount of emissions over the lifetime of a building. Our report focuses primarily on structural materials, metals (including steel and aluminum), cement, and timber. Each of these materials has a different embodied carbon content but is critical to our consideration of structural systems in this context.

Proven Solutions and Strategies to Reduce Embodied Carbon

Today, there are many solutions that can be leveraged to limit embodied carbon in new buildings. The totality of low-embodied-carbon solutions includes a long list of offerings that span a wide range of complexity.

Most simply, low-embodied-carbon solutions for buildings can be broken down into three main categories: whole-building design, one-for-one material substitution, and specification. In general, whole-building design solutions can drive the greatest embodied carbon savings. However, material substitution and specification can also result in substantial embodied carbon savings, especially when these solutions target carbon-intensive materials such as concrete and steel. Furthermore, these categories are not mutually exclusive — they can be combined or performed in parallel to drive deeper embodied carbon savings.

The following graphic demonstrates embodied carbon best practices that can be implemented throughout the building design and construction process.

Case Studies in the Economics of Low-Embodied-Carbon Buildings

One core objective of the report is to answer the question: How much can we reduce embodied carbon in new buildings at no additional cost?

In short, this study shows that embodied carbon can be reduced by 19% to 46% in mid-rise commercial office, multifamily, and tilt-up-style buildings by leveraging low- and no-cost measures. Together, these measures increased overall project costs by less than 1%, which is within the margin of error for most construction project budgets.

Skanska, one of the world’s leading sustainable construction firms, provided cost data from three actual projects in the Pacific Northwest and conducted an analysis under the guidance of RMI to generate the results of this study.

These case studies lead us to a few powerful observations. Even though the strategies employed do not include comprehensive, whole-building design strategies, they still yielded reductions of up to 46% in up-front embodied carbon through specification and material substitution measures. Given that these conclusions are based on three case studies in the Pacific Northwest, we can note them as strong anecdotal evidence, rather than broadly applicable conclusions.

Given the fact that we were not able to redesign building structural systems, we were unable to draw deep conclusions about the cost, carbon, and material impacts of whole-building design solutions, such as substituting more structural steel and concrete with wood. Given this scope, our key findings are:

Optimizing the ready-mix concrete design can lead to significant embodied carbon reductions (14% to 33%) at no cost, or with a possible cost reduction in some cases.
Rebar contributed up to 10% of total project embodied carbon in two case study buildings, but rebar’s up-front embodied carbon can be cut in half with minimal cost impact to the overall projects. These results may vary by location, as rebar with high recycled material content may not be available at a low cost premium in other regions.
Insulation material selection can be a significant factor in project-level embodied carbon, with insulation making up approximately 20% of one building’s baseline embodied carbon content. Insulation products utilizing hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) or other foaming agents with low global warming potential can reduce embodied carbon impacts significantly, and several emerging plant-based products have the potential to store more carbon than is emitted in their production.
Glazing remains a critical challenge for reducing embodied carbon, between the significant amount of heat required for glass production and the high-embodied-carbon materials often used for framing. Products available today can cut embodied carbon in glazing by approximately 25%, but at a 10% cost premium.
For some finish materials such as flooring, carpet tiles, ceiling tiles, and paint, embodied carbon reductions of more than 50% are possible at no up-front cost premium. In some locales, carbon-sequestering materials may even be available.

Read the Report to Learn More

The Reducing Embodied Carbon in Buildings report includes detailed information about each of the three building case studies, sections exploring related topics such as tenant fit-outs and building reuse, and further analysis of our key conclusions. Download the report to learn more about opportunities for reducing embodied carbon in buildings, and why embodied carbon needs to be addressed now to drive the most impact.

Matt Jungclaus is Manager of Carbon Free Buildings at the Rocky Mountain Institute.

Reference

Bogdanova Bureau office damaged by missile blast

Interior Design

Ukrainian studio Bogdanova Bureau’s Kyiv office damaged in missile attack

By Zarkon Group,13/10/2022

Kyiv architecture studio Bogdanova Bureau has vowed to make its office “even more beautiful than before” after it was damaged in a Russian missile attack.

Staff at Bogdanova Bureau arrived at the office on Monday to find the windows blasted into the room and debris and broken glass scattered across the floor.

Russian forces had fired a barrage of missiles into the Ukrainian capital and other cities early that morning, killing 19 people and injuring many more.

None of Bogdanova Bureau’s employees were harmed, though some of their possessions were destroyed, the studio told Dezeen. By Tuesday, the team had cleaned up the office and returned to work in the studio.

Ukraine war damage — The team cleaned up the office and returned to work the following day

“In some time we will repair all that is broken and make our place even more beautiful than before,” said studio spokesperson Nadia Sheikina. “As designers, we know how to do it.”

“As well, we are going to rebuild all the destroyed cities and villages, all the schools, homes and ambulatories that were ruined in Ukraine,” she continued. “We already had started working on it.”

