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Architecture

Wonder Wood: Black Label Sets a New Standard for Sustainable Materials

By Zarkon Group,02/03/2023

For architects specifying materials for their projects, it’s hard to look past the building envelope as the most important element to consider. Not only is it one of the most visually significant aspects of a building, but it can also make or break a project’s sustainability credentials, given the potential environmental impact of sourcing, transporting, constructing and maintaining materials used for exterior surfaces.

Enter Black Label by Tropical Forest Products, one of the world’s most sustainable building products for decking, cladding and more. This forward-thinking manufacturer has refined its process to minimize the environmental impact of its products without compromising on the durability and incredible aesthetic qualities of its collection. The results are stunning: the warm, rich tones and resilient nature of tropical hardwood makes it a fit for a wide range of contemporary architecture projects, including hospitality, commercial, residential and landscape design typologies. Black Label Sustainable Lumber topped the popular choice vote in the Landscape Design category for the 2022 A+Product Awards.

Architizer spoke with Tropical Forest Products about their products, their processes, and how they see their work evolving in the future.

Congratulations on winning a 2022 A+Award! What does winning this accolade mean to you and your brand?

We are thrilled to have Black Label sustainable lumber named a winner in the world-renowned Architizer A+Awards. This prestigious recognition proves that the architectural community appreciates our efforts to bring high quality and organic tropical hardwoods to market.

The fact that we were awarded by People’s Choice makes it even more special. We would be equally thrilled if this was a jury award, but the fact that this came from architects, designers, contractors and homeowners who have been using Black Label wood confirms the great acceptance that the industry has given to our sustainable, architectural grade products.

What inspired the design of your product?

We are inspired by nature. We believe that natural hardwoods are not only the most sustainable and renewable building product in the world, but they’re also the most exquisite. So we keep our interference as minimal as possible. That means that Black Label hardwoods have no chemicals, additives or toxins – nothing is added. Our products are already what the engineered industry has tried to mimic for years, with no success.

From natural one-of-a-kind designs to unmatched structural strength, our hardwoods are born nearly impeccable. Our role is selecting the optimal boards – Premium Architectural Grade on all sides and edges, with no knots – and kiln-drying them in state-of-the-art Italian chambers.

Using advanced sustainable forest management techniques certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or Unfloresta, we go deep inside the forest and hand pick a limited number of trees with potential to become a piece of art in the hands of architects. Our mission is to give professionals the ability to create stunning, meaningful work that not only delights people, but that also reconnects them to nature.

Add to that the design of specific product profiles, along with the product testing and engineering into a system-based approach consisting of CAD details and CSI based specification language, and you have the essence of the Black Label brand.

Tell us about the manufacturing process — What are the key stages involved, and how do these help ensure a high quality end product?

Manufacturing sustainable wood products goes way beyond what meets the eye. Kiln-drying every board in Italian-made chambers until they meet precise humidity levels is a challenge, as is the world-class millwork we do with our state-of-the-art German-built planers. But it’s when we go into the forest to source our wood that we really set ourselves apart.

To craft every piece of Black Label hardwood, we use the most stringent forest management protocols, guaranteeing forests forever for all future generations. We remove less productive trees (that no longer store carbon) and make room for new trees to flourish.

Think of it as a garden, but on a bigger scale. We prune aging trees the same way you prune old branches in your backyard, allowing new life to grow. And not just any aging tree. From an area as big as a football field, only four to six trees are carefully selected, leaving the remainder intact. And for every one we harvest, up to 25 new trees benefit from the opening in the canopy of leaves and have a chance to flourish.

We go out of our way to keep our products not only sustainable and organic, but to make sure they bring a positive impact on both nature and people. Our multiple certifications with world-class organizations like FSC and Unfloresta only prove how seriously we take sustainability at Black Label.

What detail of your product was the biggest challenge to design, and why? How did you resolve it?

Solving design challenges are at the core of Black Label. Wood, by its very nature, is an incredibly flexible building product, and we take that to the next level by bringing unlimited profile options with state-of-the-art molders and CNC platforms. There’s nothing a commercial or residential project would need, no matter how big or small, that we could not provide.

We also have a dedicated department to serve designers and architects in their specification development process with all of the tools and data they require available on our website. Additionally, we always love to hear from designers directly so we can match their needs, from product sampling to our mill shop.

