A leading manufacturer of surfaces, Cosentino’s products are invariably beautiful, resilient, and suited to a wide range of purposes. Whether you are looking for a kitchen countertop or a unique flooring or cladding system, you will find a reliable solution in one of Cosentino’s lines of synthetic or natural surfaces.
Among architects and builders, Cosentino surfaces are known to be innovative and high-quality, but one should also add visionary and socially conscious to the list of descriptors. Their newly developed HybriQ+ Technology, used for their versatile Silestone surfaces, blends premium minerals, quartz, and recycled materials with a sustainable manufacturing process that uses 99% recycled water, 100% renewable electric energy and a minimum of 20% recycled materials in its composition. Cosentino uses the term “Circular Economy” to describe their sustainable approach to resources.
All said and done, this process produces ZERO water waste. That’s right, zero with a Z. In 2022, this is welcome news indeed. The past few years have seen new attention given to the issue of water conservation as global water shortages have become a mounting problem.
The World Wildlife Federation summarizes the situation bluntly, writing that “Many of the water systems that keep ecosystems thriving and feed a growing human population have become stressed. Rivers, lakes and aquifers are drying up or becoming too polluted to use. More than half the world’s wetlands have disappeared.” They add that global climate change has put even more stress on the world’s water supply, and that “By 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages. And ecosystems around the world will suffer even more.”
The need for sustainable manufacturing practices is, to put it simply, an imperative. Cosentino illustrates this point quite vividly in their new campaign to promote HybriQ+. Early on in the clip, a sobering montage plays showing plastic bottles washed onto beaches, clear cut forests, and other examples of the destructive impact humanity has had on the globe. The message is poignant: alternatives must be found, and fast, if our species will be able to secure a high quality of life in the coming decades.
The rest of the video provides insight into the HybriQ+ manufacturing process, cross-cutting images of the raw materials Cosentino recycles with scenes of the laboratories in which the company’s research and development team discover new ways to conserve resources in their manufacturing process. This video is a testament to the power of technology and human ingenuity to overcome even dire obstacles.
The video closes with a simple slogan flashing on the scene: “Welcome to our revolution.” And it’s true – such an approach to manufacturing is revolutionary, especially in an era when it is easy to save money by pushing costs onto the planet. As the company notes, “We take care of the present to secure the future.”
Cosentino believes that consumers need not compromise quality in the name of sustainability. In fact, those Silestone surfaces that have been produced with HybriQ+ technology are among the most beautiful the company has ever produced. The company explains that “the new mineral composition enables never before-seen effects in color depth, texture and tone.” Indeed, Cosentino has long proven that synthetic materials can be just as elegant and intricate as natural materials.
Moreover, Silestone is engineered to withstand the harsh daily use that kitchen countertops are subject to, including stains, acid and everyday nicks and scratches. Silestone also comes with a 25 year warranty. This alone is cause for celebration for the eco-conscious among us. Materials that are built to last will not find their way to a landfill anytime soon.
We recommend spending time on the Cosentino website to explore the myriad patterns and colors that are available. The website also includes great photos of their surfaces in action in real spaces for inspiration. There really is something for any design aesthetic, to warm Mediterranean hues to the industrial gray that has proven so popular in modern homes. Silestone also comes in three textures: polished, suede (or matte), and volcano. The latter is really cool, featuring a rustic, rough texture that would add warmth to a kitchen.
As Cosentino points out in their promotional material for HybriQ+, “the kitchen has become the heart and soul of our homes. It is where we cook, work, study, and share memories. It is only natural that the next world-changing idea will come from the kitchen.” So next time you need a sustainable surface for a kitchen redesign, Cosentino Silestone with HybriQ+ should be top of mind.
To learn more about Cosentino’s HybriQ+ Technology and request a quote, click here.
Spotted: Lisbon-based Virtuleap is a health and education startup using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) to elevate the cognitive assessment and training industry. The company believes that VR brain training can add value to any healthy lifestyle as a frequent activity taking up less than 10 minutes per session.
Virtuleap’s core product, Enhance, is a VR app with a library of brain training games that test and train various cognitive skills like memory, problem-solving, spatial orientation, and motor control. The company says that VR “engages multiple learning systems, which makes it a more effective and natural environment for cognitive training than 2D screen-based brain training apps”.
Enhance’s games are designed by neuroscientists and game designers with the intention of being both fun and effective. The app currently offers more than 14 short games across nine different categories: memory, problem-solving, flexibility, working memory, spatial orientation, motor control, auditory cognition, task switching, and planning – with Additional skills to be introduced in the near future.
The app also allows users to track their progress with reporting tools to know how their quality of sleep and moods affect their cognitive performance.
In 2020, the company published a white paper citing 76 peer-reviewed studies explaining why they believe that VR cognitive training systems may transfer and improve specific domains or global cognition.
Parallel with Enhance, Virtuleap also developed a web-based dashboard for corporations, such as senior living communities, hospitals, clinics, and educational institutions, to access reporting and data tools. The company hopes its platform will provide caregivers with additional capabilities to help the aging population with cognitive conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Other medical uses of VR spotted by Springwise include a virtual environment for treating phobias, gamified neurology treatments, and a VR live stream of surgical procedures for remote learning.
Burnout in Architecture is not a new concept; what is new, is that people open up to speak about it more and more. Speak, or even fight for better conditions, like recently observed with the SCI-Arc scandal. Work-related stress and exhaustion impacts productivity, morale and retention reflecting negatively on both the workplace and the individual employees. If you are struggling with burnout or you feel that your employers struggle, it is time to invest in new inspiration. In this article, I will discuss in detail what exact things you can do to avoid burnout.