Debris on floor — Broken glass and debris was scattered through the office

“We were scared on February 24 when the war started, now we are not,” she added. “We know that the mean enemy wants to invade our land and appropriate our culture, but it will never happen.”

Bogdanova Bureau only recently refurbished its office, completing the project five months before the Russian invasion began.

Bogdanova Bureau's Kyiv office interiors — The office, pictured before the blast, was refurbished five months before the war began. Photo by Yevhenii Avramenko

The office is in the heart of Kyiv next to Shevchenko Park, and is surrounded by a university, libraries, museums, and a cultural centre, as well as apartments and office buildings.

A missile struck the middle of the park close to a children’s playground, with the blast wave destroying windows across the building housing the studio’s office.

Missile strike site in Kyiv park — The missile struck a park outside the office building next to a playground

The bombardment of central Kyiv was part of a series of attacks launched in retaliation after a key bridge linking Russia to the annexed region of Crimea was heavily damaged by an explosion.

In April, Bogdanova Bureau spoke to Dezeen for a piece about how Ukrainian design and architecture studios were dealing with the war.

At the time, its founder Olga Bogdanova urged international clients to trust Ukrainian studios to deliver despite the turmoil of the conflict.

“We thank the international society and especially the international design community for all their support and all their attention,” Sheikina said this week.

War damage in Kyiv — Windows of the building were left damaged

“But after eight months of the war, we feel that some of you got used to the war. Please do not be! It is understandable, no one can be stressed for such a long time and everyone deserves to experience their own life and focus on some normal things around them,” she continued.

“We ask you not to get used to war and pay your precise attention to Ukrainian designers, architects, and artists. Please raise your voice and stand with Ukraine. It can make things different!”

The photography is by Yulia Bevzenko unless otherwise stated.

Reference

Sustainable News

Food and the UN SDGs

By Zarkon Group,13/10/2022

At the heart of all our hopes for future development is a simple equation. According to the United Nations, the world will need 70 per cent more food by 2050 to feed a population of nearly 10 million. To do this, we will need to improve agricultural yields while simultaneously tackling climate change, a thorny issue as food production accounts for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The food industry faces both immediate and slow-burning challenges. In the short term, the war in Ukraine has exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains, while highlighting the link between energy and food prices. But over the long term, food production also needs to use less land and become less water-intensive and wasteful. And our reliance on synthetic fertiliser, produced through the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process, is further driving fossil fuel consumption while causing damaging nutrient pollution. Finding new, smarter ways to fertilise crops is therefore vital.

In many ways, the question of food is key to the achievement of all the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And while the challenges are great, innovators around the world are showing that progress is possible.

SDG 2: Zero hunger

The most obvious SDG relevant to the food industry is SDG 2, which calls for zero hunger. Across the globe, there are 3.1 billion people who can’t afford a healthy, nutritious diet, and one of the key targets within SDG 2 is to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. To solve this problem, we need to identify those who are undernourished. And here innovators can help. For example, Action Against Hunger has developed the SAM app, which uses images to identify those suffering from acute or chronic malnutrition.

The next step is to treat people. Fortifying food with micro-nutrients is a common solution, and innovators are working to make food fortification more efficient. For example, social enterprise Sanku has developed smart technology that helps small-scale maize millers fortify their flour without passing costs on to consumers. And it’s not only in developing countries where there is a need to tackle malnutrition. Even in the most developed countries, malnutrition is a common condition in hospitals. Startup HealthLeap has developed an AI-powered clinical assistant to tackle this issue.

SDG 1: No poverty

Hunger and poverty are closely linked. Most obviously, those with little money, have little money to spend on food. But the link also exists on the supply side. Small farmers form a large bulk of the people most affected by poverty. According to a World Bank study, 65 per cent of poor working adults make a living through agriculture, and the organisation believes that farming innovation is one of the surest ways to alleviate poverty.

Innovators are rising to the challenge. In Nigeria, ThriveAgric is using software and hands-on assistance to help small farmers earn top dollar for their produce. And in Brazil, TerraMagna is using fintech to help smallholders access affordable credit to invest in their farms. Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, Wavemaker is making it easier for agricultural producers to turn biomass into higher-value products – all while helping to fight climate change.

SDG 15: Life on land

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the global food system is the primary driver of biodiversity loss. As we work to feed a growing population, it is vital that we ensure that we are not doing so at the expense of natural ecosystems.

In broad terms, innovators are taking two approaches to this issue. One approach is to reduce the amount of land used for agriculture. For example, New York-based UpFarm plans to add the world’s largest vertical farm to its network in 2023. The new facility will conserve more than 120 acres of land on an annual basis. Meanwhile, others are working to make farmland more compatible with nature. For example, researchers in Germany have found that fields planted in strips of different crops support insects and birds better than conventional farming methods. Meanwhile, in Canada, Bee Vectoring Technologies is reducing the need for harmful chemicals by using bees to deliver organic fungicide as they pollinate.

