Carlo Ratti Associati explains how plants capture carbon in installation sponsored by oil multinational

Italian architect Carlo Ratti has defended his decision to design an exhibition about climate change sponsored by fossil-fuel giant Eni, saying the Milan design week installation is "not greenwashing".

Held in the Brera Botanical Garden, the Natural Capital installation features large bubbles suspended next to different plant species, detailing how much carbon dioxide they absorb from the atmosphere.

The Natural Capital installation consists of giant spheres that communicate the carbon-capturing power of individual trees in Brera's Botanical Gardens

Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) characterises it as a "walkable data visualisation" that quantifies how individual plants contribute to the fight against climate change. The size of the bubble corresponds to the amount of carbon dioxide each plant captures and stores in its lifecycle.

The bubbles are made of thin recyclable film and their appearance is meant to recall the shape of oxygen atoms, released by plants during photosynthesis.

The project is sponsored by Eni, which is one of the world's seven biggest oil and gas producers and one of 100 companies responsible for 71 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Alone, it is responsible for 0.59 per cent of them.

The installation is envisaged as a walk-through data visualisation

CRA founder Ratti defended Eni's involvement in the project because the fossil-fuel company is "serious about their carbon transition process".

Eni has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the European Union's climate target.

It runs forestry conservation programmes and is transforming some of its oil refineries into bio-refineries, where biomaterials such as plant-based oils, animal fats, used cooking oils and algae extracts are processed for fuels.

"I believe that their initiatives are not greenwashing but part of a true conversation process that is ongoing," Ratti told Dezeen.

"I believe that they are serious in their carbon transition process and if so they could play a key role in the future decarbonisation of society, in particular in Italy and southern Europe where they are market leaders."

Oil and gas companies have been coming under fire recently for aligning themselves to environmental exhibitions.

In May, an exhibition on climate change technology at London's Science Museum was protested by environmental activists due to its sponsorship by the oil company Shell.

Scientists from Extinction Rebellion locked themselves inside the museum, arguing that it should cut all ties with such companies because it provided a smokescreen for their ongoing oil and gas exploration, and because of their track record of obstructing action on climate change.

A freedom of information request subsequently showed that Shell's contract with the Science Museum prohibited the institution from doing or saying anything that would damage the company's reputation.

The installation is part of Milan design week

However, Ratti stressed the differences between Shell and Eni, and in the themes of the exhibitions.

"Eni has a large business unit dedicated to forestry, and it contributes to offsetting its hard-to-abate emissions," said Ratti.

"Therefore, we think they could legitimately support a project that explores the role of forests in the global carbon balance of the planet."

Ratti said that Eni provided the theme for the installation – forests – and the site in the Brera Botanical Garden, but that CRA worked with complete freedom.

The spheres are meant to recall the shape of oxygen atoms, released during photosynthesis

For the data aspect of the project, the Turin-based design and innovation office collaborated with researchers at the University of Milan, who assessed the ability of various plant species in the garden to sequester carbon dioxide.

CRA has partnered with Eni before, at Milan design week 2019, for which they presented the Circular Garden structure made of mushroom mycelium.

Natural Capital continues at the Brera Botanical Garden until 12 September as part of the INTERNI Creative Connections exhibition. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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BIG breaks ground on building to unite Milan towers by Hadid, Libeskind and Isozaki

BIG has begun construction on its CityWave building, which will visually connect the towers of Milan's CityLife development with a low swooping roof that doubles as one of Italy's largest urban photovoltaic power stations.

The Danish architecture studio has designed the fourth building for the site, which contains towers by Zaha Hadid Architects, Daniel Libeskind and Arata Isozaki.

The curved canopy of CityWave is intended to "complete, not compete" with skyscrapers designed by Arata Isozaki (left), Zaha Hadid Architects (centre) and Daniel Libeskind (right)

BIG won a competition to design the fourth building year with a proposal "to complete, not compete" with the existing buildings at the CityLife district, a mixed-use development located a short distance outside of Milan's old city centre.

BIG's CityWave building, formerly called The Portico, instead features two low office buildings joined by a curved roof that will cover a large public space.

Between two low buildings will be a large public space covered by a swooping roof

The architecture studio broke ground on the buildings last week, and at the same time revealed renderings that have been updated to include a full canopy of photovoltaic panels on the roof.

