VATRAA adds brick-clad gabled extension to Victorian house in Camden

Architecture office VATRAA has reused bricks salvaged from the demolition of an existing sidewall to construct this extension to a Victorian house in north London.

The owners of the house in the borough of Camden had lived in the property for 15 years before asking VATRAA to design a rear extension housing a new kitchen and dining area.

VATRAA has added a brick extension to a Victorian house in north London

The project's main objective was to introduce a functional and contemporary addition that respects the original features of the Victorian house.

An existing sidewall extension was demolished to create space for the 16-square-metre wraparound structure, which uses the salvaged bricks to create a vertical pattern on the new facade.

The bricks were salvaged from the demolition of an existing sidewall extension

"We required the contractor to undertake the demolition with care in order to reclaim all bricks from the side and rear walls, which were then used to build the extension," architect Bogdan Rusu told Dezeen.

The matching bricks help the new addition to complement the existing facade, while the extension's pitched roof references a section of the original building's roofline.

It has a large opening containing simple sliding doors

The new volume is angled to face the most attractive portion of the garden and to allow for a side door providing everyday access to outside.

A large opening containing simple sliding doors maximises natural light and views of the north-facing garden.

The clients asked for an "all-white" interior

The project brief called for an "all-white" interior with accents of colour, so VATRAA incorporated a circular blue window at the centre of the gabled facade.

"The round window with its blue stained glass is the only colour insertion," Rusu pointed out. "By matching the colour of the other stained glass windows found in the original building, it brings energy into the space while reconnecting the new and the old."

Read:

VATRAA adds pink plaster walls in south London council house renovation

The interior features a pared-back palette, combining whitewashed brick with other light materials that contribute to the bright and spacious feel.

"While respecting the white palette, we played with different textures and patterns," Rusu added, "including hexagonal tiles, rectangular bricks and cellular beams that bring character and react in the presence of natural light."

One wall is lined with whitewashed brick

The steel cellular beams are used to help separate the new extension from the original building, both structurally and visually.

The circular holes in the beams also allow light to penetrate and lend the space a distinct identity.

Steel cellular beams are exposed inside

VATRAA was founded in 2018 by Anamaria Pircu and Bogdan Rusu. The studio focuses on using a project's constraints as a catalyst for creative problem-solving, resulting in characterful buildings that are tailored to their users' requirements.

Longlisted for emerging architecture studio of the year at the Dezeen Awards 2021, VATRAA's previous projects include an award-winning London council house renovation featuring pink-toned plaster walls and an oversized window.

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Dezeen Courses launches with details of over 50 architecture and design courses

Dezeen Courses launches today, with listings for architecture and design courses in eight countries at schools including the Royal College of Art, Parsons School of Design and Domus Academy.

This new service presents details of undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses, as well as short courses and remote learning programmes.

Dezeen Courses provides essential resource

Dezeen Courses aims to become the world’s leading resource for people who want to study architecture and design, with course listings from a wide variety of institutions published daily.

It compliments Dezeen School Shows, our highly successful graduate showcase that has so far attracted over 700,000 page views.

The new service provides an essential resource for anyone wanting to study architecture, interior design, industrial design or any design-related discipline.

Dezeen Courses summarises brief details of each course and features navigation that allows visitors to easily find courses by school, location, qualification level and subject, while a highlights carousel at the top of the page showcases featured courses.

Royal College of Art and Parsons School of Design list courses

For today's launch, Parsons School of Design in New York City has listed a host of postgraduate master's courses including Architecture, Industrial Design and Lighting Design.

Royal College of Art in London has listed short courses such as Open Innovation Masterclass, Creative Leadership and Service Design Masterclass.

Other schools featured include Queen's University Belfast, Domus Academy, the University of Sydney and more.

Go to www.dezeen.com/courses to see all the courses.

Dezeen Courses is an affordable new service for schools

Dezeen Courses offers an affordable new way for schools to put their courses in front of Dezeen's three million monthly readers.

Like all content on Dezeen, the heart of Dezeen Courses is a constantly updated feed of the latest architecture and design courses.

Dezeen Courses posts also benefit from Dezeen's incredible SEO, which means that courses are more likely to be found by search engines. Links from Dezeen Courses to schools' websites will be more valuable than from any other site.

Posts remain on Dezeen for up to one year

Each Dezeen Courses post features 100 to 200 words about the course with details about the application deadline, course start date and duration. It also includes a link to the course on the school's website for prospective students to find out more information and apply.

In addition, posts feature an image of an exemplary student project to draw prospective students in and give them an idea of the type of projects they can expect to be given on the course. Listings can also include the school's logo.

