Reflecting our global Springwise readership, we explore the innovation landscape and freshest thinking from a new country each week. This week we are heading to Sweden…
Climate targets: Zero net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2045
Sustainability issues
Baltic sea pollution – The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted bodies of water on earth. And a recent study has found that wastewater discharged from ships’ scrubbers (systems for treating exhaust gases) accounts for a significant proportion of carcinogenic chemical emissions. In response, the country is considering a ban of open loop scrubbers in its waters.
Impact of mining– In February 2022, the UN warned Swedish authorities not to issue a licence for an iron-ore mine in the country’s Gállok region. The organisation argued that the development would lead to large quantities of toxic waste that would impact eco-systems linked to the reindeer migration. The licence, which was ultimately granted, has also been criticised by the World Wildlife Fund.
Forestry practices– Sweden is the world’s third largest exporter of pulp, paper, and sawn wood products. The country is known for its sustainable forestry practices and its forests have actually doubled in size over the past 100 years. Nonetheless, many argue that Sweden’s model of replacing old-growth forests with monocultures is bad for biodiversity.
According to the IEA, the number of electric cars on the world’s roads by the end of 2021 was about 16.5 million, triple the amount in 2018. While this may seem like great news for the environment, it is not all positive. That is because the current recycling rate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries is extremely low, with some estimates putting it at just five per cent. For electric mobility to represent a truly sustainable solution, this needs to change, and Stockholm-based Cling Systems is one of the organisations working on a solution. The company has developed a platform that connects vehicle manufacturers and buyers of end-of-life batteries to vehicle scrap yards and dismantlers. Read more
While the transition to renewable energy is picking up pace all the time, there are still several technological challenges facing those looking to build a fully sustainable future. One of these is the need for a more efficient way to store energy. Many renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, are intermittent, and it is vital to find ways to store this energy when it is not needed. Redox flow batteries are among the most efficient energy storage technologies. Now, Swedish startup Cellfion is working to make redox flow batteries even more efficient with a unique, bio-based membrane. Read more
A fintech platform Earthbanc helps farmers attract investment in carbon credits for regeneration projects. But one issue with regenerative land programmes is transparency – it is very difficult to verify that a scheme is actually sequestering a specified amount of carbon. Without having this information, it is impossible to effectively use carbon credits to contribute to land regeneration schemes. Earthbanc’s platform solves this problem by using artificial intelligence (AI), trained on satellite remote sensing data collected in collaboration with the European Space Agency, to automatically audit the carbon reduction impact of land regeneration projects and to verify carbon credits. Read more
Words: Matthew Hempstead
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As part of the Design Academy Eindhoven student show at Dutch Design Week, graduate Jelle Seegers has presented a smelting machine with an oversized magnifying glass that focuses the sun’s heat to melt metal more sustainably.
The Solar Metal Smelter features a large lens that is manually moved to follow the path of the sun and direct its heat into a crucible holding metal. Once liquid enough, the metal can be cast into a sand mould and made into a variety of products.
Jelle Seegers presented his Solar Metal Smelter at Dutch Design Week. Photo is by Iris Rijskamp
Seegers is a self-described maker, who uses the smelter in his own workshop and proposes it as a solution for metal casting companies looking to save the emissions and spiralling energy costs associated with powering industrial furnaces.
“By making this thing manual, it really changes the casting craft from one where you just have endless energy coming into your workshop to one where you personally cooperate with the sun in order to melt the metal,” he told Dezeen.
Seegers was moved to create the project, his final-year bachelor’s work, after undertaking an internship at a casting company and realising what an “enormous” amount of energy is used there.
The smelter melts metal so it can be cast into sand moulds
He arrived at the concept of the Solar Metal Smelter after he remembered using a magnifying glass to make fire as a child. Compared to all the other methods of heating something, this seemed to him the most efficient.
“Electrical solar panels, they never have an efficiency of more than about 20 per cent,” Seegers said. “Only 20 per cent of the sunlight gets converted into electricity. So we need a huge amount of solar panels to create a huge amount of electrical energy.”
“But if you just take the sun’s heat, and you only bend it and direct it, you don’t need to do this complex conversion to electricity. And for that reason, you can achieve an efficiency of about 95 per cent.”
