It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Filled with songs from composer and musician Vince Guaraldi, the soundtrack for It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) is an essential for fans of jazz, Halloween and Peanuts animated specials. Featuring “The Great Pumpkin Waltz” and “Linus and Lucy,” this orange-hued and pumpkin-shaped vinyl is over-flowing with kitsch and nostalgia.

"We're living through an epidemic of boringness" says Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick

British designer Thomas Heatherwick has railed against the “characterless buildings” he believes dominate new urban developments and called for architecture with more “emotion” in a talk at Singapore Design Week.

“I want to talk about streets with the new buildings on and the problem that we all know exists in our towns and cities around the world – that we’re increasingly surrounded by characterless buildings,” Heatherwick said.

“I believe we’re living through an epidemic of boringness. Everywhere is the same – dull, flat, shiny, straight, inhuman.”

“Most of the time, buildings leave us feeling indifferent”

Heatherwick made the remarks in the opening of a talk he gave yesterday at the Design Futures Symposium, which is part of Singapore Design Week.

In the talk, Heatherwick criticised modern buildings for being sterile and dull, calling for architecture that elicits a stronger emotional response.

“I’ve been told so many times that form should follow function, meaning that if I work out with my team how mechanically a building should go together that, somehow, the outcome will be great,” Heatherwick said.

Maggie's Leeds by Heatherwick Studio
Heatherwick gave the example of his studio’s Maggie’s Centre as a building that aims to be “humanising”. Photo by Hufton + Crow.

“This mantra is a century old. And it sounds good, doesn’t it? Surely, any extra detail is just silly, unnecessary decoration. But I want to talk about the function that I believe is missing – the function of emotion,” he continued.

“And when I say emotion, I mean the ability of buildings to lift our spirits, to connect us together. We walk around buildings, we look up at them. And most of the time, they just leave us feeling indifferent.”

“What’s happened to all the lumps and bumps on buildings?”

According to Heatherwick, people are rarely drawn to contemporary architecture in the way that they are to older parts of towns and cities.

“If I was to take everyone to a city and say: ‘Where would you like to go to? Would you like to go to the old bit, or the new bit?’ I’m pretty sure that most people in this room will pick the old bit,” he said.

“Why? Because we all know that the new bit will be monotonous and boring. What’s happened to all the lumps and bumps on buildings, the shadows, the textures, the high points of light, how did it all become so monolithic and devoid of character?”

Heatherwick went on to argue that the indifference people feel towards modern buildings is a key factor in why so many are demolished and rebuilt, which generates huge amounts of unnecessary carbon emissions. The average commercial building is just 40 years old, he claimed.

“Wouldn’t it be better if those buildings inspired us to want to adapt and adjust and repair them?” he asked. “The evidence is clear that when people don’t love buildings, they’re more likely to demolish them.”

“We now desperately need more architectural diversity”

Heatherwick gave four examples of projects by his own studio, which he said aimed to be more “humanising”.

This included his Maggie’s Centre for cancer patients built on the grounds of St James’s University Hospital in Leeds.

“A key to our focus was the details and aspects that could humanise and make something feel that there was care and attention when typically the hospital environment is something that tells you that there isn’t really empathy and care,” Heatherwick said of the project.

EDEN skyscraper in Singapore by Heatherwick Studio
The studio designed the EDEN skyscraper in Singapore. Photo courtesy of  Heatherwick Studio

He also showcased Little Island in New York City, a park and performance space built on 132 concrete columns set into the Hudson River off Manhattan.

“A year and a half ago, we finished this new park, which is pushed out off from the city so that you have the emotion of leaving something behind and arriving at something new,” he said of the project.

Other buildings Heatherwick highlighted included two of his studio’s projects in Singapore – the bee-hive-like Learning Hub at Nanyang Technology University and EDEN, a residential skyscraper in which each apartment features a balcony overflowing with plants.

“I’m not saying there’s any one solution for this epidemic of boring,” Heatherwick said.

“Just like in nature, we’ve learned the immense importance of biodiversity. I believe we now desperately need more architectural diversity. My hope is that we could together trigger a new humanising movement that no longer tolerates soulless, inhuman spaces.”

