Mále Uribe Forés makes wall tiles from Chilean desert salt

Chilean architect Mále Uribe Forés has turned salt into reactive wall tiles that will crystallise and grow over the course of her Salt Imaginaries installation.

Forés constructed an architectural surface from rows of geometric tiles, made from a mixture of plaster and salt taken from the Atacama desert in Chile.

The three-metre wall comprises 1,300 tiles made in two different finishes. An accompanying kinetic light system brings the wall to life by casting shifting shadows.

Over a longer period of time the salt will react to the humidity and temperature of the room, causing it to gradually crystallise and grow as a "living system".

As Forés explained, in addition to its anti-bactericide and preservation properties, salt can also be naturally hydrophilic – meaning it can reduce moisture in interior environments to help regulate humidity.

"There are more than 14,000 known uses for salt and yet we often overlook its materiality," said the designer.

"In the context of the boom of bio-materials and the environmental crisis, making visible the transformative power of materials is key for me as a designer," she continued.

"The tiled wall is questioning how can we see our interiors as stable yet mutating environments, and ultimately questioning salt, and all materials, as cultural constructs."

Forés wanted to highlight the historical and local narratives of salt, as well as showcasing how it can be used as a precious and versatile resource.

After visiting the Atacama desert, the designer was fascinated by the unusual salt formations that she found in the crust.

"They seemed like digitally rendered sculptures," she told Dezeen. "I became obsessed about finding out how they took shape, what different salt compositions are there, etc, and started learning everything I could about salt."

"Standing in the middle of the open landscape I was surprised to hear the loud cracking orchestra of these dry salt rocks naturally cracking everywhere reacting to temperature and light as if they had a world of its own," she added.

Forés experimented with different salt residues, from discarded salts from lithium refining processes to salts left as residue on the roads that go from mines to the port.

Once she came to a stable composition, with the help of chemists from Chile and the UK, she then used this to make matrix moulds of the final desired shape and used these to cast the tiles in silicone moulds.

It took just over a month to make all the tiles, which were sanded and sealed to ensure a firm base before being assembled on-site to create the final structure.

The geometric pattern of the wall, which Forés describes as a stacking system, takes cues from the different architectural remains of old mining settlements that she found on her research trip to the Atacama Desert.

Here, in the region of Tarapacá, she came across a particular site made with saline mineral rocks that used a zig-zag pilling technique to make self-supporting walls that were incredibly well preserved.

"I have always been fascinated by geometry and repetitive patterns that can somehow play with our perception and therefore make us question what we are looking at," the designer explained.

"For this project I wanted to keep playing with that and create an immersive effect, dragging the attention to the surface."

Mále Uribe Forés was chosen as one of the Design Museum's 2020 "designers in residence", where her Salt Imaginaries installation was on display until the museum had to close its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The installation was accompanied by a soundscape of crackling salt and scenographic elements, such as a glowing sun, to create a "meditative" atmosphere that emulates the warm landscape of the desert.

London-based architect Stiliyana Minkovska was also selected as a designer in residence, which saw her present a birthing suite, called Ultima Thule, that offers women a "sanctuary-like" environment during childbirth.

Minkovska's alternative to "hostile" hospital maternity wards comprises a trio of undulating birthing chairs designed to give the mother more control over her delivery and reproductive health.

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Project credits:

Design: Mále Uribe Forés
Fabrication: Peter Bennett
Tile casting assistant: Joseph Wood
Sound design: Tom Burke
Lighting: Beam Lighting Design
3D animation: George Stamenov
Video editing: Dimitris Armenakis
Curators: Sumitra Upham, Maria McLintock

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Atelier Espaço P2 remodels Portuguese home with wood-lined interiors

Architecture studio Atelier Espaço P2 has refurbished this house in Ansião, Portugal, inserting wood-lined interiors into a building that has been in the owner's family for three generations.

Maintaining the building's historical name of Ti Clara the small, single-storey home has been remodelled to create two bedrooms alongside a living, kitchen and dining space.

New interventions comprise a series of pale-wood insertions, designed to have a minimal impact on the thick walls of the original structure.

"Since the beginning of the project there has always been the desire to fight for the irregularities and imperfections of the old construction," said Atelier Espaço P2.

"Imperceptible questions such as the history of the inhabitants were also considered – memories, dreams and desires are represented in objects that have been kept for generations."

In the living room, a deep wooden reveal has been created beneath the gable ceiling to demarcate the kitchen space, occupied by a run of stone-topped counters.

This area is finished with a stone floor, creating a transition from exterior to interior.

