This week Brighton mandated bee bricks for new buildings

This week on Dezeen, perforated bricks that provide nesting space for bees became a planning requirement for new buildings in Brighton, England.

The aim of the initiative is to improve biodiversity in cities and turn them into safe havens for wild and solitary bee species that are facing extinction.

The bricks have proven controversial among scientists, with some raising concerns that they could attract mites and spread diseases while others see them as "an unequivocal good thing".

Adidas reveals Team GB kit for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

With the Beijing Winter Olympics kicking off next week, we shared a look at the city's Populous-designed speed skating arena, which is the only permanent venue built for the games.

British athletes are set to enter the venue in newly revealed kits by sportswear brand Adidas. They are made from marine plastic sourced by Parley for the Ocean and rendered in the traditional colours of the Union Jack.

Rural hospital in Bangladesh named world's best building by RIBA

In architecture news, a hospital in rural Bangladesh made from locally sourced brick was named the world's best building by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Designed by local practice Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA, the project was awarded the 2021 RIBA International Prize for providing affordable medical care to thousands of people while treading lightly on the planet by making use of regional resources, harvesting rainwater and passively cooling and daylighting its interiors.

"RIBA upgrading Portland Place is an expensive solution to the wrong problem"

After RIBA announced a forthcoming design contest for the refurbishing of its headquarters architecture critic Phineas Harper penned an op-ed for Dezeen arguing that these funds would be better spent on turning the Portland Street building into a "village hall" for architects.

"Instead of investing £20 million in itself, building bigger, better, more competitive facilities to draw audiences away from programmes elsewhere, RIBA should simply open the doors and let people in," he wrote.

Sunken home forms setting for Virgil Abloh's final Louis Vuitton show

In the world of design, Virgil Abloh's final posthumous show for Louis Vuitton took place in the Carreau du Temple in Paris, with a set designed by LA studio PlayLab.

It paid homage to the eight previous shows that Abloh spearheaded as creative director for the fashion house before his death in November 2021, incorporating elements from each in a surrealist medley including a sunken home.

Titi Ogufere spotlights five Nigerian designers from Made by Design series

Design reporter Alice Finney spoke to Titi Ogufere, the co-producer of Netflix docuseries Made by Design, about five Nigeria-based designers and architects featured in the show that she believes deserve greater recognition.

Among them are Seun Oduwole, who is in the midst of building a Yoruba heritage museum in Lagos (above), and furnituremaker Lani Adeoye, who works to preserve traditional African crafts.

Makhno Studio designs conceptual settlement within Martian crater

A number of conceptual projects were popular among readers this week including a ring-shaped, 3D-printed settlement inside a Martian crater and a subterranean house on the coast of Crete.

Our lookbooks this week focused on interior courtyards and glass-brick walls.

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything.

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Ten tiny houses that make the most of their compact plots

Stacked volumes and space-saving floor plans feature in this roundup of 10 tiny houses around the world, from an Australian mobile cabin on wheels to a micro home in Tokyo with a pair of funnelled roofs.

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Top: photo is by Studio Edwards. Above: photo is by Kai Nakamura

House Tokyo, Japan, by Unemori Architects

Japanese studio Unemori Architects built this corrugated steel-clad house comprising several stacked boxes on a 26-square-metre plot of land in densely populated Tokyo.

"You have to be experimental and clever with regards to its utmost usage and we looked towards how diverse and extendable the space could be within the tiny plot," said the studio.

Find out more about House Tokyo ›

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Photo is by Studio Edwards

Base Cabin, Australia, by Studio Edwards

Base Cabin is a geometric micro home that features a sleek rubber skin and is mobile thanks to a set of wheels on which it can roll.

Melbourne-based Studio Edwards took cues from the recognisable A-frame hut for the cabin's design, which was created in this shape for its structural efficiency as well as to give a neat and compact appearance.

Find out more about Base Cabin ›

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Photo is by Andrés Villota

Casa Parásito, Ecuador, by El Sindicato

With a floor plan of only 12 square metres, Casa Parásito is a tiny parasitic home that sits atop an urban building in Quito, on which it relies for support and services.

Architecture office El Sindicato attached the dwelling to the existing building with steel foundations and included a bathroom, kitchen, bed and living space in the design, as well as save-spacing storage areas.