He concluded: “My hope is that we stop building 40-year buildings and we start building 1,000-year buildings.”

Heatherwick was one of a host of speakers at the symposium, which was curatorially directed by Museum of Modern Ar (MoMA) curator Paola Antonelli and titled Agency for the Future: Design and the Quest for a Better World.

The symposium was one of the flagship events of Singapore Design Week, of which Dezeen is a media partner. Earlier this week, the organisers of the design week told Dezeen the event was “about putting Singapore out there on the world map”.

Singapore Design Week takes place from 16-25 September in Singapore. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Foster + Partners unveils "striking yet simple"stadium for Qatar World Cup final

World Cup 2022 final stadium in Qatar by Foster + Partners

UK studio Foster + Partners has revealed images of its golden Lusail Stadium in Qatar, which will host the final of the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

The stadium, which will host 10 matches at this year’s football World Cup including the final, was officially inaugurated on 9 September with a match between Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal SFC and the Egyptian Premier League winners Zamalek.

Lusail Stadium by Foster + Partners
Foster + Partners’ Lusail Stadium was inaugurated earlier this month

Designed by Foster + Partners in collaboration with structural engineer Arup and sports architect Populous, the 80,000-seat stadium is located north of the Qatari capital Doha in Lusail. Wrapped in a golden facade, it was designed to be a striking addition to the emerging town.

“Our ambition was to create a striking yet simple form that reflects the building’s function, responds to the climate of Qatar and enhances the theatre of the event,” said Foster + Partners head of studio Luke Fox.

Golden stadium in Qatar
Its form resembles a golden bowl

Described by the studio as a “golden vessel”, the stadium’s form was informed by Islamic bowls as well as local architecture.

The perforated facade was made up of numerous flat, triangular pieces supported on a steel frame to create the curved form. Triangular openings in the facade reference the stadium’s structure and create a perforated screen that allows light into the internal concourses.

Lusail Stadium
Entrance gates are placed under the curve of the golden facade

According to the studio, creating an “immersive atmosphere” for players and spectators was the starting point for the design, with fans arranged as close as possible to the pitch.

The stadium stands on a broad podium, with entrance gates placed under the curve of the golden facade leading to a concourse located between the two tiers of stands.

“The arrival experience is intuitive and immersive,” said Fox.

“Spectators enter the vessel between two tiers of seating that have been intentionally compressed to heighten the sense of drama as they emerge into the generous seating bowl flooded with natural light.”

Golden facade
The golden facade has numerous triangular openings

The stadium is topped with a “spoke-wheel” cable net roof that provides shade for fans and players. The 307-meter-diameter structure is one of the largest to be installed in a stadium, and along with the facade was designed to help reduce its energy consumption.

“The outer compression ring is connected to a central tension ring by a complex cable system,” explained the studio. “This method creates a wide-expanse roof without the need for supporting columns.”

Within the stadium, which has achieved a five-star rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System, outdoor air conditioning will also be used to cool fans.

Stadium in Qatar
The stadium is shaded by a cable net roof

Foster + Partners hopes that the stadium, which is expected to be reduced in capacity to around 40,000 after the tournament, will become “an enduring symbol” for the country’s World Cup.

“Using the experience of redesigning Wembley Stadium with its now iconic arch, we are incredibly proud to have created a unique and instantly recognisable symbol for Qatar as host of the FIFA World Cup,” said Foster + Partners senior partner Angus Campbell.

“We believe the stadium will be a truly memorable venue for this year’s final and many other international events in the future.”

Facade by Foster + Partners
Lusail Stadium will host the World Cup final

Lusail Stadium is the latest venue that has been completed ahead of the tournament, which will kick off on 20 November, with the final set to take place on 18 December.

Other stadiums set to host games during the tournament include Al Wakrah Stadium, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, a stadium modelled on traditional Arab hat, a stadium in a giant tent and a demountable stadium built with shipping containers.

