Hasta La Ideas

A live rendition recorded remotely, “Wherever You Go” by The Avalanches features CLYPSO and The International Space Orchestra, who emphasize the intergalactic aura of the single. Some 40 members of ISO (who are also scientists, astronauts and engineers from the SETI Institute and NASA) perform alongside the other musicians—who all don custom uniforms, many appearing in front of DIY space-themed backdrops. This extended rework of the song has been tweaked to include bubble-blowing, strums on an euphonium, the delicate twinkles of a harp and more.

Going vegan and kicking a flying habit helped Buro Happold‘s director of sustainability and physics Maria Smith go carbon neutral.

Smith, who previously co-founded Interrobang and Studio Weave, set herself the challenge of going carbon neutral in response to the climate emergency.

“I’ve been trying to reduce my carbon footprint for a while,” she told Dezeen.

“The biggest changes I’ve made are going vegan, switching to a green energy tariff, and quitting flying. I don’t drive, or buy a lot of new stuff, or have any kids so I wasn’t starting from a super carbon-intensive lifestyle, but there have been challenges.”

“Travelling by train is much more pleasant”

Forgoing air travel – prior to the coronavirus pandemic – was one of the biggest hurdles to overcome.

“Quitting flying was probably the trickiest thing,” said Smith. “I was halfway through curating the Oslo Architecture Triennale at the time so this meant committing to some long train journeys! Travelling by train is much more pleasant though and Interrail is my friend.”

Travelling by rail dovetailed well with the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2019 theme chosen by Smith and her co-curators: Degrowth, after the movement to reduce industrial-scale production and consumption.

Switching to a greener energy supplier was simple, and Smith opted to use the company Bulb.

“I live in a 1960s concrete-framed building with double glazing and a cavity wall but it’s pretty leaky and our energy use is nothing to be proud of at around 130 kilowatt-hours per metres squared per year,”  she explained.

“However, with a green tariff, every unit of electricity used is matched with a unit generated with renewables, and much of the gas is biogas, generated from anaerobic digesters processing food and farm waste.”

“Everyone can reduce their impact”

A vegan diet is the least carbon-intensive option and Smith found the transition relatively smooth, despite struggling to give up certain animal products. “Turns out I love eggs – who knew,” she said.

“I’m working on reducing waste by buying groceries from zero waste shops, and using soap bars instead of liquids,” added Smith.

“I recently got obsessed with making homemade jam and have tried my hand at urban foraging. Lockdown also gave me a chance to learn decorative darning, so my moth-eaten jumpers will last many more winters to come. It’s all totally cheesy and worthy and off-putting from one perspective, and just sensible from another.”

Going carbon neutral isn’t practical or accessible for everyone, said Smith, but the more people can afford to, the more they should cut back.

“Everyone can reduce their impact. But those with more money probably should do it the most,” said Smith.

“As this study published in Nature recently showed, affluent segments of society don’t only have higher carbon lifestyles, they also drive aspirations and normalise high-carbon, extractivist behaviour, further perpetuating the consumerist cycle.”

Extractavism describes the large scale economic practice of extracting natural resources – such as coal, gas, oil, wood and precious metals – from the Earth to sell for profit.

Construction one of “most environmentally damaging industries”

The architecture industry is particularly extractive – and has one of the largest carbon footprints. A report from the World Green Building Council estimates building and construction are responsible for 39 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions.

“I want to recognise that my saying I’m carbon neutral is somewhat glib,” said Smith. “I work in one of the most environmentally damaging industries there is: construction.”

While going carbon neutral is an individual response to the climate emergency, Smith stressed that it has to be part of a wider movement.

“The responsibility for climate action doesn’t lie with each of us individually but with our society collectively,” she said.

“It’ll only be collective action that gets us out of this mess.”

Technology company Apple is one major organisation to set a goal to go carbon neutral in the next decade.

Construction company Skanska and software developer C Change Labs have developed the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator to help the architecture and construction industries make more sustainable choices.

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Dezeen promotion: architects and designers have a responsibility in shaping the future according to Stephan Hürlemann,  who discussed the importance of designing for longevity in an interview with Sky-Frame.

Speaking to Swiss window brand Sky-Frame from his studio in Zürich, Hürlemann, who founded Studio Hürlemann, spoke about the need to move away from industrialisation and towards sustainability.