Like Base Cabin, Casa Parásito is formed from an A-frame timber structure that aims to make the most of limited interior space.

Find out more about Casa Parásito ›

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Photo is by Joe Fletcher

Koto x Abodu, USA, by Koto and Abodu

British studio Koto and American homebuilder Abodu created their eponymous collection of identical prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) for sites in San Jose, California.

With a limited width of 4.26 metres, the Koto x Abodu model is designed to be easily transported and features various save-spacing elements – from storage under the home's only bed, to a built-in bench in the living room and a petite galley kitchen.

Find out more about Koto x Abodu ›

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Photo is by Henry Woide

Jupp House, UK, by Phillips Tracey Architects

One-storey Jupp House was designed to replace an old garage and shed on a plot of land at the end of a suburban garden in Acton, London.

Local firm Phillips Tracey Architects clad the house in dark brick and grey zinc. Internal floor space of just 66 metres is made up of two connected wings that display an irregularly angled roofline.

Find out more about Jupp House ›

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Photo is by Hoang Le

TH House, Vietnam, by ODDO Architects

Crowned emerging architecture studio of the year at the 2021 Dezeen Awards, Vietnamese practice ODDO Architects stacked five storeys onto a backland plot to create TH House, a family home in Hanoi.

Despite its only four-metre-wide and six-metre-deep site, the house is designed to feel bright and airy through the addition of lightwells and perforated walls that open out its interior spaces.

Find out more about TH House ›

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Photo is by Ruy Teixeira

Casa Container, Brazil, by Marilia Pellegrini

Brazilian architect Marilia Pellegrini demonstrated the potential of reusing shipping containers by designing a micro show-home inside a pair and decorating the interiors with minimalist Nendo furniture.

Created in São Paulo, the repurposed Casa Container is comprised of two 12-metre long containers that have been covered in sleek white Dekton, highlighting how industrial objects can be disguised and transformed to create luxury housing.

Find out more about Casa Container ›

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Photo is by Masao Nishikawa

Jewel, Japan, by Apollo Architects and Associates

A skinny, L-shaped structure defines Jewel by Apollo Architects and Associates, a black steel-clad home in Tokyo that is just 1.4-metres-wide on its smallest side.

Building with a crowded site in mind is a common approach to contemporary urban Japanese houses, due to finite and expensive land. For this project, the architecture firm was especially limited by the "flagpole" nature of the plot – square with a narrow approach in a heavily populated neighbourhood.

Find out more about Jewel ›

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Photo is courtesy of Grimshaw Architects

The Peak, Australia, by Grimshaw Architects

Prompted by the desire to provide affordable housing for young people in urban parts of Australia, Grimshaw Architects designed a set of 35-square-metre micro homes for Kids Under Cover, a charity that supports the country's homeless youth.

Called The Peak, the non-profit prefabricated homes are especially created to accommodate affordable IKEA furniture and have high ceilings in order to give occupants a greater sense of space inside.

Find out more about The Peak ›

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Photo is by Koji Fujii Nacasa and Partners

Love2 House, Japan, by Takeshi Hosaka

Architect Takeshi Hosaka built a tiny Tokyo house for himself and his wife that features a pair of funnel-like roofs that tops a total floor area of only 19 square metres.

The height of Love2 House's slanted ceilings opens out its compact interior, which features a dining table located in close proximity to the street, while skylights and a floor-to-ceiling sliding door connect indoor and outdoor spaces.

Find out more about Love2 ›

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Adidas reveals Team GB kit for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

British athletes will wear kits in the colours of the Union Jack, designed by sportswear brand Adidas in collaboration with Parley for the Ocean, at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The uniform, which comes in red, white, blue and navy colours is insulated with environmental organisation Parley for the Ocean's recycled marine plastic.

It is comprised of four "key" pieces for Olympic athletes, including a puffer jacket, a pair of women's trainers, leggings and a lighter jacket for layering.

All of the garments feature a colour-blocking design, with the Union Jack flag appearing on the chest of the jackets and the leggings emblazoned with the letters GBR in white.

Top: Adidas designed the rain puffer jacket for Team GB. Above: the uniform will be worn at the Winter Olympics

The kit is designed to keep athletes comfortable yet warm with pieces made from thermal insulation material by PrimaLoft and Parley Ocean Plastic.

