Thomas Heatherwick's studio has unveiled its prototype of Airo, an electric car that it claims will clean the air as it drives, designed for Chinese car brand IM Motors.
Heatherwick Studio has unveiled a prototype of Airo
Airo will be fitted with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtering system that can "vacuum up pollutants from other cars", according to the architect.
At the event, Heatherwick said that this is expected to "collect a tennis ball worth of particulate matter per year" reported the BBC.
It was on display at Goodwood Festival of Speed
The Airo prototype has a highly textured exterior lined with a series of ridges. It is also designed with autonomous and driver-controlled modes.
It is set to go into production in 2023 for IM Motors – a car brand established by Chinese car company SAIC Motor with online retailer Alibaba Group and the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Group.
"Instead, using the latest HEPA-filter technology, it goes further by also vacuuming up pollutants from other cars as it drives along."
Its interiors are designed as a "multi-functional room"
In addition to its polluting-cleaning functions, Airo will also serve as a "multi-functional room" in times when it is not being driven.
It features rotating seats, a four-leaf table and a screen that can be unfolded to watch films or play video games.
The interior can also be transformed into a bedroom by reclining its contoured seats and turning the glass roof opaque for privacy. According to Heatherwick, this is an effort to help solve the "global space shortage".
"Designed to simultaneously address the global space shortage, Airo is also a multi-functional room with extra space for dining, working, gaming or even sleeping," he said.
Napier Clarke Architects has renovated a 1970s house in Buckinghamshire, England, adding a glazed entrance link and converting the former garage into a kitchen clad in charred timber.
The Samarkand house occupies a tree-lined 0.4-acre site in Little Kingshill on the outskirts of the village of Great Missenden.
Napier Clarke Architects has renovated a 1970s house in Buckinghamshire
The brick-clad, four-bedroom property had previously been extended with a gabled addition housing the garage. As it is located within a green belt area, any further extensions to the building were prevented.
Napier Clarke Architects worked with the clients to determine whether it was best to demolish the house and rebuild on the existing footprint, or to upgrade the existing building.
The former garage was converted into a timber-clad kitchen
"The existing 1970s house was a pretty uninspiring, poorly extended building that had not been updated for about 30 years," said the studio.
"For this project we really believed that we could work with the original house, creating a highly sustainable project through the virtue of retaining the existing."
The entrance is contained in a new glazed link
The clients agreed to retain and modernise the 1970s building as it offered the most cost-effective solution, as well as being more sustainable than demolition and rebuilding.
To achieve the contemporary living spaces required, the Napier Clarke Architects proposed arranging the interior in a more efficient way and converting the garage to make it part of the house.
Charred timber replaces light-grey plastic cladding on the old garage
Due to the property's location in the Chiltern Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, updates needed to conserve, contextualise and enhance the existing building.
The original London-brick building was retained and new windows were added to give it a more contemporary feel. Light-grey plastic cladding applied to the garage extension was removed and the entire structure was wrapped in charred timber.
A double-height void contains the staircase
The main intervention is the removal of a section of the roof and walls between the gabled extension and the existing brick structure. This results in two distinct forms joined by a new glazed element.
"We wanted to create a house with more clarity of form, so we relocated the entrance between the brick and gable building, creating a glass link entrance," the architects added.
The entrance in the new glasswalway leads into a hall where a repositioned staircase ascends through a double-height void connecting the two floors.
A former garage now contains a utility area to the left of the entrance, along with a kitchen positioned towards the rear of the house.
The kitchen is linked to the lounge
The kitchen connects with a lounge area, study and a formal living room arranged linearly so they all open onto the back garden and pool terrace.
Upstairs, the floorplan was also reconfigured to provide three identical double bedrooms with a shared bathroom and shower room, along with a main bedroom with its own en-suite shower room and dressing area.
A minimal interior palette runs throughout
The refurbished interior features a minimal interior palette, with white walls and ceilings contrasted by black fitted cabinetry, doors and metalwork that complements the timber-clad gable building.
Buckinghamshire-based Napier Clarke Architects was established in 2015 by Amy Napier and Steven Clarke.
Swimming governing body FINA is reviewing its decision to ban a swimming cap favoured by black athletes from the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after the move triggered a backlash.
The Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA) is assessing whether athletes competing at the games, which begin on 23 July, will be able to wear the Soul Cap.
A statement released by the governing body said it was "committed to ensuring that all aquatics athletes have access to appropriate swimwear."