Seegers made its lens himself by cutting facets into a sheet of polycarbonate
The lens of the Solar Metal Smelter, which measures approximately five square metres, is attached to a machine to enable it to be moved directly underneath the sun throughout the day. It takes a small turn of a hand crank every five to ten minutes to move the lens along a track to its ideal position.
Seegers integrates this action into his wider process, usually working on an adjacent table to make his sand moulds and stopping periodically to turn the crank.
While this movement might be automated in future, the designer values the manual approach as a way of rethinking our relationship with energy.
“We’re now in this energy transition,” said Seegers. “We’re going more towards wind power, solar power, all these things but we’re not changing our mentality on how we use energy.”
“I really advocate for using energy when it’s there and in the shape that we get it,” he added. “For example the sun’s heat, we can use it as heat and as light during the day.”
Seegers made the lens himself from a sheet of polycarbonate, using a machine he constructed himself to cut ultra-precise circular facets in the material. The rest of the machine he made from durable stainless steel he found at scrapyards or obtained secondhand.
Seegers also fashioned a machine to cut the facets for the lens
The Solar Metal Smelter produces about four kilowatts of energy at a temperature of about 800 to 1,000 degrees Celsius and can melt a maximum of 20 kilograms of zinc or five kilograms of aluminium at one time.
The largest object Seegers has produced using this process to date is a flywheel for one of his other machines. But he plans to make a bigger version of the smelter that could potentially be sold to casting companies.
He also wants to continue to develop his own practice, eventually having a manufacturing process for his workshop that runs completely on solar, wind and human power.
Seeger’s previous projects include the Human-Powered Tool Grinder. Photo is by Iris Rijskamp
In addition to the Solar Metal Smelter, he has already produced the Human-Powered Tool Grinder – a foot-powered machine also made of scrap materials, which keeps the hand tools in his workshop sharp enough so they can be viable alternatives to electric ones.
At the Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show, the Solar Metal Smelter was awarded the school’s Melkweg Award, which is given to “the most striking and outspoken talent with a bachelor’s project full of potential and originality”.
Another recent project that advocated working creatively with the limitations of solar energy is the Solar Protocol, a solar-powered network for accessing the internet.
Photos are courtesy of Jelle Seegers unless otherwise stated.
The Design Academy Eindhoven graduation show was on show from 22 to 30 October as part of Dutch Design Week 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Spotted: Insulation is important. In the UK, it’s estimated that 80 per cent of all the houses that will be in use in the year 2050, have already been built – but just 20 per cent will have been built to net zero standard. This means that 26 million UK homes will need to be retrofitted with improved insulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And the situation is similar in other countries. In Switzerland, for instance, more than 1 million houses have no or insufficient insulation.
One of the key challenges when it comes to insulating homes is the trade-off builders need to make when choosing insulating material. Today, those installing insulation must compromise on either environmental impact, cost, or flammability. Now, however, Swiss startup FenX AG claims to have found a way to avoid this compromise.
The startup’s solution is to create insulating foams from abundant mineral waste. Sourcing materials locally from a wide range of industrial waste streams and low-value natural resources, FenX uses its unique foaming technology to create insulating panels, bricks, and customised 3D-printed parts.
The composition of materials used as feedstock for this process meets all the necessary safety requirements for use in the building industry, and the finished foams are recyclable, non-flammable, 3D-printable, and high-performance. What is more, the manufacturing process for the materials results in very low carbon dioxide emissions.
In addition to its core insulation offering, FenX has partnered with ETH Zurich on a project that explores how foam 3D-printing can be used in conjunction with concrete casting to reduce concrete waste.
Springwise has spotted other recent innovations that reduce the environmental impact of buildings. These include building walls that can store carbon, a wood-based cooling foam that improves energy efficiency, and a startup that converts existing buildings to net zero using an innovative process.
Spotted: While the transition to renewable energy is picking up pace all the time, there are still several technological challenges facing those looking to build a fully sustainable future. One of these is the need for a more efficient way to store energy. Many renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, are intermittent, and it is vital to find ways to store this energy when it is not needed. Redox flow batteries are among the most efficient energy storage technologies. Now, Swedish startup Cellfion is working to make redox flow batteries even more efficient with a unique, bio-based membrane.