To begin, if you are a business owner in the architecture and engineering industry you have to keep a close eye on the issue of burnout, as it can negatively impact your firm. Deloitte’s external survey explores the drivers and impact of prolonged, unmanageable stress that may lead to employee burnout and it reports that 77 percent of people are experiencing burnout at their current job. So, there is a strong likelihood it’s happening to your employees (or to you!).
Job burnout is a special type of work-related stress — a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity. “Burnout” isn’t a medical diagnosis. Some experts think that other conditions, such as depression, are behind burnout. Researchers point out that individual factors, such as personality traits and family life, influence who experiences job burnout. Whatever the cause, job burnout can affect your physical and mental health. Consider how to know if you’re experiencing job burnout and what you can do about it.
Symptoms of burnout include excessive stress, fatigue, insomnia, sadness, anger or irritability, alcohol or substance misuse, heart disease, high blood pressure and vulnerability to illness, amongst others. There are mismanaged work practices that contribute to burnout, including putting a heavy workload on people and asking them to work long hours.
But not everything can be put on the employer. It is everyone’s personal responsibility to learn to keep a healthy work-life balance. Something really important to look into is the amount of control attributed to each employee. Because, contrary to what you might think, it’s little or no control that contributes to burnout, rather than having too much control at work. So, it is advisable both to employers and employees to pass on and take on as much control equally amongst all team members, such that everyone can feel equally responsible for their position. Remember that people who are unclear about the degree of authority they have — or what their supervisor or others expect from them — are not likely to feel comfortable at work.
To fix, and even prevent, burnout in yourself and your employees, I will suggest 10 reasons people burnout and ways to fix each one. However, it’s important to realize that these aren’t quick, band-aid fixes. Many of these solutions will take intentional implementation, time, and commitment to be successful.
Top 10 Things to Watch Out For:
1. Don’t forget your reason. Missing or forgetting why you do what you do is often the number one reason why people begin to feel unmotivated at work. When everyday work tasks bypass the big vision behind why you started doing what you do, this is bound to happen. To keep your eye on track, set yourself and your team measurable and achievable goals. You need to figure out where you’re going and communicate that ambition.
As an employer you have to ensure all your workers understand your vision as well as put measures in place to help them communicate their visions and ambitions. Opening your weekly calendar to your employees who can book in and discuss their promotion or suggest ways in which they can advance will allow them to take more control of their career and make you aware of their needs. Knowing where you are going and where your employees are going helps everyone stay on track and remember the reason why they are engaged with you. As much as you can expand this type of practice amongst your firm on the individual, department and company level you need to keep all of the above engaged with your purpose.
2. Don’t trade momentum for monotony. When you first begin to work on something you catch a momentum and things feel exciting, but every now and then what once felt exciting becomes monotonous. The idea is to always keep a fresh way to achieve your desired goals. Focusing on that plan of action is crucial in the sense that we’re often burned out because although we know what the goal is — for example: make more money, achieve a billable percentage, or gain a new client/market — we don’t know how to get there. This leads to spinning our wheels or going in different directions depending on the day. It also gets monotonous. Instead, allow for creativity when developing your plan. Bounce ideas off others. Determine specific, small, sustainable steps that will get you there. And, most importantly once you’ve developed a plan, stick to it and get your whole team on board.
3. Don’t do anything alone, be coachable! Feelings of burnout can often be caused by either your frustration with younger/inexperienced staff or their frustration with you (or work related reasons). To avoid this, adapt a culture of- and commitment to- coaching. Be intentional about investing in our up-and-coming architects and engineers. This includes nominating them for leadership development and/or training programs; taking time to explain the intangibles of the business; and bringing them to client and industry meetings.
When people have a clear career path and feel invested in it, they are less likely to feel fatigued and burned out. People who feel isolated at work and in their personal life might feel more stressed. To be a good leader, invest also in yourself. We are not always born with great leadership skills, and even if you are a natural there is always room for growth. Invest in coaching. You can do this many ways. One is keeping an eye and actively investing in gatherings, conferences and events designed to educate and elevate you. Another very good way is to work with a personal consultant and or business strategist. The growth of your business can directly be dependent on your ability to identify new opportunities. Many business coaches are there to achieve direct results, so you’re paying for the benefits they bring to your business.
4. Keep an eye on your track. Even with the greatest efforts towards running a business and staying on track things can lose their continuum. This happens when goals aren’t met, team members quit, or budgets get blown. When this happens repeatedly, it’s easy to feel burned out. You need to adjust your expectations and attitude. Learn to expect the unexpected. Plan for the crisis even if it may not happen. I believe that it is better to have a 30-minute conversation to plan for the worst-case scenario that turns out to be unnecessary than to not have the conversation and waste valuable time, resources and money reacting to the situation if it does.
5. Don’t get involved with drama. Office gossip and drama can derail a team faster than anything else. It can cause feelings of discouragement, frustration, fatigue and, eventually, burnout. My advice: Ignore the (petty) noise. But also, give your employees a safe space to vent and voice their frustrations. (Venting should occur “up the ladder,” not sideways.) As a business owner it’s crucial to keep your eye on the office pulse. It might not be obvious to you but someone in your office might be a bit of a bully, your employees might feel undermined by colleagues or your management might micromanage your team’s work. All this can contribute to job stress. Even if these issues don’t affect you directly, and you might think they are petty, they might be massive to someone on your team. The best way to avoid this is to give your employees access to an employee assistance program, or encourage them to reach out to other coworkers, friends or loved ones for support and collaboration as communication can help them and help you prevent further issues.
6. Don’t be a control freak. We get burned out when we’re trying to control everything. This is exhausting and unsustainable. Instead, learn to let go and empower others. I refer to this as encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit with our employees. Find opportunities and ways to let them take ownership – whether to pitch a new idea, explore an emerging software, or lead a project. This can lead to a fruitful distribution of tasks and take a tremendous amount of responsibility off your shoulders.