The larger swimming caps, which are designed for people with "long and voluminous hair", were banned from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as they don't meet FINA's requirements.
Above: Soul Caps are banned from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Top image: the caps are designed to cover and protect curly, thick hair
"Soul Cap, which is designed to accommodate for diverse hair types in swimming, has been denied by FINA from their approval process to become certified to wear for competition swimming," Soul Cap explained on Instagram.
However, the ban provoked a public backlash, with claims that it would discourage black people from taking up swimming.
As a result, the governing body is now reviewing its decision to better "understand the importance of inclusivity and representation". The review will also look at whether the larger swimming caps provide wearers with an unfair advantage.
FINA will review whether the larger sized caps provide an unfair advantage
"FINA is committed to ensuring that all aquatics athletes have access to appropriate swimwear for competition where this swimwear does not confer a competitive advantage," said FINA.
"FINA acknowledges the comments and reactions concerning the use of Soul Cap," the body said. "FINA appreciates the efforts of Soul Cap and other suppliers to ensure everyone has the chance to enjoy the water."
The statement also details that FINA will contact the manufacturer of Soul Cap about the future use of the swimming caps in competitions.
Currently, there are no restrictions on the larger swimming caps being used in recreational swimming or in domestic competitions in the UK.
Though Soul Cap fears the current decision "could discourage many younger athletes from pursuing the sport", it is hopeful that the discussion will lead to a more inclusive sporting arena.
"We feel it has opened up a wider conversation all across the world surrounding diversity in swimming, so it's great to be a part of that cultural shift happening within the sport," said Michael Chapman, co-founder of Soul Cap.
"From sizing and material to body types and hair types, it’s rare something will work for everyone," he told Dezeen. "If a sportswear brand wants to step away from the one-size-fits-all approach and cater to a wide audience, they need to be open to variety. It's simply recognising there are different types of needs."
Soul Cap is hopeful that the review will lead to a shift in Olympic sports
The British black-owned swimwear brand creates a range of products "for those with dreadlocks, weaves, hair extensions, braids, thick and curly hair". These include large-sized swimming caps that are designed to keep "voluminous" hair protected from water and chlorine.
"The swim caps are 100 per cent silicone, meaning less snag on the hair and a more comfortable fit than latex," Chapman explained. "We felt there wasn't a premium product solution out there that catered to the needs of swimmers with long and thick hair
"We wanted the design and material to feel premium, so we worked hard to create a swim cap that swimmers would feel good in," he continued.
Other items designed to be more racially inclusive include bandages by Band-Aid that come in multiple shades and Reframd's sunglasses which are tailored to fit black noses.
Concerns over carbon emissions caused by the construction process are fuelling a surge of interest in biobased materials according to Arup research and innovation leader Jan Wurm.
Demand for biomaterials such as mycelium, hemp, algae, bamboo and cork is growing, Wurm said, as architects search for materials that store atmospheric carbon rather than emitting it.
"It's a really exciting space," Wurm told Dezeen. There are a lot of startups and a lot of grants. There's a lot of things happening."
Demand is being fuelled by the realisation that around half of the total carbon emitted by a building is caused before it even opens.
"The big driver is the focus on whole-life carbon," Wurm said. "The focus has shifted from making buildings energy-efficient to looking at carbon."
Top image: Jan Wurm. Above: mycelium wall panels for Mogu
The built environment is responsible for an estimated 40 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions but construction's role has been overlooked until recently, Wurm said.
"For a long time, the construction industry was not a sector being addressed when we talked about climate change," he said, pointing out that November's COP26 climate conference will have a dedicated built-environment day for the first time.
The Hy-Fi project at MoMa is made from mycelium bricks
More recently, he has collaborated with Italian biodesign firm Mogu to create a range of acoustic wall panels made of mycelium, which is the underground part of fungus. It feeds on waste biomass such as sawdust, absorbing carbon as it grows. It is increasingly being used for packaging, insulation and products.
Mogu produces a variety of biobased materials including mycelium acoustic panels and flooring products from bioresins and agricultural waste. The new system developed with Arup, called Foresta, was unveiled this week.
Practice Architecture worked with hemp farmer Steve Barron to build Flat House, a home in Cambridgeshire, England, that features insulation and external cladding made of the cannabis variety.
A close-up of the mycelium panels
Matthew Barnett Howland, Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton used cork blocks to build Cork House in Berkshire, England, which was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize.