What makes your product unique and of great value to specifying architects?

Tropical hardwoods are the best in the world for a wide range of residential and commercial applications, and Black Label heightens this aspect. Black Label wood products such as Ipe, Garapa, Tigerwood, Jatoba, Cumaru and Bulletwood — the world’s most appealing species — are sustainably sourced and perfect for all climates. Besides, all of them have unmatched durability and require low maintenance, without the use of chemical treatments. They represent the perfect mix of beauty and unrivaled performance.

Black Label hardwoods have almost twice the strength of Generic FAS grade lumber, and because of the establishment of definitive grading rules, Black Label offers lifestyle products with Premium Appearance on all four sides and edges of each board. Our hardwoods are 100% organic — with absolutely no additives — harvested from sustainably managed forests, and some species have an impressive lifespan of up to 75 years. Hardwood last longer than other materials, and therefore does not have to be replaced nearly as often, making it even more sustainable. Plus, every piece of wood has enhanced stability, made possible by an optimal temperature control system that increases the structural performance by hardening the cell walls. It’s what the industry has been trying to match for years by using chemicals and toxic additives, with no success.

Combine this with FSC, Unifloresta, and even our own Legal Lumber certification program, and designers have a validated and comprehensive approach to biophilic design within the wood product category.

What has the reception to your product been like from architects/clients/consumers?

It has been amazing to watch the incredible reception for such a young brand that has been on the market for less than two years. Dealers all over North America are working with Black Label products every day, and we were awarded by People’s Choice at the Architizer A+Awards. On top of that, we received additional prestigious recognition, which made us the most awarded hardwood brand in our industry in 2022.

Technically, the architects and designers are astounded by the breadth of resources that are available to them to assist in specifying naturally durable hardwood products from our resource library and our availability to work through design challenges with them.

Both designers and consumers are reassured by our comprehensive environmental compliance certification programs, including FSC certification. But the real challenge remains in the continuing education about the Life Cycle Benefits of renewable wood products over non-renewable building products. We are extremely grateful to have received the Architizer A+Award and for any attention it brings to this most important environmental initiative.

How do you see the product evolving in the future?

We have just recently introduced prefabricated deck tiles into our Black Label roof deck system. And for the first time ever in our industry, they are kiln-dried, providing a resistance only similar to that of steel.

But only offering wood sometimes isn’t enough for a brand that aims to support architects and builders with everything they need to deliver world-class projects. So, we’re excited to announce the evolution of the Black Label brand into a wide range of accessories from deck and clad clips to tool kits to stains and beyond.

This evolution is how we guarantee our builders will always find the same quality standards we stand for, from the wood all the way down to the smallest screw.

To find out more about Black Label Sustainable Lumber, visit their website, and reach out to one of their experts to learn how to implement the product in your next project.

All images courtesy of Tropical Forest Products

Reference

Interior Design

Ma Yansong picks six highlights from Blueprint Beijing exhibition

By Zarkon Group,01/03/2023

Architect Ma Yansong, the curator of Blueprint Beijing, a feature exhibition exploring the future of the Chinese capital at the 2022 Beijing Biennial, shares six of his highlight installations from the show.

Ma, the founding partner of Chinese architecture studio MAD, invited 20 architects and artists of different generations from around the world to present their visions for the future of the city of Beijing in a variety of mediums including architectural models, installations, photography and videos.

“Blueprint Beijing is a comparative study of history and the future of Beijing and the world,” Ma told Dezeen.

“We compiled a compendium of seminal events, people and ideologies from around the world that have vividly explored the theme of ‘the future’, such as Archigram, Oscar Niemeyer and many more, that have had a significant impact on current architects, and have influenced changes in Beijing’s urban planning in relation to major events.”

“The works of several creators selected here traverse the dimensions of time, space and geography, and their personal creative imagination has brought distinct significance to the exhibition,” he added.

The exhibition also presents material taken from historic archives about eight architects and collectives that have showcased visionary ideas, as well as four Chinese science fiction films with historic significance.

Here, Ma has selected six of his highlights from Blueprint Beijing for Dezeen:

Restaurant Inside the Wall, by Drawing Architecture Studio, 2023

“The Restaurant Inside the Wall installation is presented as a graphic novel, with a restaurant hidden inside the wall as the protagonist. Drawing Architecture Studio (DAS) transformed the graphic novel into a spatial experience in order to strengthen the absurd and suspenseful atmosphere of the story, by collaging and connecting the real elements of various street stalls.