The Terrex Myselter rain puffer jacket is insulated with 100 per cent recycled plastic. Around 40 per cent of this is plastic that has been intercepted from coastal communities and shorelines by Parley for the Oceans.

The jacket is designed for breathability, thermal efficiency and to dry quickly, allowing for maximum performance.

The four key items come in red, white and blue blocks of colour

According to the brand, the lighter zip-up jacket is made from a fleece material that sheds fewer microfibres than traditional fleece.

It also incorporates the same technology found in Adidas's Cold.Rdy collection, which is designed to insulate the body in cold weather.

Team GB's female athletes will wear Ultraboost 22 trainers – a running shoe that the German brand recently released specifically for women's feet.

Read:

Nike reveals uniforms for Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The brand believes that the kit "represents boldness and celebration" and hope that it will help the team perform to the best of its ability.

"We always strive to create high-performance products with creative design – which is reflected in the new Team GB and Paralympic GB kits," said Adidas.

"The kit fuses a contemporary representation of the Union flag with colour blocking design that represents boldness and celebration," the brand continued.

Recycled fibres in the clothes keep athletes warm

The Winter Olympics is set to take place 4 February to 20 February this year.

Previous Team GB uniforms include a kit by designer Ben Sherman that draws on the sportswear worn at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics Games and a Stella McCartney-designed kit that features a coat of arms.

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Populous completes Ice Ribbon arena for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

Architecture firm Populous has unveiled the National Speed Skating Oval, also known as the Ice Ribbon, the only new building created for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Boasting a facade formed of 22 giant, illuminated ribbons, the 12,000-seat arena is expected to become a focal point of the games, which start next week. Its 400-metre race track will be the venue for all speed skating events.

The Ice Ribbon will host speed skating events at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

International firm Populous – whose previous buildings include the London Olympic Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – based its design on a children's game played in Beijing.

Tiric Chang, principal of Populous China, recalled the game involving high-speed spinning "ice top", which he played with friends in the Shichahai Park ice rink.

The facade is wrapped by 22 ribbons that can be illuminated

"The traditional ice game in old Beijing involved a high-speed spinning and leaping ice top that seemed to have infinite energy and possibilities," he said.

"That's what I thought of when reflecting on the characteristics of Olympic speed skating. So, the ice tops became part of the design inspiration injecting a strong Chinese memory into the venue."

The design is based on a spinning ice top

This developed into a design involving 22 huge light strands, which flow around the oval-shaped stadium to create the impression of fast motion.

The shape of these ribbons is based on another of Chang's childhood memories.

Read:

Sochi Winter Olympics commence inside Populous-designed stadium

"The ribbons of the design make reference to the floating silk ribbons of the artwork my family had dedicated their time to – which was the study and preservation of the Dunhuang Grottoes, a significant collection of Buddhist art from the Tang dynasty," he said.

The ribbons create a 33.8-metre-high cocoon around the arena, designed to create a more immersive experience for spectators. They can be programmed with dynamic lighting, which will bring the facade to life at night.

The Ice Ribbon is located in the Beijing Olympic Park

With Beijing becoming the first city in history to host both a summer and winter Olympics, the Ice Ribbon has been built in the existing Beijing Olympic Park.

It sits alongside Herzog & de Meuron's National Stadium and the National Aquatics Centre by PTW Architects – better known as the Bird's Nest and the Watercube – which will both be back in use for this year's games.

The venue contains 8,000 permanent seats and 4,000 temporary seats

State-of-the-art technology features in the Ice Ribbo, in order to optimise its performance and reduce its environmental impact.

It will be one of the first venues in the world to feature an ice surface created using carbon dioxide transcritical direct cooling, making it more energy-efficient than a traditional rink.

The ice surface uses a pioneering technology

This system makes it possible to achieve a temperature difference of less 0.5 degrees Celsius across the surface, which results in a faster and stronger track.

Seating and acoustics have also been carefully designed, to ensure the movement and sound of the speed skating blades can be seen and heard from every seat.

The Ice Ribbon is the only permanent new venue at the Beijing 2022 games

Populous won a competition to design the National Speed Skating Oval (NSSO) in 2016.

The firm then developed the schematic design in just 12 weeks, to allow construction to begin on schedule. It involved collaboration between Populous staff from all around the world.

"The winning design for the Ice Ribbon was created in an intense time frame and was forged through several concepts and many iterations to develop a spinning concept into its final form," said senior principal Andrew James.

