The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction 2023 has announced the winners of the International Holcim Awards for North America. Celebrating groundbreaking projects that showcase sustainable construction practices, this year’s winners highlight innovative approaches across various scales, forms, geographies, and forms. The Gold Prize for North America was awarded to Partisans Architects and Well-Grounded Real Estate with their high-tech, low-cost modular housing solution for urban living in Toronto. In a video interview for ArchDaily, Jonathan Diamond from Well-Grounded Real Estate discusses the development of the winning project and the forces that shaped it.
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The project reimagines apartment living through an all-electric 12-story mixed-use rental development in Ontario. Addressing Toronto’s housing crisis head-on, the development aims to provide an affordable rental accommodation model. The design utilizes an existing structure to activate a “long-term lens,” challenging the designers to think about the building’s lifecycle 20-30 years into the future.
Courtesy of Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
Designed in collaboration with Partisans Architects and CREE Buildings, the development utilizes an exterior single-loaded corridor system surrounding a central courtyard. In fact, these hallways provide social spaces where residents can interact with their neighbors, and allows sunlight into the unit layouts and cross-ventilation. According to Jonathan Diamond, this project is the first in Canada to be fully heated and cooled through a radiant slab in the ceiling. This system, combined with the CREE Building model ensures high sustainability and cost effectiveness.
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Ultimately, Well-Grounded Real Estate aims to create a system of building, instead of individual projects. Through using economies of scale, they believe they can innovate while still reducing costs and increasing quality over time. Offering larger units at mid-market rents, the project challenges the traditional notions of sustainability and ties it directly with affordability and economical viability. In fact, the building boasts low energy bills, water bills, and electric bills, “benefiting both people and the environment.”
Courtesy of Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
Craig Dykers, founder of Snøhetta and member of the jury for the Holcim Awards, praised the winning project for it’s intelligent and sustainable planning. Additionally, Dykers believes that the development holds a unique power by creating a replicable model that addresses the commercial pressures of building affordable housing. With the majority of the winning projects from North America located in a 200-mile strip between the United States and Canada, Craig Dykers emphasizes the importance of knowledge sharing between countries and believes that architects should eventually “see a huge sharing between the whole of the regions.”
The 2023 Holcim Awards also recognized other projects in the North America region with the Maritime Innovation Center by Miller Hull Partnerships as the Silver Winner, Kaiser Borsari Hall by Perkins and Will as the Bronze Winner, and an acknowledgment awarded for the Muscowpetung Powwow Arbour by Oxbow Architecture and School of Architecture. For the Middle East and Africa, ArchDaily announced that the founders of Deroché Strohmayer won the gold medal for the design of Surf Ghana Collective. ArchDaily also had a chance to sit down with Xu Tiantian of DnA_Design and Architecure, who recieved the Gold Prize for Asia-Pacific for transforming the earth fortresses of China’s Fujian Province.
You can now register on the Holcim Awards 2025 page, where individuals can express their interest and receive notifications when the competition opens.
Located in Mexico City, the municipality of Iztapalapa has some of the most densely populated areas within the metropole. Serving a population of 1,800,000 people, many of them with lower incomes, the municipality struggles to provide sufficient public spaces and amenities. In an effort to correct this, the administration set out to take underutilized and abandoned plots of land and transform them for public use. Utopia Estrella is one of these initiatives. Located near Mexico City’s largest water treatment plant, the project combines a socially engaging architectural program with a pedagogical approach to the role of water infrastructures in the larger ecosystem. Designed by Cano Vera Arquitectura, the project has been recognized as the Gold Prize Winner of the Holcim Awards 2023 for Latin America. In a video interview for ArchDaily, Juan Carlos Cano of Cano Vera Arquitectura discusses the impact of this project, its goals, and the unique conditions that led to its development.
Utopia Estrella in Iztapalapa was conceived at the initiative of the local mayor, aiming to reclaim and repurpose abandoned spaces. Located on the slopes of the Cerro de Estrella, a significant hill in Iztapalapa, it is near the largest water treatment plant in Mexico City. The plant, built in the 70s, treats sewage and provides water for industrial use. A large part of the site for Utopia Estrella was a gravel dump, covering over three and a half hectares. The other half is a forest managed by the water treatment plant, representing one of the few large-scale green areas in the municipality. The first phase of the project saw the transformation of one hectare of the existing landfill into a wetland, supplied with water from the treatment plant.
The Utopia Estrella project sits in the middle of this wetland, bridging the forest and former landfill. The built part of the project includes facilities like a boxing school, gym, sports center, auditorium, music school, art school, and social centers for women, the elderly, and drug rehabilitation, ensuring comprehensive social infrastructure for the community. Recognizing its unique location, the project is centered around the theme of water, recreating the wetland and water treatment plant at a smaller scale. This serves as an educational environment, where people can explore the convergence of natural and man-made infrastructures.
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The construction of Utopia Estrella emphasizes sustainability, utilizing recycled materials from the site’s debris. A recycling plant processes rubble to create pavements and building blocks, with non-structural concrete parts made from 100% recycled concrete. This approach not only reduces waste but also demonstrates innovative use of local resources. The project’s design and implementation involve close coordination among the mayor’s office, the Territorial, the design and engineering team, and the community, ensuring that it meets the residents’ needs and preferences. Currently under construction, Utopia Estrella exemplifies how large-scale urban projects can address sustainability and social issues while fostering community involvement.