Redox flow batteries are a type of electrochemical cell where dissolved chemicals are pumped through the system on separate sides of a membrane, leading to ion transfer and the flow of electric current through an external circuit. Cellfion has developed a novel ion-selective membrane derived from cellulose. The cellulose fibres are extracted from wood and fabricated into membrane sheets that are then used as components in energy storage and conversion devices.
The bio-based membranes have several advantages over traditional membranes, which are often made from chemical polymers such as perfluorosulfonic acid. Cellfion’s cellulose membranes are non-toxic and decomposable but retain the high ion selectivity and conductivity typical of traditional membranes. In addition, at the end of their life, they can be incinerated without releasing any toxins into the environment, unlike traditional membranes.
According to Liam Hardey, Cellfion CEO, “To the best of our knowledge and extensive research, we are the first company working towards the commercialisation of bio-based membranes with no toxic substances at all”. He adds this is vital because, “If the clean energy industry is to become sustainable, we need to ensure that the materials we are using are also truly sustainable.”
More efficient battery storage is a key part of the transition to renewable energy. This is why Springwise is seeing an increase in new, more sustainable battery technologies. Innovations in this space include a green battery made from abundant and locally-sourced components and batteries that dissolve in water.
Spotted: There are a huge number of organisations working to reduce global emissions – with schemes for everything from capturing carbon from the air to sequestration and carbon capture for shipping. Now fintech Earthbanc has a new idea — land regeneration. The company argues that by transitioning to regenerative agriculture on 2.5 billion hectares of land, it would be possible to sequester all global emissions produced; and they have a plan to incentivise regenerative land management practices.
However, one issue with regenerative land programmes is transparency – it is very difficult to verify that a scheme is actually sequestering a specified amount of carbon. Without having this information, it is impossible to effectively use carbon credits to contribute to land regeneration schemes. Earthbanc’s platform solves this problem by using artificial intelligence (AI), trained on satellite remote sensing data collected in collaboration with the European Space Agency, to automatically audit the carbon reduction impact of land regeneration projects and to verify carbon credits.
Farmers register on the Earthbanc platform, and the platform automatically measures the carbon sequestration on their land. Companies can then invest in the project using carbon credits to offset their carbon use. Earthbanc uses blockchain technology to keep a transparent record of carbon reduction so that companies buying carbon credits can verify their value. Using credits, the platform effectively allows companies to deposit their carbon “into a bank-like vault.”
Earthbanc CEO Tom Duncan explains that “What makes Earthbanc’s solution so potent in combating the climate crisis is its basis on expert knowledge of land restoration and paying farmers in areas of the world where the impact is the greatest – both for nature and for people.” He adds that they have many corporate buyers, “who are buying carbon on our platform every month. We’re selling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of carbon, so a farmer can get paid for their ecosystem services.”
Avoiding meat and driving electric vehicles will only take the world so far in reducing carbon consumption. It is also necessary to sequester carbon released into the atmosphere. Luckily, there is no shortage of projects finding innovative ways to do this, including a project that turns sequestered CO2 to stone and an artificial leaf that captures carbon dioxide.
Industrial design student Alara Ertenü has developed a packaging solution for soap made from peapods and artichoke waste, which is currently on show as part of Dutch Design Week.
The packaging, which comes in a golden-brown colour, is designed to offer a less polluting alternative to commonly used plastic soap packaging. The project aims to address the pressing environmental issue of single-use plastic consumption while simultaneously reducing food waste.
Packioli by Alara Ertenü is a biodegradable soap packaging
“All of this curiosity started with a question: how can these local food wastes be circulated back into the economy,” Ertenü told Dezeen.
“The goal behind the zero-waste wraps is to eliminate plastic packaging and also meet the hygiene, logistics and endurance needs of soap brands.”
The packaging is water resistant for up to 15 days
To make Packioli, artichoke leaves and stems are freezer-dried at minus 70 degrees Celsius alongside the peapods before being pulverized into a fine powder.
The powder is then mixed with water, vegetable glycerin and alginic acid – a natural acid derived from brown algae – to form a gummy-like substance.
It is made from artichoke waste and peapods
This is then poured into a mould and left to dry for up to two days at room temperature. Once set, Ertenü uses heat to seal the edges of the little parcels. Finally, the packaging is dyed using beetroot and turmeric, giving it its golden hue.