The roof will now extend to more than 200 metres in length, with around 11,000 square metres of panels capable of producing an estimated 1,200-megawatt hours of power a year. BIG believes it may be the largest urban integrated solar canopy in Europe.

BIG's design is purposely low to the ground

Speaking at a lecture during last week's Milan design week, BIG founder Bjarke Ingels reflected that the brief had initially asked for one or two new towers to complete the masterplan, but that his team decided to go in another direction.

"When we went on the first site visit, we took the Metro train, and the Metro [stop] is called Tre Torri ["three towers"]," said Ingels. "So we thought it might create some unnecessary confusion if it's suddenly four or five towers."

CityWave will provide a gateway between the city and the CityLife district

"And also, our contribution was going to be the last and actually the shortest," he continued. "It felt like a competition we could not win. So we thought, instead of competing with the three masters, we could sort of try to complete the ensemble by imagining this new entrance."

The architects designed a 12-storey and 22-storey building connected by a curved canopy.

This both provides a visual connection between the assortment of buildings and creates a gateway to the city beyond, integrating CityLife with surrounding streets and infrastructure.

The buildings will feature internal courtyards

"We tried to sort of organise the mass as low as possible, based on the European typology of a perimeter block rather than a tower," said Ingels.

"Rather than the architecture of the individual buildings, the space between them actually becomes this very generous new public space that is shaded from the sun and shielded from the rain."

He said that "just like a classic portico", the outdoor space would have columns. However, because they act as tension rods that hold down the canopy rather than keep it up, they will be very thin.

The canopy will be made of a sheet of dowel-laminated veneer lumber – a type of mass timber made from softwood lumber panels joined together with hardwood dowels.

As well as providing solar power, the structure will enable rainwater collection.

Inside, the floors will be connected by cascading terraces

Within the buildings, there will be 63,000 square metres of leasable office and retail space.

The West building will include a conference centre at ground level with a near-300-seat auditorium as well as three secondary halls, and a restaurant and sky bar at the top.

CityWave will also include a sky bar and restaurant with views over the city

Inside, a giant sculptural staircase will visually connect the first five floors, while a cascading series of terraces under the open roof connects the subsequent floors.

"All of the levels are actually connected to each other underneath the continuous diagonal of the roof," said Ingels.

"So that even if you are working in a company that is split over five or six levels, you can actually visually and physically connect to your colleagues in this sort of cascading space."

The roof will be covered in photovoltaics

The East building will have a similar arrangement of space, but incorporating an atrium and winter garden across the ground and first floors.

Both buildings will feature internal courtyards that increase access to natural light and air.

The canopy will be made of dowel-laminated timber and covered in photovoltaic panels

All in all, passive design strategies, including triple glazing, are expected to bring the energy requirements for CityWave 45 per cent below the standard office block, and the building will be powered exclusively by renewable sources.

CityWave has already obtained LEED pre-certification at Platinum level and will aim for Gold WELL certification for its health and wellbeing standard and Platinum WiredScore certification for having efficient, well-integrated digital technologies.

Thin columns will serve as tension rods to hold down the roof

BIG hopes to complete work on CityWave in 2025.

Other recent works by the practice include the CopenHill "ski plant" in Copenhagen and the spiralling double-helix Marsk Tower in southwestern Denmark.

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The Lost Graduation Show presents student projects from around the world at Supersalone

For the first time ever, the Salone del Mobile furniture fair this year hosted an entire showcase dedicated to graduate design including students from 48 different schools and 22 different countries.

More than 170 projects by recent graduates were on display at The Lost Graduation Show, which formed part of the trade show's special "Supersalone" edition during Milan design week.

The Lost Graduation Show (above) showcased projects including the Helix syringe (top image by Studio Piercarlo Quecchia)

As many students who graduated in the past year were unable to showcase their work at a physical degree show due to the coronavirus pandemic, the exhibition was conceived as a way to make up for this loss.

Set up in the middle of one of the fair halls, amongst the stands showcasing consumer goods, it included projects ranging from hempcrete stools to an experimental sports car and a sanitary pad washing device for refugees.

Many of the projects focused on important topics such as climate change, future technologies and sustainable development, curator Anniina Koivu told Dezeen.

