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A platform brings together stakeholders in waste management
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform brings together stakeholders in waste management

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In 2020, 4.8 tonnes of waste were generated per inhabitant in the European Union, and the volume of waste we generate as a global – and increasingly consumer – population is only growing. Recycling rates are not keeping up with current rates of waste production, with a lot of waste ending up either incinerated or dumped in landfill. To help end this unsustainable waste treatment, Netherlands-based startup Seenons has created a platform that connects everyone in the waste chain to help reduce rubbish, salvage valuable raw materials, and stimulate a circular economy. 

Seenons combines clean technology and smart logistics in its tech platform, connecting organisations that separate waste, logistics companies that transport it, and processors and producers who use the scraps to manufacture new usable materials and products. The platform matches waste with a suitable processor, who then turns it into a new product, green electricity, or biogas. For example, coffee residues can be repurposed into soap, or used as raw material to grow oyster mushrooms. 

Seenons’ website and app allow businesses to arrange for their waste to be collected efficiently and sustainably with the click of a button. Users can manage and track their waste easily with Seenons and see the positive impact they’ve made in a personalised dashboard. 

The company recently raised €10 million in a recent investment round, which will be used to further develop its platform internationally and improve its technology. 

Springwise has spotted many innovations that better manage waste, including houses that are made using waste from rice production, and an app that helps families minimise the food that ends up in kitchen bins.

Written By: Anam Alam

Reference

Stephanie Brown brings casual elegance to renovated Vancouver Home
CategoriesInterior Design

Stephanie Brown brings casual elegance to renovated Vancouver Home

By Zarkon Group,

Large family get-togethers are enjoyed in the open-concept living spaces at this house in Vancouver, which interior designer Stephanie Brown has overhauled with entertaining in mind.

The home is situated in a quiet, upscale neighborhood in the Canadian city. Built in 1991, it originally featured a postmodern aesthetic, while subsequent renovations favoured the craftsmen style.

Foyer
The layout of the home was reorganised to create a double-height foyer

Its latest iteration was devised by local studio Stephanie Brown, who was asked to design the interiors by homeowners Joanne and Alan.

The couple has a blended family with six grown-up children, and while only one still lives at home, the others return often for dinners together.

Kitchen
Small rooms were opened up to create larger spaces for entertaining

Alterations to the plan of the house were therefore required to allow it to comfortably accommodate so many people in the evenings, but still feel cosy during the day.

“Prior to the renovation, the layout featured very formal, separated rooms,” said Brown. “We re-worked the layout of the main floor to create a more open-concept space, which would provide better flow for modern family gatherings and fewer formalised spaces.”

Living room
Jewel tones and feminine hues add variation to the predominantly white colour scheme

An enlarged family room is now adjacent to the kitchen, which includes a generous island with a teal-coloured base for preparing meals and eating breakfast.

The same teal shade, chosen for Joanne’s “love for moody jewel tones” continues in the pantry, while more feminine pinks and purples are introduced in other spaces through furniture fabrics.

Den
Smaller rooms like this office space feature darker colours

In the dining room, a large black table is positioned beneath a grid of mid-toned oak beams and a Shape-Up chandelier by Ladies and Gentlemen Studio.

Oak is also applied as parquet flooring, adding visual interest and bringing warmth to the predominantly white palette throughout the home.

Darker colours are used in the smaller spaces, including a new mudroom with grey-and-white-patterned cement floor tiles, and a wallpapered powder room.

By also rearranging the first-floor layout, a bright two-storey entrance foyer was created, featuring black and unpolished brass details.

Mud room
A mud room with patterned ceramic tiles was created during the renovation

Artwork and decorative furniture pieces are dispersed throughout the home, intended to convey a relaxed atmosphere more akin to a city loft.

“We drew inspiration from New York and European apartments, which feature unique collections of art, furnishings and decor set against elegant details,” said Brown.

“We opted for a casual take on those interiors, but one where the play between classic and modern would still feel fresh and unique.”

Powder room
A powder room is lined with dark wallpaper

Vancouver is regularly ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world and has a wealth of notable residential architecture and interiors.

Other projects recently completed there include RSAAW’s renovation of a mid-century residence to include a double-height library and a house by D’Arcy Jones Architects designed to mesh with its neighbours.

Reference

Nina + Co brings biomaterials into MONC eyewear store in London
CategoriesInterior Design

Nina + Co brings biomaterials into MONC eyewear store in London

By Zarkon Group,

Cornstarch-foam shelves meet mycelium display plinths in this London store that Nina + Co has designed for bioplastic eyewear brand MONC.

Nestled among a parade of high-end shops in Marylebone, MONC sells glasses made from bio-acetate – an acetate produced completely without fossil fuels – which are packaged using recycled leather cases and compostable cornstarch foam.

Exterior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London
The first MONC eyewear location sits along a row of shops in Marylebone

When local studio Nina + Co was brought in to design MONC’s debut store, the team was keen to incorporate biomaterials throughout the interior, while also taking the brand’s short-term lease of the retail unit into account.

“Circularity was key,” said the studio. “Almost everything we brought into that building was entirely bio-based or recycled.”

“The furniture is expertly built to last but can be disassembled for re-use, recycling or return to the earth as nourishment.”

Interior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London
The store features a ceiling installation made from cornstarch foam

Upon entering the store, visitors find themselves under an undulating ceiling installation crafted from corrugated panels of cornstarch foam.

Thicker blocks of the material were used to create rows of squishy-looking shelves, which can be used for packaging or simply dissolved in water when they eventually start to show signs of wear and tear.

MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London has shelves made from cornstarch foam
The foam was also used to form small shelves

Display plinths made out of mycelium – the vegetative part of a fungus – were dotted across the store to showcase different eyewear models.

In between the shelves, a couple of long mirrors are balanced on hunks of concrete that were salvaged from roadworks nearby.

Interior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London
A recycled PET island sits at the centre of the store beside mycelium display plinths

The craggy concrete was chosen as a subtle nod to the rugged Dolomite mountains, which can be seen from the Italian town where all MONC eyewear is produced.

Nina + Co worked closely alongside Welsh manufacturers Smile Plastics and London joiner EJ Ryder to design the store’s recycled PET island and bench seat, which are an apricot-orange hue.

As both furniture pieces were joined with mechanical bolts rather than glues, they can easily be taken apart, flat packed and transported to a different MONC store for reuse.

Walls throughout the interior were finished with VOC-free clay paint while the unit’s existing floor was covered with a water-based sealant.

Interior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London
The plastic was also used to form a bench seat

“Previous tenants had ripped up their floor to leave a plywood subfloor, with markings of the adhesive still evident and some paint bucket outlines,” the studio explained.

“After a test patch, we were convinced that a simple water-based sealant would give it a beautiful depth and sheen with the industrial feel of concrete [while being] kinder to the planet and the budget.”

Interior of MONC eyewear store in Marylebone, London
Walls were washed with a calming clay paint

MONC is one of five projects shortlisted in the small retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.

It’s going head-to-head with the Durat showroom by Linda Bergroth, which is decked out in an unusual mix of colours, and Aesop’s Yorkville store by Odami with its oxblood-red balusters.

The photography is by Handover.

Reference

saffet kaya architects brings a high-tech learning hub to cyprus
CategoriesArchitecture

saffet kaya architects brings a high-tech learning hub to cyprus

By Zarkon Group,

high-performance architecture in cyprus

 

Saffet Kaya Architects, a practice based in both Cyprus and the UK, has built a Science and Technology Center for the Cyprus International University in Nicosia. The project has introduced twenty-two classrooms and thirty-three research laboratories to accommodate thirteen separate fields of engineering on the campus.