“If we are to secure the future of our planet, we have to change,” said the designer. “I am convinced that the move towards a more sustainable world is happening right now.”

“As architects and designers, we can be part of this change,” he continued. “It’s a huge opportunity to develop new products and new architecture.”

In a bid to actively contribute to this change, Hürlemann has positioned sustainability at the forefront of his work.

The Swiss architect and designer aims to make products and interior designs that will last and stand the test of time instead of creating things “for the sake of it”.

“[Design in the past century] was all about bringing products into the homes of as many people as possible and making these affordable to the broad masses,” he explained.

“Today the situation is completely different. The greatest challenge we are faced with today is climate change, and therefore sustainability. We should not simply develop another chair just for the sake of it.”

“In these times, to me, there needs to be a good reason to produce something,” he added. “The concepts need to perform better. Aesthetics alone is no longer sufficient to me.”

“In these ever-changing times, I long for durability,” he added. “It is important to me to design products and spaces that accompany people for a long period of time.”

For Hürlemann, this can be achieved by treating projects holistically – taking the context and purpose into consideration before beginning a design to ensure it fulfils “a genuine need”.

“There needs to be a good reason to produce something,” he said. “The concepts need to perform better. Aesthetics alone is no longer sufficient to me.”

“When I look at the bigger picture from different perspectives, I can see how the individual parts relate to one another,” said the designer. “I see the connections and can assess where there is perhaps too much of something or if something is missing somewhere.”

Hürlemann practiced this approach of looking at the bigger picture to achieve more clarity in his collaboration with Sky-Frame at the 2019 edition of Milan design week, where he created the art installation A Piece of Sky.

The installation comprised a mirrored hexagonal funnel that projected gradually changing colours. Viewers could step inside to see themselves reflected at different angles as if in a void.

“Upon entering the small space of the funnel an infinitely large space opens up in front of you,” explained the designer.

“It feels as if you were looking at the earth from space and glimpsing your own existence on this planet,” he continued. “Ideally this dramatic distance will lead to a magical moment of clarity.”

“I really enjoy working with Sky-Frame as they are willing to rethink things. As such, innovation is possible.”

Hürlemann studied architecture at the ETH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich before working alongside Swiss designer Hannes Wettstein at his studio for six years.

After Wettstein passed away, Hürlemann became the creative head of the studio, which has seen him complete more than 60 design concepts with his team over the past 12 years.

Sky-Frame is a Swiss brand known for its sliding window systems founded in 1993, with many products now seen in several thousand properties across all continents.

Find out more about Sky-Frame products on its website.

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Shuhei Goto Architects added large, stepped boxes to a former lecture hall to transform it into a playful multi-level office in Shizuoka, Japan.

The Shizuoka-based studio worked with creative agency Loftwork on the project, called CODO, which was designed for logistics company Suzuyo‘s head office in the city.

An auditorium, which had previously been used for in-house events, was turned into a multi-use room where employees can work or take their breaks and the company can hold events and lectures.

Shuhei Goto Architects’ design was informed by the 913-square-metres room’s high ceiling height. It added box-like steps to its periphery to fully utilise the existing space and allow people to circulate freely.

“By fully utilizing the space in all directions, a new sense of distance among those present is generated, which is totally different the sense of distance in conventional office spaces,” the studio said.

“Those working side by side don’t feel disturbed by each other’s presence because their eye levels do not coincide, or conversely, those sitting apart from each other feel interconnected because their eyes meet.”

The stacked steps, which the studio describes as “too large for furniture and too small for architecture”, can be used as benches or tables, or simply as raised platforms to add seating on different levels of the room.

A walkway between the stacked boxes connects two sides of the room, and details like soundproof built-in phone booths and a cantilevered viewing platform give it a playful feel not usually associated with office spaces.

When the company hosts events, one of the boxes serves as the stage and others as seating areas.

As the building is used as an emergency evacuation shelter for the area, the hollow steps of the boxes can also be used as storage for emergency supplies.

Shuhei Goto Architects used wood to create the multi-level boxes and added pale-coloured, sheer curtains to the windows.

“It’s a multi-use material: for sitting, walking, or writing,” said Shuhei Goto Architects  founder Shuhei Goto.