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

Agriculture has a big impact on the availability of clean water in two ways. First, traditional agriculture is water intensive with agricultural irrigation accounting for 70 per cent of water use worldwide. And second, fertilisers, pesticides, and salts from agriculture end up in watercourses leading to water pollution.

Innovators are tackling the first problem through solutions such as solar-powered water pumps that enable farmers to increase their crop yields while using less water, and quick-growing cultured meat that uses only a tiny fraction of the water used in animal husbandry. And to tackle water pollution caused by fertilisers, microTERRA is creating food additives out of an aquatic plant that doesn’t require fertiliser at all: duckweed. Meanwhile, another company, Wyvern, is using satellite technology to help farmers use fewer chemicals, and a solar-powered weed-seeking robot is reducing the amount of chemicals needed to manage weeds.

SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption

Food waste is a huge issue, with one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally. It is therefore little wonder that target 12.3 within SDG 12 calls for food waste to be halved by 2030. In the Netherlands, Orbisk is tackling the issue with a system that uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to help commercial kitchens manage food waste. And another AI system from Neolithics checks food for signs of rot, helping to reduce the amount of food that is lost before it even reaches the shelves.

Another way of approaching this problem is to find uses for food that does end up as waste. UK startup LyteGro, for example, uses waste bananas as a growth enhancer that turbo-charges fermentation in food, agricultural, and pharmaceutical processes. Meanwhile, a team of Japanese researchers has discovered a way to use vegetable scraps, such as cabbage leaves and orange peels to create cement.

Words: Matthew Hempstead

Looking for inspiration on sustainability? Why not download our free SDG report.

Reference

Birde-eye view of The Plus furniture factory by BIG for Vestre in a forest

Sustainable News

BIG completes “world’s most environmentally friendly furniture factory”

By Zarkon Group,13/10/2022

Architecture firm BIG has constructed a mass-timber Passivhaus factory in a Norwegian forest for outdoor furniture maker Vestre, which features a green roof and solar panels as well as an exterior slide.

Instead of being hidden away on an industrial estate, The Plus factory development is nestled in 300 acres of woodland near the village of Magnor on the Swedish border.

The cross-shaped building consists of four double-height wings, each housing a different stage of Vestre‘s production process and radiating out from a central office area with an internal courtyard at its heart.

Constructed in just 18 months, the 7,000-square-metre factory is made mostly from wood and stores 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide in its structure made of PEFC-certified cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated timber (glulam), Vestre said.

The building combines energy-efficient Passivhaus strategies with a streamlined, robot-assisted production line, which according to Vestre reduces its energy consumption by 90 per cent compared to a conventional factory.

Its energy and heating demands will be partly met with the help of 900 rooftop solar panels, 17 geothermal wells and heat pumps hidden behind the walls to capture excess heat from the production process.

Black wooden building in a forest between trees — The factory is nestled into a forest on Norway’s border with Sweden

Taken together, Vestre says this makes The Plus the “world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture factory”, generating 55 per cent lower emissions from energy and materials than a comparable building.

The company claims this also makes the project “Paris-proof”, bringing it in line with global targets set out in the Paris Agreement to halve emissions by 2030.

However, this assessment does not account for emissions generated during the building’s whole lifecycle including those related to Vestre’s production process.

Overall, The Plus falls short of achieving net-zero emissions, which every building both old and new would have to reach by 2050 to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

Black wooden cladding of The Plus furniture factory by BIG — Its exterior is clad in charred larch

Instead, the project is reportedly on track to become the first industrial building in the Nordic countries to reach the highest rating in the BREEAM environmental certification scheme, which is only awarded to the top one per cent of projects.

“There are no industrial buildings that have even come close to the highest standard, not even the second-highest,” BIG design lead Viktoria Millentrup told Dezeen. “So BREEAM-wise, there was not even an example building we could follow.”

“It’s untraditional for a factory to focus so much on sustainability,” agreed lead architect David Zahle. “For a lot of companies, production is about keeping costs low and hiding it away.”

Black wooden Vestre factory in a forest — Exterior stairs allow the public to access the roof and look into the factory

In comparison, the interior of The Plus is laid bare by huge windows running up its charred-larch facade and by the glazed courtyard punctuating its centre, both of which are accessible to the public using huge exterior staircases.

In this way, Vestre says The Plus is meant to bring ideas about more sustainable building and production methods to the general public and “build a bridge between the Greta Thunberg generation and industrialists”.

“The project is very transparent, almost open-source both in terms of how the products are made but also in how we’ve opened up the facade to bring people closer,” Zahle said.

“You invite people to play and you invite people to walk up on the roof and you create a park around it so that even a factory can become part of creating a good life.”

Courtyard with yellow spiral staircase in The Plus furniture factory by BIG — A yellow spiral staircase leads from the roof into an internal courtyard

Each of the Plus’s four wings is topped with green roofs grown from seeds that were collected from the surrounding forest and solar panels that together will produce 250,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy a year.

