ATLANTIS RISING - Getthatmag.com

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The Magazine for Leading European Architects No.13 • 2012 

ATLANTIS 

RISING 

Aqua architecture pushes 

back the tide 

Delayed memory 

Snøhetta and DBB on the 9/11 Memorial 

Museum and developments at Ground Zero 

PLUS: The impact of the mega practice 

■ Double-skin façades ■ Designing for adidas 

Agenda architecture 

David Adjaye talks Africa, public service 

and building in the political heart of the US

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Changing weather patterns and rising sea 

levels are forcing architects to learn how 

best to embrace water as well as escape it. 

At the same time, many city planners either have to 

extend conurbations further into the hinterland, or 

break out beyond their seafronts in order to address 

the issue of rising urban density. 

ATLANTIS 

RISING 

Aqua architecture pushes 

back the tide 

DelayeD memory 

Snøhetta and DBB on the 9/11 Memorial 

Museum and developments at Ground Zero 

Head in the 

cloud 

Fuksas on Berlusconi, hypocrisy and 

his most important project to date 

SchoolS of thought 

Can architecture really improve the quality of education? 

In this issue, we meet a number of practitioners 

addressing this challenge, including Waterstudio’s 

Koen Olthuis, and discover why the real difficulty 

may come in convincing the general public 

that such structures offer real social benefits, 

as opposed to mere novelty factor and 

architectural grandstanding. 

PluS: The impact of the mega practice 

■ Double-skin façades ■ Designing for adidas 

No. 13 • 2012 

The Magazine for Leading European Architects 

No.11 • 2011 

agenDa architecture 

David Adjaye talks Africa, public service 

and building in the political heart of the US 


No. 12 • 2011 

Sprawl to enthral 

A new generation of Brazilian architects on 

transforming the nation’s cities 

pluS: The future of skyscrapers, 

Steven Holl in Biarritz, BIPV focus 



David Adjaye is an architect for whom such 

grandstanding is an anathema. As work starts on his 

$500 million National Museum of African American 

History and Culture, the final piece in Washington 

DC’s Mall master plan, he discusses the political 

and social nature of his work and the pressures of 

leading a project more than 200 years in the making. 

Reimagining the urban landscape 

Another development charged with emotional 

and political resonance continues to take shape at 

Ground Zero. Problems with financing have caused 

delays and controversies, but the 9/11 Memorial 

Museum is now on course for a 2013 opening. 

Partners from principal architects Davis Brody Bond 

and Snøhetta discuss why the extra time taken may 

serve to benefit the whole. 

Elsewhere, a host of names from practices big and 

small, including Renzo Piano, discuss the growth 

of the super studio; we investigate the growing use 

of double-skin façades, take a tour of the new adidas 

headquarters and profile the latest developments in 

the use of exterior lighting. 

Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to 

draw readers’ attention to the fact that registration 

has opened for LEAF International, taking place on 

12–14 September in Amsterdam. Entries are now 

closed for the LEAF Awards, which will be presented 

during a gala dinner the following week in London’s 

Four Seasons Park Lane. Shortlists are to be 

announced imminently – we hope to see you there. 

Phin Foster, editor 

Cover image: Waterstudio’s Sea Tree. 

No. 11 • 2011 

Welcome to LEAF 

The LEAF Review is a biannual publication that blends in-depth articles, case studies, interviews and industry profiles to create an 

intelligent forum for the best ideas and developments in the architectural industry. A series of LEAF executive events and the annual 

Emirates Glass LEAF Awards bring decision-makers and top practitioners together throughout the year. 

For everyone in building design and construction 

For further comment, news and information, visit our website: www.designbuild-network.com 

Editorial 

Editor 

Phin Foster 

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progressivedigitalmedia.com 

Chief sub-editor 

Gemma Smelt 

Sub-editor 

Laura Cook 

Features writers 

Ross Davies, Rod James, 

Philip Kleinfeld, Abi Millar 

Production 

Production manager 

Dave Stanford 

Design 

Group art director 

Henrik Williams 

Designers 

Carolyn Jones 

Gennaro Draisci 

in-key construction 

Harpa and the making of beautiful music 

Design takes flight 

Fentress and Calatrava on the airport city 

Plus: The office of the future, 

Jürgen Mayer, Konstantin Grcic 

Circulation 

Circulation manager 

Danielle Tickner 

Client services 

Derek Deschamps 

Alan Bailey 

Divisonal sales manager 

Ebony Lyon 

ebonylyon@globaltrademedia.com 

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Subscriptions 

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General 

Publisher 

William Crocker 

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John Lawrence 

johnlawrence@globaltrademedia.com 

The LEAF Review is published by 

Global Trade Media, a trading division of 

Cornhill Publications Ltd 

Registered Address: 

John Carpenter House, 

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ISSN 1747-3764 

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division of Cornhill Publications Ltd 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 


Marc newson 

The urban designer hits the waves 

The greaTesT design 

school in The world? 

When OMA met Strelka 

PlUs: New Lebanese architecture, 

“eating designer” Marije Vogelzang 

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No. 10 • 2011 

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THE LEAF REVIEW The Magazine for Leading European Architects | www.designbuild-network.com 

3

1010 BINA 

3000 NJORD 

7750 FJOLA 

www.kusch.com

Contents 

10 

24 

COVER STORY 

Atlantis rising 

Increasing urban density and rising sea levels lend 

weight to the argument of building on water as an 

alternative to free up vital urban space. But how feasible 

is the concept, in terms of design and sustainability? 

Leading experts in the field tell Ross Davies how cities 

could well extend beyond their levees in years to come. 

The intelligence 

8 Blueprints 

Keep your eyes peeled for this 

exciting selection of upcoming 

architectural projects. 

Big interview 

10 The visible man 

As work starts on the National 

Museum of African American 

History and Culture, Phin 

Foster meets David Adjaye to 

discuss the importance of 

social agenda, architecture 

as a political act and the 

art of disappearance.. 

Construction 

18 Foundations for 

remembrance 

Despite chronic delays, the 

National September 11 Memorial 

is now open and work is 

progressing on the museum. 

Bill Millard meets Carl Krebs, 

Anne Lewison and Joseph Grant 

from Davis Brody Bond and 

Snøhetta principal Craig Dykers, 

among others, to hear why this 

high-profile public site calls for 

long-range thinking. 

Sustainability 

38 Two-faced architecture 

Double-skin façades are at 

the heart of many of today’s 

greenest and most visually 

striking projects. Rod James 

speaks to Louisa Hutton, 

Gordon Gill and Jim Olon 

about new technological 

approaches, their aesthetic 

possibilities, and winning a 

building’s occupants over to 

a new way of thinking. 

Materials 

44 Healthy reflection 

Traditionally questioned over 

their sustainable credentials, 

attitudes towards all-glass 

buildings are changing. Elly Earls 

meets Design Embassy Europe 

CEO Brent Richards, KPF’s 

Robert Whitlock, and RMJM’s 

Jonathan Knight and Chris Jones 

to discover how the clever use of 

the material is driving a 

sustainable agenda and 

improving general well-being. 

Design 

56 In good shape 

adidas Laces, the sportswear 

brand’s new headquarters, is 

designed to promote a fluid, 

collaborative work culture, thanks 

to the limitless assembly 

possibilities of the WORKOUT 

modular furniture system. 

Kada Wittfeld’s Dirk Zweering 

and Karim El-Ishmawi of 

KINZO describe how 

architectural and interior 

innovation can best enhance a 

company’s working practices. 

62 The elements of surprise 

With commissions ranging 

from converted textile mills 

to the Playboy Club, awardwinning 

international practice 

Jestico + Whiles is celebrated 

for its playful take on 

architectural and interior 

design. Abi Millar meets the 

firm’s John Whiles and James 

Dilley to discuss how it is 

successfully marrying 

theatricality and understatement 

– with unexpected results. 


5

72 

77 

Special report 

68 Size vs creativity 

As multinational practices grow 

ever larger, to what extent are 

we witnessing a flight towards 

safety at the expense of 

ambition? Does scale stifle 

style? Renzo Piano of RPBW, 

Aedas CEO David Roberts, and 

partners from boutique firms 

DGT and Plasma Studio discuss 

whether size truly matters. 

Technology 

72 Light show 

As prices drop and efficiency 

increases, increasing numbers 

of architects are incorporating 

cutting-edge lighting technologies 

into the very core of their projects. 

Partners from IBA, Arup Lighting 

and Cinimod Design Studio reveal 

how architects and lighting 

designers are balancing new 

technical possibilities against a 

taste for restraint. 

77 Lower the tone 

Using discreet lighting to strike 

a balance between style and 

sustainability is no easy task. 

Elly Earls meets Lighting Design 

International’s Ellie Greisen to 

find out how a concealed LED 

lighting scheme exceeds today’s 

stringent energy-efficiency 

standards to create the desired 

client experience at London’s 

Corinthia Hotel’s ESPA Life spa. 

Innovations 

80 The innovations list 

The LEAF Review’s favourite 

new products and innovations 

from the past few months. 

Directory 

82 Events diary 

80 

6 

THE LEAF REVIEW The Magazine for Leading European Architects | www.designbuild-network.com

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The intelligence > Blueprints 

The LEAF Review’s projects to watch. 

Blueprints 

1. Rio Olympic Park, Barra 

de Tijuca, Brazil 

Master plan 

AECOM 

Expected completion: 2016 

2 1 

3 

2. eVolo 11 Skyscraper 

Recipro-City Concept, Portugal 

Mixed use 

S3 Arquitectos 

Expected completion: TBC 

3. Seattle Jelly Bean, 

Washington DC, US 

Installation 

PRAUD and Machado & Silvetti Associates 

Expected completion: TBC 

8 


The intelligence > Blueprints 

4 

4. Design Museum, 

London, UK 

Cultural centre 

OMA and John Pawson 


5. CityCenterDC, 

Washington DC, US 

Mixed use 

Foster + Partners 


6. Yas Island, 

Abu Dhabi, UAE 

Leisure and entertainment 

Benoy 

Expected competion: 2018 

6 

5 

On the web 

For detailed information on these projects and 

many others, visit our website: 

www.designbuild-network.com/projects 


9

Big interview > David Adjaye 

© Adjaye Associates 

The 

visible 

man 

As work starts on the National Museum of African 

American History and Culture, Phin Foster meets 

David Adjaye to discuss the importance of 

social agenda, architecture as a political act 

and the art of disappearance. 

© Xxxxxxxx. 

10 



David Adjaye is a ‘starchitect’. 

He will not thank me for 

saying so, in fact he’ll most 

likely reject the notion entirely, but 

the man is as close as architecture 

gets to an international pin-up. 

Photogenic, outspoken, hip, mediasavvy 

and – a rare characteristic in 

the world of Western architecture 

– non-white, the Tanzania-born 

45-year-old has spent the best part of 

his professional career in the public 

eye. He must love the attention. 

But appearances can be deceiving. 

Adjaye is one of the most vocal 

critics of a previous generation of 

‘celebrity architects’; those who, in 

his eyes, became overly associated 

with building corporate temples 

to excess, creating buildings that 

struggle to resonate beyond the 

iconic. He, on the other hand, has 

never shied away from having, as 

he puts it, “an agenda”. Adjaye 

may have first made his name 

designing townhouses for London’s 

artistic set, but the work that 

truly established his reputation is 

based firmly in the public realm: 

libraries in unfashionable postcodes; 

publicly funded exhibition spaces; 

a community college founded in 

honour of murdered architectural 

student Stephen Lawrence. 

The defining aspect of this work 

is an outright rejection of icon. 

Adjaye’s buildings do not demand to 

be looked at; they are participatory, 

engaged and plugged into their 

milieu. The best examples, such 

as his Idea Stores in London’s east 

end, are thrust into the beating 

heart of their community and yet 

camouflaged from view, so seamless 

is the nature of their interaction. A 

very visible architect, he is adroit at 

the design of invisible buildings. 

Disappearance impossible 

But this could only ever remain the 

case for so long. Adjaye Associates 

now has high-profile commissions 

on its books that could never scream 

subtlety. Chief among these is the 

$500 million National Museum 

of African American History and 

Culture, set in the shadow of the 

Washington Monument and arguably 

the most politically charged US 

development in a generation. 

It’s been a long time coming: 

African-American veterans of the 

Civil War were the first to call for its 

formation. At the groundbreaking 

ceremony in Washington DC’s 

National Mall back in February 2012, 

President Obama observed: “What 

we build here will not just be an 

achievement for our time; it will be 

a monument for all time”. Due for 

completion in 2015, invisibility is no 

longer an option. 

“It’s becoming harder to 

disappear,” Adjaye, sitting in his 

New York office, says with a hearty 

laugh. “I’m suddenly aware of being 

extremely visible and have never 

done anything more public in my 

life. We’re dealing with federal 

money, the National Mall, the 

Smithsonian. It doesn’t get more 

accountable than this and I can’t 

run away from the fact that this is a 

political monument that symbolises 

both history and change. 

Politically charged projects of this 

type come around perhaps ever 30 to 

40 years. It’s both a great honour and 

a tremendous undertaking.” 

Adjaye likens the experience to 

“working inside a bubble” and his 

forced removal from mainstream 

discourse has seen the architect 

delve further back into history for 

precedents and counsel. “I recently 

met with Oscar Niemeyer and had 

1 

1. The National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

2. Adjaye has built his reputation working in the public realm. 

2 

“There is now a real confidence, 

both among architects and 

clients, to talk about agenda, to 

insist that design needs purposE.” 

the most compelling conversation 

about building Brasilia when he 

was just 35 years old,” he explains. 

“Struggling with these social and 

political ideas about creating a 

nation and how form helps make that 

image, it was extremely powerful. I 

also spent a bit of time with Charles 

Correa, discussing his relationship 

with Nehru in the early years. 

Connecting with people who have 

engaged in these sorts of discussions 

has been invaluable.” 

Upon winning the commission in 

2009, a visit was also made to IM Pei, 

the most recent architect to build 

a museum on the mall – it looks 

as though Adjaye will be the last, 

completing the Mall master plan. 

“In a way I felt as though I was 

making a bookend to his building 

and it was important that I hear his 

thoughts,” he explains. There were 

clearly no hard feelings: Pei, alongside 

other stellar names such as Norman 

Foster and Moshe Safdie, had lost out 

to Adjaye at the final hurdle. 

Concept of history 

It was a unanimous decision. The 

concept behind the design sounds 

simple enough – a square building 

held by four columns, with an open 

first floor contained in a porchlike 

design – but where Adjaye’s 

proposal stands apart is through its 

evocation of something that reaches 

back through hundreds of years to 

West Africa, while at the same time 

engaging in a historical dialogue 

with its surrounding environment. 

“There is a duality of the political 

and the social running throughout 

the project,” he explains. “I felt we 

© Ed Reeve 


11


© David Adjaye 

© David Adjaye 

needed to tell the story of a people 

who emanate from the African 

continent, specifically the West 

African horn, and have become 

hybridised through American culture 

to become this unique group. 