Each post will remain live until applications close, up to a maximum of one calendar year.

For an additional cost, schools can gain increased exposure for their courses through enhanced and premium listings, which can be further amplified via other Dezeen services including display banners, social media and editorial promotions.

Book your Dezeen Courses post now!

Contact us at courses@dezeen.com to book your Dezeen Courses post and find out pricing details.

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EcoLogicStudio uses algae to purify air inside enclosed playground for children

EcoLogicStudio has designed AirBubble, a children's play pavilion that uses algae in solar-powered bioreactors to remove carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air.

The London-based studio claims the 52 bioreactors mounted around the structure's perimeter can purify the entire volume of air inside the pavilion each day to keep pollution levels within World Health Organization guidelines.

AirBubble is a playground that contains a microclimate of algae-purified air

AirBubble is located outside the Copernicus Science Centre (Centrum Nauki Kopernik) in Warsaw, Poland, a site EcoLogicStudio chose partially because the city is one of the most polluted in Europe.

Algae in the bioreactors uses photosynthesis to split carbon dioxide into carbon, which it needs to grow, and oxygen, which it releases into the cylindrical interior. The algae also absorbs atmospheric pollutants.

The timber structure contains a ring of algae-filled bioreactors

The  52 glass bioreactors contain a total of 468 litres of living green chlorella sp. algae cultures. This can filter 200 litres of polluted air per minute, the designers claim, meaning the algae can purify all the air inside the 283-cubic-metre structure in a 24-hour period.

The algae needs to be harvested each week while the power needed to run the bioreactors is "inexhaustible and renewable", according to EcoLogicStudio.

The algae inside the bioreactors eats carbon dioxide and pollutants and creates oxygen through photosynthesis

"This playground needs two sources of power: solar energy and kids' instinctive drive to explore and to play," said EcoLogicStudio co-founder Claudia Pasquer.

The solar energy drives the photosynthesis by which the algae purifies the air, while the children's play activates machinery that moves liquid through the bioreactors.

The play equipment within AirBubble consists of ropes, bouncy spheres and pedal pumps. When there are no children in the space, an air pump in the timber deck guarantees the bioreactors get the required aeration.

AirBubble contains ropes, bouncy spheres and foot pumps for play

"We wanted to create a new kind of playground that was at the same time fun, safe and educational for all kids," Pasquer told Dezeen. "We wanted to channel the power of play towards making meaningful social and ecological changes to our cities."

"The link between urban air quality, respiratory health and public wellbeing has become more and more obvious during Covid and it is now a critical factor, especially for children in the post-pandemic world."

The studio says the setting is also suitable for an outdoor classroom, as the bubbling of the bioreactors creates a calming white noise that masks the sounds of the city beyond.

AirBubble integrates and updates an earlier project by the studio called PhotoSynthetica, which covered a Dublin building with an algae "curtain".

Children generate power for the bioreactors as they play

A similar EFTE membrane wraps around AirBubble, protecting the equipment inside and maintaining the microclimate.

Other aspects of the architectural morphology also enhance the workings of the bioreactors. The circular shape allows the reactors to collect light in all directions throughout the day, while the inverted conical roof membrane stimulates the recirculation of air.

It creates a natural stack effect that promotes the expulsion of heat and moisture through openings at the top.

Even with new air entering the space through these openings and through the curtained doorways, the system still keeps the pollution levels below the WHO limit.

The space can also be used as an outdoor classroom

Timber was chosen to lower the environmental impact of construction. The cross-laminated timber (CLT) comes from Estonian managed forests, and according to EcoLogicStudio, when combined with the effects of the algae, it means AirBubble will be carbon-negative during its life cycle.

Based on data collected by EcoLogicStudio, AirBubble has managed to reduce the level of air pollutants inside the structure so that it is within WHO safe limits.

Compared to outside the structure, there is a reduction in the peak level of fine particulate PM2.5, one of the core air pollutants, of between 78.6 and 85.7 per cent each week.

The structure's inverted conical roof membrane helps circulate air

This is all achieved through the algae cultures, which require harvesting once a week to reduce their concentration and to create room for new growth. Paasquer describes the system as "self-sufficient and very resilient".

"The great thing about nature-based solutions is that what for us is polluting for algae is food," she said. "So at the end of the cycle we are not left with a dirty filter to send to landfill such as in the case of typical mechanical filtering technologies."

"The pollutants are transformed into usable biomass, raw material for several bioproducts, such as biofibers, bioplastics, food supplements and natural cosmetics."