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Ateliers Jean Nouvel completes pair of inclined skyscrapers in Paris

Duo skyscraper by Ateliers Jean Nouvel

French studio Ateliers Jean Nouvel has designed the 180- and 125-metre-high Tours Duo skyscrapers to “create a character” for eastern Paris.

Designed as a landmark for eastern Paris, the pair of skyscrapers contain 97,000 square metres of office space and a 139-room hotel with interiors designed by French designer Philippe Starck.

Duo skyscrapers by Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Ateliers Jean Nouvel designed the Duo skyscrapers in Paris

“Eastern Paris is slowly coming into focus, building up and taking form, completing and modifying an unfinished context,” said Jean Nouvel.

“This project is about building its summit, its culminating point for the beginning of the century. It is also about creating a character, a singularity that is in relation with the reality of the site, that reveals its particular beauty, that relies on it to invent and strengthen the attractiveness of the place.”

Inclined skyscrapers in Paris by Ateliers Jean Nouvel
The pair of skyscrapers are inclined

Built alongside the Périphérique ring road and a large railway siding, the pair of skyscrapers both lean away from a central plaza.

Nouvel angled the skyscrapers so that they would be more visible from the River Seine, the Périphérique and several of the city’s landmarks.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France with Jean Nouvel skyscraper
The skyscrapers were designed with views from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in mind

“The site does not have landmark status in the perspective of the Avenue de France,” he said. “It is not visible from the sidewalk of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.”

“A slight inclination could easily make the towers come into view while enabling us to play a game with the reflections of the railway landscape in the south facade, which would be very visible from the ring boulevard and the boulevard du Général Jean Simon,” he continued.

Jean Nouvel's Duo skyscrapers
They were designed to have distinctive tops

At 180 metres high, Tour Duo 1 is the second tallest skyscraper in Paris after the Tour Montparnasse. The 39-storey building contains offices on its upper levels with an auditorium and shops on its ground floor.

A meeting space was placed at the top of the tower.

The 29-storey neighbouring tower contains office space along with a hotel on its upper floors. It is topped with a restaurant and bar that has a terrace with views across Paris.

The upper levels of both skyscrapers were turned, with an angled canopy placed on the shorter tower to give them an “expressive” form.

View of Paris from skyscraper terrace
The terrace has views across Paris

“The tall buildings of past decades are headless; their roof terraces are not accessible,” said Nouvel.

“A summit has a head, an identifiable profile. That is why the heads of our two actors are expressive, alive, why they speak to one another and also to their friendly neighbours.”

Inclined facade on Paris skyscraper
Both skyscrapers have inclined facades

The Duo towers are part of a wave of skyscrapers being built in Paris, including Ateliers Jean Nouvel’s Hekla skyscraper in the La Defense area of the city. Herzog & de Meuron recently announced that construction was set to start on its Tour Triangle scheme, while the city’s tallest building – the Tour Montparnasse – is currently being renovated.

The photography is by Roland Halbe.


Protect credits:

Architect: Ateliers Jean Nouvel
Client: Semapa
Cost consultant: Gvi
Structure: Egis + Aedis
Building services: Artelia
Facades: Eppag
Landscape: Technivert
Acoustics: Avls
Fire protection: Casso
Kitchen: Restauration Conseil
Vertical circulation: Mooveo
Technical control and risk prevention: Socotec
Health and safety coordination: Socotec
Company representatives: Bateg, Groupe Vinci Construction France
Co-contractors:
Building services: Vinci Energies
Facades: Perma Steelisa
Vertical circulation: Otis
Site installation consultant: Imogis
Climatic consultant: Meteodyn
Geotechnics studies: Hydrogeotechnique
Space planning consultant: Majorelle

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Forth Valley College purposefully "pretty modest in its architectural expression"

Interior of Forth Valley College

A college in Falkirk by Reiach and Hall Architects that is shortlisted for this year’s RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award takes centre stage in this video by Stephenson&.

Published by Dezeen with the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), it is one in a series of short films by production studio Stephenson& that spotlight the award’s 2022 shortlist.

Forth Valley College – Falkirk Campus is a school dedicated to further education and vocational training. It is also on the shortlist for this year’s RIBA Stirling Prize.