“Drawing from the observation of urban spaces in China, DAS has discovered a lot of unexpected pockets of wisdom embedded in everyday urban scenes, and roadside ‘holes in the wall’ are an example of this. This installation adds a microscopic daily footnote to the grand avant-garde urban blueprint for the future.”

Filter City & City as a Room, by Peter Cook from Cook Haffner Architecture Platform, 2020-2022

“In this installation, Peter Cook dissects two of his drawings – Filter City (2020) and City as a Room (2022) – into elements that concentrate on sequences.

“Cook utilizes his signature strategy of creating concept drawings that remain connected to the built environment, while also moving towards a new future-looking ‘hybrid’, particularly interiors, that can be created from fragments of drawing and images.

“As a result, viewers can transcend from distant observers into participants.”

Liminal Beijing, by He Zhe, James Shen and Zang Feng from People’s Architecture Office, 2022

“The installation of Liminal Beijing, created by People’s Architecture Office, connects the city of Beijing in different time and space. It features a knot of radiant, winding, and rotating tubes that can be interpreted as pneumatic tubes transporting documents in the 19th century or the hyperloops developed today, representing the link between the future and the past.

“Modern life would not be possible without the hidden system of ducts that deliver heating, cooling, and clean air. Air ducts in Liminal Beijing are made visible so they can be explored and occupied, and are presented as missing fragments of space and time.”

Astro Balloon 1969 Revisited x Feedback Space, 2008, by Wolf D Prix from Coop Himmelb(l)au, 2022 edition

“This installation was realized by combining two of Coop Himmelb(l)au’s previous works: Heart Space – Astro Balloon in 1969 and Feedback Vibration City in 1971, which were first shown in this form at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2008.

“The resulting installation is a cloud-like, semi-transparent and reflective floating space that translates visitors’ heartbeats into a lighting installation.

“Throughout its practice, Coop Himmelb(l)au has presented numerous futuristic ‘architectural’ prototypes of dwellings which are responsive to the sensibilities and activities of their inhabitants.”

Beijing In Imagination, by Wang Zigeng, 2023

“Chinese architect Wang Zigeng illustrates two city models that were informed by visual imagery of mandalas on the floor and ceiling of the exhibition space, expressing the tension between the ideal city and the chaos of the real world — a parallel reality of both the present and the future.

“He believes Beijing is the embodiment of ancient cosmologies and an ideal city prototype through the ritualization of urban space – the establishment of political and moral order as a highly metaphorical correspondence between human behavior and nature.”

Pao: A Dwelling for Tokyo Nomad Women II, by Toyo Ito, 2022 Beijing edition

“This installation explores what living means for city dwellers in a consumerist society. Even today, half of the population living in Tokyo are living alone, and having a place to sleep is all one needs. Pao is a light and temporary structure that can be dissolved in the buzz of the metropolis.

“This is a new edition of Toyo Ito’s previous work Pao: A Dwelling for Tokyo Nomad Women. By recreating the installation in Beijing while coming out of a global pandemic, Ito hopes to provide a space for visitors to reflect on the excessive consumerism that has continued to dominate the present.”

The Photography is by Zhu Yumeng unless otherwise stated.

Blueprint Beijing is on show at the 2022 Beijing Biennial Architecture Section at M WOODS Hutong in Beijing until 12 March 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Reference

Sustainable News

Treating biohazardous lab waste on-site

By Zarkon Group,01/03/2023

Spotted: Global waste generation has increased every year for decades and is likely to continue growing. Hospitals contribute a sizeable amount of waste to that total, with the global healthcare industry responsible for more than four per cent of worldwide net greenhouse gas emissions. Hazardous chemicals are part of the problem, with lab waste consisting of a mix of sharps, chemicals, plastics, and glass.

The recycling industry is struggling to cope with the volume of waste that needs processing, and new solutions are required. Irish biotechnology company Envetec has created a proprietary biodegradable chemical that processes lab waste on-site. Called GENERATIONS, the system transforms potential pollution into recyclable polymer flakes that are safe to handle and transport – and are usable in a huge range of other manufacturing processes.