As Jury Chair for the Latin America region, architect Tatiana Bilbao, founder of Tatiana Bilbao Estudio in Mexico City, remarked on the great number of projects submitted that aligned with Holcim’s vision for this award: recognizing and highlighting initiatives that engage with real issues, making steps towards creating more sustainable conditions for both communities and their environment. The choice of the winning project thus became a matter of the scale of impact that the project has. Utopia Estrella Iztapalapa was appreciated for providing a complex architectural program focused on the community’s needs while leveraging the water infrastructure to educate them on the larger urban ecosystems.
You can now register on the Holcim Awards 2025 page, where individuals can express their interest and receive notifications when the competition opens.
At the initiative of the Surf Ghana Collective, architects Glenn DeRoché and Jurgen Strohmayer, the co-founders of DeRoché Strohmayer, set out to transform a small waterfront plot in Busua, a surfing hotspot on Ghana’s western coast. The result is a dynamic community hub, complete with amenities for local surfers, but also providing spaces for the entire community to gather in and off-season. The project has been recognized as the winner of the Gold Prize of Holcim Awards 2023 for the Middle East and Africa commended for the profound local impact and the resourceful approach to construction techniques.In a video interview for ArchDaily, architects Glenn DeRoché and Jurgen Strohmayer discuss the development of this initiative and the innovations that shaped it.
The project is centered around the concept of “plug-in architecture,” a principle that takes into account the existing structures on-site and intervenes locally to correct deficiencies and adapt the functionality. The architects thus keep the existing four walls on the property but remove the structurally compromised roof. It is then replaced with a new, independent structure that acts as a leak-proof roof but also offers additional terrace spaces, creating more opportunities for social engagement.
The new insertion takes a distinct image that differentiates it from the existing structures, while the two elements work together to ensure all the necessary functions of the space. To create this plug-in element, the architects, in collaboration with structural engineers, developed a low-carbon concrete that replaces parts of the cement with laterite. This lowers the embedded carbon emissions while ensuring the long-term stability of the material. The existing structure has been replastered with this type of concrete to protect it against the harsh ocean-side weather.
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The difference between the new and existing is done through different textures of the material: flat for the repurposed structure, and fluted for the new insertion. The fluted design is obtained by replacing the typical framework with raffia palm structures, a material widely available in the area. By innovatively using this material, the architecture references local building customs without mimicking them, in an effort to open up the dialogue around the adaptive reuse concept. The functional aspect of the project aims to engage the local youth by encouraging sports activities, while also diversifying the offering of some new public functions for the entire community. The location offers showers and storage spaces for surfers, but also WiFi access and a library for public use. As the capital city of more than 8 hours away, it was important for the project to understand the public needs not currently met in the town and to try to bring different activities under one roof, thus becoming an engaging community hub.
What it does successfully, is it creates a hub in the community, with these new functions that previously did not exist. By bringing all of these different functions together under one roof, we find that the community starts to gravitate to the space. […]. It’s actually a piece of architecture that really promotes and reinforces the idea of agency, of using architecture for change, but also that of bringing the community together as a kind of central place – Glenn DeRoché of DeRoché Strohmayer
Continuing the coverage of the 2023 Holcim Awards, ArchDaily also has the chance to sit down with Xu Tiantian of DnA_Design and Architecture, the receiver of the Gold Prize of Holcim Awards 2023 for Asia-Pacific. The winning project represents another approach to adaptive reuse, setting out an extensive process of transforming the earth fortresses of China’s Fujian Province and reintegrating them into the life of rural communities as cultural and collective centers, thus restoring a symbol of collective memory and providing a replicable model for building conservation initiatives.
Early on, conversation pits were seen as exciting because of their novelty; they were an unusual feature that could help distinguish a home from its neighbors—and at a relatively affordable price. While they aren’t for everyone, an architect explained in a 1973 article in the Chicago Tribune, “they are an intriguing feature that gives a home individuality and can be included at relatively little cost.”
Another benefit of conversation pits is their efficient use of space. “It’s a way of seating a crowd in a compact space,” a writer for the New York Herald Tribune explains in 1960. Unlike chairs that accommodate a specific number of people, the continuous seating of a conversation pit provides flexibility for guests who might want to lounge or squeeze, depending on the occasion.
And, as the clean lines and simple forms of modernism took hold, conversation pits also provided a fuss-free environment without what Eero Saarinen famously described as a “slum of legs” underneath tables and chairs. Sight lines in spaces also benefit from the pit’s sunken nature, with its lowered furniture permitting full views of an entire room without any obstructions and even making a small room look larger, some designers declared.
But that doesn’t mean that the recessed living room is cold and impersonal. On the contrary, part of its popularity has been the intimate space and warm environment it creates by forming an enclosed area around which people gather, and, it goes without saying, converse. Its recessed nature also enables connection. As Gifty Walker, director of merchandising and trade at midcentury-inspired furniture company Joybird explains, “a conversation pit forces you and your guests to get down on a whole different level—literally.”
