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In this edition of Section D, Monocle 24's weekly review of design, architecture and craft, the show explores how wood is being used creatively at every scale by designers and architects today. From the "timber terrazzo" of London-based designer Conor Taylor, to the four protected (yet threatened) wooden escalators at Sydney's Wynyard Railway Station, the episode questions how innovative designers are, or need to be, with this age-old tried and tested material. Finally, the show visits Folkhem in Sweden – a construction company who believe wood "to be superior to conventional alternatives in almost every respect, from construction time to acoustic properties."

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Videos

One of the ways that architecture must be integrated into its natural context is by maintaining the sensory experience of the place itself. This can be achieved by assigning value to a site's spatial qualities, textures, and even by generating contrasts, to enhance and differentiate existing elements from man-made ones.

This month we want to highlight Secondfloor Architects, who turn their focus towards the interior of their project and invite us to experience the natural environment as something that is above architecture. They do this not only by designing a building that is settled in the plot, but also by creating a central element which relates to the verticality of the existing trees, while the building's horizontal elements offer a powerfully contrasting material expression.

Peddle Thorp Architects have submitted their proposal for the Moray Street Residential Tower in Melbourne for approval. At 1173.5 square meters, Sol Invictus is wrapped entirely in solar panels, attaining 10 times more solar surface area than a traditional roof covering. The facade can achieve up to 5000 square meters of solar panel array and is connected to a battery storage system.

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The team of tvsdesign and Shanghai Hecheng (上海合城) Architectural Design Ltd.(Cospace) has won the competition for the design of the Zhumadian International EXPO Center, located in Zhumadian, a city known for its agricultural industry, in the Henan Province of China. The competition sought out convention center designs that could not only serve as a location to hold agricultural conventions and trade fairs but could also connect back to the city’s historic roots in order to expand the area as a rendezvous of agriculture.

Drawing from the fact that Zhumadian is specifically known for supplying China with sesame seeds, the proposal utilizes the imagery of the seed in its shape—with rounded triangular forms—as well as in its overarching concept: “as an epicenter of activity in the agricultural industry, the convention center represents origins, life, growth, and health for the region and the people who visit the building" described the architects.

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Büro Ziyu Zhuang and RSAA have released images of Kunstsilo, their proposal for the Tangen Collection and Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, Norway. The design is centered around a historical grain silo, simultaneously preserving, modifying, and adding to the existing site.

The design carves a curved void into the concrete silo, producing a shelter for visitors and revealing the form within. The circulation then follows the former path of the grain through a new structure on the eastern side envisioned as an open box with an industrial glass envelope. The extension of the silo, new volumes, and adjacent canal produce a new plaza that spans the length of the silo.

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Gort Scott, in collaboration with developer Pocket Living, has secured planning permission to build 45 affordable “Pocket” apartments on the site of an unused office building in Walthamstow, England. In an effort to produce highly-sought-after living space in the heart of the city, the design features three- and four-story elements that complete the terrace in the rear of the existing building, filling the gap between neighboring developments.

Inspired by the legacy of the William Morris School that previously occupied the site, as well as by the Warner Houses typical to the city, the exterior of the project will be characterized by a decorative fletton type red brick and precast concrete.

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Manila Architecture Workshop (MAAW) was just awarded one of six outstanding entries to the recently completed Metrobank Art and Design Excellence (MADE) programs for Architecture and Interior Design. In partnership with the United Architects of the Philippines and BluPrint Magazine, MADE encourages architects to design inventive buildings that address public, economic, and environmental issues.

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French studio Lacaton & Vassal and Chilean studio UMWELT have been revealed as the recipients of the 2016 Lisbon Architecture Triennale's Lifetime Achievement Award and Début Award, respectively. An award ceremony will take place on the 15th November 2016 at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), followed by a conference convened by Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal.