Norwegian architecture studio Handegård Arkitektur designed a bright red cabin on the seafront in Hankøsundet, Østfold. Called Bathhouse, the cabin is raised on stacks of granite, elevating it above the water, and giving the impression that it is floating in the air. The cabin was heavily influenced by the aesthetics of traditional Norwegian boathouses, especially their red color exteriors.
The cabin was built for a client who lives near the coast and aims to be a ‘modern reinterpretation’ of traditional Norwegian boathouses. The studio used contemporary materials and techniques to create this lively-looking cabin since the client wanted a space that was both modern and traditional.
The cabin’s red-painted finish, tin roof, and thick granite stacks in the water give the impression of a traditional boathouse quite accurately. But at the same time, it has been designed with a twist. The cabin’s living area is covered by a second layer of timber planks, angled at 45 degrees, which aim to create a sense of privacy, especially when the home is seen from the seafront. At the same time, this skin of planks also provides stunning views of the water, from the inside.
“Several of the cladding boards are angled…they close the building towards the back and open it towards the front. When you enter, you experience the purpose – you are sheltered at the same time as having a view of the entire sea,” said the studio.
The red timber planks are connected to the galvanized steel frame of the home, creating an internal space that is open, free-flowing, and uninterrupted. The cabin features two huge red doors, which provide access to a separate bathroom section, and to the cabin itself from the little wooden dock which extends out into the water.
The interiors of the cabin include a living area lined with plywood, a wood-burning stove, a nifty minibar, and a cozy open space for sun loungers. Two full-height swing doors allow the home to be completely opened to the outdoors, creating a lovely indoor-outdoor connection. The bathroom section is placed a little lower than the gabled roof, creating a little mezzanine space, which holds a bed, and that can be accessed with the help of a small ladder.
To truly tackled tackle climate change we have to focus on happiness not reducing energy or embodied carbon, say Ramboll‘s Gorana Shepherd and Adam Selvey.
We have been called to reimagine the future. The need to move to a zero-carbon, regenerative economy is indisputable, and climate change is descending upon us. But, happy people are sustainable people – and we can’t forget this in the current industry rush to reach net zero.
As a society we often look at things in a very simplistic way, forgetting life is nuanced and interconnected. When we make a one-dimensional choice, it will often take years for the reality of the consequences to come to fruition: Europe rushed to buy diesel cars to tackle climate change, only to realise some years later we had created a major public health crisis through increased NOx emissions in our cities.
We have to look at the bigger picture. We have to look at happiness.
We currently stand in the face of another well-intended call to action for us all to work together for a more sustainable future and zero carbon economy. The UKGBC states that the “UK Built Environment is currently responsible for 25 pre cent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions”, so the collective industry assumption has been to make that 25 per cent of UK emissions net zero – it would be our fair share.
The simplistic solution of net zero buildings, however, is a rushed silver bullet. We have to look at the bigger picture. We have to look at happiness.
Over the past 10 years, there has been increased public interest in happiness, and since the Covid-19 pandemic, society’s interest in happiness has intensified. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) encourages its member countries to use happiness as a policy development indicator, and Nordic countries have attracted international attention for consistently ranking at the top of various happiness indices.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises urbanisation as a preeminent influence on health in the 21st century, with housing a key driver. For our overwhelmed health systems the only way to ease this pressure is prevention.
Our singular focus on reducing energy and carbon does not necessarily deliver real sustainable outcomes
One of the top priorities for the WHO is to give architects and planners clear guidelines on how to translate health policies into urban planning. In the UK, Lord Crisp recently put forward a Healthy Homes Bill in the House of Lords, recognising building regulations alone are not enough to ensure outcomes focused on health and happiness, and which would establish the office of a Healthy Homes Commissioner.