What is a conversation pit?
“By definition, a conversation pit is a sunken area with intimate seating that facilitates, you guessed it, conversation,” Walker says. A conversation pit is a recessed or sunken living area with built-in seating, often surrounding a coffee table, fireplace, or fire pit. They are designed for both outdoors and indoors, and can range in size and shape.
When were conversation pits popular?
Sunken living rooms were most popular in the 1950s through the 1970s, with the height of their popularity in the late 1950s through the late 1960s. Although they fell out of style by the 1980s, in the past decade they have become increasingly popular.
Who invented the conversation pit?
Spaces similar to conversation pits appear in cultures across the world, from ancient Rome to China, Japan to medieval Spain. But in America, the earliest conversation pit is often credited to architect Bruce Goff, who designed a home in the 1920s for his mentor in the city of Tulsa with a semicircular conversation pit around an Art Deco fireplace.
Are conversation pits safe or accessible?
Safety and accessibility concerns are real considerations when it comes to recessed spaces in a home like a conversation pit, especially for young children or elderly individuals. Because they require stepping down into the recessed area, they are sometimes not accessible to everyone, and they can be a tripping hazard if there isn’t any way to protect the opening in the floor. Some homeowners with conversation pits install a railing or other protective barrier around the edge of the pit, while others might have their designer create seating whose backs are high enough to act as a fence.
Can a conversation pit be incorporated into modern homes?
Sunken living rooms can be incorporated into modern homes, both on the interior and the exterior. In the interior, they’re most frequently found in living spaces, where they act as the primary seating and entertaining area. Outside, they’re most often in backyards and as part of a larger landscape design that might incorporate a fire pit, pool, or other outdoor hardscapes.
What are some famous examples of conversation pits?
Famous examples of conversation pits include the Adah Robinson House in Tulsa by Bruce Goff; the Miller House by Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard in Columbus, Indiana; TWA Terminal at JFK Airport in New York; and the Milam residence in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, by Paul Rudolph.
What are the dimensions of a typical conversation pit?
There are no typical dimensions for a conversation pit. They can vary in size and shape, but they are usually not smaller than about 8 to 10 feet wide in any direction for smaller, more intimate pits, and 12 to 15 feet and up for larger ones with more generous proportions.
How do you furnish a conversation pit?
Sunken seating areas are most frequently outfitted with built-in seating like sectional sofas and cushions; they might be accented with throw pillows and a coffee table, or might have a fireplace or other special feature at the center. In the 1950s through the 1970s, their floors were often covered with wall-to-wall carpeting that might have covered the seats too.
What are the drawbacks of having a conversation pit?
One disadvantage of recessed living areas is their inflexible use of space. Because much of the furniture in a conversation pit is built in, it isn’t possible to easily rearrange furniture, and seating arrangements are more or less static. They also can take up more room than a traditional living room sofa or other seating arrangements. From a safety perspective, sunken seating areas can be a potential safety or tripping hazard; without a totally level floor and with an area that is accessible down several steps, it’s possible to trip down the stairs or even fall over the edge of the pit.
John Pawson’s work pleasantly hums with emptiness. It defines a quiet, elevated version of contemporary architecture often referred to as minimalism. While living in Japan, Pawson learned from architect and designer Shiro Kuramata. He later studied at the Architectural Association before founding his own studio in 1981. About 20 people work in Pawson’s London office on commissions around the world.
Dinesen, founded in 1898, is a family-run Danish manufacturer of wood flooring and products. The company sources trees from forests in northern Germany and specializes in wide planks of Douglas fir, which can be up to about 45 feet long and 18 inches wide. Pawson first spied a Dinesen sample under the arm of his friend Richard Rogers in the early 1990s. Pawson sought out the company when realizing his own home and ultimately convinced it to make straight-edged floorboards instead of the traditionally conic planks, which result from the tapering in trunk diameter. This change, combined with Pawson’s imprimatur, reshaped the audience for Dinesen’s products.
Pawson initially designed a table, benches, and stools for his young family. (The stool, when rotated, becomes an armchair for a child.) Today these dining pieces, reimagined, are joined by new lounge items: a table, chair, sofa, and daybed. “The dimensions of the timber determine the proportions of the forms,” Pawson said. The last three offerings are upholstered in Kvadrat fabric that can be customized when ordering.
While Pawson is funny in conversation, he often lets his sentences drift into reflective silence before his next thought takes shape. On an overcast night in Copenhagen he perched in one of his new chairs to talk with Hans Peter Dinesen, who has led the company since his father, Thomas, stepped down in 2021. The chat took place in Dinesen’s showroom, which will be remodeled by Pawson before 3 Days of Design next week. AN Interior’s executive editor, Jack Murphy, spoke with Pawson and Hans Peter Dinesen about their collaboration.
Jack Murphy (JM): At this point in your career, John, I imagine you’re able to choose what you want to work on. Why was it the right time to revisit these pieces of furniture?
John Pawson (JP): I got to architecture relatively late. I never really went to school for it. I tried quite a few other things, including teaching English to Japanese students who weren’t interested. I’ve gone through long periods of extreme boredom. Since finally finding something I really enjoy doing, I haven’t had a minute’s boredom since. I’m lucky that I’m able to do the bits I like.