7. Don’t quit. We’ve all had the urge (and some of us have done it): We feel burned out, so we quit. And sometimes it’s the right move. But if you’re leaving a job for the wrong reason, you’re going to go from the frying pan into the fire. Instead, evaluate the situation before making the leap; it may be better to stick it out. Making a lateral move can leave you feeling further behind in your career and less motivated as you work to prove yourself yet again for little career promotion or reward. Be proactive about changing your situation but don’t give up when it gets tough. Sometimes challenges are there to give us a little push, see this as an opportunity to voice your concern, ask for more or change something and if nothing works then make an adequate decision. Be a fighter more than a person that gives up, as giving up may sometimes be only a start to even a more challenging scenario.
8. Don’t stick to your network. Think bigger. When we expand who we’re around, we expand the ideas and opinions we are exposed to. Whether it’s getting involved with a new industry association, Chamber of Commerce, or leadership development course – expand your horizons. By doing so you can open up to new opportunities, and this can by itself give you new motivation.
9. Don’t be too serious. We tend to be serious as architects and engineers, but sometimes what you need to break the burnout is to have fun. You can implement this by hosting impromptu fun days (that don’t have to break the bank) or simply put more attention into a healthy work/ life balance.
10. Don’t be unhappy. Dr. Ken Harmon preaches to “choose happiness.” When we’re burned out, it’s easy to only see the negatives. It takes a deliberate effort to focus on the positives. We all have our go-to way to help adjust our perspective and change our mood: Listen to your favorite song (mine is “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone). Buy a latte. Call a friend. Take a small action to help turn your day – and attitude – around. Never forget what adds to feelings of happiness: a healthy diet, and good sleep. Sleep restores well-being and helps protect your health. Explore programs that can help with stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi. Getting some exercise is a great way to boost your happy hormones. Regular physical activity can help you to better deal with stress. It can also take your mind off work. Mindfulness is the act of focusing on your breath flow and being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling at every moment, without interpretation or judgment. In a job setting, this practice involves facing situations with openness and patience, and without judgment.
About the Disrupt Symposium
I am also here to suggest the best solution and one of the absolute top investment strategies designed to be the needed breath of fresh air for you and your business. And that is the upcoming Disrupt Symposium, a 5 day virtual event dedicated solely to the Business of Architecture. We are only a few days away from the Zoom event (May 1st — May 5th) so get the ticket for yourself and your whole team now.
What makes this event special is that we invite to stage C-level executives, directors, business developers, and leaders responsible for running business at the largest architecture practices, such as Gensler, OMA, Zaha Hadid Architects, Safdie Architects, Snøhetta, UnStudio, Perkins & Will, and BIG amongst others. The event runs from 7–10 pm CET each day, featuring 5 experts per day. All sessions are limited to 20 minutes, after which there will be a dedicated 10 minutes for interactive Q&A.
The event is organized under the tagline: “Success leaves clues.” Why? Because success is not some kind of mysterious code you have to crack in order to be happy; it’s a set of principles, rules, a system, a plan of action that has been implemented before and worked. Therefore, if you want it to work for you, it can. All you have to do is learn what actions and thought processes belong to the most successful. Disrupt is where you go to learn more about the blueprint of success in architecture.
Reflecting our global Springwise readership, we explore the innovation landscape and freshest thinking from a new country each week. This week, we’ve headed to the Iberian peninsula…
Climate targets: at least 40 per cent domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990,carbon neutral by 2050.
Sustainability issues:
Air pollution – levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide are so high in three of Portugal’s air quality zones, that the European Commission has decided to sue the country. Emissions of the noxious gas come mostly from road traffic – especially diesel vehicles.
Energy poverty – Portugal has one of the highest proportions of people living in fuel poverty in the EU. This is because the country has some of Europe’s highest electricity and natural gas prices, as well as a high proportion of poorly insulated homes.
Drought – There has been little rain anywhere in Portugal in 2022, with 95 per cent of the country facing severe or extreme drought conditions. This is making the growing season extremely difficult for farmers. Climatologists believe that climate change is playing a part in the current drought.
A SPACE DEBRIS TRACKING SYSTEM HELPS PREVENT COLLISIONS
Historically, the race to space has focused on getting teams and countries into orbit, with far fewer resources dedicated to cleaning up after missions. But with space traffic growing rapidly, there is a growing need to track the rubbish left behind in order to prevent dangerous collisions. Portugal’s Neuraspace, part of the European Space Agency’s Business Incubator programme, recently raised €2.5 million to bring its intelligent monitoring platform to market. Read more.
A SENSOR MONITORS THE STRENGTH AND EFFICIENCY OF WIND TURBINE BLADES
Current wind turbine monitoring systems are not built to track the full length of the world’s largest blades, and updated materials technologies are also adding complexity to such oversight. Porto and Rotterdam-based Fibersail is piloting a shape-sensing wind turbine blade monitoring system that tracks the full shape and curvature of each blade – even the newest, longest blades. Such monitoring helps to identify the most efficient positions for each turbine. and also provides owners and maintenance managers with the means to detect when a part is working below capacity – much earlier than is currently possible. Read more.
Lisbon-based Virtuleap is a health and education startup using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) to elevate the cognitive assessment and training industry. The company believes that VR brain training can add value to any healthy lifestyle as a frequent activity taking up less than 10 minutes per session. Virtuleap’s core product, Enhance, is a VR app with a library of brain training games that test and train various cognitive skills like memory, problem-solving, spatial orientation, and motor control. Read more.
Words: Matthew Hempstead
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Before the current scientific consensus on man-made climate change emerged, many climatologists believed that any extra carbon dioxide released by human activities would be absorbed by the world’s oceans. This proved to be a sticking point in the mainstream acceptance of the greenhouse effect, and it wasn’t until the late 1950s that researchers demonstrated that seawater will not absorb all of the extra carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
Oceans have been at the centre of climate science because an estimated 83 per cent of the global carbon cycle is circulated through marine waters. Man-made global warming is, in essence, the short-circuiting of this cycle, so understanding and respecting the oceans—the biggest part of the cycle—is crucial for mitigating the damage we have done.