We support the idea of such an office but the key to its success will depend on how well systems thinking is applied to ensure that at least three of our 21st-century challenges are tackled: climate change, biodiversity loss, health and happiness. Clearly, we need to move away from the current one-dimensional way of thinking for the sake of our wellbeing, mental health and carbon emissions – and for this we need an ecosystems philosophy.
Our current singular focus on reducing energy and carbon within buildings does not necessarily deliver real sustainable outcomes. As urbanists and engineers we believe that building neighbourhoods and homes that are sustainable and more resilient to climate change does not have to be a completely utilitarian, engineered process.
Cities should be functional, beautiful, and culturally important to people living there and should inspire a sense of wonder and belonging. Happy people are also more likely to be sustainable, relying less on health systems and reducing their carbon emissions in walkable neighbourhoods where housing is mixed with shops, services, places to work and access to nature.
The current focus on operational energy and embodied carbon in the built environment is fundamentally flawed because it ignores how we can achieve an equitable sustainable society. Take a simple window size reduction to save energy.
A lack of daylight affects our serotonin levels, reduces immunity, and has the potential to increase the likelihood of becoming type 2 diabetic. These illnesses often require drugs and chemicals for treatment, with their own carbon emissions.
Overengineering isn’t the way forward
To find a simple solution the built environment industry drew a redline around the net zero building, conveniently ignoring Scope 3 emissions. Stakeholders can claim a net zero badge for a building ignoring its location, how much land it takes and how people travel to it. Such a response will not tackle the biggest crisis facing the planet, but an ecosystems philosophy will.
Overengineering isn’t the way forward. Systems thinking is. While engineers are innovative problem solvers, the profession is frequently narrowly focused. Minimum regulations and codes meet only the most basic of our human needs.
By understanding that humans and nature are symbiotic with each other, we can engineer environments where both nature and people flourish and people choose sustainable behaviours like travelling actively and eating a local, more plant-based diet.
Built environment professions must work hand in hand to reimagine a sustainable, happy future
This systems thinking is currently lacking in the design of cities, homes and neighbourhoods, but is necessary to solve our complex urban issues – WHO and Save the Children are calling for the systems-based approach in response to climate change, health and equity. This kind of thinking is necessary when designing both on the building and neighbourhood scale.
All built environment professions must work hand in hand to reimagine a sustainable, happy future. If we set design outcomes that seek to improve the happiness of everyone, we could go much further to achieving a truly sustainable place.
In the UK we are less comfortable with the use of the word “happy”. We prefer “wellbeing”, or to discuss mental and physical health. And to be fair to us, we are at the forefront of research on some of these topics. However, conducting the Happy Home report research at Ramboll with our Danish colleagues, we have grown accustomed to “happy”, relishing its ambition, whilst still encompassing fundamentals of health and wellbeing.
If we set design outcomes that seek to improve the happiness of everyone, in addition to net zero, we could go much further to achieving true sustainability.
Gorana Shepherd is a chartered architect, specialising in city and regional development who is a director in Ramboll’s Cities and Regeneration practice, leading large-scale regeneration projects, where she and her team are championing a life-centred approach.
Adam Selvey is director for building services and design excellence at Ramboll. He is responsible for the design and technical strategy for Ramboll’s UK building services team.
Architecture across reservations reveals and renews present-day colonialism. More than half the structures throughout the Navajo Nation, for instance, are dilapidated or in need of large repairs, while 39% of houses remain overcrowded, according to a report from the Navajo Housing Authority. In working to further tribal sovereignty, Indigenous artists and architects are using design as a vehicle for decolonization. At creative practice Studio:indigenous, founder Chris Cornelius rethinks HUD Houses (aka housing provided by US Department of Housing and Urban Development) by incorporating the needs of Indigenous lifestyles: space for ceremony, a large porch, a view of the sky and a place to build a fire. Others, like Design Build Utah, a graduate program from the University of Utah’s College of Architecture + Planning, focus on building affordable housing for Navajo Nation residents in a way that departs from the white saviorism embedded in the typical structures made on reservations. Learn more about how design is being used to empower Native communities at Architectural Digest.