Hans Peter Dinesen (HPD): For my family—especially me, my brother, and my sister—we always grew up with this furniture. It has been a part of our life. This latest meeting of Dinesen and John Pawson has been an important reflection for us. Looking back on the furniture, it’s still relevant. Our hope is that people in 30 years will think the same. The idea of starting this new chapter together is to learn from the past and see how we can put it into the future in a new way. So we asked John to continue developing the pieces from the 1990s.
John Pawson’s work pleasantly hums with emptiness. It defines a quiet, elevated version of contemporary architecture often referred to as minimalism. While living in Japan, Pawson learned from architect and designer Shiro Kuramata. He later studied at the Architectural Association before founding his own studio in 1981. About 20 people work in Pawson’s London office on commissions around the world.
Dinesen, founded in 1898, is a family-run Danish manufacturer of wood flooring and products. The company sources trees from forests in northern Germany and specializes in wide planks of Douglas fir, which can be up to about 45 feet long and 18 inches wide. Pawson first spied a Dinesen sample under the arm of his friend Richard Rogers in the early 1990s. Pawson sought out the company when realizing his own home and ultimately convinced it to make straight-edged floorboards instead of the traditionally conic planks, which result from the tapering in trunk diameter. This change, combined with Pawson’s imprimatur, reshaped the audience for Dinesen’s products.
Pawson initially designed a table, benches, and stools for his young family. (The stool, when rotated, becomes an armchair for a child.) Today these dining pieces, reimagined, are joined by new lounge items: a table, chair, sofa, and daybed. “The dimensions of the timber determine the proportions of the forms,” Pawson said. The last three offerings are upholstered in Kvadrat fabric that can be customized when ordering.
While Pawson is funny in conversation, he often lets his sentences drift into reflective silence before his next thought takes shape. On an overcast night in Copenhagen he perched in one of his new chairs to talk with Hans Peter Dinesen, who has led the company since his father, Thomas, stepped down in 2021. The chat took place in Dinesen’s showroom, which will be remodeled by Pawson before 3 Days of Design next week. AN Interior’s executive editor, Jack Murphy, spoke with Pawson and Hans Peter Dinesen about their collaboration.
Jack Murphy (JM): At this point in your career, John, I imagine you’re able to choose what you want to work on. Why was it the right time to revisit these pieces of furniture?
John Pawson (JP): I got to architecture relatively late. I never really went to school for it. I tried quite a few other things, including teaching English to Japanese students who weren’t interested. I’ve gone through long periods of extreme boredom. Since finally finding something I really enjoy doing, I haven’t had a minute’s boredom since. I’m lucky that I’m able to do the bits I like.
Hans Peter Dinesen (HPD): For my family—especially me, my brother, and my sister—we always grew up with this furniture. It has been a part of our life. This latest meeting of Dinesen and John Pawson has been an important reflection for us. Looking back on the furniture, it’s still relevant. Our hope is that people in 30 years will think the same. The idea of starting this new chapter together is to learn from the past and see how we can put it into the future in a new way. So we asked John to continue developing the pieces from the 1990s.
There is an increasing character of abandoned buildings in many African cities and Limbo Accra; a spatial design practice, roots itself in the experimentation of their repair, reuse, and transformation. The practice views these buildings as a unique architectural typology that includes key city landmarks, from the abandoned Independence house in Lagos to the incomplete airport tower in Accra, amongst others. They see them as major opportunities for modern public space and as symbolic sites for spatial justice. Through techniques such as photogrammetry, Limbo Accra has been creating a digital archive of these buildings and collaborating with artists and designers to propose new prospects for them. ArchDaily had the opportunity to speak with Dominique Petit-Frère, the co-founder of Limbo Accra, about the collective character of these buildings, Limbo Accra’s approach to their transformation, and navigating challenges in the adaptive reuse of these structures.
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Paul Yakubu (ArchDaily): A prominent trend in many African cities like Accra, Lagos, and Dakar is the increase in abandoned buildings. These range from small-scale structures to unfinished real estate and derelict high-rises. What do you believe are the influencing factors, and what similarities do these cities share regarding these factors?
Dominique Petit-Frère (Limbo Accra): From my experience growing up as a first-generation New Yorker with parents from both Ghana and Haiti, I’ve witnessed the flow of many individuals from the Global South traveling to the Global North for socio-economic opportunities. This often leads to gradual investments back home, including ongoing building projects. As a result, many projects start without full funding, leaving them unfinished for years or even decades in a skeletal state. Through our practice, we discovered that in both the public and private sectors, several factors come into play that can affect a building’s completion. We discovered a range of challenges, such as structural flaws, land and family disputes, speculative development practices, bribery, budget overruns, and government reallocations.
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PY: How does your practice, Limbo Accra, which roots itself on the experimentation of repair and transformation of unfinished building projects in West African cities, respond to this?