Interior of Forth Valley College
Forth Valley College is the focus of a video by Stephenson&

In the film, viewers are offered glimpses of the college as Reiach and Hall Architects‘ director Neil Gillespie discusses the design that is intentionally “pretty modest in its architectural expression”.

“The design is trying to make a really legible, clear building,” he said. “People can easily find a way about, [there is] a great emphasis on daylight and just trying to make people comfortable.”

The Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award is awarded annually by RIAS to celebrate the work of Scottish architects.

Forth Valley College features on this year’s shortlist alongside another school, a mid-century renovation and two workplaces. One of the workplaces is Quarry Studios by Moxon Architects, which was the focus of the first video in the series.

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Plato poufs by Yasemin Toygar

Plato poufs by Yasemin Toygar

Dezeen Showroom: London-based furniture brand Yasemin Toygar has launched its debut collection at London Design Festival, presenting a series of three sculptural poufs called Plato.

The Plato poufs are distinguished by their brass bases, which feature various types of marble and onyx carved into different geometric shapes.

Plato pouf No.1 by Yasemin Toygar
The Plato pouf No.1 has a circular white boucle-upholstered seat

“Inspired by the geometric still life, Plato explores and defies the boundaries of sensory experience of furniture through its evocative forms and colours,” said brand founder and designer Yasemin Toygar.

The poufs feature soft upholstered seats, and come in three different colour and shape variations — the circular white boucle-upholstered No.1, the square blue velvet No.2 and the caramel-coloured capsule-like pouf No.3.

Plato pouf No.2 by Yasemin Toygar
The poufs have marble and onyx pieces embedded in their brass frames

Through her use of shape and materials, Toygar said she sought to achieve a “harmony of contrasts”, reflecting softness and rigidity, lightness and heaviness, and concreteness and abstraction.

The Plato poufs are handcrafted in an atelier in Istanbul. They are made to order, with different marble combinations available on request.

Product: Plato
Designer: Yasemin Toygar
Brand: Yasemin Toygar
Contact: info@yasemintoygar.com

Dezeen Showroom

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"Charles spoke for the majority who naturally like buildings with scale and decoration" says commenter

King Charles III architecture

In this week’s comments update, readers are debating the impact King Charles III had on British architecture while he was the Prince of Wales.

Under his previous title, Britain’s new monarch exerted significant influence on the built environment through campaigning, torpedoing modernist projects and even building his own traditional towns. We looked at six ways in which King Charles III has impacted British architecture and readers reacted.

Collin MacGillivray thinks “Charles certainly spoke for the majority who naturally like buildings with scale and decoration”, while Neo-Post-Modernisticist laments that it is “sad to hear the loss of Mies van der Rohe and Richard Rogers projects because of Charles’ royal powers”.

In Menso is upset that, in his view, Charles “deprived us of what would have become Mies’ best urban intervention” – referring to Mies van der Rohe‘s Mansion House Square proposal for the site of No 1 Poultry.

But Trewus is less bothered, saying “the Mies Tower design was utterly disgraceful – works in New York and Chicago but wouldn’t have done so in the City of London.”

Polak got upvoted for saying that “beauty, right proportion and respect for the context have been protected by Charles’ efforts and one can only applaud that.”

What do you think of King Charles’ impact on British architecture? Join the discussion ›

Wild Wonder Colour of The Year by Dulux
Wild Wonder named Colour of the Year 2023

“Nothing could feel less wild or wonderous”

Paint brand Dulux has revealed Wild Wonder, a paint colour that it described as “a soft gold with hints of green” as its Colour of the Year for 2023, selected for its close association with nature.

However, Gparker546 argued that “Nothing could feel less wild or wonderous than this pale yellow.”

Others agree and some commenters have been coming up with alternative names. Dominic Langdeau McGee thinks “smokers’ teeth white” would be more appropriate, while Rose Robin suggests “Comatose beige. Good for hospitals, clearly.”

Robin518‘s “first impression was of 1970’s hospital ward colours; and there it was. Guess it was bound to come around.”

ZZ approved of the choice, saying: “Playing it safe with beige. Nice.”