“The site is also on hallowed 

ground where the high Greek style 

is used in a neo classical way to 

extort the idea of democracy and 

a new empire. But you also have a 

Pharaonic needle, the Washington 

memorial, which is really one of the 

needles of Karnak. 

“It was those classical African 

roots that I felt allowed me to find 

a trajectory to the roots of West 

Africa, which shares a very dynamic 

relationship with ancient Egypt,” 

Adjaye recalls. 

The ‘corona’ or inverted zigurrat 

shell; a perforated bronze filigree 

envelope that serves as a paean to 

African-American craftsmanship; 

Corinthian-esque central columns 

that are actually inspired by the 

verandas of Yaruba shrine houses: 

all of these come together in an 

amalgamation of cultures and 

influences that blurs the lines 

between African and classical, 

serving both to tell a story and 

evoke a people. That story is direct 

and linear, while at the same time 

wide-ranging and complex; this is 

a celebratory narrative of progress 

and heritage rather than a sober 

retrospective on hardship. 

“We wanted to create an 

architecture that begins to chronicle 

its contents and its context before 

visitors have even come to look at an 

artefact,” Adjaye explains. “The tale 

is transformational; how a people 

came to change the very nature of a 

world superpower.” 

A personal odyssey 

It is also a dialogue that tells us much 

of Adjaye’s own journey. Extensive 

travels in Africa – first as the son of a 

Ghanaian diplomat, prior to settling 

in London aged 13, and later the 

undertaking of a personal odyssey 

that encompassed 52 African 

capitals, culminating in last year’s 

publication of the seven volume 

photographic survey Adjaye · Africa 

· Architecture – have helped shape 

his world view and create a distinctly 

political architect. 

“It’s given me the confidence to 

reference Africa in a way that is 

not exotic,” Adjaye believes. “We’re 

talking about somewhere that has 

been urbanised for as long as 

Europe, if not longer, yet has this 

reputation as being a landscape 

continent. There is a tendency to 

project onto Africa rather than learn 

from it and so much that claims to 

1 

2 

1. Nouakchott, Mauritania; taken by Adjaye during his 

travels through Africa. 

2. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, seen through the eyes of Adjaye. 

be inspired by ‘the African 

experience’ is mere pastiche.” 

At the time of our conversation, 

Adjaye is only just back from Gabon, 

where his practice is working on 

several administration-backed 

commissions, and is shortly off to a 

Future Cities conference in Lagos, 

where he will address delegates 

from across the continent. The story 

he tells is of a region undergoing 

urban and social transformation at an 

unprecedented rate, a development 

that both excites and concerns. 

“The incredible influx of 

commodity money has seen a 

growing awareness of national 

image,” he says. “It seems almost 

ridiculous to discuss national identity 

when these countries are no more 

than 50 years old and one is often 

dealing with a generation that 

believes in that somewhat Soviet 

notion of symbolic constructs, which 

are nothing more than simplistic 

image making. 

“Others look to the Middle East 

because they see it as the closest 

tangible model of modernity to copy. 

That scares me. We’re seeing lots of 

corporate American and European 

practices who struggle to find work at 

home coming into the continent and 

trying to offer these solutions. They’ll 

always go where the money is.” 

But Adjaye also sees an 

emerging generation of political 

leaders, planners and architects 

as offering plenty of hope for the 

future in expressing the distinct 

characteristics of different parts of 

the continent. “Suddenly there’s 

money and ideas and people are 


13


Adjaye’s Moscow School of Management is among the most 

high-profile Russian projects by a Western architect in recent times. 

waking up to the potential of 

architecture,” he says. 

Adjaye is benefiting from this 

awakening, but he is no opportunist. 

You will not find examples of his 

work in Dubai and, despite plenty 

of offers, the practice has refused to 

cash in on the Chinese architectural 

boom. “It has never felt that 

comfortable,” he explains. 

Road to Russia 

One fast-growing economy where 

Adjaye has made his mark is Russia, 

still something of an uncharted 

territory for Western architects. The 

Moscow School of Management 

opened last year, another commission 

where a fundamental part of the brief 

was being visible. Located beyond 

Moscow’s outer ring road, four 

buildings precariously cantilever over 

a large circular base sat in abstract 

isolation, demanding to be looked at. 

“It’s an unusual brief,” the architect 

observes, “designing a public 

building in a field. The area is set to 

become Moscow’s new industrial 

belt, but there wasn’t an audience 

to speak to in the traditional sense 

of a neighbourhood. That is quite a 

challenge, making a building that is 

anticipatory and must provide enough 

precedent and possibility for what 

is to follow. That is why it is in two 

parts. The top, which is almost like 

a still life, predicts a landscape that 

is yet to form and awaits a dialogue 

with that landscape. The base, the 

incubator containing the main work 

spaces, is a more generic form that 

looks to observe rather than interact.” 

They do things differently in Russia 

and for an architect so used to public 

discourse and debate this might have 

proved a challenge. Adjaye does not 

see things changing overnight, but 

what he has witnessed goes some 

way in supporting his claim that 

architecture is a political act. 

“I think our building has given 

Moscow an incredible confidence 

that it can do great buildings that 

both look back to their history as well 

as the rest of the world,” says Adjaye, 

who made repeated reference to 

Russian avant garde artist Kazimir 

Malevich throughout the design 

process. “They can’t believe that this 

work by an outsider takes reference 

points from their culture and it’s 

interesting to see domestic architects 

make reference to how the building 

was put together. The project 

has given them the confidence to 

appreciate Russianness.” 

Future highlights 

Operating out of London, New 

York and Berlin, the practice is now 

exporting this agenda of education and 

change on an unprecedented scale. 

Upcoming highlights include two 

community libraries in Washington 

DC that, in terms of size and profile, 

couldn’t be further removed from 

events taking place a few miles away 

on the mall and which Adjaye cites 

as further exploration in creating 

participatory buildings. “I think they’ll 

surprise a few people,” he says. 

A community park in New Orleans, 

where Adjaye has been very active 

building terraced houses pro bono for 

Brad Pitt’s Make it Right foundation, 

is also nearing completion and, 

prior to our meeting, plans were 

revealed for a vast ‘Kulturecampus’ in 

Frankfurt, grouping nine institutions 

on a single 16.5-hectare site. “It will 

take a few more years to get off the 

ground, but the city really wants it,” 

says Adjaye. “We’ve had incredible 

support and the wonderful thing 

about Frankfurt is how porous, 

mutable and giving a town it is. They 

really are open to new ideas and I’m 

so excited about this project.” 

In terms of acreage, it will be the 

practice’s largest commission to 

date, something Adjaye believes is 

indicative of a fundamental change 

in mindset directly attributable to 

the fallout from the economic crisis. 

With excess out of fashion, the 

architectural dialogue is changing. 

He talks of “an end to psychobabble”: 

simplifying language without 

dumbing down concepts. 

“Where previously these issues 

might have been more softly spoken,” 

he observes, “there is now a real 

confidence, both among architects 

and clients, to talk about agenda, 

to insist that design needs purpose. 

Architecture is not just the sum 

of a fantastic piece of technical 

performance, nor is it the sum of 

solving the brief well. When you 

can do so much, it’s not enough to 

merely look good. 

“I believe there’s an emerging 

generation that sees the world 

differently. The previous generation 

also felt they were the harbingers of 

change; it’s natural, but look at what 

has happened 20 years later. We now 

distrust the engines that were meant 

to make us all rich and so defined 

the architectural agenda forged in 

an environment of incredible wealth. 

We are turning to questions of social 

responsibility and change is very 

much in the air.” 

He is in the vanguard of that 

movement, one of its highestprofile 

ambassadors. This may be 

a generation that eschews the very 

notion of starchitects, but, like it or not, 

Adjaye is now very visible indeed. ● 

14 


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15


An uplifting urban experience 

Designing an elevator is like composing music, explains KONE design director Anne Stenros. You need the right 

harmonies – access, lighting, acoustics, temperature and materials – to get it right. 

You’re stressed and running 

late. You dash through the 

lobby and intuitively find 

your way to the elevator banks. You 

push a button and within seconds 

you are whisked upward in the airconditioned 

comfort of a spacious 

scenic car. The view is inspiring. 

You take a deep breath and arrive 

at your floor feeling relaxed. 

“This is what our design philosophy 

is all about,” says Anne Stenros, 

design director at KONE. “We see 

elevators not as objects, but as an 

experience or a memorable journey 

through space. We focus on the 

ambient experience. 

“We’re not just styling attractive 

products, we are using design to dig 

deeper. We strive to optimise not 

only the user experience but also the 

wider urban infrastructure. On our 

own small scale, we harness design 

to create more liveable cities.” 

Opening innovation 

Urban areas are facing vast 

challenges related to sustainability 

and infrastructure. With a growing 

proportion of the global population 

living in megacities, the smooth 

movement of people in congested 

settings is a key enabler 

of liveability. 

“By offering efficient and emotional 

solutions for smooth people flow, 

we provide architects and city 

planners with the tools to create 

a more functional and human 

urban fabric,” says Stenros. “We 

use design as a strategic tool to 

improve quality of life.” 

Collaboration, she adds, is how you 

solve these complex challenges. 

“We work closely with universities 

in Helsinki and Shanghai, and 

with other external partners to 

open up the ‘closed’ innovation 

funnel. Partnerships, both small 

and large, are the only way to make 

sustainable change happen.” 

Forward thinking 

Urban utopias represent a new area 

of study for Stenros. She is working 

on holistic future scenarios, 

With a growing proportion of the global 

population living in megacities, the smooth 

movement of people in congested settings 

is a key enabler of liveability. 

KONE provides tools to 

create a more functional and 

human urban fabric. 

learning from the bold visions laid 

out by the British avant-garde 

architect group Archigram during 

the 1960s and 1970s. 

“Archigram’s visions are now a 

reality,” she says. “We are also 

using foresight to imagine what 

the cities of tomorrow will look 

like. We are constantly monitoring 

micro and macro trends, and the 

capabilities we need to support our 

desired future vision.” 

Wide-ranging research explains 

why KONE is the industry leader in 

design innovation. One of the R&D 

areas in which the company invests 

generously is user-experience 

research, which studies how people 

respond when interacting with 

technology and their environment. 

Rigorous usability testing ensures 

that all user interfaces are fit 

for purpose, pleasant to use and 

entirely intuitive. 

“Users shouldn’t have to think 

about how our equipment works 

or how to get to their desired 

destination,” says Stenros. “This 

should be automatically obvious.” 

Local inspiration 

KONE is also active in a specialised 

area of design dedicated to colours, 

materials and finishes. Through 

trend research, KONE fine-tunes 

its designs to strike the right 

emotional chord in step with 

current tastes. 

But tastes vary. How does KONE 

ensure that its equipment is visually 

pleasing to different cultures? 

16 



We will be seeing more intelligent 

elevators with integrated access control. 

Lighting, too, will play a greater role as 

a mood enhancer. 

“We create global concepts, but 

we localise them by changing their 

‘skin’,” explains Stenros. “Colours, 

patterns and material combinations 

are strong elements that touch the 

emotions. We work hard to create 

the right local impact.” 

In India, for example, people 

prefer much brighter tones than 

in Scandinavia. Stenros recently 

worked with a young Indian artist 

who added exuberant new shades 

to the KONE palette. 

“We love collaborating with local 

artists and designers because they 

inspire us and help us think outside 

the box,” she says. “And, of course, 

they know their culture best.” 

As well as the right cultural 

trimmings, what else 

goes into creating a great 

ambient experience? 

a bigger space,” says Stenros. “An 

elevator shouldn’t feel like a tin can.” 

Spine of the building 

One of the most exciting trends is 

‘elastic design’, which promises to 

make next-generation technology 

more intuitive than ever. 

“When I buy a new smartphone, for 

example, it takes a while before I 

learn to use it,” says Stenros. “In the 

future, I will teach the technology to 

understand me. It will adapt itself to 

my way of using it.” 

She describes elevators as the 

‘spine’ of the building and claims 

that they will become information 

centres equipped with Wi-Fi access 

or information screens. We will be 

seeing more intelligent elevators 

with integrated access control. 

Lighting, too, will play a greater role 

as a mood enhancer. 

“Easy access, pleasant lighting, 

good acoustics, optimum 

temperature, durable materials, 

attractive finishes, the right 

look and feel – inspiration for all 

senses,” explains Stenros. “There 

are countless ‘instruments’ that 

we blend together to create a 

harmonious mood. Beyond that, we 

want to create an uplifting feeling. 

We aim to inspire.” 

Elevators are one of the safest 

means of transportation, but 

some people have a natural 

aversion to riding in them. How 

can design help? 

“Glossy surfaces, mirrors and floating 

ceilings can conjure the illusion of 

Meanwhile, environmental 

requirements are growing 

tougher. “We have to ensure that 

all the materials we use are fully 

sustainable throughout their entire 

lifecycle, from sourcing to disposal.” 

Social innovation is another 

interesting domain. “How can we 

make elevators a comfortable place 

to interact?,” asks Stenros. “How 

can we benefit socially from this 

small, intimate space?” 

Wow factor 

Good design, Stenros emphasises, 

however you define it, is something 

from which everyone benefits. 

Users get better quality of life, 

architects get components to 

Easy access, pleasant lighting and 

attractive finishes help make the 

elevator ride an enjoyable experience. 

match the image of the buildings 

they design and developers get a 

valuable branding tool. 

“A mall developer once told me 

that it’s pointless to offer highend 

brands if the mall itself 

doesn’t have a ‘wow’ factor,” says 

Stenros. “Shoppers will take their 

money elsewhere, because the 

same brands are everywhere. It’s 

a mistake to underestimate the 

sophistication of consumers.” 

When asked to define good design, 

Stenros fires off a confident reply. 

“It doesn’t have to scream for 

attention. It’s not just about looks 

or economics – it’s that certain 

something that inspires and energises 

you. Whether it’s a chair, car or 

elevator, good design supports who 

you are – and who you want to be.” ● 


KONE 

www.kone.com 


17

Insight > Construction 

© Snøhetta 

Snøhetta’s Memorial Museum 

Pavilion in New York. 

Foundations for 

remembrance 

Despite chronic delays, the National September 11 

Memorial is finally open, with work progressing on the 

museum. Bill Millard meets architects from Snøhetta 

and Davis Brody Bond, and hears why this high-profile 

public site calls for long-range thinking. 

Patience is not a quality 

generally attributed to 

Americans, particularly New 

Yorkers. As the tenth anniversary of 

the World Trade Center attack passed 

last September, even the dignified 

opening ceremony for the Memorial 

Plaza couldn’t dispel a sense of 

frustration at the time it has taken 

to realise the final version of Daniel 

Libeskind’s Ground Zero Master Plan. 