GENERATIONS is a carbon-neutral process that is set up within or very near a laboratory to enable minimal transport costs. The biodegradable chemical uses far less water than traditional treatment systems, and Envetec works with teams and organisations in the diagnostics, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries to design bespoke treatment and recycling processes. Envetec helps organisations track their changes and results, and strive to meet international standards for recycling and net-zero commitments.

Finding ways to transform hazardous chemicals into non-toxic, useful products or replace them altogether are challenges that innovators are approaching in a variety of ways. Springwise has spotted carbon-negative chemicals produced for industrial manufacturing processes, as well as wastewater treatment sludge used to repair municipal pipes.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Interior of Ibstock Place School Refectory in Roehampton by Maccreanor Lavington

Sustainable News

The dawn of the Timber Revolution

By Zarkon Group,01/03/2023

Dezeen’s latest series investigates the potential of mass timber. Starting today, Timber Revolution will question whether the material can break steel and concrete’s hold over the construction industry.

The world’s oldest building material is making a comeback. Timber was once used to construct the vast majority of our buildings, but in the 19th and 20th centuries it was usurped by steel and concrete, which continue to dominate the built environment today. Non-combustible, durable, strong and easy to produce in large volumes, these modern materials became favoured as buildings got taller, more complex, more profit-driven.

However, in the past couple of decades timber has re-emerged – this time not as a raw material, but in a variety of super-charged, engineered varieties that can be used to construct these large modern buildings.

Since they were first engineered in the 1990s, products like cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber, along with lesser-known types of mass timber like dowel-laminated timber, have steadily grown in popularity. Landmark buildings made from mass-timber now feature regularly on the pages of Dezeen amid growing acceptance and understanding of the material.

Engineered timber products growing in popularity

Nevertheless, mass-timber only represents a tiny proportion of the overall number of buildings constructed worldwide each year, with steel and concrete still firmly embedded as the structural material of choice.

According to a recent report, the European cross-laminated timber market produced reached 1.6 million cubic metres in 2022. That’s around a third of the amount of concrete used each month in the UK alone – the government reported sales of just under four million cubic metres of concrete per month in 2022.

Outside of Europe adoption is even smaller. In the US, the Wood Products Council estimates that in total only 1,677 mass-timber projects have been built, or are in the process of being designed.

All that could be about to change. The world is slowly facing up to the reality and scale of the climate emergency. And with architects beginning to accept the role that construction – and particularly steel and concrete – plays in the enveloping crisis, mass-timber seems to offer a viable, low-carbon alternative.

In the past few years, embodied carbon – that is, emissions associated with bringing buildings into being as opposed to operational emissions generated during their lifetimes – has become the watchword of architects interested in sustainability. Unlike concrete and steel, which are associated with huge embodied emissions, timber represents the active sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere by trees.

But is it scalable? Can mass-timber really be the low-carbon silver bullet that dramatically reduces construction’s carbon impact?

Mass timber’s potential and the challenges

The Timber Revolution series will run throughout March. We will talk to experts to investigate whether mass-timber has the potential to truly disrupt the construction industry by becoming a mainstream structural material – or if it will remain a niche product used for a relatively small number of architect-led housing and cultural projects.

We’ll present the benefits of mass-timber, with case studies of key projects, interviews with those working in the evolving world of mass-timber architecture. We will also explore in depth the potential issues and limitations of the material.

Is this the dawn of the Timber Revolution?

Timber Revolution is the third in a trio of Revolution series run by Dezeen that investigate how materials and technology are impacting the world we live in. It follows on from the Carbon Revolution series in 2021, which looked at how the much-maligned element could be put to positive use, and the Solar Revolution, which explored how humans could fully harness the power of the sun.

Illustration by Yo Hosoyamada

Timber Revolution

This article is part of Dezeen’s Timber Revolution series, which explores the potential of mass timber and asks whether going back to wood as our primary construction material can lead the world to a more sustainable future.

Reference

Architecture

Shine On or Lights Out? Architects Are Turning Exterior Walls into Digital Façades

By Zarkon Group,01/03/2023

Judging for the 11th A+Awards is now underway! While awaiting the Winners, prepare for the upcoming Architizer Vision Awards, honoring the best architectural photography, film, visualizations, drawings, models and the talented creators behind them. Learn more and register >

Light-emitting diode (LED) video displays take architectural design to a new level of brilliance, transforming the city streets and skylines into spectacular sights. Technology meets design and art to cover entire building façades for a high-impact passerby engagement.