Wurm said these experimental materials are now going mainstream and architects consider using them on major projects.
"Focus is shifting to embodied carbon," Wurm said. "Roughly over the whole life of a building, carbon emissions are 50 per cent embodied and 50 per cent operational."
"The big driver is the focus on whole-life carbon," Wurm said. "The focus has shifted from making buildings energy-efficient to looking at carbon."
Flat House has insulation made from hemp
The drive to create net-zero buildings that create no emissions over their entire lifecycle means that architects need to reduce embodied carbon, which includes all emissions generated by the manufacture of materials as well as the construction process itself.
Embodied carbon represents roughly half the carbon footprint of a building while operational carbon, which are emissions caused by the building in use, makes up the other half.
"If we want to bring emissions down to net-zero by 2050, that's where the big change has to happen," Wurm added, referring to the timeline of the 2015 Paris Agreement. This calls for all carbon emissions to end by 2050 to help meet the goal of keeping global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels.
Eliminating operational carbon is relatively straightforward, Wurm said. "There are solutions for energy. There are solutions for mobility. But how do we get the carbon footprint down for construction? That's a real issue to be addressed and that's why these biomass materials are really going up in demand."
Cork House in Berkshire was constructed from cork blocks
It's much harder to tackle embodied carbon. Bringing these emissions down to zero is "impossible," according to Hélène Chartier, head of zero-carbon development at international network C40 Cities.
"It's totally impossible," she told Dezeen in an interview. "So the question is really to push them to reduce embodied carbon to the maximum and then to offset the last part."
The more embodied emissions are reduced, the less leftover carbon there is that needs to be offset by other means such as making buildings carbon-negative during their use.
"The 50 per cent embodied carbon is released within a couple of years when the project's materials are fabricated and installed," Wurm said. "So there's a big release of carbon in a very short amount of time."
"And we don't basically then have enough time to make the savings through efficient operation of the building. It doesn't really help us to bring down the [lifetime] carbon footprint."
Wurm's design for Mogu is made from mycelium
Biomaterials that sequester carbon via photosynthesis offer an obvious way of reducing the upfront carbon footprint of a building. Timber is the most popular biobased material but "timber takes 100 years to grow," Wurm said.
"So all the carbon we're storing has been built up over 100 years," when using timber, Wurm explained. "And we take down trees, which absorb quite a lot of carbon. Of course, we replant trees."
"But I think it's interesting to take the pressure away from forests and see what other materials we can use to capture carbon in a shorter time."
Recent timber shortages caused by increased demand and pandemic-related interruptions to supply chains have forced architects to seek natural alternatives, while new regulations in countries including France and the Netherlands is forcing them to turn to biomaterials.
"This is why biomass materials are so interesting," said Wurm. "And especially fast-growing plants, because they absorb carbon quickly."
Carbon revolution
This article is part of Dezeen's carbon revolution series, which explores how this miracle material could be removed from the atmosphere and put to use on earth. Read all the content at: www.dezeen.com/carbon.
Dezeen has teamed up with British masonry specialist Marshalls to live stream an interview with the company's sustainability director Chris Harrop. Watch here from 2:00pm London time.
Established in 1890, Marshalls provides stone and concrete products for construction and home improvement.
The company, which was named by the Financial Times as one of this year's Europe's Climate Leaders, also supplies urban landscaping materials for prestigious landmarks such as Trafalgar Square in London.
Chris Harrop is Sustainability Director at Marshalls
Dezeen's acting US Editor India Block will interview Harrop about Marshalls' approach to sustainability, focussing on the company's concrete bricks, which Harrop claims are less carbon-intensive than traditional clay bricks.
"Due to the way we manufacture our products, they have significantly less embodied carbon than clay bricks – almost 50% less over their whole lifecycle," said Harrop.
Dezeen's acting US Editor India Block
Alongside his role at Marshalls, Harrop is also a non-executive director of Fair Tax Mark, a non-profit that gives certification to companies paying the correct amount of corporation tax.
Prior to working at Marshalls, Harrop was chairman of United Nations Global Compact Network UK, which helps businesses and non-businesses to engage in areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
From January 2011, Harrop was a non-executive director of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which seeks to promote workers' rights globally.
Harrop was appointed Officer of the British Empire by The Queen in the 2019 New Year Honours List for his services to the prevention of modern slavery and exploitation.