An open log-fire area by the entrance provides warmth in the cooler months.

A short, L-shaped corridor extends from this living area towards a bathroom, turning to cut between the two bedroom spaces.

"The choice of materials in the interior of the house comes in response to the objectives of the intervention: to provide spaces with a more comfortable and welcoming experience," said the studio.

"Because of this, choosing natural materials seemed to us the most honest and true solution."

Built-in furniture elements maximise the available space in the small home, such as a wooden surround at the living room threshold that doubles as a bookshelf and coat rack.

In the corridor, a deep window box with a sliding door creates an illuminated bookshelf space, and to bring further light into the bathroom a partition wall stops short of the ceiling to create a strip of glazing.

"All the furniture was designed according to the needs of each space, complemented with some existing furniture that has been carefully restored," said the studio.

The existing window openings of the home have been retained, finished with new wooden window frames that create a contrast with their rough surrounds.

Atelier Espaço P2 was founded in 2016 by Jorge Pimenta.

Architecture practice NOARQ has also recently completed the renovation of an old Portuguese villa, contrasting its existing stone structure with bright red details.

Photography is by José Campos.

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Porcelain Fauna and Human Anatomy Embedded into Thick Botanical Fields by Artist Melis Buyruk

“Habitat The Pig” (2019), porcelain, 50 x 50 centimeters. All images © Melis Buyruk, shared with permission

When asked why her porcelain works are unpainted, Turkish artist Melis Buyruk answered that adding color to nature dictates meaning. “I like to avoid using descriptive elements such as color,” she said in an interview about her recent exhibition Habitats at Leila Heller Gallery. “I also prefer to encourage the spectator to immers(e) themselves into the work, and get lost in the details, discovering something new with each viewing. Using color would separate forms more succinctly, and I am interested in non-hierarchical hybridity.”

Based in Istanbul, Buyruk creates monochromatic fields that are concentrated with realistic flowers, succulents, and mosses. Many of the large-scale works span more than four feet and are encased in wooden boxes. The artist discreetly situates a pig, hawk, and bearded dragon, among other birds and rodents, near the center. Look closer, though, and spot human ears and lips.

By embedding animals and anatomy evenly into the botanical topography, Buyruk hopes to dismantle hierarchies of species and reject the idea of human superiority. She also has chosen animals that inspire fearful reactions from people.

Certain animals pose a serious threat to human evolution, which has been engraved in our DNA. We find some animals uncomfortable or frightening because (of) their shape or color, causing us to negatively and incur a ‘flight’ response. I wanted to juxtapose our age-old, biologically rendered fear against our socially conditioned admiration for flowers, and position them together.

Buyruk noted that while quarantined in her home because of the coronavirus pandemic, she’s been thinking about the instability of people’s control over nature. “What we experienced during the pandemic process enabled us to face the weaknesses of the human species again,” she said. For more of the artist’s impeccably detailed habitats, head to Instagram.

“Habitat The Bearded Dragon” (2019), porcelain and 18K gold, 47.24 x 57.09 inches

“Habitat The Bird” (2019), porcelain, 47.24 x 57.09 inches

“Habitat The Hawk” (2019), porcelain, 47.24 x 47.24 inches

“Habitat The Rat 2” (2019), porcelain, 50 x 50 centimeters

“Habitat The Rat” (2019), porcelain, 47.24 x 57.09 inches

“Habitat The Snake” (2019), porcelain and 18k gold, 49.21 x 49.21 inches

“Habitat The Tarantula” (2019), porcelain, 47.2 x 57.1 inches

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OMA reveals updated design for Washington DC garden bridge

Architecture firm OMA and landscape studio Olin have released updated visuals for 11th Street Bridge Park – a raised garden that will extend over Washington DC's Anacostia River.

The update follows the National Capital Planning Commission's approval of the scheme to construct a park spanning Washington DC's Anacostia River earlier this month.

OMA and Olin, who won a competition to redesign the area in 2014, have now released new renderings that detail 11th Street Bridge Park with several green spaces and mixed-use buildings.

"At a time when we are paradoxically isolated from one another but united in a common cause, public spaces that we all share and that benefit health have become more important than ever," said OMA partner Jason Long.

"Our work has focused on creating a new civic space that engages with the Anacostia River and refining the programme for the park to ensure it will be a place for everyone in DC."

11th Street Bridge Park will occupy a series of piers that previously supported a roadway spanning the river. It will be composed of a split-level structure that meets in the centre to form a cross shape.