Underneath, the roofs are held up by giant glulam girders spanning up to 14 metres and weighing up to five tons, bent into a double-curved structure using “long screws and a lot of force”, according to Magnus Holm Andersen, project manager at timber supplier Woodcon.

“As far as we know, this has never been done before,” he added.

From the central roof, visitors can take a yellow spiral staircase down past glazed office spaces and into the internal courtyard, which is supported by recycled reinforced steel beams and centred on a lone Norwegian maple tree.

The Plus furniture factory by BIG for Vestre — A slide, visible in the top left-corner of the building, leads from the roof to the forest floor

Alternatively, a 14-metre long slide – reportedly Norway’s tallest – winds its way around the side of the building and back down onto the forest floor.

The square roof above the office area is one of only two concrete elements in the building alongside the foundation, both made from a mixture of high-strength and low-carbon concrete to minimise emissions and material use.

Stairs in Vestre factory with views out to forest — Stairs are mirrored on the interior and exterior of the building

On the inside, the factory is clad in light pinewood that stands in stark contrast to the exterior’s charred black finish.

Each of the four wings – housing Vestre’s woodwork and powder-coating workshops, as well as a warehouse and an assembly station – features colour-coded equipment and flow-chart-style floor markings designed to help visitors follow the production process from above.

The production line itself combines efficient machinery and artificial intelligence, which Vestre says helps it to “manufacture faster, greener and less expensively”.

Wood workshop in The Plus furniture factory — Colourful floor markings illustrate the production process

In the colour workshop, for example, two industrial robots named after Norway’s first female engineers are powder-coating metal components using AI and object recognition, and are capable of changing colours in seconds rather than minutes.

Hidden behind the walls of each wing is a technical corridor, in which waste products from the manufacturing process are recycled for reuse.

Here, the water needed for washing metal components is cleaned and filtered so that 90 per cent of it can be cycled back into the process, while wood chips and sawdust are collected and sent off to a biomass power plant to be burned for electricity.

Colour workshop in furniture factory by BIG for Vestre — Two self-learning industrial robots paint metal furniture parts

Meanwhile, heat pumps capture excess energy from the process of drying the components and convert it into heat that is then fed back into the production line and used to warm the building.

“Since there’s one owner, it’s easy to do that,” said project manager Jan Myrlund. “Normally, one company owns the plant and another the inside and they deliver their own systems.”

Reducing waste and emissions was also a key consideration in the construction phase, with all equipment powered either by electricity or biodiesel and all felled trees reused as part of the building’s structure or stored for use in Vestre’s furniture.

The Plus furniture factory in the snow — Trees surround the building on almost all sides

The building’s footprint was deliberately rolled back to leave as many trees standing as possible and where the forest floor was removed, it was preserved and put back in so that greenery hugs the building on all but two sides.

“Normally, when we construct a building in the middle of the forest, we would take a lot more trees away,” said the project’s design manager Sindre Myrlund.

“Originally, we drew a line 10 metres away from the factory, which is more normal. And Vestre moved the line five metres in and said: if you need to remove more trees, you need to ask and get it approved.”

Vestre has previously claimed to be the “first furniture manufacturer in the world” to declare the carbon footprint of all its products.

These figures were prominently displayed on the brand’s award-winning stand at the 2020 Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which was later disassembled and reused to form an installation at Milan design week.

The photography is by Einar Aslaksen.

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Reference

Architecture

6 Soon-To-Be-Built Projects by World-Renowned Architecture Firms

By Zarkon Group,13/10/2022

The winners of Architizer’s 3rd Annual One Rendering Challenge have been revealed! Interested in next year’s program? Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.

Drawing in architecture takes many forms. Sketching and illustration are excellent tools for idea forming and concept development, while using CAD for spatial planning is fundamental during the design process. Yet, above all others, one branch of architectural methodology has developed rapidly over the last two decades, with swathes of new businesses offering their services springing to life each month. As rendering technology has improved, becoming increasingly user-friendly, cost-effective and efficient, working with 3D modeling software has become a key pillar of standard practice. Furthermore, the art of translating these models into compelling architectural drawings — known as 3D rendering — has not only cemented itself as a core stage in many firms’ design workflow but has also become a standalone industry in its own right.

Indeed, 3D architectural rendering has gone beyond the boundaries of design development and has become a marketing tool for the industry like no other. These details images can tell stories and are used for pitches and proposals to drum up excitement and investment. Once a scale model that took considerable time to make was the only way to represent a site proposal, and a single illustration was the only “sneak peek” of a project. Today we can explore entire proposals, concepts and ideas using walk-throughs and visual representations of every nook and cranny — try before you buy for the modern era.

Here are six exciting projects whose 3D architectural renderings have us excitedly waiting for the real thing.