Four towers will eventually occupy 

the 16-acre site. Two are currently 

making significant progress: the 

revised 1 WTC by Skidmore, Owings 

and Merrill (no longer known as the 

Freedom Tower, and now New York’s 

tallest structure, having surpassed 

the Empire State Building on 30 April) 

and 4 WTC by Fumihiko Maki. On 2 

WTC by Foster + Partners and 3 WTC 

by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, 

18 



structural work proceeds for severely 

shortened designs, with construction 

schedules and full-height redesigns 

contingent on fundraising by 

developer Larry Silverstein. 

Attention to the towers can 

overshadow the site’s lower-level 

components: the WTC Transportation 

Hub by Santiago Calatrava (slated for 

completion in 2015), the Memorial 

Plaza, the National September 11 

Museum by Davis Brody Bond 

(DBB), and the Museum Entry 

Pavilion by Norwegian/American 

firm Snøhetta. Amid all the security 

fencing, construction noise, and 

incessant presence of the local and 

global media, elements of a complex 

public space are all emerging, but not 

quickly or steadily. 

Difficulties, delays 

and deadlines 

After a drastic revamp of the 

construction schedule and an 

expensive effort to complete the 

plaza in time to honour a former 

governor’s pledge to victims’ families 

that it would open within a decade, 

a financial dispute between the Port 

Authority of New York and New 

Jersey (the site’s landowner) and the 

9/11 Memorial Foundation led to a 

delay in payment for subcontractors 

working on the museum. Work ground 

to a halt in the third quarter of 2011. 

A partial payment brought the subs 

some relief in April this year, and local 

business-press reports have suggested 

a mid-2013 completion date (revised 

from the optimistic previous estimate 

of 11 September 2012). Architects from 

the firms working on the museum and 

pavilion say it’s impossible to give a 

definitive date. 

Some New Yorkers and national 

pundits find it embarrassing that the 

US has not marshalled the financial, 

political or organisational resources 

to rebuild Ground Zero on a timetable 

rivaling those seen recently in China. 

The likelihood that it won’t appear in 

our lifetimes has become a common 

lament, in a city where kvetching 

comes as naturally as breathing. 

What strikes some observers as 

a symptom of cumbersome public 

processes and private obstructionism 

appears to others, particularly those 

closer to the site, as not a flaw but an 

inevitable, even admirable feature. 

These 16 acres are hallowed ground 

(particularly, but not exclusively, to 

the loved ones of the 2,983 victims 

whose names appear on the fountain 

parapets); for those lost in the twin 

towers, Ground Zero is their gravesite. 

It is also high-value land in a dense 

city with an acute need for open space. 

Construction within this tight 

site, shared by multiple projects and 

intersected below grade by active 

train lines, poses multidimensional, 

multivariate problems. The difficulties 

are chronological as well as spatial; 

along with solving problems of 

structure, circulation, security, 

lighting, materials and programme, 

the architects must remain aware 

of immediate and long-range 

imperatives that are often in tension. 

Reconciling these disparate 

impulses would be difficult 

regardless of distractions like 

political grandstanding and financial 

disputes. Most of what the public 

sees of Ground Zero is a massive 

construction site with airport-style 

controlled access – a hole filled with 

promises and money. What those 

working there observe is a series of 

transformations, the most radical of 

which remains invisible: a vast space 

that served as the original towers’ 

underground garages is becoming 

a shrine that preserves artefacts, 

memories and values. Rarely is 

architecture’s entanglement with 

hot-button philosophical and social 

questions as explicit as it is here. 

There is a strong case for not 

rushing the job. Carl Krebs, partner 

at DBB and a chief spokesman for 

the firm, suggests that the successful 

opening of the memorial has “in 

some degree given the foundation 

the ability to take some time [on 

the museum]. In a sense they’ve 

delivered a very important project to 

the public, and that has enabled them 

to be much more measured in these 

next steps.” 

Above and below 

The mission for both the memorial 

and museum is to do justice to 

the past, Snøhetta principal Craig 

Dykers notes, as the commercial 

towers look toward the future. 

His firm’s pavilion links these 

elements, emphasising immediate 

present experience through its 

scale (three humble storeys seen 

from outside near the taller towers, 

then a deep and dramatic descent 

into its atrium), its forms (largely 

non-orthogonal, contrasting 

sharply with the symmetries of the 

square fountains), and its materials 

(especially its semi-reflective mattefinish 

stainless steel, which scatters 

light while hinting at legible images, 

acting as both lampshade and mirror 

to ‘grow light’). 

“Our framework of developing 

the geometry was based on how 

we could connect it to daily life and 

your normal range of vision, so the 

building is very horizontal in nature,” 

Dykers says. “It fits into your eye 

as you move through the street; it 

rises up from the ground plane and 

right where it touches the ground, 

you’re able to interact with the 

building directly through reflections 

in the façade. So there’s a sense that 

because of its diminutive size, its 

horizontal frame and its reflectivity, 

it is interacting with the daily life of 

those that pass by.” 

One of Snøhetta’s earlier 

projects, Cairo’s Alexandria Library, 

puts contemporary frustrations 

in perspective. 

“That was an undertaking that 

already had 2,000 years of history 

behind it, and it took us over a 

decade to complete,” explains 

Dykers. “But as long as that might 

sound, it’s a third the length of time 

it took to complete the British 

National Library.” 

If anything, the negotiations and 

decisions at the WTC strike him as 

moving too quickly. 

“These 16 acres are hallowed 

ground; for those lost 

in the twin towers, Ground Zero is 

their gravesite.” 

“Some aspects of the planning 

work could have been slower, to allow 

different factions to coalesce into 

more fluid attitudes and be managed 

easier during the design process. 

When things happen too quickly, it 

can polarise people quickly.” 

Recognising that the site will 

mature, he likens current reactions to 

“looking at a sonogram of a baby”. 

Snøhetta’s project manager Anne 

Lewison, having worked for 11 years 

on another building of great historic 

gravity, Pei Cobb Freed’s Holocaust 

Memorial in Washington, DC, notes 

that 50 years passed between the 

horrors being commemorated and that 

building’s design and construction. 

“The rush to finish that one was 

because the survivors were dying,” 

she explains. “[The 9/11 Museum is] 

much more a memorial for people 

who have no cemetery, no gravestone, 

no marker and the existence of the 

marker is tremendously important 

in this generation of its life. This 

memorial, I think, will have a different 

tone in 20 years. It was designed and 

built very freshly after the event, with 


19


what I would consider emotions still 

profoundly felt and close to the surface.” 

Time and relationships 

Memory of the 9/11 trauma is 

steadily exchanging immediacy 

for longer perspective; the trees 

will grow, and the surfaces acquire 

patinas. At the same time, the 

popular relation to the site is likely 

to mature as well. War memorials 

as a typology of large-scale public 

space, Lewison observes, are rarer 

in the US than in Europe. Aside 

from relatively scarce battlegrounds 

or monuments from the American 

Revolution, the Civil War and 

conflicts between Native Americans 

and settlers, history has largely 

spared US land the burdens and 

scars of military attack. 

The great concrete slurry wall 

held back the water pressure 

from the Hudson. 

© Michael Arad and Peter Walker 

“Arlington Cemetery is one of 

the only ones of this magnitude 

and solemnity,” says Lewison. “Our 

cultural experiences tend to be more 

entertainment-based.” 

Lewison finds that the site often 

generates reactions of patriotism and 

resilience among Americans, while 

international visitors tend to respond 

with solemnity and a sense of solidarity 

rather than ‘ownership’. Children 

visiting the memorial, too, run and 

throw gravel as they would do in any 

park; appropriate use of such a space 

is a learned behaviour. This cultural 

context affects design decisions: in 

a setting where the programme’s 

inherent gravitas is anomalous, the 

pavilion and museum need to reconcile 

the imperatives of education, security, 

community, fidelity and dignity. 

The experience of visiting the 

museum, DBB’s architects agree, 

best honours its subject by rejecting 

excessive programming or packaging. 

Circulation is one way, but didactic 

texts are de-emphasised, especially 

at critical points like the column base 

of the original towers, so as to avoid 

narrowing visitors’ interpretation of 

the events and their background. 

Aware that “everybody who comes 

to this museum has had a 9/11 

experience”, as Krebs notes, and that 

some factions want the museum to 

tell their 9/11 story and their story 

alone, DBB and the curators lean 

toward letting the site’s features and 

contents speak for themselves. 

Form and control 

Ground Zero’s heightened security 

concerns present further questions 

of control. 

“The museum is a very emotionally 

challenging experience to begin with 

and it doesn’t need to be made any 

more painful,” says Krebs. 

Security must be tight, with 

screening at the pavilion and 

cameras ubiquitous (if discreet). 

“The entire site is under incredible 

scrutiny,” Krebs says. “One of the 

things the Port Authority did was 

to implement a series of site-wide 

standards, so each of the projects 

meets certain requirements... 

beyond typical code requirements 

for security, egress, and life safety.” 

Snøhetta’s Lewison puts it 

succinctly: “We really had to design 

a bunker without it looking like a 

bunker at all.” 

One enters the museum from the 

plaza, “taking you from the world of 

“Libeskind views the slurry wall as 

a strong metaphor for democratic 

values and institutions that held 

fast under attack.” 

the city into the precinct of the 9/11 

dead,” as Krebs says, passing first 

through the pavilion and descending 

via escalator or stairs past an 

enormous icon of the original towers: 

a pair of trident columns salvaged 

from the attack site. This is one of 

many artefacts that emphasise the 

scale of the destroyed buildings and 

the immensity of the loss; the space 

itself is another. 

Curator Alice Greenwald notes 

that the museum is “a site where the 

foundations still exist in situ. So, in 

many respects, where other museums 

are buildings that house artefacts, 

we’re a museum sitting within one”. 

Gradually acclimating the visitor to 

the space’s strangeness and power, 

a ‘ribbon ramp’ of gently descending 

planes with a prominent switchback 

at an observation point above the 

main floor makes the approach a 

logical procession through dramatic 

moments and positions. The main 

museum space is cathedral-sized, 

with 60ft-high ceilings, large enough 

to contain either the Guggenheim 

Museum or the Whitney Museum of 

American Art. 

The final descent to this floor 

passes the Survivor Stairway, the 

last above-ground remnant of the 

ruined complex and a route to safety 

for hundreds of evacuees during the 

attack, preserved and moved across 

the site to join the other exhibition 

features, including individual profiles 

of each victim, steel fragments 

(some mutilated by the attack and 

some during lifesaving efforts), a 

crushed taxicab, part of the north 

tower’s broadcast antenna, and the 

final salvaged and graffiti-inscribed 

box column. 

Meaningful access 

The master plan mandates that the 

museum provide “meaningful access” 

to various features: the bedrock of 

Manhattan schist that originally 

supported the towers, the shearedoff 

box-column bases, the tower 

footprints and the concrete slurry 

wall that held back water pressure 

from the Hudson (preventing an even 

greater disaster). Libeskind views the 

slurry wall as a strong metaphor for 

democratic values and institutions 

that held fast under attack, and it 

has consequently been designated a 

historic asset; marking a centrepiece 

of the museum, its massive 

tiebacks protrude as mute sentinels 

overseeing the space and resisting 

static pressure. 

“What you see is not actually 

original concrete,” says Krebs. “It’s 

this remedial concrete that was put 

on it after the period of recovery, a 

testament to the recovery of the site.” 

It also contrasts strongly with the 

crisp, polished concrete of the new 

flooring, which almost resembles 

terrazzo, and the excavated sections 

that expose large chunks of the 

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The museum’s interior features the final salvaged and graffiti-inscribed box column. 

“Finally re-emerging into open 

space will offer ample 

opportunities to comprehend the 

event’s personal and 

cultural meanings.” 

foundations. Associate partner 

Joseph Grant finds that these 

materials, some from the 1970s 

and some post-attack, encode the 

building’s history. 

“You’re seeing a combination of 

what the original building was and 

what the restoration process required 

the site to become,” he says. 

The juxtaposition of refined and 

industrial elements is a recurring 

motif throughout. 

“We didn’t want this to look 

like the perfect beautiful concrete 

building,” Krebs adds. “Having some 

roughness or inconsistency in the 

concrete is part of the atmosphere of 

being in this deep hole.” 

The tower footprints are now 

embodied as the plaza’s north and 

south fountains. Correcting early 

plans in which street-grid restoration 

prevented the north pool from 

precisely matching the north tower 

site, Krebs reports, both are now 

exactly where the towers stood. 

“From the perspective of the 

museum,” he says, “it was actually 

critical, we felt, to get them to align, 

because when you got down to the 

column bases, there was going to be 

no ability to fake it.” 

Above the column stumps, the 

undersides of these pools hang some 

30ft from the plaza surface into the 

exhibition space, underlit and clad in 

an eyecatching recycled aluminium 

foam (Cymat Alusion, a lightweight 

aerospace material) that, Krebs says, 

“accepts the light in an incredibly 

liquid way [and] has this ethereal, 

ghostly quality. It almost becomes a 

cloud of light.” It is also an abstract 

reference to the aluminium cladding 

of the original towers, transformed 

into something irregularly textured, 

nearly organic. 

These volumes are a central 

organising feature of the space, 

imparting a sense of vast scale 

matching that of the fountains above. 

Instead of subdivision into smaller 

sequential galleries, and a screening 

room added beneath the south tower, 

this museum uses an open plan. 

“We knew we had to accommodate 

a lot of flexible space for that kind 

of interpretive exhibit, almost 

black-box space,” Krebs explains. 

“So, trying to do that, whether it 

was consciously or not, we slowly 

evolved into a process where the 

public spaces are really about the insitu 

artifacts, the envelope, the big 

pieces of relics, but the footprints 

themselves were carved out as really 

distinct environments that could 

handle media, graphics and smallerscale 

objects.” 

Towards the light 

Returning to the plaza, the visitor will 

have completed a process of descent 

and ascent that mirrors and inverts 

© DBB 

the path taken by survivors who 

escaped their burning workplaces 

through corridors and fire stairs. If 

it is conventional to associate an 

increase in altitude with a positive 

movement toward light, contrasting 

with the ‘descent through the 

underworld’ motif undertaken by 

countless mythological heroes, the 

experience of passing through this 

museum, contemplating the atrocity 

itself and the instances of rescue and 

sacrifice recorded on that day, then 

finally re-emerging into open space 

will offer ample opportunities to 

comprehend the event’s personal 

and cultural meanings. 

“We also see the plaza as really 

the last experience in the visit to 

the museum, because you’ve seen 

the story, you’ve heard the stories 

of people who went through the 

events, and you come back up to the 

memorial, and maybe potentially you 

see the memorial again in a different 

light,” Krebs explains. 

No constructed space can 

completely dictate its possible uses, 

but through exhibits, educational 

presentations and respectful 

design decisions alike, the National 

September 11 Museum and Memorial 

will strive to emphasise the gravity 

of the event and of the most forwardthinking 

responses to it. 

Greenwald speaks of the sense of 

awe produced by the west chamber, 

which includes the majestic slurry 

wall, as representative of the 

intended overall effect. 

