decmyk

Thursday 27 January 2022

Atelier Craft and ICI! complete triangular migrant shelter in Paris

French studios Atelier Craft and ICI! have designed a triangular day shelter for migrants and refugees in Paris, with a modular timber frame that allows it to be demounted and moved to different sites.

Called Aire de Repos or Rest Area, the shelter is currently located at La Station Gare des Mines, an arts venue in Porte d'Aubervilliers established by Collectif MU that sits close to the site of a migrant camp dismantled by French authorities in 2020.

Shelter with polycarbonate facade — Aire de Repos is a triangular day shelter for migrants and refugees in Paris

Supported by a social innovation grant from the Région île de France, Paris-based studios Atelier Craft and ICI! worked with the Coucou Crew, an association supporting young migrants, to design the new flexible activity space.

"The Aire de Repos offers an unconditional welcome for young migrants to come and discuss, benefit from psychological support sessions, have a coffee and initiate or participate in cultural activities," explained a statement from La Station Gare des Mines.

Aire de Repos shelter for migrants in Paris — It has a modular timber frame

The simple, modular design of Aire de Repos allowed its construction to be a participative process involving the Coucou Crew, which was documented in a short film.

The nature of the frame also allows the size of the final structure to easily be expanded or reduced, with the intention of it being able to transform to suit a range of different sites or be replicated elsewhere in future.

Polycarbonate facade of Aire de Repos shelter — Externally it is covered with corrugated polycarbonate

"The short timeframe set to build the project in a participative manner led us to imagine a simple shape and prefabricated frame in order to assemble the main structure in less than two weeks," explained Atelier Craft.

"In that sense, the triangular form stems from structural and economic principles but also from a symbolic standpoint – based on this single frame the structure can span out depending on the future needs of its users," it continued.

A small, skylit porch space forms an entrance to the shelter, with the main room left free of any fixings or fittings to be as flexible as possible.

Internally, the high, pitched ceiling of the structure is clad with plywood panels. Externally, it is covered in sheets of corrugated polycarbonate and transparent plastic sheets that are tied to metal poles on the wooden frame.

Plywood-lined shelter — Plywood panels line the interior

The walls have been infilled with straw insulation. At one end of the structure a rammed earth trombe wall faces the sun, absorbing its heat and slowly releasing it back into the shelter throughout the day.

"The construction as a whole is designed based on bioclimatic principles to regulate the inside temperature in a passive manner," explained the practice.

Interior of Aire de Repos shelter — A skylit porch sits at the structure's entrance

Other examples of structures designed for refugees include a latticed wooden community centre at a camp in Mannheim, Germany, designed by students from the University of Kaiserslautern.

The photography is by Victoria Tanto.

The post Atelier Craft and ICI! complete triangular migrant shelter in Paris appeared first on Dezeen.

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Titi Ogufere spotlights five Nigerian designers from Made by Design series

Netflix series Made by Design celebrates the work of 13 architects and designers who live and work in Nigeria. The show's co-producer Titi Ogufere picks five architects and designers featured in the TV show for Dezeen that she believes deserve greater recognition.

The documentary series, which can be watched on streaming site Netflix, provides insight into the achievements and contributions made by designers based in the West African country.

Each episode uses in-depth interviews to explore the process and work of the creatives. From CM Design Atelier architect Tosin Oshinowo to Moe+ Art Architecture director Papa Omotayo, the series is intended to shine a light on the power of design coming out of Africa, or what Ogufere refers to as "the womb of creativity".

"Africa is the womb of creativity – this is my belief," Ogufere told Dezeen. "So it [the series] is about sharing that with the world: for me that was important."

The exterior of the American International School — The American International School Lagos Staff Housing building by MOE+ Art Architecture

Ogufere argues that the coronavirus pandemic created a shift in the way contemporary Nigerian design is created, consumed and celebrated. Thus the timing of the series was crucial.

"Covid made people stop and think and design," she explained. "I was always so bored so I was like: 'okay, let's go again, let's get these people to begin to think and get the people in the [African] continent to share their ideas."

As an African interior designer, the Design Week Lagos founder was keen to use her position to allow the designers to tell their stories.

"It was very important that they felt comfortable enough to be able to share their story," she said.