Abrahamic Family House

By Adjaye Associates, Abu Dhabi, UAE

In the UAE’s picturesque capital, Abrahamic Family House will be a collection of three religious spaces: a mosque, a synagogue and a church, all upon common ground in Abu Dhabi. The development is set to serve as a community for inter-religious dialogue and exchange, emphasizing the value and importance of peaceful co-existence and acceptance among different beliefs, nationalities and cultures. A fourth space — not affiliated with any specific religion — will serve as a community center for all people, offering educational and event-based programming.

The design of the building and the interior intertwine the commonalities of each of the three religions, celebrating their similarities against highlighting their differences. Each of the bold structures features colonnades, screens and vaults to represent the sacred nature of their existence, and they are surrounded by vast meandering gardens bringing life and supporting connection.

Mirvish Village

By Henriquez Partners Architects, Toronto, Canada

Popular Choice, 2019 A+Awards, Unbuilt Multi-Unit Housing (L>10 Floors)

Built on the site of Honest Ed’s, an eclectic discount store that was once a landmark to the people of Toronto, the newly imagined Mirvish Village will be a comprehensive purpose-built community for rental apartments and innovative retail. Mirvish Village will comprise 32 micro buildings and eventually be home to over 2,000 Torontonians. All 800 suites will be rented, with some apartments available below-market rates and almost half designed for families.

The development aims to preserve its community atmosphere by applying mixed precast and brick panel cladding treatments to various tower and mid-rise components. The new structure is set to look like individual buildings that have evolved, giving the feeling of a traditional neighborhood street rather than a mega-development. The project is designed to meet LEED Platinum ND standards, will include a site-wide utility and support sustainable transportation with an extensive bike and car co-op program.

The Forestias

By Foster + Partners, Bangkok, Thailand

Situated on the outskirts of Bangkok, The Forestias is a residential-led masterplan with a substantial forest at its heart. The pioneering development aims to become an example and a template for future urban living in Thailand and globally. Lush greenery dissects the urban development that hosts a variety of housing types. The development creates shared facilities that encourage community interaction by visually reducing boundary walls and hedges.

High-rise condominium buildings are designed to suit families perfectly alongside low-rise condominiums that bring residents close to the surrounding nature. Cluster-home residences are included for extended, multi-generational families wishing to live close together in multiple homes that are easily connected. Additionally, as a way of futureproofing generational changes, the design includes a residential offering that has been developed to suit the needs of older residents with lifetime care services.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

By JLG Architects and Snøhetta, Medora, ND, United States

A challenge was set for the design of the much-anticipated Library of the 26th President of the United States: “Build an awe-inspiring, architecturally significant destination that works with, not against, nature.” Of all the competitors, JLG was chosen to work hand-in-hand with Snøhetta to develop a destination that strives to continue the legacy of Roosevelt and his pursuit and creation of conservation ideas that have shaped the country.

The Library utilizes the sweeping views of the Little Missouri River, Elkhorn Ranch, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, delicately carving out modern, sustainable architecture in the Badlands and riverbanks. The project aims to protect and nourish the land on which it will be built while encouraging education and conservation for many years.

New North Zealand Hospital

By Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects and Herzog & de Meuron, Hillerød, Denmark

The New Hospital in North Zealand, Hillerød, has been planned to be the central hospital resource for more than 310,000 citizens in the northern part of the Capital Region of Denmark. The hospital merges three existing hospitals: Hillerød Hospital, Elsinore Hospital and Frederikssund Hospital. Focusing on questioning how we facilitate healthcare, Herzog & de Meuron and Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects’ design ambition is to redefine how we perceive a hospital and how we design and construct them.

With a budget of 600 million euros, the teams will challenge the traditional hospital design that, in many places, has recently been seen to make healthy patients increasingly unwell, weakening them physically and emotionally rather than improving their condition. The new mega-hospital will break the boundary between illness and health by providing care and focus on well-being as opposed to mere treatment.

Green Villa

By MVRDV and Van Boven Architecten, Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands

Located on the southern edge of the Dutch village of Sint-Michielsgestel, the four-story Green Villa by MVRDV and Van Boven Architecten is a unique and exciting proposal that explores the potential of ‘façade-less’ buildings and ‘radical greening.’ The inner and outer skin is made up of a “rack” of shelves, varying in depth, that hosts an abundance of potted plants, bushes, and trees such as forsythias, jasmine, pine, and birch, all labeled and cataloged. The forward-thinking approach stems from MVRDV’s belief that sustainability implies a technological challenge and a positive change in lifestyle, where urban areas should be considered a part of the natural landscape. The flexible mixed-use development will be home to adaptable residential and commercial spaces.

The winners of Architizer’s 3rd Annual One Rendering Challenge have been revealed! Interested in next year’s program? Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.

Reference

Sustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Interior Design Ideas for Living Big in Small Spaces

By Zarkon Group,13/10/2022

While some large-scale builders still cling to huge home floor plans and many upscale buyers still demand them, there is a rapidly growing interest in smaller homes. Small homes use less energy, require a lower carbon input, and cost less to maintain than the typical suburban estate. If you’re building a new home, you have many options for reducing size and living very comfortably (link to Part I). If you’re buying or living in an existing small home, you also have opportunities to make it live bigger without ripping into walls or raising the roof. It’s amazing how creative interior design can expand the visual space and increase the comfort and utility of a small home. Here are some tips.