“In a sense it becomes the 

foundation not of the buildings 

that aren’t there any more; it’s the 

foundation of the world we’re going 

to build going out of this museum, 

and committing ourselves to, a 

world in which you don’t have to 

fly planes into buildings to make a 

point,” he says. 

Destruction, after all, is the ultimate 

act of inarticulacy and immaturity. A 

community’s efforts to rise above that 

level take time – and deserve it. ● 

22 



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23


Increasing urban density and rising sea levels lend 

weight to the argument of building on water as an 

alternative to freeing up vital urban space. 

But how feasible is the concept, in terms of 

design and sustainability? Ross Davies speaks 

to the most notable leaders in the field about 

how cities could extend well beyond their 

levees in the coming years. 

Atlantis 

rising 

among us hasn’t at one 

point wanted to ditch it all and 

“Who 

start afresh on a desert island?” 

So says George Petrie when I call him at his 

Houston home. Petrie is director of engineering 

at the Seasteading Institute, a US-based think 

tank dedicated to the creation of independent 

sovereign states on the world’s seas as an 

alternative to “today’s political systems”. 

“The bad news is that there are no deserted 

islands left,” he continues. “Every piece of 

land on the planet has been claimed by at 

least one country. So you need to build your 

own island, so to speak.” 

The concept of floating utopian 

principalities may well smack of blue-sky 

thinking, but politics aside, it does touch 

upon two salient issues at hand that 

are threatening to hamstring some of 

the world’s largest cities. 

In line with rising urbanisation, 

city infrastructures are facing 

unprecedented space 

constraints. And with 

the world’s population 

forecasted to hit nine 

billion in 2015, 

the endemic 

24 



is showing no signs of dissipating. 

There is also the insidious threat of 

rising tides to consider – the UN’s 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

Change (IPCC) predicts that sea levels 

will have risen by 18–59cm by 2100. 

Given that several of the world’s 

metropolises, including the likes of 

New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney 

and Mumbai, are found on the 

coast, governments and city 

planners may soon face the tough 

task of either having to extend 

conurbations further into the 

hinterland, or break out beyond 

their seafronts and build on water. 

It would seem that many would 

do well to follow the lead of the 

Netherlands. With about 50% of land 

lying below sea level, the country has 

notably spent centuries constructing 

dams, dykes and canals in order to 

fend off water. However, according 

to Koen Olthuis, founder of Dutchbased 

architecture firm Waterstudio, 

in recent years this approach has 

parlayed into “embracing” the 

country’s nexus of waterways. 

“The Netherlands has effectively 

been an artificial country for 

hundreds of years,” he says. “We 

have always fought against water for 

one reason – to get space. However, 

these days, this entails actually 

working with it. And it’s not just for 

here – it can apply to anywhere.” 

Water world 

Olthuis, who was once ranked by 

readers of TIME magazine as the 

122nd most influential person in the 

world, is a trailblazer in the field of 

aqua architecture. In his homeland, 

he has played a pivotal part in the 

development of water houses, such 

as those found in Amsterdam’s 

IJburg district, the world’s first 

floating residential neighbourhood. 

The buildings are supported by 

moored, pontoon-like structures 

comprised of foam bodies encased 

in concrete – not dissimilar to the 

floating structures used in the 

offshore industry. 

As a result, Amsterdam has 

effectively adjusted and expanded 

its parameters to house citizens. 

And, as Olthuis infers, such 

projects aren’t solely confined to 

his homeland. 

Through his other venture, Dutch 

Docklands, he is in the process 

of transferring the practice to the 

Maldives. Commissioned by former 

president Mohamed Nasheed, the 

firm is currently engineering a 

floating golf course and resort in the 

region, which will be interconnected 

by a network of underwater tunnels. 

The project is set to cost in the 

region of $500 million and should be 

completed by 2015. 

The South Pacific archipelago 

– at the mercy of its surrounding 

“City planners may soon face the tough task of either 

having to extend conurbations further into the 

hinterland, or break out beyond their Seafronts and 

build on water.” 

waters since time immemorial – 

could benefit exponentially from the 

development. The resort has been 

designed to ramp up the country’s 

tourism trade – essential to its 

economy – while also paving the 

way for further residential floating 

structures in the future. 

“The idea is that if you can 

build a floating golf course, you 

can use the same technology 

for floating housing, as well as 

agriculture and energy,” he says. 

“There’s a market emerging in terms 

of challenging urbanisation and 

climate change. The project in the 

1 

2 

1. Olthuis’ Sea Tree: architecture exclusively for flora and fauna. 

2. S+PBA’s Wetropolis, Bangkok. 


25

Your specialist 

for translucent 

building elements 

RODECA: the inventor and one of the market leaders in the 

field of translucent facade cladding. 

Diversity and quality are what characterises the product range 

of RODECA: whether transparent construction elements for 

the wall, roof and facade design, the design series for colourful 

highlights, or complete system solutions from modular elements 

– building contractors, planners and architects invariably profit 

from our product range. 

PC 3560-12 

a 60mm thick panel with 

12 chambers achieves 

an Up-Value from 0.71 

to 0.77 W/m²K depending 

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Thanks to the multilayered structure, translucent building 

elements and multi-wall sheets offer optimum heat insulation 

for energy-efficient facade and roof glazing and establish new 

standards in transparent heat insulation 

www.rodeca.de 

Depending on the type of construction and specific initial situation, 

energy consumption can be reduced by up to 80%. 

Rodeca has more than 40 years experience in the extrusion of 

polycarbonate panels and multiwall sheets and their pioneering 

spirit has already left its mark in many of the major cities.


Maldives could make a real impact 

in this area.” 

Sink or swim 

Across the Bay of Bengal, Thailand 

is facing a similar danger. Bangkok, 

built on silt and swampland, is 

slowly sinking. Throw in a booming 

urban density – the city’s population 

has passed the ten million mark 

– and the capital’s future hangs 

uncomfortably in the balance. 

In response, local architects such 

as S+PBA are looking beyond the 

banks of the brimming Chao Phraya 

River as a means of sustainably 

freeing up space – particularly 

pertinent given the country’s 

ill-conceived deforestation 

programmes of the past. 

Last year, the group published a 

paper entitled ‘A Post-Diluvian Future’ 

1. Floating modular structures will house Wetropolis inhabitants. 

2. The Wetropolis project extends into the Chao Phraya River. 

addressing the possibility of building 

on water. The report proposes the 

construction of the artificial city 

‘Wetropolis’, in which communities 

would be housed on a set of floating 

modular structures, framed by a 

network of bridge-like steel arcs. 

“Wetropolis may be the only way 

for people living along the coastal 

areas to survive,” says Songsuda 

Adhibai, a senior partner at the 

firm. “The design would certainly 

1 

2 


27


1 

2 

1. London’s Floating Village will be mobile. 

2. Floating apartments by Waterstudio. 

minimise our footprint, as well. Our 

aim is for it to be a city with a low 

impact on the natural environment, 

where humans can co-exist with 

nature symbiotically.” 

As well as bridging sociological 

and ecological gaps, some believe 

that building on water may, in fact, 

offer an additional aesthetical boon 

to cities, especially with regards 

to the revival of disused and 

dilapidated harbours and seafronts. 

Christophe Egret is one such 

proponent of this argument. Egret, 

who contributed to the Royal 

Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) 

2010 report ‘Facing up to Rising Sea 

Levels’, is a founding partner 

of London-based architecture 

practice Studio Egret West. 

In October, the firm won planning 

commission to design and construct 

London’s Floating Village around 

the city’s Royal Docks. Work is set to 

commence after the 2012 Olympics. 

“We are hoping that the village 

could symbolise the regeneration 

of the docks and really animate 

the space, which has been empty 

for so long,” he says. “It will house 

a swimming pool, as well as 

restaurants, cafés and bars. Also, 

the beautiful thing about a floating 

structure, such as a pontoon, is that 

it is mobile and can be moved from 

A to B if needs be.” 

Changing perception 

The architectural community would 

appear to be in agreement that, in 

terms of technology, building on 

water is more than viable. Today’s 

cruise megaships, which can 

carry over 3,000 passengers, are 

commonly cited as the “If they can, 

why can’t we?” benchmark. The 

same goes for offshore platforms, 

upon which personnel can be 

billeted for several months at a time. 

According to Olthuis, the real 

challenge may come in convincing 

the general public that such 

structures offer real social benefits, 

as opposed to mere novelty factor 

and architectural grandstanding. 

“For us, the biggest battle is to 

change perceptions; the minds 

of normal people,” he says. 

“That is to say that living on 

water can be exactly the same 

as on land, and that space on 

water is just as valuable.” 

Nonetheless, Olthuis has gone 

some way towards dispelling such 

scepticism, as demonstrated by his 

latest project, the Sea Tree. 

Issued at the start of the year, the 

rendering of a multitiered tower 

located in the heart of New York’s 

Upper Bay – designed as a haven 

for flora and fauna endangered by 

urban pollution – was met with 

considerable public interest as a 

result of its ingenuity. 

In light of such efforts, we may 

well see more architects follow suit 

in reimagining water: not as an 

intractable force of nature, but that 

of prized and abundant real estate, 

which could sustain the urban 

landscape for many generations 

to come. 

And, who knows, George Petrie’s 

vision of autonomous kingdoms on 

the waves may one day not seem so 

radical after all. ● 

© Koen Olthuis 

28 



Cradle-to-cradle flooring: 

recyclability as standard 

Shaw Contact Group offers a complete line of fully certified 

recyclable flooring solutions for commercial applications. 

Imagine if we designed buildings 

and their contents to be recycled. 

How drastically would that affect 

our impact upon the environment? 

The cradle-to-cradle philosophy takes 

its cues from nature’s own cycle of 

reuse by focusing on creating products 

that will be deconstructed and recycled 

into their original materials, over and 

over again. Shaw Contract Group, the 

world’s first flooring manufacturer 

to leverage Cradle to Cradle 

certification, now boasts a complete 

line of fully certified recyclable 

flooring solutions for commercial 

applications. These include: 

• carpet tile and broadloom – 

EcoWorx is a PVC-free, 

bitumen-free, fully recyclable 

backing that delivers highperformance 

durability and is 

made of 44% recycled content 

• hardsurface − Shaw hardwoods 

have recycled wood at their 

core and a surface designed to 

withstand the high traffic of a 

commercial environment 

• certified installation 

solutions − LokDots is a virtually 

VOC-free installation alternative 

to traditional wet adhesive, ideal 

for high-moisture or occupied 

space installations. 

With more than 270 Silver-certified 

products, Shaw Contract Group has the 

most diverse and complete catalogue of 

cradle-to-cradle solutions. ● 

Shaw’s No Rules range of 

high-quality carpet tiles allows 

designers freedom and creativity. 


Shaw Contract Group 

www.shawcontractgroup.com 

ON THE EDGE COLLECTION | VERTICAL EDGE TILE 

DESIGN IS 

More than 4,000 colours and styles, fully customisable, thoroughly sustainable Waste is not an option. 

COMMERCIAL TILE, BROADLOOM & HARDWOOD 

www.shawcontractgroup.com | London Showroom: 0207 490 4006 


29


Seamless strength 

and beauty in stone 

The Cosentino Group is a global leading company, focusing its activity on the 

design, production and distribution of quartz, recycled and other natural stone 

surfaces for commercial and domestic projects. 

Cosentino’s most important 

brands include the 

leading quartz surface 

Silestone and ECO by Cosentino, 

a revolutionary surface made from 

75% recycled materials. 

Functional, beautiful and extremely 

hygienic, Silestone quartz work 

surfaces are composed of over 90% 

natural quartz crystals; only three 

other natural minerals – diamond, 

sapphire and topaz – are harder 

than quartz. 

Ideal qualities 

Perfect for use in commercial and 

consumer projects, Silestone has 

bacteriostatic protection, nearly 

five times the flexural strength 

of granite, and high resistance to 

scratches, stains and heat. With a 

ten-year warranty, Silestone is the 

ideal surface for use in a variety of 

applications, including work surfaces, 

bar/reception tops, flooring, vanity 

units, splashbacks and wall cladding. 

Silestone is available in more 

than 60 distinctive through-body 

Silostone sinks come in a 

range of colours and finishes. 

colours, with a shade and tone 

consistency that is not found with 

natural stone. It also has three 

textures: polished, leather (slightly 

matt) and Volcano (textured). 

Silestone slabs without joints 

are available in two sizes 

(1.38m×3.04m and 1.57m×3.25m) 

and three thicknesses (1.2cm, 2cm 

and 3cm). Silestone tiles are also 

available in five sizes (60×30cm, 

60×40cm, 60×60cm, 40×40cm 

and 30×30cm). 

Silestone can be used as work surfaces, 

flooring, splashbacks or cladding. 

Perfect for use in commercial and consumer 

projects, Silestone has bacteriostatic protection, 

five times the flexural strength of granite and 

high resistance to scratches, stains and heat. 

Silestone can be seen in some of 

the world’s unique, high-profile 

constructions, such as the Hotel 

Burj Al Arab in Dubai, London’s 

Wembley Stadium, the Carrousel 

du Louvre in Paris, the Torre Agbar 

in Barcelona, and Telefónica’s 

flagship centre in Madrid. 

Silestone Integrity sinks 

Following extensive research, 

innovation and development, 

Cosentino introduced the Silestone 

Integrity DUE sinks, made from one 

piece of Silestone, which means 

there are no weak areas or joints. 

The sink integrates perfectly with 

the worktop for a continuous sleek 

design and has all the benefits of a 

Silestone product. 

Available in a wide range of 

colours, DUE sinks come in two 

sizes and provide clean, straight 

lines for drainage. The first sink 

measures 37×34×15.5cm and is 

ideal for double sink spaces; while 

the second, with dimensions of 

37×51×15.5cm, is a great choice for 

a single sink. 

The DUE sinks can also be teamed 

together to create a popular oneand-a-half 

sink design. The original 

Silestone Integrity ONE sink 

measures 41×51×15.5cm. 

ECO by Cosentino 

Available in an array of beautiful 

colours, the stunning ECO by 

Cosentino surfaces are composed 

of 75% recycled materials, including 

mirrors and glass for striking 

designs that are also extremely 

durable, with high stain, scratch 

and scorch-resistance. 

Available in jumbo slabs of 

327×159cm, as well as standard tile 

sizes, ECO by Cosentino is ideal for 

use in a huge range of applications, 

including work surfaces, flooring 

and wall cladding. The large slabs 

allow for a higher square footage 

of material per container, therefore 

minimising the product’s carbon 

footprint, and providing a higher 

yield of material during fabrication 

that reduces seams and waste. The 

slabs are available in 1.2cm, 2cm 

and 3cm thicknesses to respond to 

varying market needs. ● 


The Cosentino Group 

www.cosentinogroup.net 


31


All-round cover 

As well as providing sun protection, Markilux awnings come in many styles and offer a host of impressive technical functions. 