A sanitary pad washing device for refugees is among projects on show

"There were a lot of utopian ideas flying about, which they didn't shy away from testing," said Koivu, who was invited to create The Lost Graduation show by Supersalone curator Stefano Boeri.

"There were a lot of projects related to the human body and wellbeing, and a lot of medical awareness as well, which I hadn't expected."

Pierre Murot's project investigated different methods of clay extrusion

Another key concern for students was rethinking production methods, which Koivu attributes to the unique circumstances under which the projects were created.

"One issue was having access to [production] facilities because of the pandemic and the difficulty for graduates to get into the industry to have access to industrial production," she explained.

This allowed students to experiment with more local, small-scale production that is often better for the planet.

The Robust Nest incubator was designed for hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. Image is by Studio Piercarlo Quecchia

The show marked the first time that students were able to showcase their work at Salone, the world's largest and most important furniture fair.

Projects were chosen based on an open call in June, which drew responses from 300 schools in 59 countries.

Read:

Fabien Roy creates power cut-resilient incubator to protect babies in sub-Saharan Africa from hypothermia

For Koivu, it was important that the final selection should be as international as possible.

"As Salone has a global reach, it would be a pity to exclude people," she said. "I'm also not so sure that I believe in the idea of, for example, Italian design or Dutch design anymore."

"I don't think it's possible to distinguish what nationality lies behind the projects because the topics the graduates are working on are so universal," she added.

Simon Gehring's organic Regrowth table was one of the winning projects

An international jury selected five students to be the overall winners of The Lost Graduation Show.

Simon Gehring from Germany's State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart won for his Regrowth table, which combines computational design and leftover materials from the forestry industry.

Also awarded was Robust Nest, an incubator for hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa by Fabien Roy from Swiss design school ÉCAL, and the Fil Rouge project by Pierre Murot from ENSCI in Paris, which investigates the process of clay extrusion.

Amna Yandarbin printed her family history on silk scarves

Other projects to take home a trophy include Helix, a disposable monomaterial syringe and needle designed by Ithzel Ceròn and Daniel Lopez from Mexico's Tecnológico de Monterrey, as well as Amna Yandarbin's Yolkkh silk scarves, which are printed with drawings that illustrate her family history.

As well as being on display at the centre of Supersalone, The Lost Graduation show was also published on an Instagram account of the same name.

Read:

Anima Ona repurposes scrap gravestone for sculptural side tables

The Lost Graduation Show is one of only a handful of degree shows to take place physically this year while the rest were held on digital platforms such as Dezeen's school shows.

At Milan design week, visitors could also enjoy student projects in real life at the Missed Your Call showcase by Design Academy Eindhoven graduates and at the Alcova exhibition, which included a reimagined milk bar from Stanley Kubrick's film A Clockwork Orange.

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The Lost Graduation Show was on display at Salone del Mobile from 5 to 10 September. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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ODA designs Manhattan tower that increases size as it ascends

American office ODA has released renderings of a residential building with cantilevered upper storeys, scheduled to be built on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Called Era, the 20-storey apartment building will have 57 units, each with two to five bedrooms, and cover 136,639 square feet (126,94 square metres).

Era is set to be built on Manhattan's Upper West Side

The 250-feet-tall (76 metre-tall) project is estimated to be completed by next autumn at 2461 Broadway, according to New York-based firm ODA.

Central to Era's design is a footprint that will increase from small to large as the building's upper storeys cantilever outwards at each higher level.

The building will feature large windows

"The building's cantilevered design will allow for more space as the building rises, which will create much more communal rooftop space," said ODA.

To make use of this large surface area, Era will feature a rooftop swimming pool with views of the Hudson River.

Other communal areas built for the building's residents will include a fitness centre and yoga studio, as well as a library, a lounge and a children's playroom.

Era will be clad in limestone surrounding the large windows that cover the facades, while balconies will be clustered together on various corners of the building that jut out.

A rooftop pool will overlook Manhattan and the Hudson River

"Deep windows with elegant and timeless mullions will blend seamlessly into the surroundings, but upon closer review, the windows will be much larger than average for the area, inviting more natural light into the space and opening the building up to surrounding views," explained ODA.