Interior Design

Keep it light. Paint the walls a light color. Various shades of white or beige are classic choices. If you’re more adventurous, consider light yellow or pastels. Accent walls of brighter hues can add interest. To make a room seem brighter, select an eggshell finish that is slightly more reflective than flat wall paint. Use semi-gloss paint in bathrooms to reflect light and reduce vapor diffusion into walls.

Choose flooring material. Using the same flooring material for connected spaces will tie the spaces together visually and make them look larger. For example, a kitchen and dining area could have the same tile flooring. Using different materials, distinguishes spaces without actually interrupting the view. A living room next to the dining area can be defined with a hardwood floor, but not blocked off.

Install mirrors. Reflecting light and extending interior views can be accomplished with strategically placed mirrors.

Occupy window sills. Most zero energy homes have thick walls, which brings the added benefit of wide window sills. Consider enhancing their interest with bold sill material, such as stone, tile, or another unique finish. Make the most of these built-in shelves to grow houseplants or display decorative items.

Enhance trim and detail. High-quality trim and detail can be a key focus of a small house. For example, high-quality hardware and moulding, and other aesthetic touches, can draw attention to the details creating more visual interest with less need to clutter the room with knick-knacks.

Add a focal point. Each room should have one attractive attention-getting feature. This can be a building element, such as built-in furniture, a work of art, or an intriguing light fixture.

Furnishings

Choose quality. Too much clutter makes homes seem small. Small homes should have small comfortable furniture or a smaller amount of carefully selected larger furniture.

Open up. Select chairs and sofas with open legs instead of those with enclosed bases. These pieces seem lighter and offer a bit more visual space in the room because you can see below them.

Include storage. Some furniture pieces come with storage, such as an ottoman or footstool, that opens up and contains storage. Some bed frames come with storage below the mattress, either in drawers or the mattress itself may lift.

Make it tall. Well-designed small homes have high ceilings. Much like clothes with vertical stripes make people look taller, tall furniture pieces will accentuate tall ceilings and draw the eye upward. Similarly, a tall plant will reach into the higher spaces and create visual interest.

Fold it. Find furniture that transforms to different uses. A coffee table can become a dining table. Tables that hinge down from the wall will allow them to be deployed without moving objects sitting on the floor. The classic space-saving transformer is the Murphy bed. This allows the bedroom to have a day job, too.

Hidden offices. There are many “hidden” desk ideas that allow for a home office to be discreetly hidden or camouflaged in a living area or bedroom.

Seek niche storage. Look for the small empty spaces that can hold your stuff and reduce clutter. Cabinets can hide less attractive household items, while open shelves can display your treasures. Examine the back side of the closet and pantry doors. Is there space for wall-mounted storage baskets or hooks that will be out of site, but easily accessible?

Few small homes will use all these ideas, but each one has its merits. Apply the ones that make sense for your situation to make your small home look and live bigger. Be proud that your small home reduces your carbon footprint, has less upkeep, and saves you money without sacrificing comfort.

Reference

Interior Design

Atelier Tao+C creates serene timber and travertine reading room

By Zarkon Group,12/10/2022

Two vacant ground-floor rooms and an adjoining greenhouse were knocked together and lined with bookshelves to form this private library, designed by Atelier Tao+C for a venture capital firm in Shanghai.

Set in a converted 1980s house, which is home to the offices of VC fund Whales Capital, the reading room can accommodate up to 12 people and is shared between the company’s employees and the owner’s friends.

All of the rooms are enclosed by immovable, load-bearing walls, which local practice Atelier Tao+C had to integrate into the design while creating the impression of being in one continuous 76-square-metre space.

To this effect, the original doors and windows were removed and three openings – measuring between two and three metres wide – were created to connect the rooms.

Private reading room — The space is lined with wooden bookshelves

The remaining wall sections are hidden from view by new architectural elements including a set of semi-circular wooden bookshelves, which run through the two ground-floor rooms to form a pair of small, quiet reading nooks.

The structural walls connecting these rooms to the old glasshouse were wrapped in creamy white travertine to create a kind of “sculptural volume”, Atelier Tao+C explained.

Reading room — Skylights funnel natural light into the interior

As a result, the studio says the walls and structural columns are “dissolved” into the space to create the feeling of a more open-plan interior.

In the old greenhouse, a timber structure was inserted into the building’s glass shell, with bookshelves integrated into its wooden beams and columns to create a seamless design.

This structure also forms a wooden ceiling inside the glasshouse, with strategically placed round and square skylights to temper the bright daylight from outside and create a more pleasant reading environment.

Spread across the interior are four different seating areas: a small study table for solo work, a shared meeting table, a reading booth for one person and a sofa seat where multiple people can talk and relax.