Lifestyle awnings by Markilux provide practical 

functions, such as quiet opening and closing 

operations via a special sound system. 

manufacturer has, over the course 

of 40 years, focused on designing 

convenience awnings that have 

intelligent functions. As a result, the 

firm offers a range of products with 

different technical capabilities. 

Awning with an integrated 

illumination system. 

Typically, an awning provides 

protection from the sun, 

gives shade and perhaps 

adds a touch of colour to a 

building’s façade. Yet Markilux, the 

German awning specialist of stylish 

and technically innovative sun 

protection, can show that awnings 

do far more than just provide 

shade, protection and colour. 

Optimised design 

Robust, easy-to-maintain and durable 

materials are the basis of Markilux’s 

high-quality lifestyle awnings; 

however, as well as providing 

classic sun-protection equipment, 

the creative awning and textiles 

Practical functions 

New Silentec technology ensures 

that the automated opening of the 

awning is quiet, while some awning 

designs incorporate a sounding 

body through which relaxing 

music is played. 

A range of illumination systems 

create atmospheric accent lighting 

or the ‘schattenplus’ function – an 

awning within an awning that 

provides protection, even when the 

sun is low in the sky. 

The Skylife system raises the centre 

of the awning into an apex for 

improved rainwater drainage, while 

dirt and water-repellent materials 

ensure that the awnings and 

sun-protection fabrics, which offer 

maximum UV protection, continue 

to look attractive for long periods. 

Markilux is one of the largest German 

brand names and for more than 

a quarter of a century it has been 

devoted to making life on the balcony 

and patio even more enjoyable. 

Markilux focuses on multifunctional 

products that are well-designed, 

durable, stylish and easy to handle, 

making awnings more than just a 

classic sun-protection product. ● 


Markilux 

www.markilux.com 

32 


safe • timeless • beautiful 

„The markilux ES-1: 

design and technology 

in perfect harmony.“ 

markilux 1700 

Patio awning with round, fluid lines and attractive 

teardrop shape at sides. Available in two versions: 

· “open” where cover can be seen when awning is closed 

· “full-cassette” where cover goes back completely 

into the cassette when awning is closed 

For more information please contact us: 

markilux (UK) Ltd. · Tel. 01244 650170 · www.markilux.com


Stone vision 

by tradition 

SF Kooperation is an international group of leading 

building materials and paving stone producers that 

offers specialist services for its members. 

INTERLOCKING PAVINGS AND SHAPED STONES 

For all roads, paths and public squares. Interlocking pavings 

are stable and particularly robust in areas subject to heavy 

loads and shear stresses. 

Further information and the addresses of your local paving 

stone manufacturers are available on the internet at: 

SF-Kooperation GmbH, Beton-Konzepte 

P.O Box 77 03 10 . D-28703 Bremen . GERMANY 

Telefon +49 (0)421 / 6 93 53 80 

Telefax +49 (0)421 / 6 93 53 99 

e-mail: info@sf-kooperation.de 

The The international association 

of leading of leading concrete stone producers 

SF Kooperation’s paving 

stones offer architecturally 

appealing solutions 

for public, commercial and 

private sector applications. 

The company was founded in 

1970 as a cooperative alliance of 

S-shaped full interlocking block 

manufacturers. 

With more than 40 years of 

technological and design 

expertise, SF has developed 

into an international group of 

leading building material and 

paving stone producers. 

Even today, the S-shaped block is 

one of the most successful concrete 

paving stones in use. 

The aim of SF is to secure the 

business success of its members 

by providing a range of services, 

of which the most important 

is product development – from 

preliminary ideas for construction 

and design through to perfect 

definition and presentation 

of the product. 

Research and development is an 

equally important area. Major 

investigations include: 

• rolling noise development on 

concrete paving stone traffic 

surfaces, which looked at various 

stone types and arrangements 

Paving stones to suit the 

needs of the public, private 

and commercial sectors. 

SF Kooperation shareholders answer 

questions about concrete. 

• ecological paving surfaces, 

highlighting the seepage 

performance of diverse stone 

types with different lifetime uses 

• the development of software for 

application and construction 

projects such as stability 

calculation and the sizing of 

foundations for retaining walls, 

the calculation of the duration 

of rainwater seepage in seepage 

basins, and the sizing of basins. 

Over 130 production plants, 

30 shareholder and cooperation 

partners, as well as 25 partners 

in North America, produce and 

distribute SF products worldwide. ● 


SF Kooperation 

www.sf-kooperation.com


A sustainable choice 

Brick buildings last on 

average over 100 years. 

Brick is a natural material sustainable throughout all 

phases of its lifecycle, says the Vandersanden Group 

Brick is manufactured to 

last for generations. The 

average lifespan of a brick 

building is over 100 years, during 

which time it offers excellent living 

conditions and outstanding comfort. 

Its porous structure provides thermal 

insulation,while its mass guarantees 

good acoustic insulation. When a 

brick building is demolished, the 

facing bricks can be recovered and 

given a second life, or recycled and 

used for foundation work. 

Sustainable building is not only about 

lifespan, it is also about ecologically 

sound building materials and 

buildings. This means using a material 

that harms the environment as little 

as possible during its production, 

use and demolition stage. Brick is an 

excellent choice as it’s a natural, highquality, 

user and maintenance-friendly 

product that is sustainable during all 

phases of its life cycle. 

The life cycle of a material begins 

when it is in its natural state. Clay 

is a virtually inexhaustible resource, 

and excavated sites are redeveloped 

for agricultural or recreational use. 

To restrict the development of 

excavation sites, raw materials that 

are released during infrastructure and 

construction projects are used for 

the production of bricks. As a result, 

brick also provides a solution to the 

problem of surplus soil. 

Bricks are composed exclusively 

of natural raw materials – every 

kilogramme of raw material is 

converted into a kilogramme of bricks. 

There is no waste, nor is there any 

waste water as the water used during 

the production process circulates in a 

closed circuit, which means there is no 

danger of soil pollution. 

Brick manufacturer Vandersanden also 

pays extra attention to environmental 

air quality. For years, this specialist in 

facing bricks, moulded bricks, brick 

slips and pavers has used tunnel kilns 

run on natural gas, which minimise 

energy usage. Combustion gases are 

purified in a flue gas filter, resulting 

in the cleanest emissions in the 

sector, beating the current stringent 

standards. Hot air from the kilns is 

also recovered to dry the bricks. ● 


Vandersanden Group 

www.vandersandengroup.com 

BRICKS & BRICK SOLUTIONS 

TOP QUALITY BRICKS & BRICK SOLUTIONS 

Vandersanden converts 

classical brick traditions into 

modern-day and future 

brick solutions. 

Service, innovation and durability are 

the key words. 

Curious about what else we have 

to offer? 

Call us on +32 89 51 01 40. 

We are pleased to serve you with 

customized, personal advice. 

A special range of facing 

bricks, manufactured with 

love and craftsmanship. 

Insulation and facing brick slips 

for finishing exterior walls: the 

clever 2-in-1 solution. 

Insulation boards, 

ready-made finish 

with facing brick slips. 

Sustainable, innovative 

pavers with spacers for 

public works and garden 

applications. 

The ultimate brick innovation: 

joint-free brickwork the 

traditional way. 

Rock-solid service 

Count on our people to make 

the difference; with a smile, 

understanding and correct advice. 

Want to know more? 



35

Company insight > Construction 

ETFE technology 

meets solar power 

The roof uses a 

photovoltaic 

cell system. 

Taiyo Europe was behind the construction of a new carport roof in Munich that 

incorporates photovoltaic modules with self-cleaning ETFE foil cushions. 

Anew carport roof structure, 

consisting of three-layer 

ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene 

(ETFE) cushions with an integrated, 

flexible photovoltaic cell system, has 

been installed at the headquarters of 

the AWM waste disposal operation 

in Munich, Germany. 

This project reconstructed the 

carport roof that shelters municipal 

vehicles. It was designed by Munich 

architects Ackermann & Partner 

and completed by Taiyo Europe in 

October 2011. 

The request for natural lighting and 

ventilation was achieved by using 

self-cleaning ETFE foil cushions. 

The material has a very high light 

transmission and excellent resistance 

to various weather environments. 

A total of 220 pneumatic multilayer 

cushions cover the 9,600m² roof. 

The inner layer is printed to provide 

shading on the carport deck during 

summer. The photovoltaic modules 

are mounted in the middle layer 

using mechanical fasteners, which 

are partly moveable and flexible to 

resist deformation caused by heavy 

loads. In order to easily replace 

defected photovoltaic modules, the 

upper layer is fixed separately from 

the other two layers, which can also 

be opened independently. 

This project is a milestone in the 

ongoing development of photovoltaic 

applications in combination with 

architectural membranes for roof 

and façade structures, which will 

provide customers with the aesthetic 

properties of the structures in 

addition to energy savings. ● 


Taiyo Europe 

www.taiyo-europe.com 

Taiyo Europe 

textile architecture worldwide 

consulting design engineering 

fabrication installation maintenance 

Taiyo Europe GmbH 

Muehlweg 2 

82054 Sauerlach/Germany 

Phone: +49 8104 628 98-0 

Fax: +49 8104 628 98-99 

info@taiyo-europe.com 


36 


Company insight > Sustainability 

Beautiful: inside and out 

A structure’s façade must catch the outside observer’s eye. 

Glass art creator Prinz Optics presents a colourful solution. 

The Harpa building in Reykjavik. During the evening you can see 

reflections and illumination of the dichroic glass elements, which 

change depending on the light source and location. 

It is arguably not the market 

that decides on the value of a 

work of art, but its observer. 

An aspect of surprise, the aesthetic 

experience and how it enhances its 

environment are all potentially taken 

into consideration when deciding 

its value. This applies to art in both 

private and public spaces. 

The architect is tasked with 

conveying the interests of the 

owner or user to the outside 

observer through the artistic 

design of the building. The outer 

appearance is not just an expression 

of the interior, but something worth 

seeing that enriches the cityscape. 

Meeting this ‘social function’ at 

VarioTrans filter at night: spectacular shades of light are 

produced when the glass is illuminated. 

all times of day and night is one 

of the expectations made of 

the façade as a contemporary 

architectural medium. 

Colour effect 

Glass, colour and illumination 

are the design mediums through 

which to create art on a façade. 

VarioTrans colour-effect glass 

by Prinz Optics ideally combines 

these three components in 

one material. It connects the 

functionality of clear glass with 

the aesthetics of colour, without 

any loss in luminosity. This noncoloured, 

dichroic glass transmits 

light almost unrestrictedly, yet is 

seen in colour. 

This effect is based on the 

interference of light waves on 

meeting thin, transparent layers. 

Here, white light is split into 

colours without being absorbed. 

The visibility and projection of the 

interference colours is dependent 

on the respective incident light 

radiation and the angle of view of 

the observer. What at one moment 

seems to be crystal clear appears as 

a changing play of light and colour 

when seen one moment later 

through a change of perspective. 

This applies to daylight as well as 

to interior lighting radiating 

outwards when it is dark. 

Work of art 

The new Harpa Concert Hall and 

Conference Centre in Reykjavik, 

Iceland, offers an impressive 

example of a colourfully illuminated 

transparent glass façade. The 

intention of architect Henning 

Larsen and artist Olafur Eliasson 

was that this much-admired 

building should form a close 

interrelationship with its 

environment. As a result, the 

constantly changing local light 

conditions alter the appearance 

of the building. Secondly, this 

centre, located on the old harbour 

of the Icelandic capital, brings the 

environment visually to life, 

particularly in periods of darkness. 

The reflections of the dichroic 

glass honeycombs of the façade 

appear a cool yellow-orange-green 

during the day, but at night they 

radiate warm blue – both soft and 

strong shades – and bright pink 

through the transmission of 

interior lighting. It is a surprising 

sight for the observer, an aesthetic 

pleasure and an enhancement of 

their environment. ● 


Prinz Optics 

www.variotrans-glass.com 


37

Insight > Sustainability 

1 

1. The energy-efficient, super-tall Pearl River Tower. 

2. Sauerbruch Hutton’s Photonic Centre in Berlin. 

3. The Lightcatcher’s 36ft-tall, 180ft-long translucent double skin. 

2 

3 

Double-skin façades are at the heart of 

many of the greenest and most visually 

striking projects today. Rod James 

speaks to Louisa Hutton, 

Gordon Gill and Jim Olson about 

new technological approaches, 

the aesthetic possibilities 

they present, and winning a 

building’s occupants over to a 

new way of thinking. 

Two-faced 

architecture 

© Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture 

38 



In 1929, Le Corbusier made 

an early foray into urban 

regeneration. He was to design 

a residential block known as Le Cité 

de Refuge, a Salvation Army shelter 

for Paris’s homeless. Fully funded 

by the philanthropist Princesse de 

Polignac and given free artistic rein, 

the great Swiss architect decided to 

try something new. 

The building’s face was to consist 

of two large sheets of glass separated 

by a cavity containing a mechanical 

ventilation system. Known as the 

mur neutralisant (neutralising wall) or 

double skin, it would circulate heated 

air around the chamber, insulating the 

building from noise and temperature 

fluctuations. Unfortunately, 

disagreements with the client meant 

the plan never came to fruition. 

A single-layer sealed glaze was 

employed instead – a move that 

proved disastrous. On hot days, 

residents baked in their south-facing 

rooms, forcing the complete redesign 

of the façade in 1952, this time with 

operable windows. Although double 

skins were employed intermittently 

over the next few decades, they 

remained a niche concept. 

Clear cut 

But ever since architects have started 

to place a premium on energyefficiency, 

the double-skin façade 

has made an impressive comeback. 

As well as being a relatively simple 

way to reduce a building’s energy 

usage and improve the quality of 

inside air, the double-skin façade 

fulfils a common aesthetic desire 

for transparency. A leading practice 

in this revival was Berlin-based 

Sauerbruch Hutton, with its 1991 

GSW building project. 

The first high rise to go up in 

Berlin since the Wall came down, air 

enters through its eastern façade, 

which is dotted with automatically 

operated triple-glazed windows 

with between-pane blinds. The 

western face consists of a doubleskin 

façade with operable interior 

double-pane windows, and a sealed 

10mm exterior glazing layer. Outside 

air cross-ventilates from east to west 

and spreads throughout the western 

façade via stack effect. The project 

demonstrated that double skins could 

be applied to a high-rise structure, 

but, as one of Sauerbruch Hutton’s 

partners Louisa Hutton is keen to 

point out, the ideas employed were 

by no means novel. 

“GSW was our first big double 

façade, but even before that we built 

the Photonic Centre in Berlin,” she 

says. “It is a very simple unilateral 

façade. The cool air comes in at low 

level through a 60cm-wide chamber. 

The warm air travels sideways at a 

high level into a thermal flu within 

the thickness of the façade. It then 

rises up three storeys to the top of the 

building, and leaves through the roof. 

That was a very simple and effective 

façade to start with.” 

“the double-skin faÇade reduces a 

building’s energy usage, improves 

air quality and fulfils a common 

aesthetic desire for transparency.” 