DP: Our approach simply begins with sharing awareness of these modern ruins. Over the past year, we have developed a digital archive titled “The Liminal Archive” which serves as an online repository of unfinished and abandoned architecture across Africa, using photogrammetry as a tool to scan and preserve the memory of these buildings. Currently, we are preparing to repair and retrofit an unfinished estate in Accra, where we have been operating for the past two years, into a permanent research and exhibition space. This space will house our digital archive and serve as an “open lab” providing an interdisciplinary hub for both local and international engagement to explore themes of preservation, circularity, reuse, and cohabitation, all whilst contributing to a regenerative future.
PY: Could you elaborate on this through an abandoned structure you’ve interrogated this way and the responses that emerged from it?
DP: Recently, we had the honor of being invited by Tosin Oshinowo, curator of the Sharjah Architecture Triennale, to respond to the curatorial theme, “The Beauty of Impermanence: The Architecture of Adaptability.” From the onset, we wanted to explore Sharjah through the lens of Limbo. This journey led us to uncover a series of unfinished building projects, including the Sharjah Mall, the largest incomplete structure in the Emirate. At multiple moments throughout the year, together with Anne-Lise Agossa and Rym Beydoun, we ventured into its core and reimagined its interior space. By weaving multiple layers of fabric around existing and newly added structural elements, we created intimate pockets of space where people could inhabit and interact. This juxtaposition of delicate fabrics against the raw, monumental structure brought a unique contrast and sense of beauty to the site.
PY: It’s understandable that political and economic factors, rather than architectural ones, are the primary causes of these dilapidated structures. How could a designer or architect examine these influences to aid in the repair and transformation of these structures?
DP: To some extent, it’s important to acknowledge and understand what building practices are being conducted by Africans today. Houses and buildings often take years, even decades, to complete. How can we create opportunities and solutions to support this gradual approach to building? Is it possible to develop systems that allow for lower-cost construction over time? Can we design solutions that accommodate buildings being constructed in stages over many years, tailored to the needs of local communities?
PY: Many of these buildings remain derelict due to their lack of potential use. For instance, while Lagos needs more social housing, it’s challenging to repurpose abandoned governmental buildings in the city for this need, given their former status and original spatial character. What do you believe are the optimal use-case opportunities for these buildings? If these uses involve a different typology, how would you reconcile that with the building’s existing characteristics?
DP: Through our experience, we’ve learned that there’s an abundance of scarcity and that anything is possible. The concept of adaptation is relatively new, especially in the modern context of the African continent. Our main goal is to raise awareness and present these sites as beautiful, desirable, and full of potential to address critical issues in our communities. By researching, documenting, archiving, and collecting information/data on the scale of this phenomenon and its possibilities, our goal is to share this knowledge with architects, urbanists, the general public, and those in positions of power and financial resources to invest in the rehabilitation of these sites to address key issues such as; lack of green spaces, public parks, innovation hubs, hospitals, schools, etc.
PY: Lastly, your project “Super Limbo” for the 2023 Sharjah Architecture Triennale involved exploring and intervening in abandoned buildings in a new context. How did your research from West Africa influence this work, and what insights can this installation provide for broader adaptive reuse initiatives?
DP: As previously mentioned, we believe that it stands as a proof of concept. When architects, designers, institutions, developers, and public agents come together, we can transform the use of these sites into something more meaningful. It opens up a new conversation that allows us to discuss and reflect on so many other topics, namely the previous questions.
Summer doesn’t come with much of a break for Brooklyn-based designer Little Wing Lee. Between being the design director for Atelier Ace, the founder of the interdisciplinary global network Black Folks in Design, and the principal of her own practice, Studio & Projects, there’s always a deadline to be met. I caught up with her during NYCxDesign, where she was launching her latest lighting with RBW, and discussed her singular path to design—and how her intuition continues to shape her career.
Mel: Before making the shift to interior design, you worked in documentary film production. What led to the pivot?
Little Wing: I worked on a TV series about death and dying with Bill Moyers, which was an incredible experience and the impetus for my switch to design. I worked on that project for two years, and it had me re-evaluating my own life. I’d always been interested in design, so I listened to my mom finally and enrolled in the career discovery program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
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We were in the studio, hearing from amazing architects, visiting beautiful buildings, going to the design library—I just fell in love with it. Working on that [documentary] project changed my trajectory. I’m more intentional about the projects that I want to work on. It’s both painful and aspirational knowing that we’re all going to pass away one day, and so we should at least try to do what we love.
It calls to mind the idea of legacy and longevity in our industry, too. Developing spaces and buildings that will, potentially, outlive those who created them.
Yeah, that’s true—knowing that the work that you’re doing reaches beyond time and space. I always think about the special moments that will unfold in these spaces, whether it’s a restaurant or hotel or an exhibition. It’s very meaningful to know that I’ve designed a place that became a part of this person’s life and the lives of their friends and family. The same goes for Black Folks in Design. I’ll be at those get-togethers and see the awe of a young architect who can’t believe they’re in the same space as one of their idols. Those moments stick with you.
These days your design work spans typologies. Has that cross-category route been intentional?