The packaging’s name, Packioli, combines the words packaging and ravioli in reference to how the edges of ravioli pasta are sealed.
The material can be used to wrap soaps of different shapes and sizes
Translucent and speckled in appearance, Packioli can be used to package soaps of different shapes and sizes and is designed to biodegrade completely within 15 days.
Users can keep Packioli in a dry place to preserve it for longer, or rest it on a soap dish and allow it to melt away in contact with water and with use.
“Packioli is resistant to humidity and water for up to one week, which ensures that it remains intact for 10 to 15 days if there isn’t any contact with human skin under water pressure,” she said.
The packaging is dyed with beetroot and turmeric
Ertenü, who is studying at the Izmir University of Economics in Turkey, sources the artichokes and pea pods for Packioli from a local market in Izmir, where according to the designer, around 80 per cent of every artichoke goes to waste.
“I regularly go to the local bazaar on the weekends to observe and talk with local people to investigate what is left out of the equation in the local food system,” Ertenü explained.
“By using artichoke leaf, it tackles the enormous artichoke waste – 80 per cent of each artichoke thrown out – especially in the west of Turkey.”
“According to Zero Waste Week, the global cosmetics industry produces over 120 billion units of packaging every year, most of which is non-recyclable and ends up in landfill, or worse yet, the ocean,” she said.
Ertenü wants Packioli to be used as an alternative to plastic packaging
In response, designers and brands are increasingly looking to create alternatives to plastic cosmetic packaging. Among them is sustainable packaging brand Notpla, which used seaweed leftover from its own production processes to create a kind of paper soap packaging.
Also on show at Dutch Design Week is a collection of stainless steel furniture and homeware by designer Paul Coenen that doesn’t require coatings, adhesives or fastenings, and a series of wireless solar-powered lighting systems by students from Lund University.
Packioli is on show from 22 to 30 October as part of Dutch Design Week 2022. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.
Spotted: According to the IEA, the number of electric cars on the world’s roads by the end of 2021 was about 16.5 million, triple the amount in 2018. While this may seem like great news for the environment, it is not all positive. That is because the current recycling rate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries is extremely low, with some estimates putting it at just five per cent. For electric mobility to represent a truly sustainable solution, this needs to change, and Stockholm-based Cling Systems is one of the organisations working on a solution.
Currently, when EV batteries reach the end of their life, they often end up in a fragmented system of car dismantlers, workshops, and wreckers. But connecting these to the businesses who want to use or recycle old batteries is difficult. In fact, according to Cling, logistics can account for almost 50 per cent of recycling costs. In response, the startup has developed an intelligent collection and trading platform that connects vehicle manufacturers and buyers of end-of-life batteries to vehicle scrap yards and dismantlers.
Cling’s platform aims to solve the logistics issues that prevent end-of-life batteries from being reused. It does this by aggregating data to allow recyclers and dismantlers to connect with buyers of end-of-life batteries. Through efficient matching of supply and demand, Cling enables the development of a circular battery recycling system while also maintaining a competitive market for the batteries.
While Cling’s marketplace is initially aimed at the Nordic region and Europe, the company hopes to expand to other areas. According to the company, “Our presence in the industry has already generated some exciting early conversations from key players. We have potential customers and partners from both Europe, North America, and Asia. Our vision is to make the electrical transformation truly sustainable.”
As battery technology becomes more vital to a sustainable future, we are also seeing a big uptick in innovations designed to deal with battery waste. Some of those we have recently covered include a riverboat powered by old EV batteries and repurposed EV batteries being used for energy storage.
Spotted: Material technology company Petit Pli has won the 2022 European Startup of the Year award in Amazon’s annual Innovation awards. The brand’s pleated designs are all made from recycled plastic, and its children’s garments can ‘grow’ up to seven sizes as the child grows. Initially started to reduce textile waste in the children’s wear segment of the fashion industry, the company has recently expanded into adult sizes.
The children’s line is called LittleHuman, and each piece includes water and stain-resistant coating that is incredibly durable. The technology behind the pleated design ensures that the strength of the fabric remains consistent even as the garment stretches out. Should a piece rip, Petit Pli offers free repairs.