On the two upper levels, lifted by trusses, there will be gardens and lookout points connected by a series of walkways. These will also lead to the lower level where there will be additional green space, plazas and a cafe.

Pedestrians will access the raised park via ramps and paths that are constructed at either riverfront. A roadway will run alongside the 11th Street Bridge Park, which will extend the full width of the river.

Visuals show the landscape occupied by colourful benches and hammocks, play equipment, including slides built into a small hill and a waterfall feature.

A small performance stage attaches to the underside of the bridge on one side of the design. On the opposite side of the bridge, the raised portion creates a roof for a cafe and patio space. An additional triangular building on the site can be used for public events.

OMA and Olin beat proposals from Balmori Associates and Cooper, Robertson & Partners, Stoss Landscape Urbanism and Höweler + Yoon Architecture, and Wallace Roberts & Todd , NEXT Architects and Magnusson Klemencic Associates.

Since winning, the firms have worked with the District Department of Transportation, non-profit Building Bridges Across the River and the Anacostia Watershed Society to develop the project. Construction is expected to start in 2021.

"This project will be the first public space in the nation's capital that will make a bridge a destination – a park above the river – where access to green spaces can significantly encourage physical activity while building social capital," OMA said.

11th Street Bridge Park joins a number of infrastructure reuse projects in North America. Others include Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations' hugely popular High Line park on a reclaimed a section of a disused elevated railway line along the Lower West Side of Manhattan.

OMA was founded in 1975 by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. It has recently completed a department store in Gwanggyo, South Korea clad with tessellated triangles of stone and a luxury resort in Bali.

Renderings are by Luxigon.

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Project Credits:

Partner: Jason Long
Associate: Yusef Ali Dennis
Team: Titouan Chapouly, Alireza Shojakhani, Yiyao Wang, Gonzalo Samaniego
Landscape Architect: Olin
Structural & Civil Engineer: WRA, Delon Hampton
MEPFP: Setty
Community Outreach Advisor: ARCH Development
Acoustics Consultant: Threshold Acoustics
Lighting Designer: MCLA

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Four authors including Julia Watson and DJ Spooky discuss environmental design live on VDF today

VDF has teamed up with Terreform One to bring together authors Mitch Joachim, Julia Watson, Eran Chen and Paul Miller in a live discussion about sustainable design in a post-coronavirus world.

The four authors will discuss their work live on VDF today at 5:00pm UK time.

Mitch Joachim is one of four authors who will discuss environmental design as part of VDF

Mitch Joachim, co-founder of New York architecture research platform Terreform One, will discuss his new book Design With Life: Biotech Architecture and Resilient Cities.

Designer and environmentalist Julia Watson will talk about Lo-TEK, Design by Radical Indigenism. Eran Chen, founding principal of New York architect ODA, will speak about Unboxing New York.

Paul Miller, AKA DJ Spooky, will discuss Digital Fictions: The Future of Storytelling.

DJ Spooky will his book Digital Fictions during the talk

The discussion has been put together as a reflection of Earth Day yesterday. "It’s time to use the power of design to combat planetary extinction,” says Joachim, whose non-profit and research organization Terreform One looks at how design practices can cultivate biological processes and create resilient answers to tomorrow’s most pressing urban challenges.

"We are always looking for new narratives, where nature can provide solutions and connect us to our surroundings," said Eran Chen of ODA. "It's time to look at new typologies to reconnect society".

Julia Watson's book is called Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism

"We need to learn how to live symbiotically with nature and stop designing it into extinction," said Julia Watson, whose book explores how technologies developed by indigenous communities could offer solutions to climate change.

"What some see as advanced technology I often see as tone-deaf and two-dimensional. We can’t design around nature, we must learn to design with it."

"There are so many examples," Watson told Dezeen in a recent interview about her book Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism. "They have increased biodiversity; they're producing food; they're flood-mitigating; they're resilient in terms of foreshore conditions; they're cleaning water; they're carbon sequestering."

About Virtual Design Festival

Virtual Design Festival, the world's first digital design festival, runs from 15 April to 30 June 2020. It is a platform that will bring the architecture and design world together to celebrate the culture and commerce of our industry, and explore how it can adapt and respond to extraordinary circumstances.

Eran Chen will discuss his book on ODA

VDF will host a rolling programme of online talks, lectures, movies, product launches and more, complementing and supporting fairs and festivals around the world that have had to be postponed or cancelled and it will provide a platform for design businesses, so they can, in turn, support their supply chains.

To find out what's coming up at VDF, check out the schedule. For more information or to join the mailing list, email vdf@dezeen.com.

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