Unfortunately, as mesmerizing as this visual spectacle can be, these luminous building skins add to the high amounts of human light pollution. This effect increases the brightness of the sky at an alarming pace.

Building Skins

Digital façades redefine how we think of architecture and, more specifically, building skins. Entire walls become giant canvases with lighting as an artistic form of visual communication. LED technology has reached the point where screens of digitally controlled nodes emitting vivid colors can form an integral part of the architectural expression, adapting to various planes and configurations. The outcome achieves extraordinary visual effects, blending light, media and art. Never have buildings been brighter and more scintillating.

Interactive LED Media façade for La Vitrine Culturelle in Montreal’s Cultural district. Photo by Moment Factory via Architizer

Dynamic and Expressive

With free-flowing and vivid colors, buildings become more dynamic and expressive. At dusk, architecture becomes secondary, and the light installations that cover entire building surfaces take centerstage. Then, the urban landscape, as experienced during the daytime, gives way to a transformed setting where light and media become the main attraction. Expansive installations fill the streets with a futuristic flair blending the real and virtual worlds. This fantastic atmosphere captures passersby’s and drivers’ attention, heightening their senses and triggering feelings. The ambient sound intensifies the experience, unsettling yet captivating.

Aura, Toronto, Canada. Photo by Victor Rodriguez on Unsplash

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photo by Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash

Design for the Senses

This sensory architecture affects how passersby interact with their immediate surroundings. It influences feelings such as mood, energy levels and appetite. Based on all of these attributes, digital façades serve as powerful marketing tools to attract customers for retail establishments, enhance the fan experience for sports venues and create brand identities for corporate businesses. Digital façades have become an effective communication vehicle that transforms urban centers into a new media form, like print (newspapers), broadcast (television) or the internet (social media). This luminous communication technology allows passersby to interact with the displayed content, whether it is news, advertising, weather forecasts or social media activity.

Interactive digital screens deliver information in real-time. Photo by Cheung Yin via Unsplash

Pros and Cons

Technological advances continuously make LED lighting more affordable and energy-efficient. Light quality is continuously improved. LEDs have a very long life compared to other types of lighting, such as high-pressure sodium lamps traditionally used in street lighting and require virtually no maintenance or replacement. Yet, concerns are growing about the impact of blue emission excess on the one hand and light pollution causing the “skyglow” phenomenon on the other hand. Digital façades put off an incredible amount of light which, to some degree, contributes to light pollution generated by electric lights’ nighttime glow. This effect appears to be intensifying, especially in dense urban areas, with the artificial brightening of the night sky.

Sky glow over Hong Kong due to lighting pollution. Photo by Patrick on Unsplash

New Lighting Strategies

Also, environmental studies show that LED lights emit relatively high levels of blue light, a wavelength that negatively impacts human health and wildlife. While new light strategies are explored to mitigate the impact on human well-being and ecological systems, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) promotes the minimization of light pollution by reducing light emissions, especially up to the sky. Perhaps a period of complete night darkness would be beneficial but unrealistic, so finding the most efficient and safe lighting system seems to be a priority. LED technology has the potential for improvement, and city authorities can regulate the amount of light emission per building, a compromise worth exploring.

Digital façades undoubtedly add to the character of buildings while becoming part of the urban landscape, creating exciting environments, attracting visitors and spurring business. Cities like New York, Hong Kong and Dubai exemplify the striking development of buildings incorporating digital façades. These eye-catching buildings shape the skylines of these cities, captivating the mind, rewarding the eye, enhancing the atmosphere and evoking powerful emotions.

Reference

closeup of solar panel on solar farm with bright sun and rays encircling; solar can decarbonize the grid - Photo

Sustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Decarbonize Your Home to Support a Greener Grid

By Zarkon Group,01/03/2023

Solar supply and residents’ demand

California already has a great deal of solar electricity being generated, both on buildings and in large-scale solar farms. For example, years of Prop 39 projects for school districts around California have been completed, installing megawatts of solar farms on campuses. These sites were targeted, in part, due to lower summer occupancies, and net metering rules allowed them to reap large financial benefits. Most of these campuses are net exporters of clean renewable energy all summer long. Every day, the managers of the electrical grid must stabilize local electric networks to share this abundant load throughout the day, and quickly ramp up centralized power once the sun goes down and folks head home.