Alongside the reduction in waste and overproduction, reducing the numbers of items of clothing that consumers buy each year contributes dramatically to reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Every nine months that a garment is used, rather than buying a replacement, reduces water usage and carbon emissions by 20 to 30 per cent.
The Amazon award includes €100,000 and online sales support on the platform. Springwise covered the launch of the brand in 2017 and its win of the UK James Dyson Award for technological invention. Since then, innovations in materials and fashion, in general, have proliferated, bringing to fruition products such as dissolvable thread that makes it easy to recycle clothes, and zero-waste luxury wool made from recycled garments.
In March 2021, the global supply chain faced a crippling blockage. One of the largest vessels in the world, a container ship called the Ever Given, had become lodged in the Suez Canal after struggling through high winds and a dust storm. The resultant disruption to shipping lanes backed up hundreds of cargo ships and laid bare the importance of shipping for the world economy.
Shipping is the overwhelming method of transport for global trade as it is far cheaper than air freight, albeit slower. In fact, the OECD reports that around 90 per cent of traded goods are carried over the waves. And maritime trade volumes are set to triple by 2050.
Sea freight has less of an environmental impact than transporting cargo via aeroplanes. Aeroplanes emit 500 grammes of carbon dioxide per metric tonne of freight per kilometre of transportation, while transport ships emit only 10 to 40 grammes. Nonetheless, shipping faces a key sustainability challenge: its reliance on low-quality petroleum-based bunker fuel. This results in emissions of both CO2 and harmful air pollutants. Add to this the more localised impact of water, acoustic, and oil pollution, and it is clear that change is required in the industry as humanity tackles the existential issues of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Despite the challenges, the shipping industry can play an important role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And maritime innovators around the world are showing how this is possible.
SDG 14 Life under water
The SDG that shipping has the most obvious role to play in delivering is SDG 14, which calls for action to preserve life under water. The marine environment is under threat from a range of human activities from overfishing to the introduction of invasive species. But one key issue is plastic pollution, with an estimated 11 million tonnes of plastic entering the ocean each year.
Ships are responsible for a proportion of marine plastic litter, but the vast majority of ocean plastic actually originates on land. And the shipping industry can play a positive role in tackling the problem. For example, technology group Wärtsilä and shipping company Grimaldi Group, have developed a microplastic filtration system for ships. The new filter makes use of the open-loop scrubber system installed on most ocean-going vessels. Elsewhere, shipping giant Maersk is lending ships to environmental non-profit the Ocean Cleanup. This organisation uses giant floating barriers to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy
Fossil fuels remain the primary energy source for the shipping industry. In fact, shipping uses four million barrels of oil per day, equivalent to four per cent of global oil production. Decarbonising ship propulsion is a challenge, and the International Chamber of Shipping acknowledges that alternative fuels are not currently available at the scale required for widespread decarbonisation.
Nonetheless, innovators in the industry are busy exploring alternative energy sources. Montreal-based global shipowner The CSL Group, for example, recently completed the world’s longest-running trials of B100 biodiesel on marine engines. And, in terms of the industry’s land-based operations, Ports of Stockholm has announced plans to install hydrogen fuelling stations for its trucking vehicles by 2025. Longer-term, maritime shipping startup Fleetzero is developing smaller, electric-powered ships that use a battery-swapping system to improve efficiency. Hydrogen and ammonia are also being considered as potential fuels for powering shipping vessels.
SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth
The shipping industry is a major source of employment and an important contributor to GDP across the globe. In fact, there are estimated to be 1,647,500 seafarers serving on internationally trading merchant ships.
Innovators are working to maximise the industry’s economic contribution by making it more efficient. For example, predictive intelligence startup Windward is developing technology to better analyse shipping data in order to reduce financial risk on the high seas. And Omani startup Cubex global has developed a blockchain-enabled marketplace to optimise empty cargo space.
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 9 calls for innovation to develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient transborder infrastructure to support economic development. In the case of shipping, this comes in the form of solutions that optimise trade routes and technology to streamline the running of ships themselves.
Logistics technology firm Portcast is using AI-powered predictive analysis to save shippers and customers money by shortening trips and reducing emissions. Meanwhile, Dutch maritime company Port Liner is providing us with a glimpse of the future of shipping with all-electric, fully autonomous cargo barges designed for the popular Rotterdam-Antwerp-Duisburg shipping corridor.