AirBubble is located in a public green space in Warsaw

Alongside the installation, the Copernicus Science Centre is hosting an exhibition explaining how AirBubble works, with interactive installations to educate and inspire children.

"There is untapped value in bringing the bio-intelligence of natural systems into cities, turning buildings into living machines that produce energy, store CO2 and clean the air," said EcoLogicStudio co-founder Marco Poletto.

"To achieve this, we need to think about the living world as a part of the current digital revolution: nature becomes part of a new bio-smart infrastructure."

EcoLogicStudio has also recently produced BioBombola, a grow-your-own edible algae kit for kids.

Photography by Maja_Wirkus.

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Lugano seating range by Rock Galpin for Morgan

Dezeen Showroom: British furniture brand Morgan has launched Lugano, a seating collection with cocooning backrests, as part of this year's London Design Festival.

Created by Rock Galpin, the Lugano range comprises a signature lounge chair as well as a smaller lounge chair and a dining chair, which the designer says help to "nurture their sitter with warmth and support."

The Lugano collection includes a large signature lounge chair and a smaller lounge chair with plush cushioning

The seating is composed of an upholstered backrest that embraces the user and a plush cushion seat supported by a simple timber frame.

The range was designed with what Galpin describes as a "make once, make well" approach to adhere to Morgan's ongoing commitment to sustainable design.

The Lugano dining chair features a curved backrest supported by an elegant timber frame

Each chair consists of three components – the back and armrests, the seat pad and the frame – all of which can be replaced or updated over the chair's lifetime to reduce its environmental footprint.

Lugano can be upholstered in a wide array of fabrics and leathers while the solid timber frame is available in certified beech, walnut, ash or oak as well as 11 different polish colours.

Product: Lugano seating
Designer: Rock Galpin
Brand: Morgan
Contact: info@morganfurniture.co.uk

About Dezeen Showroom: Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen's huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Watch our live talk with Zaha Hadid Architects, ETH Zurich and Holcim on their 3D-printed concrete bridge Striatus

Dezeen has teamed up with Holcim to host a live talk about Striatus, a 3D-printed concrete footbridge that the building material company built in Venice with Zaha Hadid Architects and Block Research Group at ETH Zurich. Watch live from 3:00pm London time.

Moderated by Dezeen's chief content officer Benedict Hobson, the talk will explain how the Striatus bridge was conceived, designed and constructed, and explore the implications that the project has for the future of construction.

Striatus is a 16-metre-long bridge built by the Block Research Group at Swiss university ETH Zurich and Zaha Hadid Architects, in collaboration with concrete 3D-printing specialists incremental3D. The project was made possible by Holcim with its custom-made proprietary concrete ink.

The unreinforced arched bridge comprises 53 hollow blocks, each printed from 500 layers of concrete, which are held in place solely through compression.

Philippe Block, founder of the Block Research Group at ETH Zurich, will appear on the panel alongside Shajay Bhooshan, senior associate at Zaha Hadid Architects and founder of ZHA CODE, the firm's computational design research group. Representing Holcim on the panel is Nollaig Forrest, the company's head of communications and public affairs.

Philippe Block is founder of the Block Research Group at ETH Zürich

Block is a professor at the Institute of Technology in Architecture at ETH Zurich, where he leads the Block Research Group with Dr Tom Van Mele. He is also director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research in Digital Fabrication.

He studied architecture and structural engineering at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium and then at MIT in the US, where he earned his PhD in 2009.

Block Research Group is known for innovative experiments in engineering, including self-supporting structures made of mushroom mycelium and an armadillo-like stone canopy that supports itself without glue.

Shajay Bhooshan is founder of ZHA CODE

Bhooshan is a senior associate at Zaha Hadid Architects and founder of the Computation and Design group at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA CODE).

Alongside his role at Zaha Hadid Architects, Bhooshan is also a PhD candidate at the Institute of Technology in Architecture, ETH Zurich, where he works at Block Research Group as a research assistant.

Additionally, he works as a studio master at the Design Research Laboratory master's degree program at London's Architectural Association.

Previously, he worked at London-based stadium architecture firm Populous, and completed his master's degree at the Architectural Association in 2006.

Nollaig Forrest is head of communications and public affairs at Holcim

Forrest is head of communications and public affairs at Holcim. Prior to this, Forrest acted as vice president of corporate communications at Firmenich, a producer of fragrance and flavour ingredients.

She has also held senior communications roles at Dow, DuPont and the World Economic Forum, and is a member of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium Advisory Council.

To find out more about Holcim, visit the company's website or follow it on Instagram.

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