As part of our review of the year, Americas editor Ben Dreith recaps the architectural projects completed in the United States in 2022 that drew the admiration – and ire – of Dezeen readers.
Though single-family residences and skyscrapers often attract the most attention, we’ve selected projects from a variety of categories that were popular on Dezeen in 2022.
From luxury real estate to buildings constructed from decades-old modernist designs, here are 10 US architecture stories from 2022:
Taking the role of architect and developer, studio Becker + Becker refurbished a brutalist structure in New Haven originally designed by Hungarian-American architect Marcel Breuer, turning it into a Passive House hotel.
Originally the headquarters for Armstrong Rubber Company, the structure has two sections with a large void in the middle and concrete detailing – features that were retained in the renovation.
Becker + Becker installed solar panels and high-spec insulation materials, making the hotel the first in the US to reach Passive House standards.
Built as a headquarters for the staff and equipment of the street and water departments of Iowa City, this public works building comprises a low-lying structure lined with precast concrete panels and polycarbonate windows. It has a main floor as well as a mezzanine, and skylights were installed by Neumann Monson Architects throughout to allow for passive lighting.
The interior spaces are minimal, with priority given to storage and efficiency. Commenters were divided over whether the exterior was bland or an elegant way to design aspects of the built environment that are often overlooked.
Dezeen’s most-read US story of 2022 was on the completion of 111 West 57th Street in Manhattan by New York City-based SHoP Architects. Located on the street near Central Park that has been dubbed Billionaire’s Row – the supertall skyscraper is the skinniest in the world with a height-to-width ratio of 24:1.
At 60 storeys – most containing only one apartment – the 1,428-foot-tall (435-metre) skyscraper sparked debates about the role that skyscrapers should play in contemporary urban planning.
The building has a tapered form and is also connected to the adjacent, renovated Steinway Hall, which influenced the facade of the tower in the terracotta detailing as well as the interiors, recently completed by Studio Sofield.
Architecture studio Lake Flato worked with construction company ICON to complete a home in Austin with walls that were largely constructed using 3D-printing technology.
It took 10 days to print the three-bedroom home, and the concrete composite used for the walls, called Lavacrete, was reinforced with steel.
Wooden exterior and interior detailing and the gentle curves of the layered printing material give the home a more approachable material composition. Presented at the SXSW festival in Austin, the home was constructed in order to show that 3D-printed ready-to-sell homes could be integrated with pre-existing residential neighbourhoods.
Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1952, the Eskenazi School was meant as a building for the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, but was abandoned before construction due to lack of funds. In 2013, Indiana University was alerted to the existence of the plans and decided to carry out the original commission.
New York studio Thomas Phifer and Partners was brought on to oversee the completion of the project and to bring the original designs up to contemporary codes. The result is a two-storey structure clad in white steel with windows lining the top floor. Thomas Pfifer and Partners also used high-performance, insulated glass to help bring the energy efficiency of the building up to standard.
Architect Frank Gehry created a skyscraper-filled complex a block away from the his famous Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. Home to a hotel, residences and retail, the complex takes up a whole city block and has two L-shaped towers that face one another.
The two towers are 45 and 28 storeys tall and hem in a terraced podium with a swimming pool and a viewing platform from which to view Walt Disney Concert Hall. Featuring a more symmetrical version of the experimental facades common to Gehry’s work, the structures were meant to integrate materially with the cityscape.
Located outside of San Diego, Laguna Row is a collection of residences integrated into a cedar-clad whole designed to maximise the amount of living space by using tall, angular forms. According to Brett Farrow, the project references the appearance of the Sea Ranch community, built in the 1960s.
Thirteen slender buildings line a central car route and were angled in order to optimise passive heating and cooling, while also bearing solar panels on their roofs. Commenters noted the uniqueness of the project in the landscape of suburban American design.