Each typology has specific learnings. For hospitality, you’re learning about operations, functional issues, cleanability, what makes a good public space? What makes a good hotel room? For residential, there’s a vast library of products and materials that you get to use to make it personal and cozy for the family. Then there’s exhibition design, where there are layers of information that you’re trying to convey to the visitor. It’s thinking about the interior architecture, the artifacts, the graphics, the media, and how you tell the story through design. There are connections between all the different typologies—elements you can pull from each that will be applicable to the next project. That’s the benefit for me.
In the evolving landscape of architecture and urban design, bioclimatic and biogenic envelopes present a compelling vision for future cities. Dr. Arta Yazdanseta, a Doctor of Design focused on energy and environments, dives into the intersection of design, building performance, and plant biophysical ecology. With a focus on bioclimatic and biogenic envelopes, Dr. Yazdanseta examines how these typologies can enhance socio-natural systems by leveraging their self-organizing potential. Dr. Yazdanseta’s academic journey includes earning a Doctor of Design and a Master of Design in Energy and Environments from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Her contributions as a researcher at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities include developing environmental design strategies and performance analyses for the HouseZero carbon retrofit project. In this interview, Dr. Yazdanseta explores the concept of bioclimatic envelopes and their interaction with passive architectural design principles. With a potential to revolutionize urban environments, the interview reveals insights into her research, the benefits of plant-based materials, and the future of sustainable architecture, emphasizing the critical connection between human and environmental health.
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Read on to learn more about bioclimatic envelopes, their benefits, and the future of sustainable architecture.
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ArchDaily: What is a bioclimatic envelope? How does it integrate with passive architectural design principles?
Dr. Arta Yazdanseta: A bioclimatic envelope uniquely integrates plant-based materials and strategies into wall assemblies, enhancing environmental performance through natural systems. Unlike Passive House design strategies focused on insulation and mechanical systems, this approach uses vegetation like lianas and vines for dynamic insulation, providing shading in hot months and allowing sunlight in colder months. This natural adjustment optimizes indoor climate control and reduces embodied carbon while acting as a carbon sink due to plant photosynthesis. When coupled with the natural ventilation strategy of a building, these vertical porous surfaces can cool the incoming air utilizing canopy transpiration. Additionally, they provide air buffering, reducing infiltration rates and, therefore, buildings’ peak energy use.
Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
At the urban scale, bioclimatic envelopes mitigate the heat island effect, increase biodiversity, manage stormwater, and restore soil health. Moreover, these systems emphasize social justice and equity by improving mental health and accessibility to greenery. Integrating vegetation into buildings provides accessible green spaces, benefiting neighborhoods with limited greenery access, creating healthier urban environments, and addressing multiple community needs cost-effectively.
Environmental Chamber – Sample Curing Process. Image Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
AD: What initially drew you to focus on bioclimatic and biogenic envelopes? How has this research influenced your general approach to architecture design?
AY: I grew up in Tehran, Iran, in an urban environment with limited access to greenery. Over 25 years ago, when I moved to Brooklyn, New York, I noticed a similar lack of urban vegetation. At that time, urban ecology wasn’t a focal point, and nature was often seen as something outside city limits.
During my graduate studies, my focus shifted from architectural design to building and energy performance. This transition sparked a passion for integrating vegetation into urban settings, driven by my longing for nature in the city. I delved into plant biophysical ecology and incorporated it into building envelope design and energy performance. This journey also unexpectedly led me to engage with material sciences, enriching my approach to sustainable architecture.
A significant realization shaped my research: urban and broader ecological systems are heavily overburdened, and we must promote biodiversity within dense urban areas. This understanding became a cornerstone of my work, driving me to investigate bioclimatic envelopes. These envelopes use plant-based solutions to enhance building performance, improve urban biodiversity, and create healthier, more equitable living spaces.
Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
Human and environmental health are deeply interconnected. To support human health, we must support natural systems and ecosystems. Therefore, designs should accommodate both human and non-human needs. This approach ensures architectural designs promote overall well-being and sustainability, highlighting the interconnectedness of human and environmental health.
AD: During your time at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, you worked on the Zero Carbon Retrofit project. Can you tell us more about the project? What were the key strategies and design elements that contributed to the success of this venture?
AY: During my time at the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, I worked on the headquarters’ retrofit project, HouseZero. As one of the first researchers on this project, while pursuing my Doctorate of Design Studies at The Harvard Graduate School of Design under Professors Ali Malkawi and Holly Samuelson, I collaborated with a team of students and experts to develop initial environmental design strategies and performance assessments. The work was then shared with the project’s architect of record, Snøhetta, for refinement and implementation.
HouseZero transforms a 1925 balloon frame construction into a living laboratory for ultra-efficiency and net-zero energy performance, including considerations for embodied carbon. The building operates with 100% natural ventilation, eliminating the need for traditional HVAC systems through a solar vent and operable triple-glazed windows controlled by manual and automated systems. Daylight autonomy is achieved with no electric lighting used during the day, thanks to strategically placed windows and skylights optimizing passive solar practices. Thermal mass and radiant surfaces help regulate temperature, with a geothermal heat pump channeling naturally heated or cooled water through the radiant floors for extreme conditions.
The building has nearly 300 sensors, collecting millions of data points daily to monitor and adjust performance in real-time. These strategies make HouseZero a model of energy efficiency and sustainability, demonstrating the potential for deep retrofitting existing buildings to achieve significant energy and carbon savings.
