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Wednesday 12 January 2022

Heatherwick Studio updates vision for 1700 Alberni towers in Vancouver

British designer Thomas Heatherwick's studio has updated its design for a pair of residential skyscrapers in Vancouver, Canada, which will feature curved green balconies and a terraced podium.

Named 1700 Alberni, the project was first revealed by Heatherwick Studio in 2021 with an initial design composed of two irregularly-shaped towers that bottleneck at their base.

Exterior render of 1700 Alberni by Heatherwick Studio — Heatherwick Studio has updated its design for 1700 Alberni in Vancouver

The updated proposal, which was carried out for developers Kingswood Properties and Bosa Properties, simplifies both of the towers' forms while enlarging their balconies.

According to the Heatherwick Studio, the redesign better connects the towers to the surrounding landscape and accommodates changes in what people "want from new homes".

Tower with curved green balconies — The pair of towers will now be linked by curved green balconies

"We've thought long and hard about how the new design should adapt to what we're hearing not just in Vancouver, but all over the world about what people increasingly expect of their towns and cities," the studio's founder Heatherwick explained.

"This is reflected in what they want from new homes," he said.

Towers with curved green balconies — They will also feature potted plants

"People want bigger and more useable outdoor spaces that create extended living areas, allowing them to take their work or recreational time outside," continued Heatherwick.

"We saw a real need to better connect the towers with the surrounding nature."

Render of apartment at 1700 Alberni by Heatherwick Studio — The new design maximises outside living space

Set to be built in Vancouver's West End neighbourhood, 1700 Alberni will contain 387 apartments in a 30-storey tower and a 39-storey tower.

At its highest point, the complex will reach 385 feet (117 metres).

The skyscrapers will be characterised by green semi-circular balconies of differing sizes, which create a "woven pattern" on their facades and provide large outdoor living spaces.

According to the studio, this design takes cues from nature and reduces the visual impact of the towers, which were previously going to be spiked with smaller angled balconies.

"Our design offers a profound new flexibility for residents to live and work through the creation of generous and flexible outdoor rooms," said Heatherwick Studio partner Stuart Wood.

"We have taken influence from the repetitions, rhythms and softness found within the surrounding nature to find a more welcoming and less imposing addition to the Vancouver cityscape," Wood added.

The two towers have also been repositioned to sit adjacent to each other, rather than at an angle, to help maximise outward views of the neighbourhood.

However, as before, they will be linked by a terraced five-storey podium and dotted with plants. Greenery is a frequent feature in Heatherwick Studio's architecture projects, with other recent examples including Maggie's Leeds and 1,000 Trees in Shanghai.

Alongside the apartments, 1700 Alberni will contain a pool, gym, spa and other wellness facilities, alongside a restaurant and a mix of covered and uncovered outdoor spaces.

"1700 Alberni will create a breathing space for its residents and the local community, with publicly accessible boutique retail amenities," concluded Wood.

Heatherwick Studio was founded by Heatherwick in 1994. Other residential buildings it has designed include Lantern House in New York and EDEN in Singapore, which is also covered in plants.

Elsewhere, the studio recently completed Little Island in New York, which is a park and performance venue elevated on stilts over the Hudson River.

The visuals are by Narrativ and courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.

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UK appoints cement trade body the Mineral Products Association to calculate concrete's potential as a carbon sink

Jagged concrete house by Graux & Baeyens

The UK government has commissioned the trade body representing the concrete industry to determine the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide captured in concrete buildings and infrastructure in a move critics have described as "like the fox guarding the henhouse."

The project, announced last month, will determine how much CO2 is reabsorbed into concrete and the impact this has on the UK's overall carbon emissions.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has awarded a tender for the work to the Mineral Products Association (MPA), a body that represents manufacturers of materials including concrete, cement and asphalt.

"The project will create a methodology that will inform the UK’s greenhouse gas inventory and the UK’s national and international reporting obligations on climate change," said the MPA.

Portrait of Michael Ramage — Top image: the concrete House N-DP in Belgium. The photography is by Filip Dujardin. Above: professor Michael Ramage called the project a "red herring"

The news was greeted with concern by some observers with professor Michael Ramage, director of the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at Cambridge University, describing the project as a "red herring".

"We’re concerned about the MPA modelling the carbonation of concrete for BEIS as they are not an independent body," said Ramage. "It is like the fox guarding the henhouse."

"If the UK are to produce a robust model it must be subject to fully independent external peer review by academics, as a minimum," Ramage added. "We don’t much like the idea of BEIS taking advice from MPA on this topic."

Cement industry responsible for eight per cent of global CO2 emissions

The cement industry, which produces a key ingredient for concrete, is the world's biggest single emitter of CO2. A landmark 2018 report by Chatham House found that it is responsible for around eight per cent of global emissions.

