Arquipélago Arquitetos builds low-slung Brazilian house with rammed earth

São Paulo studio Arquipélago Arquitetos has built a house with walls made of rammed earth in the countryside of Brazil.

House in Cunha, or Casa em Cunha in Portuguese, is named after is location in the mountainous municipality of Cunha, which is a 2.5-hour drive from São Paulo and known for its ceramics.

Arquipélago Arquitetos designed the flat-roofed residence to stand out on its site at the top of a gently sloping property next to a large tree that offers shade. The reddish earthen tone contrasts with verdant surroundings, but depending on the season and position of the sun, the home appears to be integrated with the landscape.

"It was sought that the original fact of this construction in an isolated, wild place was a maximum signal of the arrival human presence in the landscape: straight lines marking the soft topography," said the studio.

Set on a concrete foundation, the rammed earth construction is composed of earth, sand and clay to create a wet mixture that is placed in between flat panels to harden. The studio said this technique allowed for easy, efficient and affordable construction on the site.

"An authentic formwork system was proposed that avoided perforations with metal bars and developed a more efficient building site so that its modulated components could be disassembled and reassembled with ease," it explained.

More rammed-earth walls were built further from the house to protect it and buffer from strong winds that pass through the site – mirroring a concept T Ryan Architecture also used for a rural house in Virginia.

In addition to structural support and protection, the wall material also provides thermal insulation.

"All the characteristics of hardness, thermal inertia, colour, brightness, tactile quality are factors due to the physical and chemical characteristics of that specific soil," the studio added.

Earthy hues continue inside House in Cunha. Walls are composed of straw-coloured bricks from a local pottery studio that removes clay that is rich in aluminium from the region's floodplains.

Ceilings are covered in wood to match the hallway and doors, while dark grey tiles cover the floors. Moving wooden panels with vertical slats also cover some of the windows, to filter sunlight and create privacy.

The house contains three bedrooms and two bathrooms on one side and an open-plan kitchen and living room with green sofas opposite. A fireplace and a wood stove in the living room are made of mud.

Glass walls run along the rear of the home and provide all of the rooms with natural light and access to a patio, which is elevated and formed by two walls. Steps lead to a large circular space in the ground for a bonfire.

In addition to this house, other homes in Brazil's countryside are Rio House by Olson Kundig, Minimod Curucaca and Catuçaba house by Studio MK27.

Photography is by Federico Cairoli.

---

Project credits:

Rammed earth consulting: Fernando Minto, Pablo de las Cuevas, Domitila Almenteiro, Materia Base
Wood structure consulting: Alan Dias, Carpinteria Estruturas
Construction: Carlinhos

The post Arquipélago Arquitetos builds low-slung Brazilian house with rammed earth appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/39Y2Xuq

At just 19, photographer Gabriel Gayle has a striking gaze

With a practice rooted in striking portraiture, we chat to the photographer about his influences, how he chooses a subject and where his work might develop next.

from It's Nice That https://ift.tt/30uWKDp

Last chance to enter Timber Trade Federation's Conversations about Climate Change competition

Dezeen promotion: there are just three weeks left to enter the Timber Trade Federation's Conversations about Climate Change design competition.

The competition challenges designers and craftspeople to create innovative, playful and thought-provoking designs using sustainably sourced tropical timber, in a bid to show the importance of the natural resource.

Creations can be anything from a piece of furniture or a sculpture to an installation or a functional design object. The competition closes for entries on 24 August 2020.

Entries to the design competition close in three weeks

Entrants must develop designs that spark discussion about material provenance and the role of forests and wood in lessening climate change, as well as being both aesthetically and technically impressive.

Creations must also address the role of the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) – the UK and EU's Action Plan to combat illegal logging, subsequent trade and deforestation – in ensuring legal and sustainable forestry and timber supply.

"Entitled 'Conversations about Climate Change', we want people to come up with design ideas that stimulate conversation and encourage thought about the provenance of materials used in design, their origins, and the impacts they might have," said Timber Trade Federation CEO David Hopkins.

"We've intentionally left the brief fairly broad for submissions to foster greater inspiration and creativity," he continued. "Our only requirement is that the conversation pieces encourage discussion around the role of forestry and timber in the climate emergency."

The competition challenges entrants to create "conversation pieces" from sustainably sourced tropical timber

According to Hopkins, responsibly foresting and sourcing timber is an "essential part of the solution" in reducing harmful carbon emissions. However, tropical forests are often taken advantage of, and forest land is cleared for other uses.

The FLEGT initiative helps combat illegal logging, subsequent illegal timber trade and deforestation.