As more all-electric buildings and homes come online, it is important to look at the impacts of these buildings on grid health. The grid must continue to be updated to guard against solar saturation: where solar generation exceeds the total usage in a given area. The grid is managed by local utilities and state agencies, and this balance of supply and demand drives time-of-day pricing that encourages responsible usage.

Energy industry experts point to what is known as the “duck curve,” the risk of over-generation of renewable energy (especially solar) and the impact of having to ramp up energy production (most often these are natural gas plants) to respond to rising demand when the sun goes down. In the belly of the duck (the middle of the day), solar production is peaking and electricity sells at a loss. Yes, California is paying other Western states to take solar energy off their grid. This lets baseload generation systems like nuclear, hydroelectric, and some natural gas plants run constantly, as they cannot easily, or cost-effectively, shut down and then come back on daily.

Reference

Mycelium and hemp chair on display at Designmuseum Denmark

Interior Design

Designmuseum Denmark exhibition questions future of design

By Zarkon Group,28/02/2023

Designmuseum Denmark has looked at how design can shape the future through its The Future is Present exhibition, which features projects including a tubular chandelier made from cow intestines.

Presented at Copenhagen’s recently renovated Designmuseum, the exhibition showcases a range of “speculative and suggestive” works that examine four themes titled Human, Society, Planet+ and Imagining the Future.

“Design is very much a forward-looking profession,” said exhibition curator Pernille Stockmarr. “It’s about changing the existing into something better – and what we do in the present creates the future.”

“Living in a time with major global challenges, this exhibition wants to invite people to see and reflect on the different potentials of design in this transformation and encourage them to think about what kind of future we want,” she told Dezeen.

Close up of a tubular lamp made from cow intenstines — 100 metres of cow intestines were used to make the Inside Out chandelier

Among the pieces on show is Inside Out, a chandelier-style lamp made from 100 metres of knotted cow intestines extracted from eight cows. Designer Kathrine Barbro Bendixen aimed to explore how byproducts can be used to rethink patterns of material consumption.

Faroe Islands-based fashion brand Guðrun & Guðrun created Vindur, a ruffled dress with exaggerated bell sleeves made of woven silk and machine-knitted milk yarn sourced from dairy production waste.

The brand worked with textile designers Amalie Ege and Charlotte Christensen and Lifestyle & Design Clusters to create the garment, which was made using a “traditional technique used during the inter-war period when resources were in short supply and waste was transformed into value,” according to the Designmuseum.

Ruffled dress made from dairy waste with bell sleeves on display at Designmuseum Denmark — A group of designers created a dress made from dairy waste

More conceptual works include Beyond Life, a collection of biodegradable paper foam urns by designer Pia Galschiødt Bentzen with detachable pendants containing seeds that can be grown.

“Beyond Life unites death, loss, and remembrance with the awareness that we humans are part of nature’s endless circle of life,” said Stockmarr.

Also on show is Library of Change, a “map” of dangling acrylic foil cards charting current trends and technologies, inscribed with questions for visitors such as “would you leave the city for better connection?”

Biodegradable paper foam urns in blue and white at the Designmuseum in Demark — Beyond Life is a collection of biodegradable paper foam urns

Stockmarr explained that the exhibition aims to communicate “the breadth of design” by including works that vary in scale, purpose and medium.

“Their ability to inspire, start conversations and make visitors reflect was a priority,” she said.

“I didn’t want the works to be too-defined solutions for the future, extreme sci-fi visions, utopias or dystopias, but exploratory works. Some are collaborative research projects and others provide foresight into design methods, handicrafts and creative experiments.”

Acrylic foil cards featuring questions about the future — Library of Change is a project that encourages visitors to question the future of design

Alongside the various projects in the exhibition, artefacts from the Designmuseum’s own archive that highlight past ideas for the future are also on display.

One of these designs is the three-wheeled vehicle Ellert, Denmark’s first electric car developed in the 1980s by engineer Steen Volmer Jensen.

Three-wheeled electric car called Ellert on display at Designmuseum Demark — Ellert was Denmark’s first electric car

Local studio Spacon & X created the exhibition design for The Future is Present with the aim of reflecting its themes.