Travertine interiors — White travertine was used to obscure the building’s original brick walls

A Private Reading Room has been shortlisted in the small interiors category of the 2022 Dezeen Awards.

Atelier Tao+C, which is run by designers Chunyan Cai and Tao Liu, is also shortlisted for emerging interior design studio this year, alongside Sydney firm Alexander & Co, Barcelona-based Raúl Sánchez Architects and London practice House of Grey.

The photography is by Wen Studio.

Reference

Sustainable News

Oil-eating bacteria produce ‘gold’ hydrogen

By Zarkon Group,12/10/2022

Spotted: Hydrogen has been touted as a potential fuel for the future. Hydrogen is light, storable, energy-dense, and produces no direct emissions of pollutants or greenhouse gases. However, one major stumbling block is that most hydrogen is currently produced from fossil fuel sources, with around 6 per cent of global natural gas going to hydrogen production in 2019. As a result, production of hydrogen is responsible for CO2 emissions equivalent to that of the United Kingdom and Indonesia combined.

To find a ‘green’ source of hydrogen production, US startup Cemvita Factory is using special microbes to generate hydrogen from depleted and abandoned oil and gas wells. The company’s process uses naturally occurring micro-organisms that consume the carbon in the gas and oil and release hydrogen – generating up to 20-50 tonnes of what it terms ‘gold’ hydrogen per field. Cemvita defines gold hydrogen as “the biological production of hydrogen in the subsurface through the consumption of trapped or abandoned resources”.

Cemvita claims that its researchers have been able to increase the performance of the microbes by six and a half times their natural rate – enough to produce hydrogen at a cost of $1 per kilogramme. This is thought to be a key cost target needed to advance toward commercialisation. In addition, by producing the gold hydrogen from depleted oil reservoirs that are ready for abandonment, the life of wells is significantly extended – saving money.

Traditional methods of producing hydrogen cleanly include electrolysis powered by renewable sources like wind, solar, or hydro. But Cemvita is confident that its process could prove equally sustainable. “In a very short time frame, we moved our microbes from the lab to the field. The hydrogen production in this trial exceeded our expectations,” said Zach Broussard, Director of Gold H2 at Cemvita.

The race is on to produce and transport green hydrogen cheaply and at scale. Springwise has seen this in many recent innovations which range from a new way to produce renewable hydrogen fuel using sunlight to repurposing natural gas pipelines to transport hydrogen.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Architecture and Extreme Environments exhibition

Sustainable News

CAFx exhibition responds to “ridiculous” big-budget projects

By Zarkon Group,12/10/2022

An exhibition in Copenhagen showcases work by students who were instructed to develop projects for extreme environments in order to come up with original design solutions not influenced by “castle in the sky” builds and architecture blogs.

Named New Methods for Big Challenges: Architecture and Extreme Environments, the exhibition was commissioned for this year’s ongoing Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx).

It was curated by David Garcia, founder of local studio MAP Architects and an associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy‘s architecture and technology institute, where he teaches a masters course titled Architecture and Extreme Environments.

The exhibition showcases the result of students’ work on the programme, which sees them live and work for weeks in harsh locations such as Alaska and the Gobi Desert.

There they must seek to build and test design prototypes that benefit the communities living in these challenging environments by harnessing the resources available and collaborating with local people.

Garcia said the aim of the course, as well as responding to climate change, is to give the students no choice but to produce original architecture – without the temptation to copy what they see online.

“I wanted to make my students start in a very difficult place where there is no precedent, pushing them to an extreme context so they have to think anew,” he told Dezeen.

“It’s partly based on the idea that it’s hard for students to separate themselves from the images they see on the architecture blogs. These websites have an enormous impact on students, who crave inspiration, but it can be overwhelming as there is so much readily available.”

David Garcia — Garcia said the idea for the masters course was based on his time making “ridiculous” projects at a large British architecture firm

He added that his own experience working on big-budget projects for rich clients while at major British architecture firm Foster + Partners was behind the conception of the course.

“I spent many years designing castles in the sky and that was pivotal in coming up with this programme,” he said.

“I realised that from a resource perspective, and from the point of view of solving the world’s problems it was ridiculous. I’m extremely critical of those types of projects despite having worked on them myself in the past.”

The exhibition starts with blown-up versions of pamphlets produced by MAP Architects exploring concepts for architecture in places like Antarctica, Chernobyl, or the Earth’s orbit.

For instance, one pamphlet suggests that Antarctica’s constant extreme cold be used to cool seeds in a World Seed Bank, as an alternative to the centre in the Arctic’s Svalbard where air conditioning is sometimes required due to temperature fluctuation.

Among the projects featured in the main exhibition is a desalination device produced by a student placed with an Inuit community in the Bering Strait, where only saltwater is readily accessible.

Exhibition at Copenhagen Architecture Festival 2022 — Projects were developed in locations like Alaska, the Gobi Desert and the Atacama Desert

The student’s research uncovered that thawing saltwater ice initially produces drinkable water, as this melts faster than saline.

