#greenbuilding
Old method stages a comeback
One hundred years after patenting of the Zollinger roof, this self-supporting timber structure is experiencing a renaissance. Designed to save materials, recyclable and easy to build, it has regained popularity for the construction of today’s factory workshops.
#city planning
Copenhagen as the world’s first net-zero capital city
Copenhagen is fast approaching its goal of achieving carbon neutrality. Its former city architect Camilla van Deurs, recently appointed head of the Nordic Office of Architecture's new specialist area for strategic urban development, spoke to ubm magazine. about the biggest levers for reducing carbon emissions.
#greenbuilding
The supermarket of the future
A supermarket designed as a net-zero construction that produces its own food for the region. This is the concept behind Rewe Green Farming and its prototype in Wiesbaden, Germany. Timber engineering is central to the company’s plan for similar stores.
#greenbuilding
Alpine architecture at its best
The recent rebuild of Voisthaler Hut in Austria’s Hochschwab Mountains uses structural timber design with sophisticated architectural and ecological features. This energy self-sufficient mountain hut designed by Dietger Wissounig Architekten has been awarded the “Umweltgütesiegel” and also won the 2023 BIG SEE Architecture Award.
#city planning
A metro station built with timber
Although this design looks like a utopian dream, in Copenhagen it is set to become reality. Over the coming years, the Danish capital will be introducing timber-hybrid metro stations. The concept by JaJa Architects adopts a holistic approach and takes climate-friendly building below ground.
#greenbuilding
Logistics centre opts for wood
Not far from Amsterdam, fashion giant Bestseller is building Europe’s largest timber logistics centre – called “Logistics Center West”. Designed by Danish architects Henning Larsen, it aims to set new standards in sustainability and design.
#greenbuilding
Mediating between mountain and valley
Its design blends alpine architecture with the outline of a craggy mountain range. The Congress and Exhibition Centre in the municipality of Agordo in northern Italy reimagines aesthetic forms of expression in timber construction.
#living
A Zen-style home
The Belgian city of Antwerp will soon benefit from a Japanese-inspired, timber-hybrid residential tower that is currently under construction. The building was designed by Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban, who takes nature and wood as central inspiration for his designs.
#living
Flourishing in a residential greenhouse
Bremen’s Überseeinsel district is a new, green neighbourhood currently under development. Affordable, sustainable and attractive living space will be on offer in the Residential Greenhouse. It is designed to be a home for both people and plants.
#greenbuilding
New schools from construction kits
There is a severe shortage of schools – 15,000 are needed in Europe alone. The easy-to-assemble kit from Stora Enso – called Sylva – can be used to create eco-friendly wooden schools that offer children a positive learning environment and architecture that gives them a sense of meaning and purpose.
#architecture
The woman behind Henning Larsen
CEO Mette Kynne Frandsen has worked for over 20 years to make Danish architectural firm Henning Larsen what it is today: a pioneer in creating sustainable yet iconic architecture around the world. She gave us an interview before leaving her position.
#greenbuilding
Sustainability with the power of two
Architectural firm Pittino & Ortner based in Styria, Austria, is making a name for itself on two fronts: with its huge timber-hybrid book storage facility in Vienna and its café on Lake Thalersee near Graz.
#greenbuilding
On track for transformation
Industrial wastelands need new strategies to present workable options for re-use. The architects at Smartvoll are experts in this kind of development. One of their designs is an ecosystem for the former railway depot in Amstetten, Lower Austria, as living space for plants, animals and people.
#architecture
A church that stores carbon
As the first church to be built in Copenhagen for 30 years, it may well become an icon. Ørestad Church is a sculptural timber construction designed by Henning Larsen. A kind of “Church 2.0”, it is also a modern community centre that reaches out to everybody regardless of their belief.
#greenbuilding
Wisdome shows pioneering expertise
One of the world’s most spectacular timber engineering projects was recently completed in Sweden. Built for Stockholm’s Tekniska Museet, the Wisdome is a free-form structure using 20 kilometres of laminated veneer lumber. The design uses this kind of wood in an entirely new way.
#hotel
Alpine lodges redeveloped
MoDus Architects have restructured a hotel complex that has decades of growth behind it. The external space created by a new layer of timber on the outside of the Icaro Hotel brings together the existing buildings to form a uniform whole. On the inside, guests encounter plenty of affectionate references to Alpine clichés.
#hotel
Glamping in hilltop chalets
A luxury campsite at the foot of Vorarlberg’s Rätikon mountain range has been enlarged, with the addition of ten timber tiny houses. These hilltop chalets are a reinterpretation of the Alpine hut, and their design has won several awards.
#hotel
Timber construction by star architect
The first five-storey hotel in mass timber design is located in Zillertal, Austria, created by celebrated Italian architect Matteo Thun. It is no coincidence that one of the leading players in structural timber construction is based only a stone’s throw away.
#hotel
The transformer hotel
VALO is the name of a complex on the outskirts of Helsinki that combines hotel accommodation with office facilities. With a dual use that is both efficient and viable, the beds are folded away during the day, making way for fold-out desks.
#greenbuilding
Timber showcase for Volvo
A special kind of discovery world is taking shape in Gothenburg, where Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo is using timber construction and nature to create its World of Volvo. The components and engineering for Henning Larsen’s design are being provided by Austrian firm Wiehag.
#greenbuilding
Wave of the future
The Klimatorium in Lemvig, Denmark, devises strategies to counteract global climate change. Situated on the coast of Jutland, the building designed by architects 3XN has already achieved iconic status.