The first US project completed by Dutch architecture studio MVRDV, The Radio Tower and Hotel is a multi-coloured development in the north of Manhattan.
Designed in collaboration with local studio Stonehill Taylor, the building was constructed with sections of different colour brick so that the large structure would not visually “overwhelm” others in the neighbourhood.
“We took the smaller blocks that are typical in the neighbourhood and stacked them into a vertical village,” said MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas.
Built by San Francisco-based Cosmic – a startup founded by entrepreneur and architect Sasha Jokic – this small structure is an accessible dwelling unit (ADU) that can be built quickly with onsite and prefabricated elements that can be transported on a flatpack. According to Cosmic, the structure runs completely on electric power.
With a chassis of metal and wood and walls made of cross-laminated timber, the completed ADU weighs only 272 kilograms so can be screwed into different types of ground and constructed without the use of a crane. All of the mechanical systems are preassembled and the modules come with a solar array.
According to the studio, the homes are meant to mitigate the challenges presented by the housing and climate crises.
This 4,924 square-metre structure by American architecture studio Morphosis is wrapped in white, glazed-terracotta panelling.
The building features sculptural curves punctuated by windows that are set back from the facade. A large skylight brings light into a spiralling central atrium.
A large staircase leads up to an elevated outdoor courtyard that is flanked by glass-walled galleries hosting the art collections of the museum, which is part of an arts complex in the city.
A facade of cascading balconies defines the residential Iqon skyscraper near La Carolina park in Quito, which is Danish architecture studio BIG‘s first completed project in South America.
The 32-storey high-rise, now the tallest in the Ecuadorian capital, comprises 220 apartments alongside a mix of commercial and office spaces designed for developer Uribe Schwarzkopf.
BIG has completed the Iqon tower in Quito
The 133-metre-high skyscraper is defined by its distinctive exterior, which towers over Quito’s skyline with a facade of concrete boxes topped by balconies dotted with native plants and trees.
These are arranged by BIG to frame views over the city and the Pichincha volcano and are intended to act as a continuation of the adjacent park as the greenery flourishes over time.
The high-rise is BIG’s first completed project in South America
“We’ve tried to take all the iconic qualities of Quito – such as the enjoyment of living in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, in a city on the equator where the seasons are perfect for both human and plant life – and bring that experience into the vertical dimension,” said BIG’s founder Bjarke Ingels.
“Iqon is an entire vertical community of individual homes; an extension of La Carolina Park that now climbs all the way up to the rooftop.”
It has a pixelated facade made up of balconies
Iqon was created for Uribe Schwarzkopf as one of two landmark residential buildings for Quito. The other is the Qorner building, which is Safdie Architects‘ first residential project in South America.
According to the developer, the completion of Iqon and Safdie Architects’ neighbouring building reflect the boom of contemporary architecture in Quito.
“Iqon and Qorner represent the ongoing transformation of Quito into a cornerstone of architecture, design and innovation,” said Uribe Schwarzkopf’s co-founder Tommy Schwarzkopf.
“As the first residents move in and businesses begin to take space in the building, we are looking forward to seeing each building come to life and become part of the fabric of the city.”
The balconies are planted with native plants
Iqon measures over 55,000 square metres. Inside, it contains 220 residences, five commercial units and 36 offices.
The residences range in size from one to three-bed apartments. This includes nine penthouses, positioned to ensure panoramic views of Quito.
The apartments have views over the city and Pichincha volcano
Alongside the residences, offices and commercial spaces, the building features a grand ground-floor plaza complete with public spaces, shops and a vegetable garden.
Other amenities include a rooftop pool and terrace, as well as sports and spa facilities, a bowling alley and a music room.
There is a rooftop terrace
Founded by Ingels in 2005, BIG is an architecture studio with studios in Copenhagen, New York, London and Barcelona.
Hospitality brand Edition has teamed up with Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to create a luxury hotel filled with plants in the Toranomon district of Tokyo, Japan.