Although we now know that oceans will not absorb all of our carbon emissions, they have absorbed around a third of the CO2 produced by humans. Moreover, the ocean is home to resources that are extremely useful in the fight against climate change. Seagrass meadows sequester carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, and seaweed is used in a wide range of sustainable innovations. In short, when it comes to climate change, oceans are our best friend.
But oceans are also vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Marine eco-systems are sensitive to climate shocks, with coral cover declining by over half since the 1950s. Human activities also impact oceans in other ways. Oceans are the cradle of life, making up 95 per cent of the space available to living things, yet research shows that marine biodiversity is declining dangerously, with humans the biggest cause. And each year 8 million tonnes of plastic waste escape into the sea.
Given the importance of oceans to our shared future, many innovators are looking to the ocean for inspiration. And some of the most exciting ocean innovators will be at this year’s ChangeNOW summit in Paris.
According to research, 60 per cent of chemical leaks, oil spill-offs, and micro-plastics end up on the sea floor. These pollutants damage the environment, but so too do traditional clean-up methods, which rely on excavations and harmful chemicals. Latvia’s PurOceans Technology believes there is a better way.
The company has developed a proprietary process called ‘deepwater rehabilitation’. During this process, bubbles of ambient air are piped to the lowest depths, where they stick to chemical pollutants before floating back to the surface. Once at the surface, the toxic waste can be safely collected and processed into purified water. PurOcean’s approach avoids the damage to flora and fauna that accompanies excavation and chemical-based approaches, improving the health of the entire marine eco-system. And as a further bonus, the process enriches the water with added oxygen.
A WEST AFRICAN WATER COMPANY TACKLES PLASTIC WASTE FROM BOTTLED WATER
Single-use plastic water bottles are both common and expensive in West Africa. And much of the waste plastic ends up cluttering the streets, going to land fill, or polluting the oceans. Addressing this issue is Senegal-based water company MIYA.
Miya provides 11- and 19-litre water bottles that can be re-used under a deposit scheme where customers return the bottles for refills. In addition to preventing plastic from littering beaches and harming marine life, the MIYA scheme has several additional benefits. Drinking water in the company’s native Senegal is not always safe, yet bottled water is expensive. Many people therefore face an unfortunate trade-off between hygiene and cost. MIYA’s water is more affordable with customers paying $2.08 for a 19-litre bottle compared to the average price of $1.73 for 10 litres.
A WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT THAT PRODUCES MORE ENERGY THAN IT CONSUMES
Globally, around 80 per cent of sewage is dumped into the ocean untreated. And all this pollution from wastewater damages marine eco-systems in a number of ways. At the same time, current wastewater treatment technologies are energy-intensive and cause one per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in France.
NXO-Engineering takes a revolutionary approach to wastewater, seeing it as a repository of resources rather than something to be treated. The startup’s proprietary NxSTEP process uses micro-algae and bacteria to convert the wastewater into biomethane that can be used as a source of energy. As a result, the process is not only less energy-intensive than traditional methods, it actually produces more energy than it uses. The company has also developed a flotation unit that separates biomass from water, leaving the water fit for human consumption – a process that can reduce the cost of drinking water.
Photo source Airseas
A SEA KITE THAT HELPS SHIPS SAVE FUEL UNDERGOES TRIALS
Maritime shipping accounts for at least 2.5 per cent of global CO2 emissions. However, this is considered by many to be a gross underestimate of the environmental damage done by container shipping. One study found that, in 2009, a single large container ship emitted almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50 million cars.
French company Airseas has developed a parafoil sail—known as the Seawing—that is designed to be installed on cargo ships to reduce fuel consumption and shipping emissions. The Seawing is designed to deploy automatically, rising up above the ship’s deck on a long cable to grab the steady, strong winds 200 metres above sea level. An automated system monitors and controls the Seawing. The system also monitors forward wind conditions and re-routes the ship to take the most efficient path possible without affecting arrival time.
Airseas is not the only company harnessing the wind to reduce shipping emissions. Rather than using a kite-like parafoil, another French company, AYRO, has developed wingsails—called ‘Oceanwings’—that rise vertically from the deck of a ship.
Oceanwings are compatible with most types of vessel, and can be retrofitted onto existing ships or incorporated into new-build designs. Moreover, operating the Oceanwings does not require the specialist skills traditionally associated with sailing, and the wingsails are safe to use in any weather condition. Sensors on the wingsails measure the wind, generating data that is analysed to adjust the angle and camber of the Oceanwings for maximum effectiveness.
USING DNA TO MAKE ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS EASIER AND CHEAPER
Environmental monitoring is key for environmental protection strategies. Monitoring data helps policymakers set priorities and activities. At the same time, businesses are faced with a growing need to report on biodiversity, yet monitoring has traditionally been costly and difficult to perform at scale. For biodiversity startup NatureMetrics, the answer is in environmental DNA (eDNA) – DNA that is released from organisms into the environment through faeces, urine, slime, scales, and other forms.
NatureMetrics carries out tests in a facility purpose-built for metabarcoding – a method of DNA sequencing that can identify multiple species in a single sample. The system can process more than 100 samples in parallel, reducing sequencing costs and time. The company’s marine division provides powerful data on ocean biodiversity, working on projects such as nature-based solutions in coral reef, mangrove, kelp, and seagrass habitats, and conservation monitoring in marine protected areas.
Springwise is a proud partner of ChangeNow, which takes place in Paris 19-21 May 2022. As the world’s largest event for the planet, the three-day international summit brings together entrepreneurs, business leaders and policymakers to accelerate change. To find out more and book your tickets, visit changenow.world.