Ken Steffes is more philosophical. “At a time in history when no one can agree on anything, a very safe choice! A colour that goes with many other colours in many environments”, they commented.

Are you wild with wonder at Dulux’s Colour of the Year 2023? Join the discussion ›

Interior of house and restaurant in Ube by Junya Ishigami
Junya Ishigami hides mud-covered house and restaurant below ground level in Japan

“The strength of the novelty nullifies the concrete crime”

Junya Ishigami has completed a Japanese house and restaurant of cavernous below-ground spaces separated by arched openings and stalagmite-like columns, crafted by pouring concrete into muddy holes. Readers were generally in favour, though some questioned the extensive use of concrete.

Jb thinks the project is “sensational. The strength of the novelty nullifies the concrete crime.” But HeywoodFloyd queries why “eco-warriors aren’t pissed about this one? A giant hunk of concrete?”

“An inspired building. How rare in our times”, commented Les Immateriaux.

George Panagos gives the project “five stars! This is definitely more interesting than anything I’ve seen for a long time.”

What do you think of this project and its material use? Join the discussion ›

João Mendes Ribeiro creates “elegant shelter” around a chestnut tree

“Worse off for taking each other’s space”

João Mendes Ribeiro has created a home around a chestnut tree in Portugal. The project, shortlisted in the small building category of Dezeen Awards 2022, had readers debating the pros and cons.

Skulkbogan finds it a “lovely building and lovely tree, but they both seem to be worse off for taking each other’s space.”

JZ thinks the project fits the tree “like a glove”, while Romeo Reyes questions the cladding: “A groovy design concept that needlessly resulted in blackened glory.”

Gavin Smitsdorp is enamoured with the project’s synchronicity: “Plan and section are almost the same… Lovely stuff!”

What do you think of this project? Join the discussion ›

Comments update

Dezeen is the world’s most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.

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Solar power's potential limited unless "you do everything perfectly" says solar scientist

Wim C Sinke

The sun offers an endless source of energy but solar technology is being held back by manufacturing limitations, says Dutch scientist and professor Wim C Sinke in this interview.

Speaking to Dezeen as part of our Solar Revolution series, Sinke said that the embodied carbon involved in producing solar products is currently a barrier to scaling up the technology.

“It is a process that requires a lot of energy”

“There is no limitation [to solar power] if you do everything perfectly – if you use the right materials and introduce circular technology,” he said.

“But we’re not successful in that, so there are limitations, especially if we want to expand the sector rapidly.”

Until his retirement in May 2022, Sinke was principal scientist at Dutch research organisation TNO and a professor of photovoltaic energy conversion at the University of Amsterdam.

He spoke to Dezeen following a presentation during The Solar Seminar, a solar-design conference that took place at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam on 9 September as part of The Solar Biennale.

The scientist said that the energy and materials required for manufacturing solar cells is one of the biggest obstacles in the ambition to increase production of solar energy.

Wim C Sinke
Wim C Sinke presented his research into solar energy at The Solar Seminar, which took place at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam

The majority of photovoltaic cells are made from silicon – a material that is abundant in the Earth’s crust, but which has to be highly processed for this purpose.

“It is a process that requires a lot of energy, and if that energy is not renewable then there are carbon emissions associated with that,” Sinke explained.

“The climate payback time of a solar module may only be a few years, but if you expand rapidly then that value can still be significant.”

Switch to circular economy necessary

Another issue, according to Sinke, is that many of the other materials required for manufacturing solar products are only available in limited quantities.

“For instance, the high-quality glass that is used for solar modules is not available in the quantities we would need for the sector to rapidly expand immediately,” he said.

Sinke believes a switch to a circular economy – which would see the components of old solar products recycled at the end of their lifecycle – is necessary for the solar energy sector to grow.

One way of achieving this shift, he suggests, is to find a way to replace the silver components in photovoltaic panels – which help to optimise energy generation – with aluminium.

Although a large amount of energy is required to manufacture aluminium, it is the easiest metal to recycle.