The studio delineated the show’s various zones using modular bioplastic dividers that snake through the exhibition space and worked with natural materials including eelgrass, which was used to create acoustic mats to manage noise in the museum.

Objects are arranged on custom tables and plinths made in collaboration with sustainable material manufacturer Søuld, while Natural Material Studio created a mycelium daybed for the show.

Stockmarr explained that the show is meant to be a call to action and empower people to reflect on their individual roles in determining the future of design.

“By asking more questions than giving answers the exhibition wants to inspire visitors,” reflected the curator.

“The show acknowledges that it is not only designers, architects, craftspeople and experts, but all of us who are participating in shaping and designing the future by the questions we ask and the choices and actions we take today.”

Hanging objects within the Designmuseum Denmark, arranged by Spacon & X — The Future is Present was designed by Spacon & X to be an immersive experience

Similar recent exhibitions that explored the climate impact of materials include a show at Stockholm Furniture Fair that visualised the carbon emissions of common materials such as concrete and The Waste Age – a London exhibition that addressed how design has contributed to the rise of throwaway culture.

The Future is Present is on display at Designmuseum Denmark from 19 June 2022 to 1 June 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Reference

Sustainable News

Tackling climate change with forest fungal networks

By Zarkon Group,28/02/2023

Spotted: Much of the focus on the use of nature to capture carbon has remained above ground – on forests and trees. But ecologist and climate scientist Dr Colin Averill argues that the role of an “entire galaxy” below our feet has been ignored. Soils are made up of millions of species of bacteria and fungi and this microbial biodiversity is essential to healthy plant growth – and efficient carbon capture.

Dr Averill’s team in the Crowther Lab at ETH Zürich has spent years documenting fungi’s impact on tree growth, finding that restoration of underground fungal communities can significantly accelerate plant growth and carbon capture. To develop this concept further, Dr Averill founded Funga, a startup that plans to restore fungal biodiversity to accelerate carbon sequestration in forests.

Funga will use DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence (AI) to generate profiles for a healthy fungal microbiome in around 1,000 different forests. This will help it identify the right combination of wild fungi in each location to achieve accelerated tree growth and the highest amount of carbon sequestration. Funga will also establish around 1,000 hectares (about 2,500 acres) of forest and soil fungal communities – creating an ‘ideal’ environment for carbon removal.

Funga has recently closed a $4 million (around €3.8 million) seed funding round and is working with forest landowners and the foresters to make fungal microbiome restoration a reality.

A growing number of researchers and innovators are focusing on the role of microbes, and especially fungi, in cutting carbon emissions and moderating climate change. Springwise has spotted the use of fungi as a meat replacement, and the application of biome science to create heat-resistant coral.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

traditional tiled roofs crown the stepped modules of office and cafe space in china

Architecture

tiled roofs crown stepped modules of office and cafe space in china

By Zarkon Group,28/02/2023

Xie Ke devises a mixed-use sales office in Chongqing, China

A series of stepped modules, standing under intricate historic tiled roofs, integrate Xie Ke’s new Sales Office into the ‘ladder style’ traditional mountain blocks in Chongqing, China. The building consists of Canopée Café and Sihai Club and adjoins Huguang Club and overlooks East Watergate. The design concept deviates from pure commerciality and focuses on creating social mixed-use spaces which can restore a sense of community and the area all the while raising awareness for the brand’s sales center. Derived from the history of the Huguang region’s urban state, the project is driven by a goal for urban renewal and preservational design, retaining the original structure while breathing new life into the interior under a minimal contemporary renovation plan.

all images by Jonathan Leijonhufvud 雷坛坛

urban renewal project draws from the history of Huguang city

The project centers around fostering relationships between the urban fabric and communities. Over time during the process of urbanization, the upper half of Chongqing city has become an arena for modern architecture, leaving behind memories of the past. Meanwhile, the lower half city is filled with unmaintained antique structures. Seeking to reflect the simplistic culture of Chongqing and to cultivate the collective character of its community, the architect looks to his own memories of the city to devise the design concept – namely its ‘outdoors’ culture where people carry out their daily routines on the streets and in the pockets of the mountainous town, always interacting with neighbors.