#greenbuilding
A bridge to the future
As Dusseldorf’s Theodor Heuss Bridge needs a complete overhaul, the team at RKW Architektur + put their heads together – and produced a spectacular new design. It is literally packed with potential.
#city planning
Yes to Jess!
The town of Jessheim is getting an impressive new centre. Designed by Norwegian firm Mad arkitekter, it promises to combine sustainable urban development with attractive indoor and outdoor areas.
#architecture
New life among the mushrooms
Metropol Parasol has achieved a phenomenal rejuvenation of a neglected square in Seville. The iconic timber construction by J.MAYER.H architects is a prime example of successful intervention in public space.
#city planning
Blueprint for forests in urban living
The Forestias is one of the largest property development projects in Thailand. The highlight of this project by Foster + Partners is a 48,000 m² urban forest designed by TK Studio.
#greenbuilding
Timber high-rise with guaranteed recycling
The Kajstaden Tall Timber Building in Sweden marks the beginning of a new generation of mass timber blocks. Using this building material saves around 500 tonnes of CO₂, and it also facilitates deconstruction later on.
#greenbuilding
Now that’s rocket science
There’s a rocket preparing to launch in Switzerland. The residential timber high-rise named Rocket in Winterthur’s Lokstadt neighbourhood will reach a height of 100 metres. The tower’s residents will be part of the 2000-watt society.
#greenbuilding
It’s time for Carl
May we introduce Carl? Using timber for its facade besides the supporting structure, the apartment block is currently under construction in Pforzheim. Architect Peter W. Schmidt explains how this is being done.
#greenbuilding
A school with the hygge factor
Kautokeino skole in northern Norway is a project that seeks to embrace the uniqueness of Sami culture and educational style. The mass wood building is so hygge, you’ll want to check in for a few nights.
#architecture
Cabins in the Lyngen Alps
If you love the far north, you’ll love the Lyngen Alps. And if you love the Lyngen Alps, you’ll love the bungalows by architect Snorre Stinessen.
#city planning
Superblock designed with mass timber
Canada’s megaproject Waterfront Toronto includes a new district called Quayside, an all-electric and climate-neutral community. Its highlights are a two-acre urban forest and the residential Timber House by architect David Adjaye.
#city planning
Where the future is radically car-free
The city of San Diego in Southern California has plans for a new district, one that will be entirely void of cars. Known as Neighborhood Next, it must be one of the most radical projects in the USA.
#city planning
Climate neutral and affordable
The new urban quarter Zwhatt near Zurich is designed to enable climate-neutral living at affordable prices. One of its buildings is a 75-metre-high timber hybrid tower known as Redwood, whose facade generates solar power.
#greenbuilding
Wood with superpowers
Architect and biologist Timothée Boitouzet has used nanotechnology to give wood an upgrade. The new material “Woodoo” is translucent, fire-resistant, weatherproof and up to five times stronger than normal wood.
#smart office
High-tech timber for Norwegian banking
Timber construction can be decidedly high-tech, as illustrated by the head office built for SR Bank in Stavanger, Norway. Bjergsted Financial Park offers workplaces that are fit for the future, and it is among Europe’s largest engineered timber buildings.
#greenbuilding
In harmony with nature
So, what does "Noom" actually mean? While Sanzpont [arquitectura] and Pedrajo + Pedrajo Arquitectos don't exactly reveal this, their "Living the Noom" concept is pretty clear: it’s all about a fresh take on housing. With environmental protection and quality of life as a top priority.
#greenbuilding
Hamburg sets a new benchmark
HafenCity Hamburg is an urban quarter fit for the future. Its eco cherry on the top is the “Null-Emissionshaus” (Zero Emissions Building), which is completely carbon-neutral – and can be dismantled like a Lego house.
#hotel
The oblique cabins of Tungestølen
Snøhetta creates high-calibre architecture, including accommodation at high altitudes amidst Norway’s glaciers. The architects have enriched the Tungestølen mountain cabins with a special feeling of hygge.
#greenbuilding
Urban apartments off the peg
Apple’s former design head BJ Siegel has developed a concept for a timber modular house. The urban prefab named Juno is designed for mass production – and hopes for success on the scale of the iPhone.
#greenbuilding
Village life in the city
Communal vegetable patches, car sharing and a timber building that overtops many others. Sweden’s largest housing cooperative is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a project called Västerbroplan that shows how people will live in the future.
#greenbuilding
A superlative tree house
Bearing the name Tree House Rotterdam, Holland’s new landmark-to-be looks like a gigantic stack of wooden shelves with glass lofts added on top. It aims to take the sustainability of timber high-rises to a new level.
#living
Co-housing 2.0
Three tonnes of lettuce and vegetables annually will be farmed on top of the We-House, a timber construction project in Hamburg’s HafenCity. The on-site restaurant serves meals for residents of this sophisticated eco-house at cost price.
#smart office
The parametric office
The design for the urban office building Saint Denis in Paris shows the potential of parametric design in timber construction. Architect Arthur Mamou-Mani is a luminary in this new discipline, and we were able to meet him online.
#greenbuilding
Wood on London’s skyline
Researchers at Cambridge University are helping to turn London’s spectacular vision of a wooden skyscraper into reality. The Oakwood Timber Tower is to rise 300 metres into the sky, almost level with the tallest building in the city.
#city planning
Vertical allotments for urban farming
Self-sufficiency is no longer a dream reserved for downshifters. The modular building system named The Farmhouse designed by Studio Precht allows residents to grow food in big cities.