"I've been in the industry for quite a while – over 20 years," she explained. "I know a lot of these designers that only came into the industry five years ago, and it was about getting them to be comfortable."

Ogufere is currently working on season two of the series, which will broaden its reach and cover design from across the African continent.

Below, she chooses five designers from the current series that believes deserve wider recognition:

Lani Adeoye

"For me, Lani is a curious designer. She moved from New York back to Nigeria and she was literally going to villages to research how to preserve culture.

"We had a lot of crafts in Africa, especially in Nigeria but most of these crafts are lost now because there's no use. For instance, when I was growing up, we had so many mat weavers. But most of these are gone because it passes on from one generation to the other and no one wants to do them anymore.

"Her furniture and lighting pieces, including the Talking Stools and Tables (pictured), celebrate West African elegance with a contemporary sensibility. I really like her organic forms."

Aeria view of the John Randle Centre in Lagos — Image courtesy of Si.Sa

Seun Oduwole

"We have a new generation of people that are interested in identity, and Seun is someone who is taking it beyond just architecture. He is designing a very interesting museum right now in Lagos which is on the Yoruba heritage (pictured). It's called the John Kennedy Randle Centre.

"There's so much architecture with no soul whatsoever because people are just churning out things. But he's been working on this project for a while and I've seen them work. I've been there a couple of times and I've seen the passion of seeing the research that has gone into this one project. I'm really excited to see the outcome."

Tosin Oshinowo

"Tosin is a force. She's not really been in the industry for very long but she is well known across Nigeria for her bright, airy beach homes including Fowóralé House (pictured).

"She doesn't take no for an answer. Tosin is: 'give me a place to stand and I'll take the world'. I admire what she's doing and I know that she's going to go places."

Papa Omotayo

"Papa is an award-winning architect. We call him 'The Artchitect' because he absolutely loves the arts and he's been doing quite a bit with the likes of Yinka Shonibare.

"He also designed Falomo Under Bridge (pictured) and Rele Gallery in Lagos, which was quite important because they took an abandoned building and they turned it into a gallery."

Tola Akerele

"Tola owns Bogobiri. She is an award-winning interior designer and entrepreneur focused on contemporary commercial and residential spaces including Bogobiri House (pictured).

"She designs by drawing on African art and culture. I know they call it different things such as Afro minimalist and all that, but I think why she's quite interesting is that she's been able to design both traditional and contemporary African design styles."

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Horden Cherry Lee creates Canary Wharf skyscraper wrapped in diamond-shaped exoskeleton

Horden Cherry Lee Newfoundland skyscraper

Architecture studio Horden Cherry Lee has designed the Newfoundland residential skyscraper with a diamond-shaped exoskeleton in London's Canary Wharf district.

Horden Cherry Lee designed the 225-metre tall skyscraper to take advantage of its prominent location on the banks of the river Thames and at the end of Middle Dock, directly opposite the main entrance to the Foster + Partners-designed Canary Wharf Underground station.

Newfoundland residential skyscraper in Canary Wharf — The Newfoundland residential skyscraper stands on the banks of the river Thames

"Newfoundland has a landmark location, it's next to the river with high visibility from the east and west," said Horden Cherry Lee co-founder Billie Lee.

"It is situated at the head of Middle Dock where once the most prominent dock buildings stood," he told Dezeen. "Our challenge was to re-create that grandeur in a modern way, responding to the current and future tall building and changing cultural context of Canary Wharf."

Canary Wharf skyscraper — It has a prominent location opposite Canary Wharf Underground station

Named Newfoundland, the building is wrapped in a diamond-shaped exoskeleton that forms the structure of the skyscraper.

Along with adding visual interest to the building's exterior, the structural exoskeleton was created to allow the 58-storey-high tower to be built directly above an Underground train line tunnel.

"We evaluated how to make best use of the ground-bearing capacity near the tunnels and further away, to make the tallest possible structure," said Lee.

"We knew the construction had to be relatively lightweight, and we also had to find a way to transfer the building’s loads to the limited locations around the tunnels," he continued.

"Our solution was to design an external diagrid, that is naturally a stable structure for such a slender building. This allowed us to transfer forces away from the tunnels."