As such, the design begins to form a connection between people and previous times, thus incubating and activating the endogenous forces of the city. ‘The steps covered with moss, Huguang Club standing still over time, the to-and-fro ropeway across the river, the close connection between houses and streets… All the characteristic memories of Chongqing were properly placed in people’s vision and became the background color of [the project]… and also the design basis of Xie Ke.’

the unmaintained antique structures of Chongqing stand under intricate historic tiled roofs

infusing contemporary interiors into the traditional structure

Nodding to the region’s traditional architecture, wooden structures are used to reinforce the wooden columns and to decorate the roof with old tiles, blending a harmonious fusion between old and new. The moderate renovative plan restores the old construction embracing the surrounding greenery and incorporating it into the design as a free-formed canopy of branches and leaves. Taking its name from the immersive natural element wrapping the structure, the Canopée Café, accessible from the second floor, overlooks picturesque views of the Yangtze River, engulfed by the shade of trees, and the peeling walls and the undulant eaves of Huguang Club maintaining a sense of stillness. The building ‘grows’ vertically tracing over the contours of the mountainous landscape of Chongqing.

The interior arranges low-standing walls and partitions to avoid permanent alterations to the original construction. The layout forms an open plan dividing several functions into blocks, such as the bar and facilities zones, reviving the old building’s scheme and circulation flow. The steel gallery bridge and large folding windows stand as the main modifying feature of the renovation. The interior fosters a sense of serenity with a pure, rhythmic white atmosphere and minimalist aesthetic, while the alterations between light and shadow accentuate the historic wooden frame.

the stepped volumes trace over the mountainous landscape of Chongqing

Reference

Sportswear shop on London's Regents Street

Interior Design

On models London trainer store on “shoppable science museum”

By Zarkon Group,27/02/2023

Swiss brand On has opened its first UK shop on London’s Regent Street, complete with steel fixtures and a robotic arm.

For its debut outpost in the United Kingdom, On aimed to showcase the science and technology behind its running shoes and clothing.

“Our concept was a shoppable science museum in the sense that one of the main things we want to share is that what we do is science-based,” said On’s head of brand environments Nicholas Martin.

It is performance-run culture that is infused into everything we do.”

The store’s ground floor is defined by three circular steel tables, used to display the brand’s latest products.

Stainless steel table in On's trainer store — The store contains three circular steel tables

Each of the tables, which can be raised and lowered, is surrounded by a curved steel wall that can be rotated to create a variety of layouts within the store.

The table at the store’s entrance also holds a robotic arm that mimics the action of running to showcase On’s running shoes.

Stainless steel shoe cabinets are located on the upper floor — The upper floor houses steel shoe cabinets

“The first thing you actually see is our robotic arm,” Martin told Dezeen. “We want people to touch and explore. So you kind of get to see the movement.”

“And then we also try to add different layers of storytelling,” he continued. “So you can compare the different shoes.”

Steel trainer cabinet known as the magic wall — On describes the cabinets as a “magic wall”

The first floor is defined by a pair of steel cabinets, described by On as a “magic wall” that runs the length of the store.

It contains all of On’s products in all available sizes so that customers can instantly try on trainers.

“Our goal was to revolutionise the way shoe try-ons happen,” said Martin. “At our stores, we let the product speak for itself. Our technology is something you feel once you put a product on.”

Contrasting the steel fixtures, the store’s walls were finished in natural clay sourced from Cornwall, which was applied by hand.

On the ground floor and in the basement-level event space, the walls are painted in a muted shade of grey while on the upper floors, they are finished in green.

On shoes in metal cabinets — The cabinets contain all sizes of On’s shoes

“Swiss engineering means for us loving technology and the natural world,” said Martin. “Technology makes the store look sleek, nature helps us to give the store a more imperfect and warmer look.”

“The store green is a nod to the legendary British racing green – a colour culturally saturated in movement, speed and engineering,” he continued.

On's store on Regents Street — The store is On’s first in the UK

Founded in 2010, On is known for its lightweight running shoes and is reportedly the fastest-growing running brand worldwide. Its stores form part of On’s wider efforts to build its brand internationally.

“They offer a space for our fans, community and new customers to explore and get to know the brand,” said Martin. “We see the store as a media channel that connects our fans with the brand.”

On previously created a reflective mountain cabin in the Swiss Alps to mark the launch of its first hiking shoe.

All photography courtesy of On.

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tiled roofs crown stepped modules of office and cafe space in china

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infusing contemporary interiors into the traditional structure

On models London trainer store on “shoppable science museum”

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