“The double curtain-lace and shade is printed in gradation colour,” he told Dezeen. “The double gradation makes it look like natural light is leaking out.”

Different materials were used for the floors on the different levels, with the floor of the space itself made from concrete and the lowest-level platform made from hardwood flooring.

Some of the upper levels were carpeted to denote a difference in the areas.

“This office was designed as a prototype for offices in a new era of innovation, based on the idea that today’s office space needs some room for flexible renewal and updates initiated by employees themselves,” the studio said.

The CODO project has been longlisted for a Dezeen Award in the small workspace interior category this year.

Shuhei Goto Architects was founded by Shuhei Goto in 2012. The studio has previously created the Floating House in Ogasa and designed a residence formed of four connected, house-shaped volumes.

Photography is by Kenta Hasegawa.

Project credits:

Project management and creative direction: Loftwork Layout Unit
Architectural design and furniture design: Shuhei Goto Architects
Structural design: Tetsuro Adachi/OAK plus
Wood coordination, furniture production and furniture production direction: Hidakuma Inc.
Curtain design: Studio Akane Moriyama
Sign design: Hokkyok

The post Shuhei Goto Architects turns lecture hall into multi-level work space appeared first on Dezeen.

This tech-forward range was based on the brand’s first sweatshirt design patent since 1952

Ever-growing and certainly accelerated by the absence of live sports, the esports category positions gamers as athletes and builds entire leagues around the various video games they play. From first-person, team strategy and shooter games to sport simulations, matches are televised, streamed on platforms like Twitch and YouTube and attended (when in-person attendance was permitted) by thousands. Unsurprisingly, there is a large industry of products and packages that cater to the esports. Champion (the beloved American athletic wear brand founded in 1919) has just released their Gamer Collection, which has been specifically designed for video game players.

Born from the brand’s first sweatshirt design patent since 1952—a garment that’s gone relatively unchanged with the exception of adding or subtracting a hood and kangaroo pocket—Champion’s newest super-soft fleece iteration features an expanded hood meant to cover headphones and narrow the wearer’s field of vision, encouraging concentration in competition. Plus, the top-loading, front-facing pocket comes lined with hand-warming micro-fleece.

“I’ve always loved hoodies, but this the first hoodie I’ve seen that was designed for gamers,” FaZe Clan Fortnite player Nate Hill says. “It’s unique in a lot of ways from the oversized hood that you can wear with a headset to the oversized pockets large enough to hold my controller.”

Champion’s newest sweatshirt also allows for customizability, ensuring each player’s apparel represents them, their team, and their mindset for the given match. Patches on the front and arms can be replaced with team insignias or player logos or removed altogether. “I’ve never had a customizable hoodie where you can take off and add different style patches for different looks,” Hill continues.

“Gaming is a unique lifestyle all to itself and Champion wants to celebrate the hobbies, interests and work of gamers. Through research and wear tests, the gamers and athletes emphasized that they wanted a blend of streetwear, comfort and functionality. They were looking for specific details that currently were not built into the sweats that they like to wear,” David Robertson, Champion’s Director of Global Brand Marketing, tells CH.

Brands like Herman Miller and K-Swiss have also catered new collections to the needs of professional video game players. Like the Embody Gaming Chair and the One-Tap sneakers, released by the aforementioned brands respectively, Champion’s new clothing was developed in partnership with athletes and Esports analysts and insiders: HyperX, Dignitas, VENN, PlayVS, the Esports Awards all participated in the design and production processes.

“Champion has begun engaging the gaming space for the past few years to learn about the consumer needs and to do their best to provide innovative solutions for them,” Robertson tells us. “As Champion is the ‘King of Sweatshirts,’ they decided to create the ultimate hoodie for gamers. Champion partnered with Esports athletes in high school, college amateur level and pro levels for feedback on the design. The emergence of Esports has brought forth a new social entity that is on the rise; one that is now being recognized globally. Champion wants to meet the needs of gamers with apparel that tells their story.”

Champion’s Gaming Collection features the Gamer Hoodie as a full-zip or pullover and two pairs of matching pants—in black or heather grey. All items are available to purchase at 9 AM EST on 26 August.

Images courtesy of Champion