 

While many of these spaces are highly specialized for their field, the center can simultaneously host non-engineering courses, lending a highly efficient use of the space. With this cross-disciplinary programming, the space is a collaborative learning hub which promotes interactions between students across departments.

saffet kaya architectsimages courtesy Saffet Kaya Architects | @saffetkayaofficial

 

 

inside the science and technology center

 

The team at Saffet Kaya Architects designs its Science and Technology Center in Cyprus with respect for its environment — both with its orientation within the site, and with its forward-thinking technological systems. The architects organize the building across only two levels, keeping a low-lying presence in order to minimize its presence among the Cyprus International University campus. ‘The silhouette of the building is proportionate to its surroundings and is in harmony with its environment,’ explains the team. Inside, the building opens up into three levels, with a full story embedded underground.

 

The ground level hosts multi-purpose classrooms, while the administration, faculty, and IT laboratories are located on the first floor. Meanwhile, specialized experimental laboratories are located along the lower level. These underground spaces still benefit from natural light and ventilation with access to sunken courtyards.

saffet kaya architects

 

 

the efficient design by saffet kaya architects

 

Multi-purpose classrooms are strategically located at ground level, meeting the demands of different departments including students arriving from other faculties. The Administration, Faculty, and IT Laboratories are located on the first floor, establishing a formal setup, whilst specialist experimental labs are situated at the lower ground level but still benefit from natural light and ventilation with access to sunken courtyards.

 

The group explains: ‘It is also possible to passively ventilate the internal spaces throughout both day and night time from each façade, allowing outside air to enter the space through courtyards and external surfaces. The enclosed spaces are equipped with controlled façade openings with a high-level automation system and thermal solar chimneys acting as ventilation shafts located at opposite sides of the rooms along the corridors, to provide natural cross ventilation, enabling energy saving and enhanced sustainability.

 

‘Each façade elevation is independent from the other in design, and new technologies such as thermal chimneys and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) were used for the first time.’

saffet kaya architects
each facade is unique, designed according to contextual parameters

 

 

The team continues, describing the performance of the building: ‘The south façade of the building is angled and fully clad with second-generation thin film BIPV panels to maximize solar gain. The north facade, which does not have any direct sunlight, is clad with an all-glass structure allowing natural light in, whilst providing an X-ray effect revealing the skeleton of the building. The east and west façades are aluminum-clad and have louvered openings that are angled to prevent direct solar radiation.

 

‘The introduction of thermal chimneys for natural ventilation, photovoltaic panels for solar gain, and the steel structure with lighter and longer structural spans in composition with a solid concrete structure, are all novel and unconventional architectural design solutions and methodologies in this region. Treating every façade differently by taking contextual parameters into consideration and introducing different transparency are also new experimentations.’

saffet kaya architects
 thermal chimneys are integrated for natural ventilation saffet kaya architects
the structure, mechanical ducts, wiring, and tectonics are left exposed



Reference

A power system brings reliable, affordable electricity to off-grid communities across Africa
CategoriesSustainable News

A power system brings reliable, affordable electricity to off-grid communities across Africa

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In sub-Saharan Africa, the electrification gap is one of the primary barriers to development. As many as 600 million people in the region live without reliable power. Many basic needs, from education and healthcare to economic opportunity, remain out of reach for millions of people as a result.

Zola Electric, a company originally founded in Tanzania, has developed a power system that promises to bring reliable, affordable electricity to off-grid communities across Africa.

The Zola ‘Infinity’ system is designed to be more reliable and cost-effective than traditional grid-based power and can be quickly deployed to rural areas where electrification is most needed.

The system draws on multiple energy inputs and a smart storage system to provide continuous power. With Infinity, African families will finally have access to the lights, refrigeration, pumps, and other appliances that they need to improve their quality of life. Importantly, Infinity is also designed to be scalable and adaptable, meaning that it can grow with communities as their needs change.

Zola has received backing from a number of prestigious investors including Tesla, Total, and EDF.

Mini-grids and smart storage solutions will be increasingly important as the world’s energy system becomes more decentralised. Springwise has recently spotted a software service that optimises decentralised energy projects and a plug-and-play solar energy system for swarm electrification.

Written By: Katrina Lane

24th June 2022

Website: zolaelectric.com

Contact: zolaelectric.com/contact

Reference

Brazilian Firm Brings Passive Design Principles to New Production Facility
CategoriesArchitecture

Brazilian Firm Brings Passive Design Principles to New Production Facility

By Zarkon Group,

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.  