These initial ideas have developed 

greatly since then. Sauerbruch and 

Hutton’s KfW building in Frankfurt, 

completed in 2010, recently won 

the Council on Tall Buildings and 

Urban Habitat’s Best Tall Building 

Worldwide Award. At its core is a 

unique double-skin façade fitted 

with automated blinds that help 

limit solar gain. The exterior is also 

characterised by scores of brightly 

coloured ventilation flaps, which are 

controlled by a building management 

system that monitors and responds to 

wind speed and direction. 

Hutton emphasises the need 

for a holistic approach to sustainable 

design. No component can be viewed 

in isolation. 

© Jan Bitter Fotografie 

© Benjamin Benschneider 


39


“the double wall gathers and 

reflects daylight, illuminating 

interiors, and at night it glows 

like a lantern from within.” 

“The decision to go for a double 

façade is part of a group of related 

decisions,” she explains. “Together, 

they need to make a convincing 

whole. It’s done in combination with 

things such as exposed concrete 

flaps and columns, and the ability to 

flush the building with cold air on 

summer nights so that it can radiate 

throughout the day. Some double 

façades are prototypical, which is 

a risk because they bring together 

many elements and you have to 

figure out how they all work.” 

Another level 

Another firm that has experimented 

extensively with the concept is Adrian 

Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. The 

two former Skidmore, Owings and 

Merrill architects were responsible 

for the world’s most energy-efficient 

super-tall building, Guangzhou’s 

Pearl River Tower. They have 

recently been exploring ways to 

take the double wall and turn it into 

what Gill describes as a “sweater 

around the building”. 

“There was a project in Niagara 

Falls in the 1960s that had a double 

wall that you could actually stand 

in,” he explains. “It was about 3ftwide 

and was an envelope that ran 

uninterrupted around the building. 

We’ve tested this idea in Chicago 

and found it is possible to balance 

the thermal properties of the entire 

chamber, creating a thermos around 

the building.” 

The idea was put forward for, and 

won, a competition to design a new 

office building in Seoul, South Korea. 

The architects initially planned to 

move the air around the chamber 

using fans in the corners, but this 

proved unnecessary. 

“We found that just by making 

calculated openings in the wall and 

© Jan Bitter Fotografie 

using the natural convection of the 

chamber, the air would move all 

around the thermos,” Gill explains. 

“You can do this on a floor-by-floor 

basis, allowing you to insulate the 

whole building if the climate is 

right. The thermal properties of the 

chamber also let you reduce the 

reflectivity of the glass. This gives 

you beautiful views and very 

transparent, crystalline aesthetics.” 

Looking good 

Both architects emphasise the 

aesthetic possibilities offered by 

double-skin façades. Gill + Smith 

have experimented with stone 

interior façade walls and cone-shaped 

fittings to aid the movement of air. 

The environmental aspirations of 

Sauerbruch Hutton’s creations are 

mirrored through the use of oranges 

and pinks on westerly façades, which 

reflect the setting sun. 

Over in Washington state, in the US 

city of Bellingham, is a particularly 

striking example. The Lightcatcher 

by Olson Kundig Architects is a 

36ft-tall, 180ft-long translucent 

double façade that illuminates the 

city’s Whatcom Museum. It takes 

maximum advantage of the area’s 

limited natural light while creating a 

sense of depth and mystery. 

“There is a coastal climate with lots 

of cloud cover and low sun angles,” 

says Jim Olson, the partner behind 

the design. “We wanted the building 

to harvest natural light and bring it 

into the courtyard and the building. 

Air flow through the cavity wall is 

guided by mechanically operated 

louvres at the top of the wall, which 

are operated by the building’s 

direct digital control system. The 

wall gathers daylight and reflects 

it into the courtyard, while softly 

illuminating the interior, and at night 

it glows like a lantern from within.” 

For all the aesthetic and 

environmental benefits double 

skins bring, it is not always easy to 

convince clients of their worth. Gill 

admits that paying for uninhabited 

space can be deemed a luxury, 

particularly in areas where square 

footage is at a premium. His practice 

has examined the idea of using the 

façade chamber as a functioning 

room, employing a transom system 

to ventilate the space externally. 

He believes that, in most cases, the 

benefits of a double skin are too 

strong to ignore. 

“Depending on where you are and 

the way square footage is calculated, 

we’ve seen resistance to the double 

wall,” he says. “People think they are 

paying more for the net area they 

can use. But in many cases the value 

the system brings and the quality of 

the environment inside the building 

overcomes these concerns. When 

testing our thermos concept we 

even had cases where cities said, 

‘We’ll help you with an incentive for 

floor-area ratio because we think it’s a 

valuable idea’.” 

Education is key 

Hutton is keen to stress the human 

element, which can be drowned in 

talk of science and technology. No 

environmental design concept can 

be effective if those inside the 

building don’t understand and buy 

into it. She believes that education 

is certainly improving, although there 

is still some way to go. 

“Something that often gets 

forgotten is user behaviour and 

expectations,” she says. “There is 

a long period of optimisation from 

the moment the building is finished 

through to when users work in 

synergy with it. You have to get 

people to act as sensibly in their office 

as they would at home. For example, 

you could have an override system 

that operates windows and shutters 

automatically, but it’s much nicer if 

people do it themselves. 

“It’s important that buildings are 

measured and results published, but 

you should look ten years down the 

line before you do it,” she concludes. ● 

40 



Aquatic form 

and function 

A regular decorative attendee of high-profile sporting 

events, well-crafted and colourful GAIL ceramics are also 

used in domestic, industrial and commercial buildings. 

GAIL ceramics dominated the 60,000m² 

newbuild swimming complex at the 

16th Asian Games in Guangzou, China. 

in Bestform 

unction in top form 

ctionnalité 

meilleur de sa forme 

For decades architects, planners and construction companies have 

placed trust in the high-quality products made by GAIL Architektur 

Keramik GmbH. Within GAIL’s company products and technical 

consultating services for architects and planners are associated with 

each other, achieving a well known high level of detailed competence 

worldwide in the realisation of high-level projects. 

Whether it is a brewery, factory or warehouse, airport terminal or 

underground station, GAIL is used all over the world for building 

and designing. In addition to ceramic products for industry and 

façades, GAIL offers an extensive range of swimming pool ceramics 

and overflow systems with high-quality ceramic tiles for the variety 

of applications in baths. 

Top projects around the world have been realised in close and 

trusted cooperation with our architectural department. 

Our qualified consultants are pleased to be at your disposal! 

GAIL Architektur-Keramik GmbH 

Erdkauter Weg 40-50, D – 35392 Gießen, GERMANY 

www.gail.de Email: sales@gail.de Phone: 0049 641 703 0 

GAIL specialises in the 

manufacture of high-quality 

ceramics for artful and 

ambitious aquatic fun parks, spas, 

wellness pools and sport facilities. 

The pool ceramics specialist offers 

an expansive colour and form palette 

ideal for innovative swimming pools 

and renovations. 

In the last few years, planners of large 

swimming pools have relied on the 

quality and functionality of GAIL’s 

swimming pool ceramics, which is 

why the firm was chosen to provide 

products for the 2008 Olympic Games 

in Beijing, and for the Asian Games in 

2006 and 2010. 

GAIL products also appeared at the 

16th Asian Games in Guangzou, 

China, in the form of a 60,000m² 

newbuild. In this highly aesthetic 

project, the predominant element 

– water – was represented by the 

colours blue and white, dominating 

the building inside and out. 

Complementing this colour scheme, 

the competition, training and diving 

pools were decorated with white 

and dark blue dry-pressed tiles, 

split tiles and special form tiles. 

Ceramics from the Special-Form 

and Combi-Color II collections 

were used throughout this modern 

complex, which is the training camp 

of the Chinese national team. 

Combi-Color II is available in 50 

colours and consists of dry-pressed 

tiles that can be used to build 

swimming pools, walls and façades 

of social, domestic, industrial, 

commercial and private buildings. ● 


GAIL 

www.gail.de 


41


Sanitaryware 

goes green 

Stainless steel sanitaryware specialist SENDA has 

introduced an eco-friendly programme to prove the 

green credentials of its product range. 

High-end bathroom solutions 

are part of SENDA’s broad 

product range. 

of stainless-steel sanitaryware in 

order to ensure the environmentally 

friendly credentials of its products. 

Raw material: according to 

statistics, approximately 70% of new 

stainless steel comes from recycling 

old stainless-steel products. 

Production: the production 

of stainless-steel sanitaryware 

consumes less energy than 

ceramic sanitary ware production. 

For SENDA products, the production 

processes and product engineering 

are optimised to consume the 

minimum of energy; for example, cold 

deep pressing and TIG welding. 

SENDA is a leading European 

manufacturer of top-quality 

stainless-steel sanitaryware. 

The company offers a unique range 

of stainless-steel sanitaryware 

solutions, from public/heavy-duty 

applications through to high-end 

private bathrooms. 

SENDA has secured major contracts 

in Europe, the Middle East, Africa 

and Latin America for buildings such 

as airports, train and underground 

stations, sports facilities, universities, 

hospitals, military premises and 

prisons. 

The firm is also recognised for its 

exclusive and complete 

range of sanitaryware for the 

private bathroom. 

In an effort to promote stainless-steel 

sanitaryware as a ‘green’ product, 

SENDA has embarked upon the 

SENDA goes GREEN programme. 

During this programme, the firm 

examined the complete lifecycle 

Transportation: stainless-steel 

sanitaryware fixtures are lightweight 

– a container can be filled with 

stainless-steel products and the 

weight limit of the container is 

never reached, increasing the 

transportation efficiency in terms 

of energy and costs. 

Use: under normal conditions and 

using the right flushing systems 

and taps, stainless-steel sanitaryware 

can save water. When considering 

maintenance and repair, stainless 

steel has virtually zero maintenance. 

This means that a stainless-steel 

WC, wash basin or urinal need never 

be replaced. 

Disposal: the cycle is completed 

through the collection and recycling 

of the stainless-steel fixtures to 

produce ‘new’ stainless steel. 

Thanks to the above, there can be no 

doubt that SENDA’s stainless-steel 

sanitaryware is eco-friendly. ● 


SENDA 

www.senda.pt 

42 



Join the visual revolution 

The boundless creative possibilities of Visio-Technic’s digital technology give architects the opportunity to blend their 

projects seamlessly into the cultural heritage of their locations and to ensure they make a significant mark on our times. 

Create graphic 

effects that truly 

make a mark. 

Every architect dreams of 

having the absolute freedom 

to give their heart and soul 

to a project. With Numericoat, this 

dream could come true. 

Numericoat gives you the 

opportunity to boundlessly express 

your artistic sense and creativity 

when designing structures. 

Through the integration of any 

digitised image, photo or drawing 

inside an extremely resistant 

thermosetting coating, Visio- 

Technic gives your creations the 

full potential of digital technology. 

Nevertheless, creativity is not 

offered at the expense of technical 

know-how. Numericoat allows you 

to worry only about the essentials, 

while Visio-Technic deals with 

durability. You benefit from: 

• a ten-year warranty covering 

the outdoor use of the coating, 

including colour variation, 

adhesion and fading 

• an exceptional anti-UV coating, 

combined with a cutting-edge 

anti-graffiti varnish 

• an aluminum pre-treatment that 

follows the Qualicoat standard. 

When you choose Numericoat, 

you can harmoniously integrate 

a building with its environment 

by using a large variety of media 

(such as glass, aluminum frames, 

metallic profiles, steel wall curtains 

and composite panels) combined 

with the great range of incredible 

effects the company offers. Mix 

the graphic effects you apply to 

your materials and create unique 

designs never seen before. ● 


Visio-Technic 

www.visio-technic.com 


43

Insight > Materials 

Healthy 

reflection 

Traditionally questioned over their sustainable 

credentials, attitudes towards all-glass buildings are 

changing. Elly Earls meets Design Embassy Europe 

CEO Brent Richards, KPF’s Robert Whitlock, 

and RMJM’s Jonathan Knight and Chris Jones 

to discover how the clever use of the material is driving 

a sustainable agenda and improving general well-being. 

44 



Man’s fascination with glass 

architecture is nothing 

new. As far back as the 

Romans, windows were being used as 

architectural components, and frames 

were finished with thick green/bluecast 

glass and implemented as a form 

of conservatory for growing vegetables. 

But it is not only the functional aspects 

of the material that have been drawing 

architects’ attention for thousands of 

years; glass also has an artistic and 

philosophic purpose to which no other 

building material can lay claim. 

“It’s the only material with which 

we can explore spatiality and interior 

architecture,” says Brent Richards, 

creative director and CEO of the Design 

Embassy Europe. “The idea of being 

able to see both inside and outside has 

always been a fascination.” 

But it is only recently that architects 

have been able to use glass on the 

scale they have been dreaming about 

for so many years. 

“It’s not that it’s suddenly become 

popular,” Richards, author of New 

Glass Architecture, explains. 

“What’s happening at the moment 

is a convergence between industry, 

affordability and people’s everyday 

understanding of the material. There’s 

an architectural and artistic symbiosis 

between the technical possibilities of 

what the industry can provide and what 

the commissioners can afford. Since 

2000, those things have developed.” 

Balance of facets 

While the past 40 years have seen huge 

developments in glass technology – 

from the size of the sheets to the types 

of coatings used and the ways in which 

the panels can be connected – it is 

really only in the last ten to 15 years that 

architects’ understanding of glass has 

increased to the extent that they can 

now control how the material performs. 

“There is still this question of 

affordability, but essentially I think we 

can now say that we can control the 

environmental aspects of glass,” says 

Richards. “We can control performance 

and sustainability in order to create an 

all-glass building that is carbon neutral 

and therefore sustainable. 

“If we can increase the dosage of 

natural, rather than artificial, 

light, your health and general 

well-being will benefit.” 

“You have a whole range of 

possibilities – interlayers, different 

gases, coatings on different sides of the 

glass,” he continues. “You can change 

the characteristics of the glass either 

environmentally or artistically in terms 

of colour and texture, and you can 

control the type of light that comes in.” 

For Robert Whitlock, a principal at 

KPF, Richards’ final point is key. 

“So many things contribute to the 

efficiency of an office building,” he says. 

“You’re trying to keep the radiation 

out but let daylight in. In an attempt to 

have a high-performing building, there’s 

a constant balance between keeping 

light out to cut down on the solar load 

and letting enough light in to reduce 

reliance on artificial illumination.” 

In order to achieve this balance, 

collaboration with manufacturers is 

absolutely crucial. 

“It’s remarkable how far the industry 

has come in customising coatings,” 

Whitlock says. “We now have dialogues 

with manufacturers to tweak the 

performance – shading co-efficient 

vs value vs the amount of reflectivity, 

as well as the colour of the glass. It’s 

like a big recipe to fine-tune these 

coatings so that they perform the 

1 

1. With its 18° westward incline, the Capital Gate tower in Abu 

Dhabi is the world’s furthest-leaning man-made tower. 