SDG 13: Climate action
Shipping accounts for 2.5 per cent of CO2 emissions, so decarbonising maritime trade will be important as countries aim to reach net zero. As discussed above, one of the biggest challenges is weaning the industry of its reliance on fossil fuels as an energy source. But beyond, alternative fuels and batteries, innovators are exploring other ways to reduce the impact of shipping on the climate.
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. The 500-square-metre Seawing is designed to deploy automatically, rising up above the ship’s deck to grab the steady, strong winds at heights of 200 metres above sea level. Elsewhere, US startup Carbon Ridge has developed technology to capture CO2 emissions from ship engines and store them in solid form, preventing them from entering the atmosphere.
Words: Matthew Hempstead
Want to know more about a specific SDG? Why not download our full SDG report published with our partner edie.
Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum, who was recently awarded the Soane Medal, explains why she only works in her home country in this exclusive interview.
Tabassum is known for designing buildings that use local materials and aim to improve the lives of low-income people in Bangladesh, where all her projects are based.
“The reason I’ve never really worked outside Bangladesh is the fact that wherever I work, I must understand that place, it is very important to me,” Tabassum told Dezeen in a video call from her studio in Dhaka.
“To go somewhere and build something without having the full knowledge of it makes me quite uncomfortable,” she added.
Marina Tabassum’s designed the underground Museum of Independence in Dhaka. Photo is by FM Faruque Abdullah Shawon
As Tabassum feels the need to have a connection to the spaces she designs, she doesn’t see any reason to create buildings outside of her home country.
“We have so much to do in Bangladesh, we have a lot of work that’s there,” she said. “I really do not feel the need to go anywhere else to look for work – we all have our own places to concentrate on.”
“In a lifetime there’s only so much you can do, so staying focused is probably more important,” she continued.
Among her designs in Bangladesh are the country’s Museum of Independence and the adjacent Independence Monument, as well as the Aga Khan Award-winning Bait Ur Rouf Mosque.
Architecture is a “social responsibility”
Tabassum grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she established her studio Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA), which she has led for the past 17 years.
Her childhood in the country has influenced her practice, with a number of her studio’s projects aiming to create better homes and lives for people in Bangladesh, which has a high income inequality.
“I come from a country where I’ve grown up seeing this disparity between the rich and poor, and every single day when I get out of my house, you see this disparity,” said Tabassum.
“I don’t know about architects in other countries and how they should be doing it, but in my case, I encourage the younger generation of architects to come and work for the people who have no knowledge about architecture,” she said.
“I think it’s a social responsibility for us, especially in Bangladesh, where we can make our knowledge and our skills available to people which can really help better people’s lives and living environment.”
The Comfort Reverie building in Dhaka, where MTA is based. Photo is by FM Faruque Abdullah Shawon
With her architecture, Tabassum aims to create appropriate buildings with “a sense of place”, something she believes has been lost as architecture has become more homogenous over the past 30 years.
“Every place has a uniqueness that through an evolutionary process has come to a point where it’s the geography, the climate, the history, everything comes together and creates something which is very essential of a place,” Tabassum said.
“I think especially during the very high-flying capitalist time in the 1990s, and even in the 1980s, where we were just building profusely all over the world in this capitalist endeavour, we lost that idea of uniqueness,” she added.
“We are losing the value of the uniqueness of a place”
Tabassum studied at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, at a school set up by the Texas A&M University, and graduated in the mid-90s – a time when, according to her, architecture was becoming increasingly homogenous.
“When I graduated from architecture in Dhaka, I saw the same thing,” she said. “It’s just stacks of floors, built very quickly – you just put glass on [buildings], everything is about aluminium and glass and that’s it, the building is done. “
“It had no sense of the place and if you see the cities that were growing up during that time in China, or in the UAEs and the Arabian Peninsula, everything echoes that idea of globalisation, where everything is kind of standardised, fast-breed buildings,” she added.
“To me, that really felt like we are losing the value of the uniqueness of a place.”