Aldous Huxley said that “springs and landscapes have a serious defect: they are free” and that “love for nature does not provide work for any factory.” Well, sorry to contradict the famous writer and philosopher but the new industrial complex for Nice — the Italian multinational leader in Smart Home, Security, Home & Building Automation solutions, designed by M CA – Mario Cucinella Architects  in Limeira, Brazil — proves exactly the opposite: namely, that an industrial building can concretely combine productivity, social and technological innovation, research and environmental sustainability.

All images courtesy of MC A Mario Cucinella Architects

Nothing could be further from the apocalyptic and sooty atmospheres of Friz Lang’s film Metropolis (1927) in which the machines of productive dehumanization devoured the lives and identities of workers, reducing them to an automated mass swarming beneath the ground.

On the contrary, here, the building’s iconic roof appears like a large tropical leaf floating on light pillars, evoking the idea of an almost “maternal” architecture that is protective and enveloping, its organic forms in tune with the natural ecosystem. Unusually, equally strong themes of production efficiency and quality of work are combined with the strong emotional impact of this architecture.

The intervention is, on the one hand, a manifesto of cutting-edge technology aimed at increasing productivity according to a sustainable business model. Meanwhile, on the other, this is an architecture of social commitment to promote the professional growth of the local community by leveraging constant training and innovative work experiences.

The complex, covering an area of about 215, 278 sq ft (20,000 sqm) in a forest rich in underground water sources, houses the headquarters of the group with two floors of offices, common areas, showrooms, service and training areas. The production facilities, located at the back, are connected to the central atrium by a large window from which visitors can directly observe the industrial process.

Also at the back, a system of suspended paths, immersed in nature, connects to the building that houses services for employees, such as the gym and the inevitable “churrasqueira.” The working environment is a bit like a home, where it is also pleasant to spend moments of relaxation and socializing. 

The building has been designed to reduce energy consumption and toxic emissions through the use of active and passive measures that, thanks to the favorable local climatic conditions, allow the systems to operate completely off-grid for some periods of the year.

In general, the use of natural ventilation is possible for two thirds of the year, thanks to openable facade elements and the integration of mobile openings in the atrium patio that transform it into a giant “ventilation chimney”. The production area, thanks to the combination of thermal mass and natural ventilation, is operational all year round without the need for cooling or heating; showrooms and offices benefit from a mixed system that encourages natural ventilation while reducing overall cooling loads.

The roof, as well as a strong characterizing element of the project, is also an important passive device that provides shading to the large glass fronts during the hottest hours, reducing by 47% the incident radiation and avoiding the risk of overheating. 43 055 sq ft (4,000 sq m) of photovoltaic panels installed on the roof cover the electrical load of the entire building and potentially allow the systems to work off-grid during sunny days.

The landscape design is an equally important part of the intervention and is functional to increase the rich local biodiversity. The project proposes a playful interpretation of the variety of the Cerrado biome, the second largest in Brazil, ranging from grassy glades, to savanna, to forest formations, represented here in different expressive languages along the outdoor paths, inspired by local wild species and native vegetation. Small ponds and water basins mitigate runoff and direct rainwater to a large basin at the bottom of the area; a 2, 120 cubic foot (60 cubic meter) tank stores water to reuse for irrigation.

Image courtesy of MC A – Mario Cucinella Architects

Mario Cucinella, founder and creative director of MC A, states that “sustainability is a founding element of making architecture. Looking back at history, we have always needed a relationship with matter, and the energies brought into play were those of the climate: the sun, the wind, the light. The project re-establishes a symbiotic relationship between the architectural structure and nature, interacting with the landscape and reinterpreting the traditional Brazilian architectural elements and encouraging the use of all its passive characteristics.”

Love for Mother Earth — “our mother and sister who governs us and sustains us” as St. Francis of Assisi said — permeates the work, suggesting a broader reflection on the concept of sustainability that extends not only to environment but also to society and economy. MC A’s building encompasses a cultural approach in which ecology and industry coexist beyond hierarchies and commonplaces.

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.  

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