Skyscraper with exoskeleton — The exoskeleton is visible on the building's facade

According to the studio, if the skyscraper had been designed with a more traditional structure, where the majority of the building's weight and wind load was supported by a central core, it would have had to be 30 per cent shorter.

"This was clearly the most important innovation that allowed us to efficiently maximise the height of the building just inside the aviation restrictions, and it gave us a dynamic building structural solution with great aesthetic potential for the architecture," added Lee.

Facade of London skyscraper — The structure is clad in aluminium

The structure is expressed on the exterior of the skyscraper and clad in silver aluminium to give the building a distinct identity.

"Newfoundland is a sculpture for the city, the diagrid concept gives the building a highly visible long-range identity and texture," said Lee.

"On a smaller scale, the profiled diagrid cladding gives the building a subtle texture that sometimes sparkles."

Apartment in Canary Wharf skyscraper — The building contains 636 apartments

In total, the 72,248-square-metre building contains 636 apartments that will be rented out by developer Canary Wharf Group.

The building, which is the tallest build-to-rent (BTR) project ever completed in the UK, is part of a strategy to increase the number of residential properties in the largely commercial Canary Wharf district.

Apartment with view of the Thames — Many apartments have views of the Thames

"As our residential neighbourhood grows, we’re keen to create a careful balance of BTR buildings and open market sale buildings – currently we offer three of each tenure," the developer told Dezeen.

"This helps to attract a wider range of residents to the estate, some of whom may go on to buy an apartment here having originally chosen to rent," it continued.

"More broadly, this iconic building is helping to establish Canary Wharf as a major hub of BTR activity, alongside our other rental buildings 10 George Street and 8 Water Street."

Private dining space — Amenities include private dining spaces

Alongside the apartments, the building contains a club area on the lower levels with spaces for co-working, as well as seating areas, private dining spaces and a games room.

There is also a gym with views across the Thames and outdoor seating and children's play areas. A restaurant is set to open on the first floor later this year.

Canary Wharf from the air — The skyscraper was built at the largely commercial Canary Wharf district. Photo is by Jason Hawkes

The Newfoundland building is the latest skyscraper to be built on the Canary Wharf estate, which is centred on the One Canada Square skyscraper designed by Argentine-American architect César Pelli.

Swiss studio Herzog & de Meuron recently completed a cylindrical skyscraper in Canary Wharf, while the planning application for a 52-storey tower designed by Morris + Company was recently delayed amid fire brigade concerns over safety.

The photography is by Edward Hill, Peter Matthews or Sean Pollock and courtesy of Vertus / Canary Wharf Group.

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Heatherwick Studio proposes pier with sense of "playful togetherness" for Seoul waterfront

The Leaf multi-level pier in Seoul by Heatherwick Studio

UK-based Heatherwick Studio has designed The Leaf multi-level pier for a site on the Han River near Seoul's Olympic stadium.

The plant-covered pier was designed as part of the wider plan to rejuvenate the area around the Jamsil Olympic Stadium, which was built to host the 1988 Olympic Games.

Pier on Han River in Seoul — Heatherwick Studio has designed The Leaf for a site alongside the city's Olympic Stadium

Shaped like a rounded, eight-pointed star, The Leaf would be constructed above the Han River, which flows through Seoul, South Korea.

It would be connected by a walkway to the parkland surrounding the stadium complex, which is set to be comprehensively renovated by architecture studios Benoy, Populous, DA Architecture Group and NOW Architects.

"As part of the submission, we have designed a dynamic new open and public space on the waterfront, linking the wider scheme with the Han River and promoting ideas of community spirit, activity, equality, play and togetherness," said the studio.

Pier in Seoul — Its undulating roof would be topped by a park

Described by the studio as a "flowing, multi-level pier", the structure would contain event spaces and an auditorium covered in an undulating roof and arranged around a central plaza.

It would be topped by an walkable, plant-covered roof with "winding trails", play areas and view points. A marina will be built alongside it.

"At the heart of our project is the idea of playful togetherness," said Stuart Wood, Partner and Group Leader at Heatherwick Studio.

"We want this to be a refreshing and dynamic new civic space for the city of Seoul where people come to laugh, explore and connect. Somewhere joyful and restorative for everyone."