However, some of the carbon emitted during cement production is later reabsorbed by cement and concrete used in construction projects. The surface of the material draws in CO2 over time via a process known as carbonation.

"Carbonation is a process that occurs naturally in concrete where hydrated minerals react with carbon dioxide from the air to form calcium carbonate," explained the MPA.

This "cement carbonation sink" absorbs an estimated 200 million tonnes of carbon worldwide every year, according to the IPCC climate report published last summer ahead of the Cop26 climate conference.

New project to help calculate impact of cement carbonation

This was the first time that concrete's potential as a carbon sink was acknowledged by the IPCC. However, there is no internationally recognised way of calculating cement carbonation or working out its impact on a nation's carbon emissions. BEIS and MPA hope their project will help fill this knowledge gap.

The tender for the project was issued last May. According to the brief, the project "aims to improve our understanding and the quality of historic emissions, reduce uncertainties in emissions estimates, and improve our ability to assess progress towards international and national targets".

The UK cement industry has released a roadmap setting out how it could become net zero by 2050 but doctor Richard Leese, director of industrial policy, energy and climate change at the MPA, said that this plan does not rely on using carbonation figures to offset emissions.

“Delivering net zero concrete and cement production in the UK is not reliant on carbonation," said Leese.

"This natural carbonation has previously been overlooked by national and international carbon accounting but can undoubtedly contribute to helping the industry remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than it emits, especially when carbonation can be enhanced or accelerated."

“By assessing exposed concrete used in buildings to bridges, this important research will help improve UK carbon accounting and provide an accurate assessment of carbonation across the lifecycle of the built environment," Leese added.

"It could also shape how future buildings and infrastructure are designed, used and improve the subsequent use of demolition material to act as carbon sinks and accelerate the C02 uptake process.”

IPCC report estimated around half of cement CO2 emissions are reabsorbed

Mikaela DeRousseau, programme manager at US nonprofit Building Transparency, welcomed the project but pointed out that carbonation only recaptures a "small fraction" of emissions caused by concrete.

"MPA’s efforts to develop a better way to model carbonation are exciting and will help improve estimates of carbon sequestration in concrete infrastructure from a national inventory perspective," said DeRousseau, whose organisation aims to help the construction industry reduce embodied carbon in buildings.

Last year's IPCC report estimated that around half of the carbonate emissions from cement production are reabsorbed by the material when used in buildings and infrastructure.

However, carbon emitted when limestone is burned to make cement only accounts for a portion of total emissions from the industry.

"This research will likely confirm that the sequestration of carbon dioxide in concrete is a small fraction of the total carbon dioxide emitted during the life cycle of concrete," DeRousseau said.

Portrait of Darshil Shah — "Cement and concrete are not carbon sinks," said Darshil Shah

Speaking to Dezeen last summer, Cambridge University materials scientist Darshil Shah said that the IPCC's recognition of concrete as a potential carbon sink meant that climate change is "is worse than we thought".

"Cement and concrete are not carbon sinks," Shah said. "They are net sources [of CO2]. Carbonate emissions, or process emissions, are only a fraction of the emissions related to cement production and use."

"They exclude the more substantial fossil-fuel energy emissions associated with cement production, they ignore CO2 emissions from the manufacturing of concrete and mortar and construction of buildings, and exclude any fossil-fuel emissions associated with deconstruction of the concrete structures."

Shah also said that "cement carbonation requires very specific conditions" including humidity of between 40 and 80 per cent and open-air conditions.

"Submerged or buried concrete or concrete will not undergo carbonation," he said, adding that "concrete carbonation happens at an extremely slow rate: an average of one to two millimetres per year."

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Enigma coffee table collection by Hessentia

Dezeen Showroom: putting a contemporary twist on traditional inlay techniques, the Enigma coffee tables from Hessentia feature a code-like pattern with optical effect.

In the Enigma collection, narrow black and white wood tiles are inlaid across the sides of the tables to create a digital pattern.

The finish, called Matrix, is available in either a natural or glossy lacquered finish, the latter matching the black glass tabletops.

Made by expert craftspeople, the Enigma collection pays tribute to the antique cabinet-making techniques of the 18th century while bringing in a distinctive modern element.

The tables come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They are made out of Kapok wood from Central Africa.

Product: Enigma
Brand: Hessentia
Contact: sales@corneliocappellini.com

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.

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Kew and the Museum of Architecture launch treehouse design competition

Dezeen promotion: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Museum of Architecture have launched a competition to find exceptional designs for three new treehouses across Kew UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The competition is part of the Treehouses at Kew Exhibition, which runs from April to October 2023, and aims to "provide one of the most unmissable visitor experiences in the 2023 London cultural calendar".