With the birth of the smartphone, millions of people around the world gained access to incredibly advanced cameras, opening up the world of architectural photography to the global public. But while anyone can snap a photo, it takes more to create a truly compelling image. What kind of photograph captures the essence of a place? What can it tell us about the people that live, work and play within it? Can a photograph tell us a larger story about the cultural context of a home, city or country?
With the 3rd Annual One Photo Challenge set to launch, we invite award-winning photographer and competition juror Ema Peter to explore answers to some of these questions. Hit the button below to register for this free live talk, set to take May 10th, 2022 at 1pm ET:
During the talk, we’ll look back at some of the best images from last season, examining the photography rules they follow — and which they break — to tell powerful stories about architecture.
How to harness unexpected lighting and composition to create a compelling architectural photograph
How to spot opportunities for a great photograph in different places and moments in time
What it’s like to be a professional architectural photographer and what it takes to succeed in the business
About Ema
Ema is the principle of Ema Peter Photography. In the past 10 years she has works with some of the largest architectural, interior design and engineering firms in North America. Ema’s photography has helped many of these firms reach award winning status. Her images have been published in Architectural Digest, Objekt International, Dwell, Wired, New York Times and many more. Ema holds a masters degree in art and applied photography from the national academy of theatre and film arts in Sofia Bulgaria as well as a PHD in Photojournalism.
She started her career as a TV anchor on Bulgarian National TV and then as an intern at Magnum Photo Agency in Paris. She then led one of the largest photography teams in North America at VRX Studios Inc. She was also the lead photographer for ad campaigns at Hilton, Hyatt and Fairmont and was responsible for creating photography standards for some of the top hotel brands around the world.
About Paul
Paul Keskeys is Editor in Chief at Architizer. An architect-trained editor, writer and content creator, Paul graduated from UCL and the University of Edinburgh, gaining an MArch in Architectural Design with distinction. Paul has spoken about the art of architecture and storytelling at many national industry events, including AIANY, NeoCon, KBIS, the Future NOW Symposium, the Young Architect Conference and NYCxDesign. As well as hundreds of editorial publications on Architizer, Paul has also had features published in Architectural Digest, PIN—UP Magazine, Archinect, Aesthetica Magazine and PUBLIC Journal.
Spotted: Increasingly, those interested in city planning and energy saving have been pointing out that it just doesn’t make sense to transport people or smaller amounts of goods around urban areas in traditional vehicles – even electric vehicles (EVs). Cars are large, heavy, and energy-intensive. Now, startup Infinite Mobility has developed an alternative – a solar-powered tuk-tuk designed for last-mile deliveries, or to efficiently carry just one or two people.
The company’s streamlined solar tricycles incorporate solar cells into the vehicle’s body. The diminutive size of the vehicles means they are cheaper to produce and buy than a four-wheeled vehicle. According to the company, six square metres of solar cells cost around $300 (around €284), and will produce up to 604 kilowatt-hours a year of power for the vehicle. At 60 watts per kilometre, the tricycles can travel up to 10,000 kilometres per year on solar energy alone – enough for the average urban user.
Infinite Mobility also points out that the tuk-tuks don’t need recharging from the grid, eliminating one annoyance of EV ownership. And there is another benefit – depending on where they’re based, many micro-mobility vehicles sales are now supported by subsidies from local, regional, or national governments.
Lupi Love, Infinite Mobility’s CEO, explains other benefits of micro-mobility solutions. “Micro-mobility vehicles are agile, can use cycle lanes, take shortcuts and park with ease. Meanwhile, traditional vehicles spent three times as long stuck in traffic and drive around looking for parking spaces. Whilst micro-mobility hardly needed to walk at all – having parked just outside the door, traditional vehicles drivers walked approximately a third of their total distance.”
While EVs have been getting all of the attention lately, solar-powered vehicles are definitely coming. We have seen this with innovations such as Squad Mobility’s solar microcars, a solar-powered mobility scooter, and even a parking garage powered by solar panels.
Judging is now underway for the 10th Annual A+Awards Program! Want to earn global recognition for your projects? Sign up to be notified when the 11th Annual A+Awards program launches.
Sometimes, a story comes along that is so engaging that you simply cannot wait to retell it. Such is the case for the intertwined life stories of avant-garde pair Antonin Raymond and Noémi Pernessin (later also Raymond). The two led separate lives, both seeking something unknown that took them on cross-continental adventures in an attempt to find the elusive “something” they were searching for.
Since meeting and embarking on an incredible journey together, Noémi and Antonin have gifted the world of architecture and design with over 300 built works in 50 years of practice. Today, the couple are recognized as one of the most successful design collaborations we have ever seen.
Floriánské náměstí street in Kladno, Czech Republic Photograph by Jiří Sedláček
Antonin Raymond (born Antonín Reimann) was born in Kladno, Bohemia, a historic area of the present-day Czech Republic. As the backdrop to his child, the heterogeneous architectural styles of the region exposed Antonin to a body of architecture that ranged from the Czech Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque, all the while reflecting the general trend of 19th Century history.
For the young boy, his hometown was the place that sparked his interest in architecture, but it was an interest founded upon the farmhouse and pastoral architecture to which he was accustomed. Not until the untimely death of his mother and a move into metropolitan Prague did Antonin experience the groundbreaking Art Nouveau or Cubist movements that were presented there. Thus began a life of challenging the classics.
Central Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic Photograph by Øyvind Holmstad
Antonín’s first encounter with Frank Lloyd Wright’s work inspired him; in particular, the American architect’s admiration for Japanese prints and references caught the young Czech’s eyes. In Raymond’s words, “Wright had restated the principles of building; he had overcome the cell, liberated the plan, made space flow, given buildings a human scale and blended them with nature, all in a romantic, sensual and original way which left us breathless. He was what we had been longing for, a real revolutionary.”