Tabassum’s Bait Ur Rouf Mosque is made from brick, a material traditionally used in Bangladesh. Photo is by Sandro Di Carlo Darsa
Instead, Tabassum aimed to find her own voice by designing using local materials. Many of her projects, including the Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, are constructed from brick – a common material in Bangladesh.
“I have tended to work with brick because it works with the climate, it ages very gracefully, in my opinion,” the architect said.
“Instead of let’s say concrete, which is not that great and especially in our weather – we have so much rain that within a few years the concrete ages quite poorly. But brick ages quite beautifully.”
“Glass is not able to take enormous heat”
As architecture has become more global, she believes that buildings have also become less adapted to local climates.
“We’ve always focused on the idea that the building must be climatically appropriate, so that it’s not dependent on any kind of artificial means, like air conditioning, only,” she said.
“Which you don’t see anymore when you have glass buildings because glass is not able to take enormous heat – it just turns into a greenhouse,” she added.
“That’s what’s wrong with the kind of architecture where you take something from a cold country and bring it to a warm country like ours.”
The Khudi Bari lets owners sleep on a higher level when needed. Photo is by FM Faruque Abdullah Shawon
Among the projects that Tabassum designed specifically for the Bangladeshi climate is Khudi Bari, modular houses that can be moved to help communities survive in Bangladesh’s “waterscape,” which is increasingly affected by flooding exacerbated by climate change.
“Khudi in Bengali means tiny and Bari is house, so these are really modular houses, especially for the landless,” Tabassum explained.
“Bangladesh is all about water – it’s a waterscape rather than landscape, there are so many different varieties of water bodies.”
There are essentially two types of people affected by the flooding in Bangladesh, according to the architect – people whose land is periodically flooded during the rainy season, and people who are continuously on the move because the land is constantly shifting.
The Khudi Bari houses were designed to be of use to both groups.
“Each one is quite different so we’re trying to give them different solutions to these kinds of houses,” Tabassum said.
“We deliver a modular structure which has two levels, so if you have flooding you can move yourself to the upper deck and save yourself and when the water recedes you can start living your life,” she added.
“When you have to move, this is a lightweight flatpack system that you can take down and it’s very low-cost, it’s about £300 all together.”
The modular Khudi Bari houses were designed to be disassembled and moved. Photo is by Asif Salman
The homes are built from bamboo and steel in order to make it as easy as possible for people to be able to source the materials and build the houses themselves.
Tabassum hopes to eventually be able to train steelworkers locally to make the steel joints needed for the building, which are currently supplied by the architects.
“We would like to make it in a way so that any steelworker in any location can make it,” Tabassum said.
“But the rest of the material people source on their own so they can decide how big their house will be and what accessories it will have – there’s a sense of ownership about it, which is important.”
Designing for refugee camps requires understanding “definition of beauty”
As well as designing homes for those who have become displaced by flooding – a problem that is likely to increase as the climate crisis continues – Tabassum is also creating architecture for people who have been displaced from their country of origin.
Her studio is working with the World Food Programme to build food distribution centres in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, which house Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.
Designing for the camps, where nearly one million people live, comes with its own unique difficulties and limitations.
“A lot of things are not allowed,” Tabassum explained. “You are not allowed to use any permanent materials, everything has to be temporary.”
The Baharchora Aggregation Center is one of the buildings created for the World Food Programme. Photo is by Asif Salman
“You cannot build anything beautiful,” she added. “So being an architect, you deal with beauty and aesthetics in many ways – it’s what we have been taught.”
“And now to go against that and design something that is so-called not-beautiful is a challenge, you have to work around that, you need to understand the definition of beauty – what is beauty?”
To create beautiful and practical temporary buildings the studio worked with bamboo, rather than more permanent materials.
“You have a very limited palette of materials but you try to create something out of that,” Tabassum said.
As Tabassum continues working on both her studio’s regular projects – it is currently designing a hospital on the outskirts of Dhaka – and its designs for displaced people, she feels that people are at last taking action to help mitigate the climate crisis.
But above all, she believes there now needs to be a focus on collaboration.
“I think it’s important to understand that we’re living on one single planet, and the north and south are connected in every single way,” she said.
“And the majority of the population of the world lives in the Global South. And so it is an enormous responsibility of the north and the south, equally, to come towards a resolution where it is about mitigating our existential crisis.”