Occupying the upper floors of a high-rise building in the Tokyo business district of Toranomon, the 206-room hotel is the first outpost in Japan for the Edition brand, which partnered with architect Kuma on the interior design.
The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon, features a lobby filled with plants
The heart of the hotel is a two-storey lobby space bursting with plants, which guests arrive at after taking the elevator up to the 31st floor.
“I wanted to prove that it was possible to create a real oasis at the heart of the big city,” Kuma told Dezeen.
The hotel lobby features large beams covered with wooden slats
The large, open atrium, which draws from the layout of Buddhist temples, contains a bar, restaurant and numerous different seating areas.
The double-height space is broken up by several large beams covered with wooden slats, which also adorn the ceiling of the space.
Wood is used throughout the hotel suites
“The beams are primarily parts of the structure, but we didn’t treat them in a way that might disturb the interior,” Kuma said.
“Rather, we took advantage of the beams, covered them with wooden louvres and elevated their existence to a symbol of the hotel.”
Sliding partitions separate sleeping and living areas in the bedrooms and suites
The abundant use of wood continues throughout the hotel, including the bedrooms and 22 suites, where Kuma also introduced sliding screens.
“In traditional Japanese houses, movable partitions are often applied to enhance flexibility in the interior, and we extended the idea to the rooms at Edition,” he said.
The Blue Room restaurant features deep blue upholstery
The hotel largely sticks to the neutral colour palette and natural materials such as marble and wood that are characteristic of the Edition brand.
Vibrant pops of colour have been introduced in the two restaurants, which are helmed by Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens.
The Jade Room restaurant features green upholstery
The aptly named Blue Room, which occupies one side of the lobby space, features upholstery in deep hues of sapphire.
The Jade Room, which adjoins the lobby, swaps the blue for vibrant shades of green and opens onto a verdant terrace overlooking the red-and-white Tokyo Tower landmark.
A terrace overlooks the Tokyo Tower
“It’s unusual to provide a green terrace on top of a high-rise building, but we dared to do so in order to connect the indoor and outdoor in a most natural way,” Kuma said.
Other hotel amenities include a swimming pool, spa and conference spaces.
The less aptly named Gold Bar, which is situated on the ground floor of the building that houses the hotel, combines black walls, floors, curtains and furniture with a white vaulted ceiling. An artwork hung above a fireplace on one side of the room is the only significant golden addition to the space.
The Gold Bar features black walls and a white vaulted ceiling
The hotel, which opened last year, is the first of two Edition hotels planned for Tokyo, with a second hotel in the Ginza district of the city set to open soon.
Previous Edition hotels include the West Hollywood Edition in Los Angeles designed in partnership with John Pawson and the Times Square Edition in New York City created with Yabu Pushelberg. Both hotels feature similarly plant-filled spaces.
The Edition brand is a partnership between Marriot International and renowned hotelier Ian Schrager, who is best known for co-founding the infamous nightclub Studio 54 in New York City in the late 1970s and 1980s.
“I became acquainted with Ian in the 80s when I was studying in New York, and have admired his philosophy and sensitivity ever since,” Kuma said. “I believe our chemistry worked well and we could work together without much talking.”
Black furniture and gold decorations feature in the Gold Bar
While the Tokyo Edition in Toranomon is the first Edition hotel in Japan, Japanese design has had a significant influence on Schrager’s work, according to the hotelier.
“I have always had a spiritual connection with the approach and aesthetics of Japan,” Schrager said. “Their rationality, their simplicity, and their restraint has been the foundation of everything I’ve done.”
“They are truly original thinkers but execute their ideas in such a humble and modest fashion,” he continued. “The end results are bold yet refined and shouts in a quiet way. It’s a sweet spot that is completely seductive for me.”
Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning studio SANAA has extended the Art Gallery of New South Wales with a series of pavilions that step down towards Sydney Harbour. The building, called Sydney Modern, is powered entirely by renewable energy.