“If we want to build an industry sector producing solar modules in a sustainable way, we need the whole value chain, from raw materials up to the complete systems, to work in a circular manner,” Sinke said.

“We cannot afford to wait decades”

Sinke has spent decades researching the field of photovoltaic solar energy and developing solutions. He was awarded a knighthood in 2015 for his achievements in the field.

He believes a solar revolution is possible, but only if the lifecycle of solar products is urgently rethought at a systemic level.

“It’s not too late,” he said. “We can solve the problems that we’re facing, but we have to make a huge, focused effort to make that happen.”

“We cannot afford to wait decades,” he continued. “We can build manufacturing capacity in a few years, but society needs to be convinced of the importance of that.”

The photography is by Lindy Hengst.


Solar Revolution logo
Illustration by Berke Yazicioglu

Solar Revolution

This article is part of Dezeen’s Solar Revolution series, which explores the varied and exciting possible uses of solar energy and how humans can fully harness the incredible power of the sun.

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Design Declares campaign unites studios "fed up" with industry's lack of climate action

Design Declares sign reading: The most important brief of our time

London studio Pearson Lloyd and Britain’s Design Council are among the founding signatories of Design Declares, a new campaign launched at London Design Festival to help UK designers tackle their environmental footprint.

Following on from adjacent industry campaigns such as Architects Declare, the initiative encourages studios from across the fields of digital, industrial, communication and service design to come together to declare a climate emergency.

The eight founding signatories have also committed themselves to start measuring their own footprint and engage clients in discussions around climate change, using eight “acts of emergency” as a starting point.

Design Declares sign reading: The most important brief of our time
Design Declares was launched during London Design Festival

By the beginning of November, the organisers – led by product design studio Morrama and environmental collective URGE – hope to build a community of 1,000 signatories from across the UK, who the organisers described as “fed up with a lack of industry momentum and ready to act on the most defining issue of our times”.

“As designers working within an industry driven by consumption and reliant on production, we have to acknowledge that we have a role to play in changing this system,” said Morrama‘s founder Jo Barnard.

“This is the most important brief of our lives.”

Industry lacks “institutional leadership”

The eight founding signatories of Design Declares (D!) include industrial design practice Studio Wood, digital product design firm Driftime, London agency Snook and Sophie Thomas‘s communication design studio Thomas.Matthews.

The launch of the initiative comes three years after the formation of Architects Declare and Engineers Declare in 2019.

This delay is partly down to the design sector’s lack of “institutional leadership”, according to URGE‘s Alexie Sommer.

“Architecture and engineering have a series of bodies that help to regulate their industry,” she told Dezeen. “But there is no chartership for design in the UK. So who says what is good and who says what is acceptable?”

Graphic describing 8 acts of emergency
The initiative sets out eight “acts of emergency”

“It’s like we’ve been having the same conversations for the last 10 years,” she added. “And there are still design awards that look at aesthetics and function without considering any other impacts.”

However, Sommer says this delay has also given her and her co-organisers the benefit of learning from the critiques and controversies faced by other Declare campaigns.

“We’ve built on some of the learnings from Architects Declare and Engineers Declare, which started as declarations that were marking a moment,” Sommer explained. “But they got criticised because there wasn’t much action. So we would like to avoid that.”

No concrete carbon goals set for signatories

With this aim, D! has set out a loose set of guidelines, called the “eight acts of emergency”, which outline how firms can begin tackling their environmental impact, ranging from measuring their carbon footprint to bringing clients on board.

Each of these points is supported by a toolkit of concrete insights and tools to support signatories in this process.

“If we’re looking for paradigm shifts, those need to start with everyone,” Sommer said. “We can’t rely on government. We can’t just rely on industry leadership. We need to start doing things in practices on a daily basis.”

“It’s a lot about education,” she added. “How do I do an impact assessment of the latest website project that I’ve done? What is the carbon intensity of the digital assets that I’m creating?”

Every six months, D! will check in with signatories on their progress.

However, the campaign does not require them to meet specific carbon reduction targets in line with the net-zero goals, which need to be met in order to limit global warming to the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius set out by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“The IPCC has asked for a 50 per cent reduction of your 2018 carbon footprint by 2030,” Sommer explained. “That’s what the global science community has demanded from businesses.”