Plate from the Wasmuth Portfolio by Frank Lloyd White, 1910
From then on, and with the threat of war looming, Antonín set his sights on America. He fled his home country, and upon arrival, the young and inexperienced architect was hired as a draftsman in the office of Cass Gilbert. There, he acquired knowledge in the business aspect of architectural practice and was put in charge of detailed drawings for the Woolworth building (1910-1913), which at the time was the highest skyscraper in the world. To Antonín, the was uninspiring. His love for architecture and America, whose promise from overseas had not come to fruition, soon dissipated, and he moved on to study painting.
The Woolworth Building by Cass Gilbert, New York, US By The Pictorial News Co., N.Y, via Wikimedia Commons
After a short time in Rome and as the imminent war seemed to boil over, Antonin headed back to the supposed safety of New York. It was on that return journey that he met his wife and partner to be, Noémi Pernessin, an extremely talented French graphic designer who was educated in Paris and New York. They were wed on 15 December 1914 and soon after became American citizens, anglicizing their names to Antonin Raymond and Noémi Pernessin Raymond.
Imperial Palace Moat, Woodblock Print (1920) by Noémi Pernessin Raymond
We know much less of Noémi Pernessin’s life prior to her marriage to Antonin (as is often the way with historical female figures). However, what we do know is that the talented artist and designer was born in Cannes, France, in 1889 and moved to New York with her family around age 12. She graduated from Columbia University, where she was able to study under philosopher John Dewey and artist Arthur Wesley Dow — it was here she was first introduced to Japanese art and design.
What is certain is that it was Noémi’s connections within the New York art scene that she had built over the years in which she developed her craft as a young woman that led her new husband (Antonin) to be offered a job working for his hero Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1916 the couple was invited to live and work at Wright’s Taliesin house, and studio and the environment rekindled Antonin’s love for architecture under the guidance of the design master. The dream life did not last long. In 1917, Raymond enlisted in the army to help in the war efforts.
Imperial Hotel by Frank Lloyd Wright, Tokyo, Japan
On his return to New York, adventure came calling to the Raymonds once more with an offer from now friend Frank Lloyd Wright asking for them to come and work on the Imperial Hotel project in Tokyo. The proposal was positively accepted, and both worked on the project, Antonin as its project architect and Noémi on its interior design and artistic elements.
Soon after arriving in Tokyo, Noémi and Antonin set up their own architectural offices in the country. It was a place that felt right to them, both having been drawn to Japanese style and culture many years previously without realizing its significance to them. They would live and practice in Japan for the next 18 years.
Reinanzaka House by Antonin Raymond and Noémi Pernessin Raymond, Tokyo, Japan
Over the course of those two decades, their practice flourished: they built residences, embassies, clubs, universities, churches, schools, and factories. During these years, their work quickly evolved from its origins in the sketches of Frank Lloyd Wright through a period of abstraction and material experimentation. They pioneered with concrete, paralleling the works of European modernists’ and in the late 1920s and early 1930s. As proponents of the emerging International Style, they were on the vanguard of architectural modenism in Asia.
Noémi and Antonin came to find a balance in their designs between the Japanese heritage they respected and the progressive modernism they championed, but what was most impressive and remains the foundation of their lasting legacy is how they combined Western design with the conditions and climate of Japan. Reinforced concrete was used for monsoon and earthquake-proof designs sung of Le Corbusier in inspiration while catering to the country’s unique needs. Their work and their reception illustrate how unity between different cultures can fuel true innovation.
Tokyo Golf Club by Antonin Raymond, Asaka, Saitama, Japan
During their time in Japan, the Raymonds taught and worked with many Japanese designers, architects, craftspeople and engineers. As Frank Lloyd Wright had been for them, the couple’s mentorship was instrumental in the career of George Nakashima as both an architect and furniture maker. In 1936, with George Nakashima as project architect, the Raymonds built the remarkable Golconda Ashram in Puducherry — the first work of Modern Architecture in India.
Golconde Ashram by George Nakashima and Antonin and Noémi Raymond, Puducherry, India Photography provided by Nakashima Foundation
By 1938 the couple decided to return to the US to live on a farm in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The farm and studio were reminiscent of their time at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship. They would mentor apprentices by allowing them to work in the studio and help with the farm itself. It was not simply a school nor a studio, but a way of life. They called it the New Hope Experiment.
Readers Digest Offices by Antonin and Noémi Raymond Tokyo, Japan Photograph from Raymond Design Office.Co
In the aftermath of the war, the Raymonds felt obliged to reopen their Tokyo offices in a bid to rebuild Japan. They would live and practice between the United States and Japan for the next 25 years, and it became the most productive period of their remarkable careers.
Today, Antonin Raymond is known to the people of Japan as the “Father of Modern Architecture,” and Noémi Pernessin Raymond is regarded as amongst the very best great women designers of the 20th century by the Museum of Modern Art. Their influence on the development of Japan is astonishing. The Raymond’s Readers Digest Office Building in Tokyo from 1951 is widely recognized as one the most seminal buildings in the history of modern Japanese architecture.
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“Why don’t people want to read books about climate change?” That was what Financial Times journalist Simon Mundy found himself wondering a couple of years ago. “People have this impression of it being very heavy, abstract, and difficult to engage with,” he explains. “But I knew that behind the headlines must be some incredibly powerful and compelling human stories.”
So, taking a leave of absence from his job, Mundy started travelling all over the world to find these stories. Two years, 26 countries, and many COVID-related quarantines later, he published Race for Tomorrow – a book about the global fight against climate change.
During his travels, he met not only with those suffering the consequences of environmental decline, but also with innovators working to tackle the problem.
For his book, Race for Tomorrow, Mundy visited 26 countries to meet those suffering from environmental impacts
When did you first become interested in sustainability?