2. Capital Gate tower’s Cardinal LoE 2 -240 glazing system 

blocks out 84% of harmful UV and infrared radiation. 

2 

way we need them to relative to the 

environment they’re in.” 

Grand performance 

At Hysan Place, a mixed-use retail and 

office development in Hong Kong, and 

the region’s first LEED Platinum precertified 

commercial project, KPF used 

several different strategies to achieve 

the precise performance required. 

“We had a light shelf in the curtain 

wall with a portion that projected out 

from the glazing, acting as a sunshade,” 

Whitlock explains. “It also had a 

component inside that was configured 

to bounce light back into the deeper 

parts of the office space using the 

ceiling as part of the reflecting surface. 

We were also able to test different 

shading co-efficients above and below 

the light shelf to try and optimise 

performance of the entire envelope.” 

The glazing system used by the team 

at RMJM, which designed the iconic 

Capital Gate tower in Abu Dhabi, is 

similarly complex. 

“The Cardinal glass LoE²-240 

blocks 84% of harmful UV radiation,” 

says Jonathan Knight, international 

design principal at RMJM. “It absorbs 


45


60% of the visible light, which gives 

the coating glare control and its soft, 

muted-blue colour. It reflects nearly all 

of the invisible infrared rays.” 

The Cardinal façade is 51% more 

efficient at restricting solar heat to 

a building than a standard façade, 

reducing the energy consumption of 

the HVAC system by 15%, according 

to RMJM managing principal Chris 

Jones. “The façade uses natural light to 

the full and with the type of glass used, 

the Cardinal LoE²-240, it blocks the 

UV and infrared radiation, and permits 

visible light,” he adds. 

Green credibility 

Glass’s natural properties also contribute 

to its environmental credentials. 

“It’s a natural material made from 

natural substances that can be crushed, 

recycled and remade continuously, 

although you have to take into account 

that you also need to fire up a furnace 

and that most glass production has 

to be a continuous flow process,” 

Richards says. “But if you accept 

that limitation, you’ve got a fantastic 

sustainable material.” 

Yet Richards is just as keen to 

emphasise that the sustainability of a 

building is holistic. 

“There’s the performance of the 

building in terms of energy use and 

there’s how you construct the 

building,” he says. “But on top of 

that, once you’ve constructed it, 

you need to consider the building’s 

entire lifecycle. Does it pay back in 

terms of creating energy for you, 

controlling your environment and 

developing well-being?” 

Fortunately, glass unequivocally ticks 

the final box. 

“Obviously glass buildings require 

an investment because they’re very 

technical and complex, but once you’ve 

got them up, they perform for you,” 

Richards says. “Glass is a quick reactor. 

If you’ve got a stone or a brick building, 

it tends to warm up and lose heat 

very slowly, whereas a glass building 

reacts quite quickly. So, as long as you 

understand that reaction time, you can 

use it to your advantage.” 

Healthy outlook 

For Whitlock, it’s that understanding 

of how the material can be used that 

is really going to contribute to the 

success of future glass developments. 

“With subsequent projects, it’s going 

to become easier to get into it faster 

and do it more quickly,” he says. 

But the understanding goes far 

beyond the comprehension of how the 

physical characteristics of glass work 

together to create an energy-efficient 

building. Richards is currently working 

with the University of Oxford in the 

UK to prove that living and working 

in a predominantly glass building can 

actually improve health and well-being. 

In the next ten years, the industry’s 

technology is set to develop to the point 

where glass coatings can change its 

state relative to the environment. 

“There are also products being tested 

that change an inert gas in the cavity 

of an insulated glass unit from invisible 

to cloudy, providing privacy or shading 

– this is typically achieved through an 

electrical current,” says Whitlock. 

Going still further, some industry 

members are looking at the idea of 

gestural language. 

“You will be able to gesture to the 

building and it will respond to you,” 

Richards explains. “For example, in 

an area of outstanding natural beauty, 

you would be able to increase your 

connectivity to nature. We believe 

that if we can increase the dosage of 

natural, rather than artificial, light, your 

health and general well-being will 

benefit, and that’s really exciting.” 

Architects will be able to apply this 

to buildings such as schools, other 

learning environments and spas. 

“We’ll be able to say there’s another 

reason for building glass buildings,” 

says Richards. “Not only because of 

aesthetics, the design and because we 

like to be able to see the garden, but 

because it’s fundamentally better for 

you than living in a cave.” ● 

The Hysan Place high-rise in Hong Kong is the region’s first 

LEED Platinum pre-certified commercial project. 

46 


Company insight > Materials 

Fire safety in modern atria 

Atria appeal emotionally to visitors by providing a connection between the building’s interior and the external space within 

which it sits. They bring with them, however, a set of fire safety challenges that require the solutions Wrightstyle provides. 

The glass atrium at Bridgewater House. 

It was the Romans who first 

made the atrium fashionable, 

and gave it the name by which 

we still know it today. 

Today, atria remain a popular design 

feature, allowing light to flood into 

a building and providing it with a 

sense of space. 

However, they bring a special set 

of protective challenges as they 

can act as a roofed-over chimney, 

therefore providing an easy route for 

heat, fire and gases to spread from 

the seat of a fire. 

Today, it is internal curtain 

walling that provides the best 

design solution, allowing for large 

expanses of glazing to be safely and 

cost-effectively achieved without 

the need for secondary support 

assemblies. Specifiers, however, 

should always ensure that the glass 

and its framing system have been 

tested as one compatible unit. 

Wrightstyle is a leading specialist 

in the design, fabrication and 

installation of steel and glass 

systems for both internal and 

external applications, and has 

supplied materials to atria projects 

in the UK and internationally. 

The company recently completed 

a project at Bridgewater House in 

Bristol, UK. This project is set 

around a five-storey, three-sided 

glass atrium that has been designed 

to bring maximum light to each 

intermediate floor while also 

providing 30 minutes of integrity and 

insulation, protecting inhabitants. ● 


Wrightstyle 

www.wrightstyle.co.uk 

Inspiring Architecture 

All great architecture starts with a simple idea. Then 

comes the inspiration to turn it into built reality. 

At Wrightstyle we work with architects around the 

world, bringing to life even the most challenging ideas. 

We aren’t just one of the world’s most innovative 

suppliers of complete and guaranteed steel and 

glass systems. We’re also world leaders in reinventing 

what glass and steel facade systems can do. 

From large-span or fire-resistant glazing to curtain 

walling able to withstand a lorry bomb, we are at the 

forefront of our technologies, pushing the boundaries 

of what glass and steel are capable of achieving. 

Our interior and exterior systems can be found 

worldwide, and we have a portfolio of examples to 

illuminate and surprise. 

Our systems don’t simply protect buildings against the 

full range of threats. The inherent strength of steel 

and our optically-brilliant glasses allow architects to 

think in new ways. 

So if you’ve got a design idea, talk to us. We’ll help 

provide the inspiration to make it happen. 

High Performance Steel & Glass Systems • Complete & Guaranteed 

T +44 (0)1380 722 239 E info@wrightstyle.co.uk W www.wrightstyle.co.uk 

11800 Wright Style Advert.indd 2 05/01/2011 14:08 


47


Innovation driven by the three 

Ps: people, planet and profits 

Using the cradle-to-cradle concept, carpet manufacturer Desso has rebranded for the circular economy. Its 

mission: to ensure that its carpet tiles improve human health and have a positive impact on the environment 

There is a link between a 

carpet tile that clears the 

air and a business model 

that scores highly on the three Ps: 

people, planet and profits. 

In 2008, Desso made the bold 

decision to recreate itself for 

the circular economy by following 

the cradle-to-cradle concept 

as defined by German chemist 

Michael Braungart and US architect 

William McDonough. 

This set the firm on course to 

move away from the unsustainable 

linear economy of ‘take, make and 

dispose’ and towards the circular 

model, where goods are recycled 

and reused on an ongoing basis. 

The cradle to cradle concept views carpet 

as being made up of nutrients that should be reused. 

Economist Umair Haque, author 

of The New Capitalist Manifesto 

– Building a Disruptively Better 

Business, describes the shift: 

“21st-century businesses are now 

built on value cycles,” he says. “In 

stark contrast to linear production, 

the essence of a cycle is circular 

production. Circular production 

adds a ‘back-to lifecycle’ to the 

orthodox lifecycle. The goal of 

a value cycle is simple: waste 

nothing, replenish everything.” 

Renewable gains 

With cradle to cradle as its guide, 

Desso uses positively defined 

materials (where all ingredients are 

assessed as optimal or tolerable) 

and designs its products for 

disassembly, so they can easily be 

taken apart for remanufacturing. 

The firm will increasingly draw 

on renewable energies, manage 

its water with care, and ensure 

that it promotes a motivated and 

diverse workforce. 

Desso CEO Stef Kranendijk recently 

spoke at the World Economic Forum 

in Davos, Switzerland, following 

the publication of the ‘Towards the 

circular economy’ report from 

the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 

and McKinsey Global Institute. 

This report showed that there 

was an economic opportunity of 

$630 billion a year for European 

industry in the pursuit of circular 

economic models. 

“A major spur to innovation and an 

inspiration for both customers and 

employees, Desso’s broad adoption 

of the circular economy principles 

has been driving top-line growth,” 

the report stated. 

Green heart 

But what does cradle to cradle 

mean for Desso customers? 

It means that Desso puts the 

following at the heart of everything: 

ensuring that its products improve 

human health and the environment. 

Thinking about human health led 

Desso’s R&D teams to consider 

Desso AirMaster carpet tiles are eight times more 

effective at capturing and retaining fine dust than hard flooring. 

how to combat the problem of 

bad indoor air quality, which in 

turn led to the development of 

Desso’s AirMaster carpet tile. 

Independently verified by German 

test institute GUI, the material 

is eight times better than hard 

floors and four times better than 

regular carpets at retaining the 

fine dust that can cause respiratory 

problems, such as asthma. 

This kind of new thinking, which 

links a carpet tile to the three Ps, 

will drive innovation at Desso long 

into the future. ● 


Desso 

www.desso.com 

48 


Patent: NL 2002808 

DESSO AirMaster ® The carpet that cleans the air 

Indoor air quality plays a major role in our health and well-being, since we spend on average more than 90% of our time indoors. Extensive evidence from 

the World Health Organization indicates that in most cities in developed countries around the world indoor air quality results in serious health risks, for a great 

deal caused by the presence of airborne fine dust*. 

DESSO AirMaster ® , with its patented technology, has been specially developed to remove fine dust from the air more effectively than any other flooring 

solution. In fact it is 8 times more effective in capturing and retaining fine dust than hard flooring solutions**. 

With DESSO AirMaster ® you can rely on the proven solution that captures and retains harmful fine dust. 

For more information, please visit our website www.desso.com 

* Source: World Health Organization Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, global update 2005. 

** Based on tests performed by GUI, with DESSO AirMaster ® versus standard PVC hardfloor.

Company insight > Construction 

Eco credentials 

that are set in stone 

Burlington Stone provided 

cladding and flooring stones for 

the Vestas HQ in Denmark 

Burlington Stone puts environmental management at the heart of its operations and has 

achieved independent recognition for the durability of its stone products. 

British stone engineer 

Burlington Stone, the name 

behind one of the finest and 

most durable natural stones in the 

world, has been leading the way 

in ensuring that its business and 

products protect and enhance the 

environment for generations to come. 

Burlington Stone works with 

architects and designers to maximise 

stone usage and its extraction 

through effective planning and the 

optimisation of modular stone sizes 

that minimise waste. 

At present, approximately 90–95% of 

the slate and stone extracted from 

the company’s Kirkby and Baycliff 

quarries becomes the finished 

product. What would previously 

have been discarded is now being 

used for landscaping products, such 

as Burlington Stone’s new tumbled 

natural stone setts block paving 

solution and contemporary interior 

solutions, including mosaics and 

decorative cladding panels. 

Burlington Stone’s achievement of 

the environmental management 

system ISO 14001:2004 highlights 

the sustainability of the company’s 

manufacturing processes. For 

example, Burlington Stone has 

been involved with the successful 

cladding and flooring of the Vestas 

headquarters in Denmark using 

Burlington Kirkby blue and Brandy 

Crag stones, pictured above. This 

structure, designed by Arkitema 

Architects, has since become 

northern Europe’s first LEED 

platinum-accredited building. ● 


Burlington Stone 

www.burlingtonstone.com 

THE ULTIMATE BRITISH 

NATURAL STONE 

Burlington’s highly-skilled stone engineers craft a diverse range of luxurious and 

signature British natural stone products that exude the ultimate in opulent quality 

and permanence. 

Using a natural stone source laid down in the English Lake District over 450 million 

years ago, inspiration comes in the form of standard product lines and truly bespoke 

pieces, and is limited only by the imagination. 

To ensure the sustainability of their natural resource, Burlington Stone ensure not only 

the sympathetic extraction of their stone, but also maximise their output by utilising 

the skills of their British craftsmen to craft a unique and varied product offering. 

With already nearly 175 years of experience, Burlington Stone continue to give you 

the ultimate interior and exterior finishing statement. 

VISIT OUR SHOWROOM. Open: Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm. 

Saturday: 9am-3pm. Closed: Sundays and Bank Holidays. 

BURLINGTON SLATE LTD 

Cavendish House Kirkby-in-Furness Cumbria LA17 7UN 

t: 01229 889 661 e: sales@burlingtonstone.co.uk 


Burlington LEAF April2012 Ad.indd 1 15/03/2012 09:09 

50 



A healing environment 

The aim of modern hospital design is to create a pleasant atmosphere that supports the healing process. The 

Orbis Medical Center, with lighting by TRILUX, goes a step further, offering staff and patients the benefits of a 

hospital and medical centre under one roof, along with the highest level of comfort. 

The Orbis Medical Center 

in the Dutch town of 

Sittard sets an example 

with its state-of-the-art technical 

equipment, responsible treatment 

of staff and patients, and the high 

quality of its architectural design. 

As a modern medical centre, it 

combines hospital wards, surgeries 

and specialist clinics with a 

research and competence centre 

that employs 350 people. 

With the Orbis Medical Center, 

the Dutch practice Bonnema 

Architects has created a highly 

advanced healthcare building that, 

with 425 beds across 12 wards, 

eight operating theatres and 100 

consultation rooms, offers ample 

space for professional medical 

treatment, all illuminated by an 

innovative light concept designed 

by TRILUX. 

Bright and welcoming 

The main entrance at the gable 

end of the building leads into a 

265m-long atrium space. Clever 

zoning means that, despite its size, 

it does not feel overwhelming. The 

space serves as a central meeting 

and distribution point. 

Daylight enters partly through 

the façade on one side, but most 

significantly through the glazed roof 

areas, which are carefully designed 

to prevent overheating in summer. 

At night or when there is insufficient 

daylight, the space is lit through a 

combination of direct and indirect 

light sources. 

Spotlights on the walls and ceiling, 

strong uplighters and large wallmounted 

mirrors ensure a bright, 

comfortable and welcoming 

environment, whatever the weather. 