AD: What are some innovative environmental design strategies that you have personally developed over the years or used in your work?
AY: One of my key innovations is an early design analog tool for evaluating bioclimatic envelopes. This tool assesses the cooling power of solar radiation reduction and transpiration from species like vines. It helps designers determine the viability of bioclimatic envelopes by providing average values for six climate zones.
Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
Additionally, I developed modular support systems using ceramic 3D printing with cost-effective clay bodies for independent vegetative surfaces. Connected to buildings’ gray water, these structures enhance the overall cooling performance of the system by optimizing evaporation. Unlike conventional building systems that separate occupants from the outside, this design strategy promotes a connection to nature by extending the use of natural ventilation. Therefore, the spatial and experiential aspects were integral to the design’s success.
The natural progression of my research led to working with biogenic/ plant-based materials, specifically hemp lime. Hemp lime, made from the woody core of the industrial hemp plant and lime, is an excellent infill for wood frame construction, acting as thermal mass and insulation. Its unique properties allow it to attenuate temperature and control humidity, significantly reducing the operative energy of buildings. Currently, we are investigating different hemp-lime formulations to optimize their thermal and hydrothermal properties for various architectural and environmental design strategies.
Hemp Lime Mixing Porcess. Image Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
AD: In your opinion, what historic or contemporary structure has effectively utilized bioclimatic and biogenic principles?
AY: Three structures stand out, each representing a different point on the development of bioclimatic and biogenic solutions, from historical to futuristic. Historically, the living root bridges of Meghalaya exemplify indigenous knowledge in using plant infrastructure. These bridges, created by guiding the roots of Ficus elastica trees, provide durable, self-strengthening pathways that integrate with the ecosystem, enhancing biodiversity and supporting human and non-human life.
Bioclimatic Envelope clay studies. Image Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
In contemporary times, Nicholas Wiesel’s work with BOXOM demonstrates the practical application of bioclimatic principles through textile farming. This approach uses vertical greenery technologies on urban facades to grow food, provide cooling, and reduce urban heat islands. It introduces an innovative economy by leasing vertical surfaces, integrating environmental benefits at both building and urban scales.
Looking to the future, the Baubotanik projects by Ferdinand Ludwig and Daniel Schönle push the boundaries of biogenic architecture. Using living trees as construction materials, these structures combine botanical growth with technical elements to create dynamic, self-sustaining buildings. This approach marries traditional ecological wisdom with modern technology, aiming to standardize the use of living systems in urban architecture for enhanced sustainability and resilience.
These examples highlight the evolving integration of bioclimatic and biogenic principles, showcasing their diverse benefits from indigenous wisdom to contemporary applications and future innovations.
Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
AD: How do you envision the evolution of passive architecture in the next decade?
AY: The main difference to note here is that passive design is not the same as biogenic or bioclimatic design. Passive architecture traditionally focuses on minimizing energy consumption through design strategies. In contrast, biogenic and bioclimatic design emphasizes integrating plant-based materials for broader environmental benefits, including energy savings.
Local laws, such as NYC’s LL97, are capping operational carbon and will soon address embodied carbon. This shift necessitates using materials that are by-products of other industries. However, there is no universal biomaterial. Architects need to explore the local economy and employ system-level thinking to identify the most suitable plant-based material in their region. Fast-growing materials such as straw, hemp, and bamboo can store carbon in long-life building components. For architects, this means embracing and exploring plant-based materials and identifying local sources to tap into their economic and environmental benefits.
Eventually, buildings will be understood as dynamic entities with local and global environmental benefits. Integrating biogenic materials and innovative designs will address climate change and create sustainable, resilient urban environments. A successful example is the use of hemp-lime in construction, which has shown promise in reducing both operational and embodied carbon. This holistic approach prioritizes both human and ecological health, setting a new standard for future architecture by considering system-level thinking to ensure the health of the environment and humans.
Hemp Lime Sample Display. Image Courtesy of Dr. Arta Yazdanseta
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Passive Architecture. Every month we explore a topic in-depth through articles, interviews, news, and architecture projects. We invite you to learn more about our ArchDaily Topics. And, as always, at ArchDaily we welcome the contributions of our readers; if you want to submit an article or project, contact us.
Led by Pritzker Prize laureate Anne Lacaton, the jury of the European Collective Housing Awards has just selected the winners for its first edition. Established by the Basque Architecture Institute and Arc en Rêve Centre d’Architecture in collaboration with the Department of Territorial Planning, the award celebrates innovation and excellence in collective housing design, emphasizing aesthetics, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. The winning projects – La Borda Housing Collective in Spain and the Conversation of a Wine Storage into Housing in Switzerland – were selected from 171 entries across 19 European countries for their contributions to new construction and renovation, respectively.
Anne Lacaton, renowned for her groundbreaking work with partner Jean-Philippe Vassal, has been working to push the boundaries of sustainable and socially responsible housing architecture for decades. The Pritzker Prize laureates are celebrated for their innovative approach to social housing and are committed to enhancing the quality of life for residents. Their philosophy centers around creating generous, adaptable spaces that rethink how we live together. Onsite in San Sebastián, ArchDaily had the chance to interview the Pritzker-Prize winner to delve into her architectural practice and philosophy. In the conversation, the architect explored core values, the significance of reuse in social housing, and the promising trends in collective housing design that emerged from the first edition of the awards.