The building is located alongside the Bird's Nest stadium

"It became a global effort with our team in Beijing, Brisbane, India, London and America drawing on our experience from Oval Lingotto in Turin, Italy, and our design of Fisht Stadium in Russia, home of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games," he added.

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics take place from 4 to 20 February.

Populous has designed numerous venues for the Olympics. As well as the Fisht Stadium for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the studio created the  London 2012 Olympic stadium.It is currently designing the masterplan for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

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Powerhouse Company creates serene mass-timber lecture hall for Tilburg University

Dutch studio Powerhouse Company has created the Netherlands' first mass-timber university building — a square lecture hall that references modernist and monastic architecture.

The three-storey Tilburg University Lecture Hall, located in Tilburg in southern Holland, has a footprint of just 33 by 33 metres.

The square-shaped building was designed with a circular and sustainable approach and constructed using demountable and recyclable building components.

Powerhouse Company looked to the campus's surrounding modernist buildings for inspiration for the design – in particular its first structure, Jos Bedaux' 1962 Cobbenhagen building, a limestone building with an inner courtyard that was informed by medieval monastic gardens.

Powerhouse Company designed the Tilburg University Lecture Hall to reference the surrounding modernist buildings

The architects created a formal link to these buildings through the lecture hall's limestone facade and rhythmic window placement, while endeavouring to create a calm atmosphere and connection to nature in the interior.

Powerhouse Company described it as a building that "appears as though it has always been there".

"The lecture hall is a timeless and sustainable addition to the campus architecture of Tilburg University," said Powerhouse Company partner architect Stefan Prins. "It breathes the atmosphere of the library and the monastery."

The main lecture hall was designed to be lofty and sculptural

The Tilburg University Lecture Hall has a hybrid structure made largely of cross-laminated timber (CLT), with a concrete core and steel trusses.

The building's 4.6 kilometres of timber beams and three metres of steel trusses were assembled using a dry construction method in order to be demountable for future use. Similarly, the limestone facade panels have been hung, rather than glued, so they can be recycled.

Inside, there are a mix of 14 lecture rooms, study areas and a foyer. The spaces range from a main hall described as "lofty" and "sculptural" to cosy window nooks and solemn work benches dotted with cruciform reading lamps.

Curved details are meant to bring an ambiance of warmth and comfort

The largest lecture hall was a particular focus of attention for the architects, who created wooden rib floors spanning nine metres to give the room the desired acoustic performance and avoid high beams.

This room also features curved finishes and fixtures, and a glass facade giving views onto the forest.

Read:

The Dezeen guide to mass timber in architecture

"Our details look simple and self-evident, but pioneering the technical junctions in collaboration with different disciplines was a challenge," said Powerhouse Company BIM Engineer Romano van den Dool.

"This untrodden road was inspiring and taught us a lot."

Throughout the 5,000-square-metre space, wooden furniture forms an intrinsic part of the design and an extension of the timber structure.

The building's simple wooden furniture is intrinsic to the design

The architects wanted the natural palette and clean lines to create an ambiance of serenity and calm, while using varied window placements to frame a range of views of the outside world.

These include glimpses of the sky, a single tree and views of people walking to campus.

From the outside, the building has four different facades, each with different detailing and window spacing, and each responding to the different features on that side of the campus.

The building houses a mixture of lecture halls, study areas and quiet nooks

One side faces forest, one side parkland, another accommodation, and the last looks onto the main route to the nearby train station.

The building is energy-neutral, with its flat rooftop providing ample room for solar panels. Powerhouse Company used parametric design to optimise the photovoltaic array, which provides enough energy to surpass the building's needs.

Other design features reduce the building's energy consumption, such as cooling with outside air and an aquifer system that uses heat stored in the summer to warm the building during the winter.

The placement of the windows varies throughout the building

"Together with our client, we upped our ambition during the design process, resulting in a carbon-neutral, completely circular, and BREEAM Outstanding design," said Powerhouse Company associate architect Janneke van der Velden.

Powerhouse Company is a Rotterdam-based practice founded in 2005. Its recent projects have included a building in China topped with a circular walking trail and a carbon-neutral and "climate-resilient" floating office on the Maas River in Rotterdam.

The photography is by Frans Parthesius.

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