“We could mirror that in design. But most people don’t know what their 2018 carbon footprint was. So one of the first asks is to measure what we make.”

D! to put united industry demands to government

By 8 November 2022, when the Design Council is hosting its Design for Planet Festival, D! hopes to accumulate a thousand signatories, who will be able to unite their voices behind a set of industry-backed demands that will then be put to the British government.

This will call for top-down regulatory changes to support this bottom-up movement toward decarbonising the design sector.

Currently, the campaign is only accepting signatures from UK studios and freelance designers.

White Design Declares sign reading: D! Join us, sign today
The campaign is looking for 1,000 signatures by November

But the organisers are looking at creating international partnerships in countries including France, Portugal and the Netherlands to expand D! around the world.

A number of studios and brands have already started setting concrete goals for eliminating their emissions, despite their lack of historical data.

This includes Danish furniture company Takt, American carpet manufacturer Interface and the London design studio of Sebastian Cox, which he says is already “carbon negative by some long stretch” thanks to making products from locally sourced wood.

London Design Festival 2022 takes place from 17-25 September 2022. See our London Design Festival 2022 guide on Dezeen Events Guide for information about the many other exhibitions, installations and talks taking place throughout the week.

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HP hosts webinar series on architects and designers that "are helping to build a better world"

Portrait of Tosin Oshinowo wearing blue glasses and a blue shirt

Promotion: technology brand HP has invited designers and architects to present a series of talks discussing how forward-thinking design can better meet user needs.

The brand’s six webinars cover a range of topics, including changes in residential design following the coronavirus pandemic, designing for workplace environments, how drawing can be a powerful communicative tool, sustainable beach houses and the impact of small, everyday objects.

In the series, HP aims to showcase “how leading specialists are helping to build a better world through smarter design and construction”.



Swiss design studio Big-Game joined HP for the first webinar in the series, in which studio founders Augustin Scott de Martinville, Grégoire Jeanmonod and Elric Petit discussed “how everyday objects can improve the spaces where we live and work”.

The webinar describes a selection of Big-Game‘s furniture and products that represent the studio’s ethos of improving living conditions through smart design and construction.



Robert Palomba, co-founder of interior design studio Palomba Serafini Associati, presented a webinar on the conditions of post-pandemic living standards.

In the talk, Palomba explores changes in how we use our homes following the Covid-19 pandemic and how design can reflect evolving habits.

“A lot of people are starting to think of their homes in a different way,” he said. “Before it was just a place to go to sleep or have a shower before going out with friends. Now people are starting to feel their home as a place to stay and a place that has to represent ourselves.”



Using their own architectural designs as examples, Brazilian studio FGMF Arquitetos partners Fernando Forete and Lourenço Gimenes led a webinar on the future of designing office spaces.

Forte and Gimenes discuss how workplace design has changed in the last decade and how architects can better meet user needs.



In a webinar titled Balancing Digital and Natural, owner of American practice Olson Kundig Architects Kirsten R Murray proposes office interiors should incorporate natural design elements.

Murray explains that as the workplace has become increasingly digitised, designers must reconsider how the working environment is designed and the importance of providing a connection to nature.



Based in Lagos, Nigeria, architect Tosin Oshinowo presented a talk on the sustainable evolution of West African beach houses.

In the webinar, Oshinowo explores how gaining independence influenced architecture in African countries, tropical modernist design and projects completed by her studio, CmDesign Atelier.

Oshinowo explains how CmDesign Atelier’s beach house designs aim “to create comfortable spaces with passive systems of servicing while also being able to incorporate a social sustainability”.



For the final webinar in the series, HP invited Two Worlds Design podcast host Hamza Shaikh to discuss the importance of drawings in sparking conversation and “creating a positive impact on society”.

In the talk titled Drawing up positive change using architecture, Shaikh explains how he uses drawing as a tool for communicating and unpacks the progression of a sketch to a realised building.

To view more of its webinars visit HP’s website.

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This article was written by Dezeen for HP as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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