Via a series of tubes and chambers, the device takes a block of saltwater ice and transforms it into a glass of fresh water overnight that can be drunk in the morning.

Meanwhile, the orange Inxect suit by Pavel Liepins aims to tackle issues of plastic pollution and food security in the Faroe Islands.

It channels body heat and humidity generated by movement into an attached habitat for plastic-eating mealworms, which are non-toxic to humans and rich in protein.

Student projects from Royal Danish Academy — Students were encouraged to think originally about ways they could respond to the challenges of harsh environments

Some exhibits play with materials, such as an insulation product made out of pine needles by a student placed in Alaska and a method for creating bricks from sand by a student sent to China’s Gobi Desert by Gabriele Jerosine.

Not all the projects worked successfully, including a device intended to wrap around the stilts of houses in flood-prone Manaus, Brazil, to produce tidal energy, which proved to be overcomplicated and too fragile to function.

“Personally I don’t care whether their experiments work or not, and I don’t have a specific aesthetic that I look for; that’s not as relevant to me, I’d like the students to explore their own aesthetics,” explained Garcia.

“What I care about is that the students are working with the goal of improving the environment in mind, and doing so in a way that is unique to them,” he added.

Garcia’s own work also features, in the form of a passive heating tent developed for the Atacama Desert in Chile where temperatures get very high during the day but drop dramatically at night.

The tent uses a self-activating piston to expose a stick of soapstone, an efficient thermal accumulation material, to the sun to be heated during the day before being withdrawn into the tent at night where it gradually radiates heat to provide warmth.

Student works at Architecture and Extreme Environements exhibition in Copenhagen — The exhibition runs until 20 November

Some projects produced by students on the course – which has an intake of between 20 and 25 each year – have worked so well that they have been left for use by the community.

One such example is a project that used urine’s electrolyte properties to power a toilet light in rural Zanzibar, to enable women to feel safe using it at night.

New Methods for Big Challenges: Architecture and Extreme Environments is being held in CAFx’s space at Halmtorvet 27 in Copenhagen’s Meatpacking District and runs until 20 November.

Copenhagen Architecture Festival is running a series of events across Copenhagen and Aarhus, mainly between 6 and 16 October 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The photography is by Francesco Martello.

Reference

mobius architekci carves dune-shaped residence into lush hillside site in poland

Architecture

mobius architekci carves ‘dune house’ into lush slope in poland

By Zarkon Group,12/10/2022

Dune House by Mobius Architekci

Architecture firm Mobius Architekci has completed its latest residential project called ‘Dune House’ near Warsaw, Poland. Nestled in green meadows and surrounded by lush forests, the house features a distinctive curved silhouette reminiscent of a sea dune, rightly giving the project its name. The curved shape, which the Polish architects characterize as a harp, stretches across the hillside and follows the line of the winding Narew River.

nestled in green meadows, the house features a distinctive curved silhouette | all images courtesy of Mobius Architekci

Cubist forms and sharp lines emerging from an organic residence

Lead architect Przemek Olczyk of Mobius Architekci carved the building into the hillside of the site, creating a modern and spacious residence of over 1,500 square meters. The expansive structure that rises gently from the slope undergoes defragmentation inside the organically shaped body. Cubist forms, and sharp lines, cut out the semi-open atrium, providing intimacy and allowing light into permeate the interior.

Dune evokes futuristic imagery, though it harkens back to the minimalism that the Polish studio has used for years. From the perspective of the river, the building appears to be a monolith. The balance and completeness of the space are also achieved through the materials used: white plasters and stone quartz sinter.

cubist forms and sharp lines cut out the semi-open atrium

glass box ‘periscope’ and automated technological features

The house captures light while providing shelter from the burning sun, allowing residents to be indoors and outdoors without barriers or separations. The design ensures the intimacy of the house’s inhabitants while being open and free from functional architecture – a common approach and a feature of Przemek Olczyk’s projects.

Looking at the house from the river side, the architect placed the bedrooms in the right part; in the middle there is a living room with kitchen and on the left a recreation room. Also noteworthy is a glazed rectangular box placed on the roof of a one-story sprawling body. Like a periscope, it allows to look over the crowns of the surrounding trees. The house has two swimming pools, including an indoor pool and two helipads, a 300-meter running track and a mobile platform that allows free communication with the base of the hill. Many elements of the house are automated, which, combined with innovative technological solutions, directly affects the comfort of the home.

the house captures light while providing shelter from the burning sun

the curved shape stretches across the hillside and follows the line of the winding Narew River

Reference

Critical Materials Driving Embodied Carbon in US Buildings

Proven Solutions and Strategies to Reduce Embodied Carbon

Case Studies in the Economics of Low-Embodied-Carbon Buildings

Read the Report to Learn More

SDG 2: Zero hunger

SDG 1: No poverty

SDG 15: Life on land

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

SDG 12: Responsible production and consumption

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