According to the firm, the interiors will aim to echo the shapes and angles found across the exterior, creating cohesion across the project.

"The building marks a new era on the Upper West Side," said ODA, explaining the tower's name.

Various communal spaces will be included inside

Era is one of several New York buildings designed in a blocky formation by ODA, which was founded in 2007.

The firm recently completed a concrete residential building in Brooklyn formed from irregularly stacked boxes, while another housing complex on Manhattan's Lower East Side includes a top-floor footprint that is twice the size of the building's ground-level.

The renderings are courtesy of ODA.

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"The high-rise virus continues to spread" says commenter

In this week's comments update, readers are debating the surge of skyscrapers being built despite the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center 20 years ago and discussing other top stories.

Following the attack on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001, which caused the pair of 110-storey skyscrapers in lower Manhattan to collapse, many people questioned the future of tall buildings.

However, there has been a surge in skyscraper buildings in the past 20 years.

"We thought [9/11] would put an end to the ambitions to build tall for a long time," said James von Klemperer, president of Kohn Pedersen Fox, which is responsible for designing four of the world's 10 tallest skyscrapers.

"The higher you go the less connected you are"

Commenters are torn. "I am not sure that replacing the two towers with a new, even bigger one, is a good idea," said Englebert.

JZ wasn't keen on tall buildings being built either: "I'm almost insulted by the reminder that the high-rise virus continues to spread. Waste of energy, waste of resources, almost impossible to protect indefinitely. A physical reflection of late-capitalist, winner-takes-all approach to economics. And all priapic phalluses to boot."

"I have never liked or wanted to live above anything more than four-six stories," continued Kate Wright. "The higher you go it seems there is less connection to neighbours and the neighbourhood. I also dislike the space left at ground level – again very disconnected."

Jacopo disagreed: "Caring for your neighbours comes with age and personality, not with the number floor you live on. I care more about my neighbors now that I live on the 30th floor of my building."

What do you think of the increase in skyscrapers post 9/11? Join the discussion ›

Dorte Mandrup completes climate research centre in Greenland

Commenter calls climate research centre a "masterpiece"

Readers are wowed by images of the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, a climate research and visitor centre on Greenland's rugged coastal landscape that was designed by Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter.

"I've been looking forward to this for a few years!" said Anarch. "Very well done ladies and gentlemen, congratulations!"

Archi agreed: "Have been waiting on this ever since the MIR renderings came out. Masterpiece that just fits. Detailing is incredible as well."

"This is extremely impressive," concluded JZ. "The access to the roof is dubious, but certainly exciting. No exceptions taken! Time for tourism to skyrocket in Greenland. Hope all those boots don't destroy the fragile ecosystem!"

Are you impressed by the climate research centre? Join the discussion ›

Norman Foster criticises architects' "hypocritical moral stance" on airports

Reader accuses Norman Foster of "remarkable doublespeak"

Norman Foster has sparked debate by criticising architects that have walked away from designing airports due to concerns about the environmental impact of air travel.

Gabriel Martin agreed: "Absolutely on point. Ridiculous that people want to use their political beliefs to censor and shame real artists."

"Remarkable doublespeak," said Ralph Kent, on the other hand. "How is it that a tax-exile whose practice works for regimes involved in state-sponsored assassinations feels he can lecture the rest of us on morals and ethics?"

"Norm's Saudi airport looks like an entirely necessary use of form, materials, and structure," replied David Jones. "I bet its carbon footprint is tiny. It will only be used by a small number of extremely wealthy people anyway, so its contribution to emissions will be next to nothing."

Do you agree with Foster? Join the discussion ›

Laura Owens covers Vincent Van Gogh exhibition in colourful handmade painted wallpaper

Commenter says Vincent Van Gogh exhibition is "excruciatingly beautiful"

Readers are divided over an exhibition of Vincent Van Gogh's works, which features walls that are covered in colourful handmade wallpaper designed by American artist Laura Owens.

"This is excruciatingly beautiful and refreshingly appropriate," praised JB.

Daniel Maslin was also pleased: "There is no lack of Van Gogh exhibitions around the world, so why not try something different? If nothing, it might attract a different crowd of people."

Bobby Dazzler was less enthusiastic, calling it: "The granny aesthetic."

What do you think of the exhibition? Join the discussion ›

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