"We have focused on tropical timber as this is the main area that needs attention internationally," said Hopkins. "We are trying to encourage better and more responsible sourcing of product, along with better understanding of the UK & EU's FLEGT Action Plan."

"FLEGT is designed to improve governance and management of forests in the tropics, encouraging investment and trade as a result. We're very much in favour," he continued.

"Research shows that timber harvesting from sustainable forest management sources will actually keep the forests standing, provided that governance and legal reforms are in place," added Hopkins. "We can support this by keeping trade alive and money flowing back to those countries making the positive changes."

The pieces can focus on the role of wood in lessening climate change

Six winners will be announced at the beginning of September 2020, and each will be provided with timber sourced from VPA countries working towards FLEGT-licensing – responsibly sourced through the Timber Trade Federations' members – and a £1,000 maker's bursary.

Where necessary, provisions will be made to match up designers with workshops for designs to be developed and fabricated.

Winners will receive a £1,000 maker's bursary

Winners will be chosen by an expert judging panel, made up of Hopkins as well as Brinkworth CEO Adam Brinkworth and the Building Centre's creative director Vanessa Norwood.

Other names include London-based designer Yinka Ilori, Julia Barfield of Marks Barfield, Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects and Leah Riley Brown of the British Retail Consortium.

The final creations will be exhibited in an online gallery, and a shortlist will be displayed in the exhibition at the Building Centre in London in November – the month when the COP26 was set to take place.

Entry closes on 24 August 2020

The competition is organised with the support of the Department for International Development and in association with the Building Centre in London.

Entries to the Conversations about Climate Change competition close on 24 August 2020.

More information on the competition, including details on how to enter, can be found via the Building Centre website.

The post Last chance to enter Timber Trade Federation's Conversations about Climate Change competition appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/33upoWU

Zaha Hadid Architects shares proposal for Shanghai's "greenest building"

Zaha Hadid Architects has shared its design for the CECEP Shanghai Campus in China, which will utilise renewable energy technologies and recycled materials.

Developed for Chinese renewable energy firm CECEP, the mixed-use campus will be built in north-east Shanghai beside the Huangpu River, taking the form of three interlinked towers with leisure facilities and an urban park at its base.

The design has been led by Zaha Hadid Architects' director Patrik Schumacher and encompasses a number of sustainable features that the studio claims will make it the city's "greenest building".

Campus will set sustainability "benchmarks for the city"

CECEP Shanghai Campus is the winning entry of an international competition held by CECEP, inviting architects to design a home for the company that reflected its ethos and work with renewable energy technologies.

Zaha Hadid Architects' design includes photovoltaic panels and will utilise passive design principles, recycled materials and locally-sourced prefabricated components in its construction to "reduce the project's embodied carbon and also support the local economy".

Though it remains in the design phase, the campus is expected to achieve more than 90 credits in the Three Star Green Building Rating – China's green building evaluation standard – which is the highest score for any building in Shanghai.

"The new CECEP campus in Shanghai has been designed to be the greenest building in the city with sustainability embedded into every aspect of its design and construction," explained Zaha Hadid Architects.

"The 218,000-square-metre campus sets new benchmarks for the city in energy conservation, energy efficiency and sustainability," the studio continued.

"The new project echoes CECEP's commitment to environmental education by creating vital new public spaces for its staff and neighbouring communities to enjoy the natural world."

Passive design and renewable energy play key role

The campus' towers, revealed in the visual published by the studio, are imagined as a series of interlocking rings that are intended to reduce their visual impact.

Their massing was developed by the studio to optimise their orientation and building's facade-to-floor ratios so that passive design principles could be integrated to limit energy consumption.

Thermal mass and external solar shading will be used for heating and cooling in tandem with waste-heat recovery systems. The thermal ice storage will produce ice during the night and then be used for air conditioning the next day – reducing energy demand during peak daytime hours.

Other key sustainable measures in the scheme will include the installation of photovoltaics on rooftops and as cladding throughout the campus, which will be connected to battery storage and an on-site micro-grid.

Rainwater harvesting will be used to irrigate expansive green spaces and landscaping throughout the scheme.

Construction will prioritise local and recycled materials

The materiality of the campus is yet to be disclosed, though Zaha Hadid Architects is committed to using recycled materials and prefabricated components in its construction.

Prefabricated elements will also be used and these will be manufactured locally in an effort to support the local economy and help to reduce the embodied carbon of the scheme.

As part of the project, Zaha Hadid Architects will also overhaul an existing industrial building on site built in the 1930s.

Named the Shanghai Minghua Sugar Plant, the riverside factory will be used as a space to host CEPEC's education and community engagement programmes.

