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Wood: The Latest Architecture and News

Mass Is More: An Installation Brings the Innovation of Industrialized Wood Construction to the Barcelona Pavilion

On the 4th of October, the temporary installation "Mass is More", a project designed by Daniel Ibáñez and Vicente Guallart, from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), together with Alan Organschi from Bauhaus Earth (BE), was presented at the Barcelona Pavilion. It was open to the general public from the 1st to the 9th of October.

Spaces of Transition that Improve Quality of Life in Interiors

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Although things seem to have returned to normal, it is undeniable that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone. The truth is, its impacts on the economy and society can still be felt and will remain for some time. As a consequence, most people have become more conscious about public health, disease dissemination and the importance of science in everyday life. Many began to place more importance on time spent with family and at home, while companies have realized that not all office spaces are really essential and that home office can be just as effective.

The result is that people have began modifying their spaces to accommodate new uses which might have been unthinkable before. Our homes had to become, in a few weeks, places for rest, work, study, sports and leisure. Most were not prepared for this change, but gradually both residents and architects and designers found ways to adapt to the new reality. We've learned that accommodating new functions into a home means more than just setting up a table in the only free corner of the apartment. The pandemic also accelerated certain global trends and changed our relationships with products, companies and services, in terms of sustainability, social justice, digitization and individualization. The common factor between these different elements is that now they no longer require you to make a choice between one thing or another. Instead, all these elements are now connected, making life, people and products more agile and long-lasting. Under the motto “Create Transitions”, EGGER shows how decors and wood-based products can create and shape change in everyday living.

Henning Larsen Designs Church with Wooden Roof Domes in Copenhagen

Henning Larsen has revealed the first images of the Ørestad Church, the first church to be built in Copenhagen in the last 30 years. The modern monument is built in wood and wood shingle, reflecting Ørestad’s open natural landscape and embracing the identity of the local community. The intention was to create a serene space, detached from the bustle of the city, where the calmness and simplicity of interior spaces can offer residents solace from their everyday life. Construction is expected to start in 2024, and the church will be consecrated in 2026.

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What Will the Furniture of the Future Be Made From?

In the architectural conversations we are having in today’s world, conversations on materials are widespread. There is discussion on the viability of concrete in the contemporary context, how timber can be more sustainably sourced, and on how biodegradable materials such as bamboo should be more common sights in our urban environments.

But we also need to be talking about what goes into these buildings – that is, the furniture that decorates, enhances, and makes habitable the buildings around us. The materials used to craft these objects have constantly evolved over centuries, and as we approach the end of 2022, it’s worth asking – what does the future hold for what our furniture will be made from?

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Refinement and Warmth: Incorporating Wood into a School’s Façade

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Wooden elements have the power to add warmth to a space or building. Through their shades, textures and rustic look, wooden surfaces tend to stand out, especially when used alongside more neutral and sober materials. In the Aldapeta María Ikastetxea School, a project developed by IDOM in the city of San Sebastian, Spain, the architects used the material in a particularly interesting way. Wood panels brought visual comfort and warmth to the building, whose material palette is limited, focusing especially on the use of glass, steel and exposed concrete.

Guide to Ceilings: Materials and Uses in Architectural Projects

Depending on the aesthetics of a space, the economy of the materials or even their long-term maintenance, there are various types of ceilings that are capable of meeting the technical and functional needs of architectural projects. Regardless of their manufacturing method, whether industrialised or handcrafted, ceilings represent a constructive element that constitutes the finish or interior cladding of roofs.

Homomonument: The Importance of a Representative Space in the City

Homomonument: The Importance of a Representative Space in the City - Featured Image
Homomonument in Amsterdam. Photo: Geert-Jan Edelenbosch, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

While walking through the city, have you ever felt afraid to be yourself? As strange as the question may sound to some, it is a reality for most LGBTQIA+ people, who at some point have been victims of hostility when they were noticed performing outside the "heteronormative standards" of public spaces. If violence comes from social layers that go beyond the designed space, this does not exempt the importance of thinking about projects that can integrate the physical sphere and insert a symbolic or representational factor to include and educate its citizens. This is the case of Homomonument, which for more than three decades, has become a platform for queer celebration and protest in the heart of Amsterdam.

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Which Building Construction Materials Are Ecological?

Which Building Construction Materials Are Ecological? - Featured Image
Timber Bridge in Gulou Waterfront / LUO studio. Photo: © Weiqi Jin

In the current scenario of a climate crisis, thinking about an architectural project without defining ecological guidelines has become practically unacceptable. One of the main emitters of carbon dioxide and other pollutants, the construction sector is increasingly looking for new ways and means that can make works more sustainable and, in some way, mitigate damage to the environment. Thinking about ecological materials can be one of the fundamental steps, but, which materials are these?

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Materials to Build India's Identity

Materials to Build India's Identity  - Featured Image
© Andre J Fanthome

Upon becoming a sovereign country, free from British Rule, the people of India found themselves faced with questions they had never needed to answer before. Coming from different cultures and origins, the citizens began to wonder what post-independence India would stand for. The nation-builders now had the choice to carve out their own future, along with the responsibility to reclaim its identity - but what was India's identity? Was it the temples and huts of the indigenous folk, the lofty palaces of the Mughal era, or the debris of British rule? There began a search for a contemporary Indian sensibility that would carry the collective histories of citizens towards a future of hope.

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Prioritizing Comfort in Interiors: Nature-inspired Floors Made of Wood and Cork

Greatly driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, interior design trends that prioritize comfort and well-being have become more prominent than ever in recent years. With former confinement restrictions and the rise of hybrid work, the amount of time spent indoors to carry out daily functions has risen drastically, forcing many to adapt their living spaces accordingly. As a result, demand has focused on residential interiors that foster calmness, peace and warmth, as well as on products and design elements that successfully meet these new needs. But how to achieve this? While there are many ways to promote comfort inside the home, one method has been indisputably proven to be the most successful: bringing nature in.

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Designs World's Tallest Residential Timber Building

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Designs World's Tallest Residential Timber Building - Featured Image
Courtesy of Schmidt Hammer Lassen

Danish architecture practice Schmidt Hammer Lassen revealed the winning design of an international competition for the world’s tallest residential timber building. Located in the Swiss city of Winterthur, the 100-metre tall Rocket&Tigerli tower developed in close corporation with the local Swiss architecture studio Cometti Truffer Hodel echoes the 19th-century industrial architecture of the surrounding area through its facades of dark red and yellow terracotta bricks. The project proposes a variety of residential typologies and amenities that are set to create a vibrant neighbourhood.

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Solid Wood Furniture in Interior Architecture

Plywood, laminated timber, MDF sheets and OSB boards are all good, can be economically viable and efficiently fulfill certain functions, but none of them offer the same atmosphere as solid wood. The nobility of this material is usually accompanied by a high cost, but the aesthetic and sensory qualities are unparalleled.

Below, we have gathered examples of projects that use solid wood in furniture elements. Tables and chairs, beds and cabinets made with wood of different species, new or from demolition, refined or rustic, with different textures and colors that can serve as inspiration for your architectural or interior design.

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Houses in the Forest: Examples That Dialogue with the Environment in Latin America

What role do forests play in our daily lives? In what ways can they be converted into living spaces? What strategies can be implemented to reduce the environmental impact of our buildings? On the International Day of Forests, which is celebrated every 21st of March, this year we propose to raise awareness of the links between forests and our daily lives. Even though deforestation continues to advance, forests represent a source of great economic, social and ecological benefits.