One of the first stories I covered as the Financial Times Mumbai correspondent in 2016 was the droughts in Marathwada, India. When I met the farmers and saw the empty reservoirs and cracked floors, it hit me for the first time how severe the impacts of climate change already are. Before that point, I’d viewed it as more of a slow burn that would come home to roost in a serious way decades from now. In that moment I could see that wasn’t the case.
How does innovation hold the key to halting the climate crisis?
We’re fortunate to have seen incredible innovation already over the last 20 years – from electric cars to renewal energy sources. It means we now don’t have the horrific choice between shutting down the economy or heading for planetary disaster. Innovation has enabled a miraculous third option, which is to develop a greener economy using technology. And the latest advances in innovation are making solutions even more feasible.
Which area of innovation do you think is most promising for making a real difference?
Carbon sequestration is very exciting, particularly what Reykjavik-based Carbfix is doing. For millions of years, the basalt under Iceland has been sequestering carbon dioxide dissolved in water, turning it to limestone through a natural chemical reaction. And while scientists had assumed this took place over centuries, Carbfix has discovered that when carbon dioxide-rich water was injected into underground rock formations, 95 per cent of it became stone within just two years.
To get the carbon, Carbfix works with Climeworks, which was set up by two young, German engineers based in Switzerland. They’ve built machines that can suck carbon dioxide out of the air. Taken together, these technologies could make it possible to put the carbon cycle into reverse at an industrial scale.
What’s the craziest innovation you’ve come across?
Lab grown meat is such an interesting area. In 2021, Israeli company, Aleph Farms, raised $105 million in a Series B funding round. It grew out of scientific research by Shulamit Levenberg, a leading academic in the field of cardiac-related research. After she figured out a way to grow human cardiac cells to treat people with heart disease, someone suggested to her: ‘what if you could do the same with animal cells to make meat?’
While other companies in the field are producing a sort of minced meat, Aleph is trying to create muscle – an actual whole steak. And they’ve done it – albeit at a very small scale and at a very high cost. There may be people who find the idea of this ‘frankenfood’ uncomfortable, but it’s hard to deny it’s better for the environment. We don’t need to worry about methane emissions from cows, or the rainforest being cut down to make more room for farming. It’s also healthier because your ‘meat’ isn’t full of antibiotics. Plus, you don’t need to worry about animal welfare.
What other solutions do you think could be gamechangers?
People aren’t paying enough attention to fusion power – and it’s coming more quickly than we thought. Did you know: one kilogramme of fusion fuel can provide as much energy as 10 million kilogrammes of fossil fuel?
To find out more, I met with a company called Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is based at MIT in the USA and has recently raised $1.8 billion from investors. I had a tour of their operations and was amazed by their fusion reactor. The temperature within that reactor when it was switched on was 100 million degrees Celsius – which made it the hottest point in the solar system. I found it extraordinary that this technology is being developed and raising $1.8 billion in funding – clearly it’s now reaching the point where serious investors are getting really excited about the potential of this stuff.
What’s currently holding back sustainable innovation in the business world?
There’s lack of a sense of urgency, and a certain distance from the impacts of climate change. Fundamentally, the people making the decisions at a high level for big companies tend not to be personally exposed in a very meaningful way to the impacts of climate change.
Now, having said that, I do think that they have other sorts of pressures on them – from investors, from customers, from the wider public, and from regulators. Business leaders feel under pressure to show some progress when it comes to their climate footprint. But it’s still not fast enough. And I think if we all had a greater connection with some of the sorts of stories that are featured in the earlier parts of my book, I do think that would help to give a greater sense of urgency.
What advice do you have for business leadersabout innovation and sustainability?
First, businesses can be very powerful voices, for good or bad, in influencing the direction of policy and the evolution of the wider economic system. Secondly, long-dated targets are not enough. Business leaders need to provide detail on what their plans are for the near term, for the next year, and the next five years – and have their focus there. Otherwise, businesses can rely on vague and long-term targets.
What advice would you give to innovators about making an impact?
Of the companies I visited, the ones who seemed to me to be doing best were those that had spotted a gap in the market and created something truly original. I was also struck by the scale of their ambitions. They all talked in very grand terms about the potential size of their business and the impact they could have. And I think that’s appropriate. Because when you look at the scale of the disruption that’s happening, and consider the epochal shift in the global economic system, it’s right to talk in terms of unprecedented growth.
Innovators in this space should think big because this is a historic moment. We’re talking about the end of the fossil fuel age of human history. It’s an unprecedented point in human disruption. Companies that find the opportunity and the right space can achieve something extraordinary.
What can Springwise readers do about climate change?
While it’s important to keep thinking about how to address your personal carbon footprint, I think we emphasise that a little bit too much. We should also look at what contribution we might be able to make to change the wider system. Because that system level change is what will be so important.
Do you feel optimistic or pessimistic about the future?
Both is the answer. I’m much more keenly aware of the scale of the problems, which are profound and wide-ranging. But I’ve also been blown away by the ambition and the brilliance of the innovators I’ve met, and the work that’s been done to tackle these problems. While I’m deeply concerned about the path that we’re on, there’s no space for resignation. There is so much that we can still do to improve the situation.
Simon Mundy is the author of Race For Tomorrow(William Collins). He has also reported for the Financial Times since 2010, most recently as Moral Money Editor – covering the push for a cleaner and more sustainable world economy. To find out more about Simon and to buy the book, visit simonmundy.com/book
In 1938, British scientist Guy Callendar demonstrated how records from nearly 150 weather stations showed that temperatures had risen over the past century – and that carbon dioxide levels had risen over the same period. At the time, meteorologists widely dismissed what was then called the ‘Callendar Effect’.