The £191-million project has been described by state officials as the city’s “most significant cultural development” since Jørn Utzon‘s Opera House opened almost 50 years ago.
“It’s impossible to understand architecture by observing a few images”
Apsco Radiales was among a handful of commenters who weren’t impressed. “There are shapes, there are planes, there are massings, there are things flying all over the place. Where is the harmony?” they asked.
Puzzello looked at the criticism in a more historical context, saying: “The same negative responses were fired at the Sydney Opera House at its initial opening. This building is more about circulation and experience. You don’t hire SANAA to make a form-based landmark.”
Local resident Chris said “living very nearby and seeing it first hand, its connection to its context is very well conceived. Overall a very welcome addition to Sydney’s cultural scene”.
Some commenters were most excited about the Tank space – a world war two naval fuel bunker that has been converted into a 2,200-square-metre exhibition space.
Franc Lea reflected that “it is a gloriously historic, evocative and totally non-White Cube space that acts as a counterpoint to the new above – and with the intervention of the dramatic stair, provides an exciting space for installation and performance.”
“It acts amazingly as a transitional space to slow your pace down,” commented dddvvvnnn.
Luther Blissett argued that “SANAA’s production is always controversial – not fully provocative, not fully innovative. But one fact must always be remembered: it’s absolutely impossible to really understand architecture just by observing a few images”.
Do you think visiting Sydney Modern would change your perception of it? Join the discussion ›
“Hopefully, Putin will be gone soon enough so that they can start building this,” commented Apsco Radiales.
But Jack Woodburn was less hopeful, saying “Ukraine still will be rebuilding from whenever the war ends. How would it possibly be able to host an event like this in seven years?”
Ralph Kent was cynical about this sort of event being relevant in the first place. “When is anyone going to be bold enough to call time on the banal and sustainability-moribund junkets that are ‘World Expos’? It’s 2022, not 1851.”
Regardless of the viability of the World Expo, Valentin thought that ZHA’s design “feel disconnected from reality”.
Odesa4Peace didn’t think that’s a bad thing, commenting “ZHA’s work is always disconnected from reality. It evokes an astonishing world of visual elegance. I hope we can all, one day, visit my ancestral home of Odesa in peace and amazement.”
What do you think of plans for the World Expo in Odesa in 2030? Join the discussion ›
JZ thought the architects “certainly didn’t spare any expense and they managed to not be obnoxious about it”. GW agreed that “the design is very good”.
Marius appreciated how it is “well planned, well built” and Steve Hassler applauded the project, saying “Bravo. This might be perfect”.
Jb sounded a rare note of dissent, saying “this is decades out of date.”
The practice plans on powering the airport using renewable energy and incorporate “cutting-edge green initiatives” into its design.
B wanted to know: “Does the future projection of flights to and from Saudi Arabia justify a massive airport like this? “
Zea Newland was critical of how the project will be built: “When scrutiny and accountability kicks in 10 years later, it will be too late. Solar-powered air conditioning in the terminal won’t make a difference then”.
Bsl thought it was obvious that “Saudi Arabia isn’t spending billions of dollars on renewable just to impress you, they actually want to make it work.”
“Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in becoming the largest manufacturer of green hydrogen to leverage the shift to zero emissions transportation worldwide. Saudi is also investing in solar and wind electricity infrastructure and charging stations for electric cars, all in an effort to cut the country’s dependence on fossil fuels”, they added.
Meanwhile, Ken Steffes thinks “Nothing good for architecture can ever come from anyone doing business with Saudi Arabia.”
What do you make of Foster building an airport in Saudi Arabia? Join the discussion ›
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A 23-tonne metal staircase rises through a glazed atrium at the centre of Sunderland’s City Hall, referencing the region’s rich history of industrial craftsmanship.