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Read on to discover more about the principles and insights that guide Anne Lacaton’s acclaimed work, as well as her perspectives on the future of collective housing.
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AD: Lacaton & Vassal is known for its innovative and sustainable designs, especially in social housing. Can you elaborate on the core values that guide your work and how you balance aesthetics with social responsibility?
AL: I think it’s based since the very beginning on the approach with the conviction that housing is something extremely important for everybody and that what is proposed to inhabitants as housing most often is not a space very desirable or not large enough to have an excellent life. From the very beginning, we were involved in the question of how we could give more freedom for people to live in the space. In fact, it is about the generosity of space. It was something that we wanted to explore because we had the feeling that it was important to change the way housing was received or standardized. And it has nothing to do with the cost. We always say that whatever the cost or the budget you have, we should be able, as architects, to produce more space and a better space. And that’s what we did.
AD: Your projects often focus on renovation or reuse as a methodology of social housing rather than new constructions. What are the key benefits of this approach for communities and the environment?
AL: In 30 years of practice, many things have changed: the rules, all these new norms on saving energy, and working with the climate. We have always been interested in how housing should also work much better with climate and should take advantage of the resources of climate instead of closing and insulating. But step by step, we have improved. And afterwards, it joined the issue of reuse of buildings, because it became something very critical in the 2000s and very important in France with a new policy of demolition and reconstruction that we didn’t agree with.
And we wanted to work on that and to see what could be done instead of demolishing. And it was something very important to us, but also which is linked with the other topic of giving more space and being generous. And if you have an existing structure, you have 60% of the work done. And you can add the 40% which is missing. So, all of this is based on this. But it’s not only for housing. For any project, we are really involved in this issue of giving freedom.
AD: Serving as the jury president for the first edition of the European Collective Housing Award, what trends in collective housing design have you found most promising?
AL: It is important to advocate collective housing first. Because we need to work with collective housing, and we cannot extend more cities. We cannot end up living in small houses anymore. I don’t talk about the countryside, but living in a small house around the city is not reasonable anymore. So, we must make the collective housing more than just a collective space.
Courtesy of European Collective Housing Award
We have to make the collective places as attractive as a house, with a garden, with a neighbor. And I think it’s possible. It’s just a way of thinking the housing differently.
So, collective housing is attractive because it makes people closer. Making people closer should create a friendly relationship and not a conflictual relationship. This is why it’s so important to consider that individual space is as important as collective space. Because if we just think in terms of collective, and if you have very tiny and uninteresting spaces, you cannot expect that people will be open enough to have good relations with others in the communal. This is very important because it’s not always the case. Very often today, programs give all importance to communal, while individual space keeps shrinking. Generous space for the individual creates a better communal space. That’s very important.
Everybody needs privacy, something private. They will take more pleasure in being with others if they know that they can be alone and well somewhere. So, it’s important to understand this and not think that everything should be communal for collective housing to succeed.
AD: The European Collective Housing Award emphasizes aesthetics, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability. Can you share what qualities or features in the winning project stood out to you and the jury?
AL: When we talk about housing, we talk about space and relation, space as a space of relation. And it’s important to place this at the core of the design. All the rest is something that is coming from this. Sustainable design, you know, construction, aesthetics, materials. So, in the projects that we have selected, the winning projects, we have found all of this. For La Borda there is also something special about it, it’s an interesting production model. It’s cooperative. But in both cases, every place you take is sought out comprehensively.
Conversion of a Wine Storage into Housing . Image Courtesy of esch sintzel architekten
It’s sought in a positive and generous way. For me, it’s important when we talk about housing or any architecture, not to forget that architecture is first a space for living in a large sense. And that space is not something you can look at from the outside. It’s a space that you experience. So you are inside. And for us, the facade and the aesthetics come from the decision of which kind of relation we want to define between inside and outside, between you and the others. So when it defines the nature of the separation or the openness, this is not a choice of material. It’s a choice of the material that fits the quality of relations you want to achieve.
AD: While your work in Europe has significantly impacted social housing, how do you see your principles and approaches being adapted to social housing projects in other parts of the world, particularly in developing countries?
AL: You know, I think if you consider the question of space and how to live in the space, how to live together, how to react to the climate, with the environment, how you make it possible for everybody. You cannot be mistaken. And afterward, it’s just an issue of understanding the place where you are. And the answer will not be the same in Europe, in France, in Africa, or in the US. But if you approach it with these fundamental questions, then I don’t see why it should fail somewhere.
La Borda. Image Courtesy of Lacol
I think that if you are in this attitude of, on the one hand, generous position, generous intention, and on the other hand, careful observation of where you are, then the combination should create good things.
So, for me, maybe it’s very optimistic. But I see that in some countries, in Africa for example, you see how some housing is organized, or you see that there is this care with different tools, with different materials, but it works. If we are in some fundamental philosophy or principles, I don’t see why it should not work everywhere.