Today, the scientific evidence for man-made global warming is overwhelming, and climate change has emerged as the defining issue of our age. Greenhouse gas emissions are leading to rising temperatures, with scientists estimating that we have already caused warming of 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Limiting further temperature rises to 1.5 degrees could prevent the worst effects of global warming. But the world is not on track to meet this target.
The structural changes needed to limit climate change will require the collaboration of everyone in society, and necessitate action from society’s biggest stakeholders –notably governments. But innovation has a vital role to play in tackling this most existential of issues.
Understanding the impacts of climate change
If we are to effectively adapt to the reality of climate change and take action to limit its effects, it is crucial that we understand how temperature rises and extreme weather events will impact global eco-systems. Over the past decades, scientists have gathered an extensive body of research on the effects of climate change, but innovators continue to develop new ways to collect data on climate impacts. For example, a partnership between marine environment non-profit Beneath The Waves, and digital data experts Hexagon AB, is using airborne lasers to map seagrass meadows. This technique will allow researchers to track year-on-year changes and understand the role that these eco-systems play in the overall health of oceans. In the future, windborne sensors, could also be used to monitor climate change.
Climate models are also incredibly important for forecasting the impacts of a changing climate. Nividia is developing an advanced supercomputer for modelling the entire earth. The extremely high resolution of this ‘digital twin’ for the planet will enable the development of even more accurate models.
Education and awareness
Around the world, people have become accustomed to seeing and hearing news about climate change. Yet, despite this familiarity, innovators are coming up with new ways to prevent complacency and ‘climate fatigue’. One of the challenges of climate change as a policy issue, is that it can seem impersonal and intangible in our daily lives. Tackling the first of these issues is an app called ISeeChange. The app alerts users when weather in their area is abnormal, while also allowing them to share and discuss climate impacts and solutions.
A marketing campaign from Australian insurer Suncorp is tackling the issue of intangibility. Citing the statistic that only three per cent of disaster funding is spent on prevention, the company introduced a prototype home designed to withstand bushfires, floods, and cyclones – weather events that are becoming increasingly common because of climate change. The campaign provokes consideration about how and when the costs of increasingly common extreme weather events are borne.
Climate finance
The cost of tackling climate change will be considerable. And target 13.A within SDG 13 highlights the importance of providing financial support to developing countries to help them mitigate climate change. The target challenges developed countries to jointly mobilise $100 billion in finance per year from all sources – both public and private. Governments will be key in mobilising climate finance, but innovators also have a role to play – especially as the Climate Policy Initiative estimates that climate finance must increase by at least 590% to meet global climate objectives.
One company that is developing an innovative method for mobilising climate finance is Generate Capital. The firm partners with companies or communities to provide them with the capital to build sustainable infrastructure projects – such as geothermal power plants. Rather than raising private equity funds, which must usually be returned after ten years, Generate lets institutional investors by a stake directly in the firm, so that they can invest for the long term.
Adaptation and resilience
In addition to finding ways to limit further climate change, innovators are coming up with solutions that help to make communities more resilient in the face of the reality of rising temperatures. For example, a UN-backed project has developed an app that leverages advances in AI and smartphone technology to help farmers fight plant diseases linked to climate change. In an urban context, Czech startup ECOTEN has used geospatial data to create a temperature map of Vienna that the city will use to plan adaptations in response to the climate crisis.
Supporting vulnerable countries
The burden of climate change is not spread evenly across the globe, with developing countries, and small island nations particularly at risk. Solutions that are tailored to the needs of these communities—and that involve local people—are particularly crucial. For example, in Tanzania, a charity is teaching women to farm climate-resilient sea sponges to protect their income as fish stocks and seaweed cultivation are impacted by climate change.
Coral reefs are particularly important for the livelihoods of those living in coastal areas. Worldwide, an estimated one billion people benefit either directly or indirectly from the ecosystem services coral reefs provide. Sadly, coral eco-systems are among the most vulnerable to climate change with global coral cover falling by half since the 1950s. In response, Portuguese company Blue Oasis Technology has a plan to save the world’s coral by building engineered reefs.
Words: Matthew Hempstead
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All said and done, this process produces ZERO water waste. That’s right, zero with a Z. In 2022, this is welcome news indeed. The past few years have seen new attention given to the issue of water conservation as global water shortages have become a mounting problem.
Cosentino believes that consumers need not compromise quality in the name of sustainability. In fact, those Silestone surfaces that have been produced with HybriQ+ technology are among the most beautiful the company has ever produced. The company explains that “the new mineral composition enables never before-seen effects in color depth, texture and tone.” Indeed, Cosentino has long proven that synthetic materials can be just as elegant and intricate as natural materials.
We recommend spending time on the Cosentino website to explore the myriad patterns and colors that are available. The website also includes great photos of their surfaces in action in real spaces for inspiration. There really is something for any design aesthetic, to warm Mediterranean hues to the industrial gray that has proven so popular in modern homes. Silestone also comes in three textures: polished, suede (or matte), and volcano. The latter is really cool, featuring a rustic, rough texture that would add warmth to a kitchen.
Top 10 Things to Watch Out For:
5. Don’t get involved with drama. Office gossip and drama can derail a team faster than anything else. It can cause feelings of discouragement, frustration, fatigue and, eventually, burnout. My advice: Ignore the (petty) noise. But also, give your employees a safe space to vent and voice their frustrations. (Venting should occur “up the ladder,” not sideways.) As a business owner it’s crucial to keep your eye on the office pulse. It might not be obvious to you but someone in your office might be a bit of a bully, your employees might feel undermined by colleagues or your management might micromanage your team’s work. All this can contribute to job stress. Even if these issues don’t affect you directly, and you might think they are petty, they might be massive to someone on your team. The best way to avoid this is to give your employees access to an employee assistance program, or encourage them to reach out to other coworkers, friends or loved ones for support and collaboration as communication can help them and help you prevent further issues.