Completed by local practice FaulknerBrowns, the project is one of the first buildings delivered in the Riverside Sunderland masterplan, which will create 1,000 homes, a school, nurseries, offices and civic buildings across a 32-hectare site in the city.
FaulknerBrowns, which was tasked with combining office spaces that integrated various council departments, public services and private lets with public community areas, described the building as “a truly democratic ‘hall for the city'”.
FaulknerBrowns has created Sunderland’s new City Hall
“City Hall blends private tenants with Sunderland City Council’s services and community outreach. In response, our design brings city and citizens together in a setting that is official yet intimate, grand yet personal,” said FaulknerBrowns partner Lee McLaughlin.
“Authenticity and character were our key design drivers, to create a warm and welcoming building tailored to its place and reflective of the council’s high aspirations for the city,” he added.
The form of City Hall is divided into two halves, united by the full-height glazed atrium where the steel staircase criss-crosses up the building to create a central point of connection.
The building references the region’s rich history of industrial craftsmanship
Locally fabricated by former ship-building firm Beal Architectural, the staircase was informed by Sunderland’s history as one of the UK’s industrial centres, and is finished with a matt-oxide paint to give it a weathered appearance.
At the base of this stair, a two-metre level change in the site is traversed by a series of wide, wooden steps that connect the front and rear of the building while doubling as a sociable breakout space for all of the hall’s tenants.
A 23-tonne metal staircase rises through a glazed atrium. Photo is by Nick Kane
All of the office spaces have been designed to maximise visual connections and collaborative spaces, with informal workspaces positioned overlooking the atrium and rows of desks at the plan’s edges to maximise natural light.
Externally, a white stone-clad colonnade frames the lower levels of the building, while the rest is covered in a grid of aluminium profiles that frame windows, small terraces and a parapet surrounding the roof.
“The building uses rhythmic, civic columns clad in reconstituted stone to create a distinctive presence in the city,” said the practice.
“Large, glazed openings promote transparency and create an active ground floor with a strong visual relationship to the public realm,” it continued.
Named Human Climate Horizons (HCH), the tool consolidates a huge cache of data to present projections on how climate change will impact mortality, the ability to earn a living and energy use in the near future.
It allows users to pick a location, timeframe and emissions scenario – either global temperature rises of 2 degrees Celsius or the internationally agreed but currently unlikely target of 1.5 degrees.
The Human Climate Horizons project visualises data from the Climate Impact Lab
The United Nations Development Programme‘s (UNDP) free platform uses state-of-the-art data from the Climate Impact Lab collaboration of scientists and researchers and is intended to influence climate policy around the globe.
“We really wanted this to be used by policymakers,” UNDP data, digital and knowledge management advisor Admir Jahic told Dezeen.
“It is the best currently available data on the projected impacts of climate change. Sometimes you have to provide people with something they react to in order for them to take action.”
Users can view how many additional deaths will be caused by global warming in locations around the world
A selection of Dhaka at the end of the century under a “high emissions scenario” shows there will be 132 more deaths per 100,000 people each year by 2100 due to climate change, nearly twice the country’s current annual death rate from all cancers.
Additional annual deaths by 2100 per 100,000 people in the Bangladeshi capital fall to 31 under a “moderate emissions scenario” in line with global action to limit temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.
Worldwide, keeping global warming to within 1.5 degrees reduces projected additional mortality from climate change in 2100 by more than 80 percent, saving tens of millions of lives.
“What we saw in this data was a way to talk beyond the immediate impacts – to see, actually, if you take action A, what’s going to be the outcome, or if you don’t take it what’s the outcome,” said Jahic.
Developed by the UNDP’s Human Development Report office, which also produces the influential Human Development Index, HCH was launched to coincide with the recent COP27 climate summit.
Changes in workable hours due to temperature increases are also shown
It was designed to be visually striking with an introductory interface showing planet Earth, while still being usable in countries with slower internet connections.