UK-based and international architects are invited to design a treehouse for one of three trees across Kew's 320-acre site. Each treehouse will have a theme, and architects can choose to design the treehouse of their choice.

A photograph of Kew Garden's conservatory — The winning designs will examine how trees are essential to human wellbeing

The first treehouse is intended for a Norway maple tree and will highlight play. The second will be for a pine tree and explore biomimicry, while the third treehouse, designed for a silver lime, will showcase sustainable materials.

The winning treehouses will be constructed at Kew Gardens, in addition to three separately commissioned treehouses and another that will be built in collaboration with young people. Seven treehouses will be built in total.

"The other four will be direct commissions," said the Museum of Architecture. "Three treehouses will be direct commissions by architects from Kew's designated International Scientific Priority countries. One will be created as a co-designed project in collaboration with young people."

The winning designs from the competition will be made from sustainable materials, and the designers will also need to ensure that their treehouse can be sustainability reassembled elsewhere.

"An anticipated 900,000 visitors will attend the exhibition during its run, and each treehouse must inspire visitors in fun and interactive ways to learn more about protecting the climate, biodiversity and sustainable design," said the competition's organisers.

The treehouses will also showcase how trees across the world are important to human wellbeing and how they provide us with a range of essential commodities, including food, clean air, medicines, fuels and timber.

A photograph of children running around one of Kew Garden's treehouses — The winning treehouses will be designed from sustainable materials

"This is a unique venture for us in that it combines a celebration of our most prized asset, our beautiful collection of trees at Kew Gardens, with an opportunity to highlight our global science work through an architectural exhibition," said Richard Deverell, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

"We hope it will inspire our visitors to look at trees differently and ultimately to protect our planet and its precious biodiversity by championing high-quality, nature-based solutions to the challenges we face."

A photograph of light rays through the green trees at Kew Gardens — The treehouses will be built for a Norway maple tree, a pine tree and a silver lime

The winning architects will also be included in the 'Treehouses at Kew' wider visitor programme, which intends to communicate how architects can address the climate crisis, including designing spaces that balance the needs of humans and the natural world.

"Architects draw from nature to inform their designs aesthetically, to find design solutions, and come up with sustainable outcomes," said Melissa Woolford, founder of the Museum of Architecture.

"The Treehouses at Kew Design Competition is an important opportunity to show how forward-thinking designs and material use can have a positive impact on our planet," she added.

"I am excited to see how design teams respond to this opportunity to create innovative design approaches that inspire thousands of people to think differently about the natural and built environments."

A photograph of Kew's trees in autumn — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a global conservation centre of plant and fungal science

First-stage treehouse designs should be emailed to treehouses@museumofarchitecture.org by 7 February 2022.

The Museum of Architecture (MoA) is a London-based charity focused on increasing public engagement with architecture to encourage learning and collaboration.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a botanic garden and global conservation centre of plant and fungal science located in Southwest London.

To learn more about the competition, visit the Museum of Architecture's website.

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This article was written by Dezeen for the Museum of Architecture and Kew Gardens as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Watch part two of the AHEAD Global 2021 hospitality awards

The winners of the AHEAD Global 2021 hospitality design awards are being announced in a series of virtual ceremonies broadcast on Dezeen. Watch the second part above from 1:00pm London time.

The event will be hosted by Sleeper Magazine's editor-at-large Guy Dittrich and will feature imagery of the AHEAD nominees, as well as content from the sponsors of the awards programme.

Six Senses Ibiza is one of the nominated hotels for the AHEAD Global 2021 awards

The AHEAD Awards celebrate striking hospitality projects from across the world and is split into four different regions: Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia and the Americas.

The AHEAD Global awards represent the finale of the programme of regional events in 2021, in which the winners are pitted against each other to determine the best recently-opened hotels worldwide.

This year the winners are being announced over the course of four virtual ceremonies, taking place daily from 11 to 13 January with a final broadcast on 20 January in which the winners of the People's Choice and Ultimate Accolade awards will be revealed.

In today's ceremony, Dittrich will announce the winners of the Hotel Conversion, Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces, Lobby & Public Spaces, Lodges Cabins & Tented Camps, and Resort Hotel categories.

AHEAD Global awards nominee Hotel K5 Tokyo — Hotel K5 Tokyo is also amongst the nominees for AHEAD Global

Yesterday, the winners of the Bar, Club or Lounge, Event Spaces, Guestrooms, Hotel Renovation & Restoration and Hotel Newbuild categories were revealed.

Tomorrow, winners will be unveiled in the Restaurant, Spa & Wellness, Suite, Visual Identity and New Concept categories.

This ceremony was broadcast by Dezeen for AHEAD as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here. Images courtesy of AHEAD.

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