Energy usage optimised by 5G network

CECEP Shanghai Campus will be complete with an intelligent building management system. Reliant on a 5G network, it will automatically monitor and react to. changes in internal conditions such as temperature, natural daylight, or the number of occupants to help reduce energy consumption.

This system will also incorporate biometric security systems that will allow staff and visitors to enter the building without having to touch potentially contaminated communal surfaces.

Zaha Hadid Architects was founded by the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid in 1980. Today it is headed up by Schumacher, who recently contributed to the Virtual Design Festival as part the collaboration with Rosey Chan.

CECEP Shanghai Campus is the latest in a string of projects by Zaha Hadid Architects in China, following the proposal for OPPO Shenzhen headquarters and the completion of the Leeza Soho skyscraper in Beijing that features with world's tallest atrium.

In Chengdu, it is also close to completing a white exhibition centre as part of a wider masterplan for Unicorn Island that is being developed to support the growth of China's technology and research sectors.

Visual is by Negativ.

---

Project credits:

Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects
Client: CECEP
Design: Patrik Schumacher
Project directors: Satoshi Ohashi and Michele Pasca di Magliano
Project designer: Maria Tsironi
Project associate: Yang Jingwen
Project architect: Johannes Elias
Competition team: Nan Jiang, Maria Touloupou, Martina Rosati, Nicolas Tornero, Serra Pakalin, Chantal Matar, Yihui Wu, Ying Xia, Zheng Xu, Carlos Bausa Martinez, Lorena Espaillat Bencosmem, Irfan Bhakrani, Federico Fauli, Stefano Iacopini, Shi Qi Tu, Sara Criscenti, Andres Madrid, Arian Hakimi Nejad, Valentina Cerrone, Stefano Paiocchi, Kate Hunter, Nelli Denisova and Che-Hung Chien

The post Zaha Hadid Architects shares proposal for Shanghai's "greenest building" appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/2Xwd058

Szczepaniak Astridge designs Malaysia headquarters for PPE maker Supermax

Latex glove manufacturer Supermax has commissioned new headquarters in Malaysia designed by London architecture studio Szczepaniak Astridge as demand for their product surges due to coronavirus.

As makers of personal protective equipment (PPE), Supermax has seen a huge rise in orders for its products during the pandemic.

In March 2020 the Malaysian latex glove makers had 88.5 million gloves – Supermax's entire stock – bought by the British National Health Service (NHS). Supermax's share price has risen by 500 per cent this year and made its owner a billionaire.

Two factories are being built to keep up with this increased demand, along with the new headquarters in the town of Klang designed by Szczepaniak Astridge.

The headquarters will abut these new factories, surrounded to the west by fields of oil palms, the leaves and husks of which are used to power the factories' machines.

Szczepaniak Astridge impressed the competition jury with their vision for greenery-filled offices behind a facade that will pay homage to the natural origins of the latex gloves.

The office's gridded facade will feature slim vertical elements that echo the slim trunks of the rubber trees that are tapped for latex, creating an intricate pattern of markings echoed in the office's design.

"We designed the facade carefully to mitigate from direct solar gain and glare whilst allowing air movement through to provide a thermally comfortable external amenity space in this humid climate," studio co-founder Simon Astridge told Dezeen.

"We created voids and atriums within the plan to help carve light into the spaces. We then wrapped green belts around the perimeter and within the internal courtyards that act as shaded amenity break out spaces for the occupants," he added.

These zones filled with tropical plants will sit between the interior offices and the brise-soleil, and office workers will be able to walk out among the planted terraces during breaks. Ceiling fans will circulate the air inside.

"Every office has a view of the green belts and this will be used to improve mental wellness," said Astridge. "We wanted the people to feel like they were in a forest or the rubber plantation itself while working."

The six storey building will contain a restaurant, exhibition spaces and a 1,000-seat ballroom for events along with offices, training rooms and a whole level dedicated to car parking.

Szczepaniak Astridge is working closely with Supermax's in-house Feng Shui expert to ensure the offices comply with this set of design principles.

"The positioning of water and moving water is very important representing harmony and large atriums that invite wind and positive energy," said Astridge.

"Small things to know that become important for Feng Shui include positioning stairs and lifts at an angle and not facing the entrance to prevent wayward spirits entering."

Construction on the Supermax headquarters is due to commence in 2021.

Szczepaniak Astridge was founded by Simon Astridge and Nicholas Szczepaniak. Astridge previously worked under his own name on projects including house extensions featuring white-brick portholes or pink concrete walls.

Also working under his own name, Nicholas Szczepaniak designed a barbershop in Dubai with moody interiors of dark wood and concrete.

The post Szczepaniak Astridge designs Malaysia headquarters for PPE maker Supermax appeared first on Dezeen.

from Dezeen https://ift.tt/2ETeksl