“We looked for different solutions, sometimes even an expense of high resolution, to make sure that we have this worldwide coverage so people from developing countries can access it,” explained Jahic.
“In general we just wanted to send this message of a shared planet. So if you turn and twist it you can see, wow, these are big differences on such a small place. It entices people, I hope, to explore, to see what’s happening and take action.”
The HCH project lays bare the striking discrepancy in climate vulnerability around the world, with the poorest nations set to suffer most.
For instance, the tool shows that in the UK – like many other countries with cooler climates, which tend to be wealthier and more polluting – climate mortality impact and energy consumption are projected to fall while the hours in which it is possible to work increase as the weather gets warmer.
The UNDP warned that this trend means without urgent action climate change will drive an “inequality surge” in human development.
“Overall everybody is going to be affected negatively, because if countries are impacted by severe storms, increases in temperature, people aren’t able to work, food production systems are affected, that’s going to push more migration,” said Jahic.
“This is going to be a significant impact on all countries in the world.”
To emphasise the increasing inequalities over the century, a “compare impacts” page shows three time periods side-by-side, with each nation plotted as a single bar on a graph.
The HCH breaks down data for more than 24,000 areas around the world, meaning it also demonstrates how climate change could exacerbate inequalities within countries.
The compare impact page allows users to easily view the differing impacts between nations
For instance, under a high emissions scenario the climate mortality impact in the Pakistani city of Multan is projected to reach a huge 378 additional deaths per 100,000 people by 2100, while annual workable hours will reduce by 100.
In contrast, areas in the north of the country will see climate mortality fall and workable hours increase.
The data additionally highlights the urgent need for adaptation to the effects of climate change as well as reducing emissions.
Multan faces an increase in mortality to 76 annual deaths per 100,000 people by the middle of this century even with less severe global warming.
Next year, Jahic’s intends to update the platform to include climate change’s impact on food production and damage to infrastructure.
Japanese startup studio Quantum won overall design project of the year, against 10 other projects, for its foldable lightweight wheelchair Wheeliy 2.0, as well as being crowned product design of the year.
Wheeliy 2.0 has reduced weight and simple mechanisms
Wheeliy 2.0 was designed to improve both the lives of users as well as those who support them, further reducing its weight and simplifying usage mechanisms. Kellay, curator of the contemporary programme at the V&A museum, told Dezeen the design “really breaks down barriers in disability access”.
“The jury felt that this project deserved the overall design project of the year award because it really elevates wheelchair design,” she continued.
Joining Kellay, who is also co-curator of the British Pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, was Lara Bohinc of eponymous Bohinc Studio, Arrival chief design officer Jeremy Offer and head of programme and content at London Craft WeekNaomi Davenport.
The yellow accents guide unfamiliar wheelchair handlers
Using magnesium for the main frame and carbon fibre for the wheels, Wheeliy weighs around eight kilograms, giving the user improved mobility and reducing the load when carrying or folding the wheelchair.
Wheeliy 2.0 also features bright yellow visual cues to indicate how to hold, lift and fold the wheelchair intuitively. Kellay explained how the design is “accessible for wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users alike”.
“It has these really useful coloured grips on the side, which indicate how to actually fold and move the chair,” she continued. “How to actually assist in situations where you might need to help a wheelchair user.”
Wheeliy 2.0 is available in four colours
The chair by Tokyo-based Quantum comes in four colour options, adapting to users’ personal tastes while maintaining brand recognition.
“Just as eyeglasses, a device to correct vision has become commonplace in our daily lives,” said Kellay, “Wheeliy 2.0 really has the ability to break the conventional boundaries of wheelchairs and demonstrates how good design can be applied to different access needs.”
The judges believe that the current wheelchair market offering is “appalling”, while “Wheeliy is a dignified design solution for an underrepresented group in society”.
“This project was designed with inclusivity in mind,” they continued. “In a much-maligned sector for design, this clearly addresses some deeply rooted user needs that have been neglected for too long.”
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