The Leaf is the latest pier structure designed by Heatherwick Studio, which is led by Thomas Heatherwick, following the recent opening of the Little Island on the Hudson River in New York.

The studio also recently designed a concept called The Cove to replace a series of deteriorating historic piers in San Francisco.

The visuals are courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.

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Study finds cities lack green spaces to support "unsustainable" beekeeping boom

The rapid rise in urban apiaries is exceeding the amount of greenery available to feed both honey bees and other pollinators, according to a study from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.

The study, called "Challenging the sustainability of urban beekeeping using evidence from Swiss cities", represents the "first attempt to quantify the sustainability of urban beekeeping", according to its authors.

It found that the number of beehives across 14 Swiss cities has more than tripled in recent years, going from 3,139 in 2012 to 9,370 in 2018.

By the end of this six-year period all cities, including Zurich, Geneva and Basel, were home to an average of around 10 beehives per square kilometre of urban green space, despite the fact that this area only provides enough resources to sustain around seven hives.

"We found large increases in hives numbers across all cities from an average 6.48 hives per square kilometre (3139 hives in total) in 2012 to an average 10.14 hives per square kilometre (9370 in total) in 2018 and observed that available resources are insufficient to maintain present densities of beehives, which currently are unsustainable," the research paper stated.

Graphs showing number of honeybee hives and hives per beekeeping location in 14 Swiss cities — The study tracks beehives in 14 Swiss cities

As the increase in urban beehives will likely continue to outpace the creation of new green spaces, the report argues the problem is only set to get worse.

This will have a detrimental effect not just on the growing honey bee populations cultivated in the hives, but also on wild bees and other pollinators who will struggle to compete with this more aggressive, dominant species for increasingly scarce resources.

"Uncontrolled and unregulated beekeeping is posing a threat to both wild bees and honey bees," the study's co-author Joan Casanelles told Dezeen.

"Resources, meaning flowers, are finite. And increasing the resource demand by adding thousands of new honey bees without the resources increasing at the right pace is posing a threatening scenario."

Beekeeping is farming, not conservation

Beekeeping has often been promoted as a means of saving an endangered species and increasing biodiversity in cities via projects such as Snøhetta's Vulkan Beehives, but Casanelles says this narrative fundamentally misunderstands the problem.

That's because the honey bee, which is commonly farmed in hives, is only one of around 20,000 to 30,000 bee species in the world.

Out of all the bee species, the honey bee is by far the most dominant today. It is also among the few that is not in decline, as the only insect that is widely managed and raised for food.

"Honey bees have found many representatives, who usually care more about money than the environment, advocating to save them due to their critical importance in economic and production systems," Casanelles said.

"On the other hand, all the remaining wild insects that have no representatives in the corporate world are declining at alarming rates," he added.

"Beekeeping is not a conservation activity to save wild bees, the same way having cattle or pets is not a way of protecting wild mammals."

Cities can be like nature reserves

The solution, according to Casanelles, is considering beekeeping as a form of livestock raising instead of conservation and regulating the number of beekeeping locations and the density of hives.

At the same time, cities should be reconsidered as possible conservation sites by creating better habitats for wild bees and other pollinators.

This is possible by creating more green areas amidst existing grey infrastructure, restoring degraded or monocultural lots, and providing safe nesting places in the form of shelters and bee bricks. The latter became a planning requirement for new buildings in Brighton earlier this month.

"Cities and urban ecosystems have to be included in the conservation strategies," Casanelles said. "It is not enough to have pristine or 'natural areas', whatever that means."

"How buildings and urban elements are designed and how the green space is planned and managed has significant impacts on habitat restoration, habitat creation and biodiversity conservation," he added.

"Good communication and synergies between ecologists, planners, architects and managers are key to this."

Individual cities including London, Paris and Perth have undertaken similar studies on the sustainability of urban beekeeping.

But the research from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), which was supported by the country's Federal Office for the Environment, marks the first time that the topic has been considered across multiple different locations.

The top image is by Timothy L Brock via Unsplash and the graphs are courtesy of Joan Casanelles and Marco Moretti.

The post Study finds cities lack green spaces to support "unsustainable" beekeeping boom appeared first on Dezeen.

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