Home from home 

The hospital wards are located on 

the quieter top three floors of the 

building. All Orbis Medical Center 

patients enjoy spacious, individual 

rooms with en-suite bathrooms. 

As with the atrium, direct and 

indirect lighting offers comfort and 

a pleasant ambience to patients and 

functionality to hospital staff. 

Rather than soulless communal 

rooms, the generous corridors next 

to the rooms have been designed 

to accommodate cosy lounge areas 

with a homely atmosphere, offering a 

place to meet or rest. 

A separate back entrance provides 

doctors and staff with their own 

private space. Changing rooms in the 

basement connect directly to this area 

behind the consultation rooms, which 

also grant access to the integrated 

research and competence centre. 

Colour and light: work and rest 

In the four zones within the Orbis 

Medical Center – public areas, 

meeting points, patient rooms and 

work spaces – TRILUX consciously 

applied light and colour to achieve 

a positive effect on the building’s 

occupants; for example, the atrium 

employs greens and other natural 

shades to create a warm, bright and 

friendly atmosphere, while the staff 

The Orbis Medical Center houses a 

cheerful, generously designed cafeteria. 

TRILUX consciously applies light and colour 

to the Orbis Medical Center in order to achieve 

a positive effect on patients and staff. 

work areas have cool, refreshing 

colours to create a stimulating and 

attractive environment. 

External spaces surrounding the 

building have also been landscaped 

to create pleasant surroundings 

that promote healing and speed up 

patients’ recovery. 

The TRILUX touch 

For 100 years, TRILUX has been 

working daily to shape the future 

of light. The company’s lighting 

solutions use intelligent, dependable 

and award-winning technology 

that promotes energy-efficiency. 

As a partner for New Light, TRILUX 

supports its customers throughout 

the entire process, covering design, 

implementation and service. 

The internationally active, midsized 

company with headquarters 

in Arnsberg, Germany, employs 

more than 5,000 employees at nine 

locations in Europe and Asia, as well 

as 12 subsidiaries and six expertise 

centres in Germany. ● 


TRILUX 

www.trilux.com 

© TRILUX 


51


Material roof innovation 

The LEAF Review discovers how systems engineering company Hightex worked in partnership with fabrics expert 

Sefar on the project to refurbish the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. 

How did Hightex get 

involved in the 

BC Place project? 

Hightex, as a leading systems 

engineering company that designs, 

fabricates and installs large-area, 

cable-supported, lightweight 

membrane roofs and façades, 

is a global partner for projects, 

particularly in sporting stadia and 

arenas, airport terminals, train 

stations and shopping malls. 

Hightex uses environmentally friendly 

materials and is focused on innovative 

technology and coatings, which help 

to reduce a building’s energy costs. 

The company has been involved 

in the construction of high-profile 

buildings, such as South Africa’s 

Cape Town Stadium and Soccer 

City Stadium in Johannesburg, the 

Wimbledon Centre Court retractable 

roof in the UK, and the roof of the 

Suvarnabhumi International Airport 

in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Based on its expertise in large projects 

worldwide, in combination with a 

high-profile interdisciplinary team, 

Hightex was recommended for the 

refurbishment of the BC Place Stadium 

in Vancouver, Canada; however, the 

first involvement on BC Place was the 

inspection of the former membrane 

roof, which had some problems. 

Hightex performed well on this 

inspection and in a later stage 

proposed a new roofing system with 

a retractable inflated-membrane 

cushion roof, which is a new 

technology. Hightex recommended 

developing such a system with the 

two engineering companies, Geiger 

and SBP, which are among the leading 

companies for stadia roofing systems. 

What was the nature of your 

involvement in BP Place? 

Hightex’s project scope was to supply 

the retractable cushion roof and the 

fixed ethylene tetrafluorethylene 

(ETFE) façade. The contract involved 

the fabrication and installation of the 

retractable portion of the membrane 

roof system − which is made of 

Tenara, a woven, high-translucency 

polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fabric 

produced by Sefar − as well as the 

façade system, which will be made 

from a transparent membrane with a 

light-controlling frit pattern. 

What factors have to be taken 

into account when designing a 

membrane for a sliding roof? 

One big issue is weather conditions, 

especially snow load. You also have to 

select a material that is smooth enough 

Using Sefar Architecture Tenara Fabric, 

the new roof of the BC Place Stadium 

will provide energy savings of 25% 

compared with the old roof. 

to be folded during the opening and 

closing of the roof, without damaging 

the PTFE coating of the material. Other 

issues were the huge forces on the 

stressing belts and the time restrictions 

for opening and closing the roof, 

which has to be inflated or deflated. 

This means you have an area of over 

80,000ft² that is closed in 12 minutes 

and opened in 16 minutes. 

Was saving energy a big factor? 

Yes, every event location/stadium 

operator has cost challenges, 

especially energy. The new roof is more 

energy-efficient than the original one, 

saving 25% on energy costs, which in 

this project is about C$350,000 a year. 

What materials did you opt for? 

We used ETFE for the façade and 

a PTFE fabric with a PTFE coating, 

Tenara by Sefar, for the roof. ETFE 

is a perfect fit because it is a highgrade, 

thin (value) film suitable for 

air-supported tensile roof or façade 

modules, and for double or multilayer 

systems for insulation as it is selfcleaning, 

has the lowest fire load, is 

self-extinguishing and hail-resistant, 

has a light transmission of up to 100% 

and a life expectancy of over 20 years. 

It also has a high UV-resistance factor, 

excellent mechanical properties, is 

very lightweight, waterproof and offers 

thermal insulation. 

We chose Sefar’s PTFE fabric for the 

roof because it is the highest class of 

woven membrane for permanent and 

retractable shading structures, and 

has an optimum folding capability. 

It is fire-retardant (B1), has a high 

UV-resistance, a high and lasting solar 

reflectance, excellent durability, a superb 

aesthetic, a high light transmission 

(up to 35%), an anti-adhesive, 

self-cleaning, waterproof surface and 

a life expectancy of over 20 years. 

How did your relationship 

with Sefar help Hightex 

devise a solution? 

We continue to have a very good 

relationship with Sefar and we had 

already used the Tenara material for 

other high-class retractable roofs, such 

as the roof of Wimbledon’s Centre Court. 

Sefar has a high-quality approach and 

is very customer-oriented. It develops 

a lot of high-end customer solutions 

and provides support if technically 

possible. Sefar and Hightex have built 

up an excellent team and both are 

quality leaders in their business. ● 


Sefar and Hightex 

www.sefar.com 

www.hightexworld.com 

52 



Designing high-end heating 

solutions 

Every heating solution from MEINERTZ is designed and manufactured 

according to clients’ needs and scaled to their required heat output. 

If you want your heating 

solution to be an integrated part 

of the architecture, MEINERTZ 

has just what you need. Anyone 

looking for trench heating solutions, 

minimalistic heating panels, 

radiators, convectors, finned tubes, 

bench radiators – or something 

completely different – will find a 

warm solution with MEINERTZ. 

MEINERTZ is the architects’ 

choice, translating ideas into 

unique design solutions. No 

goods are held in stock – all 

heating solutions are bespoke, 

manufactured to specific 

dimensions, and scaled according 

to the required heat output. 

MEINERTZ’s core competence is 

the ability to think outside and in, 

to be inspired by its partners and to 

understand their ideas, because it is 

the detail that makes the design. 

The desired look of a heating 

solution can be achieved in many 

different ways. The minimalistic 

look can be reached by choosing 

a trench heating solution, such as 

MEINERTZ ProLine convection 

grilles or the Convec FloorLine 

comfort panel. 

If a more raw and rustic look 

is required, MEINERTZ Finned 

Tubes could be the solution. The 

MEINERTZ Convector and Radiator 

range represents more traditional 

heating solutions, but they can 

be slimmed down or given a flat 

front for a different expression. 

MEINERTZ Design Radiators cover 

different bench solutions, but they 

can also be specially designed to be 

mounted on large glazing units to 

prevent cold draughts. ● 

MEINERTZ offers bespoke 

heating solutions. 


MEINERTZ 

www.meinertz.com 

www.meinertz.comArchitects choice 

Danish radiator design in high-end quality 


53


It’s what’s 

underneath 

that counts 

Tecsom carpet tiles have beautiful and durable surfaces, 

and are backed by high environmental credentials. 

The environment is a key consideration during the 

manufacturing of Tecsom tiles. 

Tecsom was the first 

manufacturer to be awarded 

a Building Research 

Establishment Environmental Profile 

for its entire range of carpet tiles in 

2003. The company achieved this 

coveted ‘A’ rating certification for 

its meticulous attention to detail 

throughout the production, delivery 

and life of its carpet tiles. 

Tecsom’s team of experienced 

flooring specialists are always 

on hand to provide a complete 

solutions-based service, offering 

sound product, technical and design 

advice. Solution-dyed yarns, a unique 

recycled backing and sustainability 

elements are key features of its 

extensive carpet tile range. 

The company continues to develop 

materials and manufacturing methods 

that provide high-performance products 

that are kinder to the environment. 

This is particularly important when 

one considers that floor coverings have 

the most significant environmental 

impact in a typical commercial building 

compared with any other material. 

Backing system 

Unlike other manufacturers, Tecsom’s 

BS Backing is produced using 100% 

pure recycled vinyl. The unique 

system gives excellent dimensional 

stability, while offering flexibility and 

tear-resistance far superior to any 

other product. It has outstanding 

acoustic properties and optimises 

comfort underfoot, a valuable element 

in a working environment. 

The high stability of Tecsom carpet tiles 

means they will not lose their shape. 

They can be moved, replaced or simply 

lifted so that, for example, work can be 

carried out on cables underneath. 

Yarn system 

The yarn used in Tecsom products 

is the basis for wear-resistance, 

colour-fastness and maintenance. 

Contributing to excellent 

sustainability, the yarn and fibres 

contain up to 20% recycled materials 

and are made from 100% polyamide, 

which is solution-dyed to reduce 

water consumption and polluted 

liquid effluent. This gives the best 

wear and aesthetic qualities to 

provide a floor that will perform well, 

even under heavy traffic conditions, 

and has minimum impact on the 

environment during manufacture. 

Maintenance and manufacture 

All Tecsom carpets are made for ease 

of cleaning, thus reducing the amount 

of water and chemicals required. A 

network of qualified cleaners ensures 

that the maintenance of its carpets is 

carried out to strict guidelines. 

• Solution-dyed yarn and fibres are 

used to reduce water consumption 

and polluted liquid effluent. 

• The yarn used for all certified 

Tecsom tiles contains up to 20% 

recycled materials. 

• The processed tufted width 

is reduced to minimise 

production wastage. 

• DOP plasticiser was eliminated 

in 2001. 

• New binding formulations reduce 

the amount of plasticiser or 

compound required. 

• Tecsom BS Backing is made 

with 100% pure recycled vinyl. 

• Cardboard yarn cones are 

reused to minimise the use 

of new resources. 

• Packaging is manufactured 

using recycled cardboard. 

• Tecsom is committed to caring 

for the environment, in-house 

and throughout the industry. 

Tecsom carpets are manufactured 

in ISO 14001-recognised factories. 

Benefits 

• Tecsom ranges offer a wide 

choice of cut-pile, loop-pile 

and structured products in an 

extensive array of colours and 

designs. All products contribute 

to obtaining points towards MR2, 

MR4, MR5, IEQ4.1 and IEQ4.3 

credits for the LEED certification 

of buildings. 

Tecsom is a European manufacturer 

and supplier of high-quality carpets 

for commercial applications. 

Its employees are dedicated to 

producing top-of-the-range products 

and services to ensure customer 

satisfaction and manufacturing 

with environmental consideration. ● 


Tecsom 

www.tecsom.com 


55

Insight > Design 

© Planmöbel/Lichtblick Fotografie, Volker Bültmann 

In good shape 

adidas Laces, the sportswear brand’s new headquarters, is designed to promote a fluid, collaborative work 

culture with WORKOUT, a modular furniture system that can be assembled in myriad ways. Abi Millar talks to 

Dirk Zweering of Kada Wittfeld and Karim El-Ishmawi of KINZO to discuss how architectural and interior 

innovation can best enhance a company’s working practices. 

In mid-2011, 1,700 adidas 

employees moved into their 

new corporate headquarters 

in Herzogenaurach, Germany. 

The latest addition to the brand’s 

thriving ‘World of Sports’ campus, 

adidas Laces sits between the Adi 

Dassler Sportplatz stadium and the 

adidas brand centre exhibition hall. 

Its mission: to foster creativity and 

team play through the conduit of 

clever design. 

Herzogenaurach, a small town in 

rural Franconia, is well known for 

its associations with sportswear, 

specifically a bitter sibling rivalry 

that spawned two global brands. 

It was here that Rudolph and 

Adi Dassler lived, worked and died, 

producing their first handmade 

sports shoes in their mother’s 

laundry room before quarrelling 

irreconcilably and moving to 

opposite sides of town. 

The rift was not merely fraternal; 

it involved the whole community, 

with the rival manufacturers (Puma 

and adidas) going so far as to 

sponsor separate football teams. 

This engendered a peculiarly 

sartorial kind of tribalism. 

Herzogenaurach was nicknamed 

‘the town of bent necks’, because 

residents would not speak to 

strangers until they had first 

looked down to check their shoes. 

Today Puma and adidas are 

based just a few miles apart, 

and while the animosity has 

cooled, the town’s fixation with 

sportswear remains. Situated on 

a one-time military air base, the 

adidas campus boasts a cluster 

of sports facilities, outdoor areas, 

residential units and offices. 

Not until the opening of Laces, 

however, did the ‘creatives’ gain a 

workspace specifically designed to 

suit their purposes. 

“We wanted to establish a 

custom-made office with a 

holistic concept,” says Karim El- 

Ishmawi of Berlin-based interior 

design firm KINZO. “When a 

corporation has its own identity, 

they want to live that identity, 

56 



rather than expressing it just 

through external communications.” 

A flexible solution 

KINZO is the creative force behind 

WORKOUT, a modular furniture 

system custom-made for adidas, 

comprising 46 flexible elements. 

Manufactured by Planmöbel, 

the system runs throughout the 

entirety of the office area, and can 

be arranged to suit a wide range of 

needs. Here, the furniture choice is 

not merely a matter of kitting out 

a pre-partitioned space. Rather, 

it assumes some of the structural 

functions of interior design. 

Most salient in this regard is 

the central element: Teamplayer. 

A multifunctional room module, 

Teamplayer brings the other 

utensils together and can be used 

for storage or desktop support. 

More than that, however, it shapes 

the area, dividing and connecting 

teams as appropriate, and creating 

breakout spaces, workstations and 

meeting rooms. 

With its dark punched plate wall, 

the module contrives to look both 

semi-transparent from a distance 

and near-opaque up close. As 

such, it promotes both privacy 

and accessibility, combining 

the breeziness of an open-plan 

workspace with the necessary 

degree of seclusion. 

“You are able to adjust the 

programme to the various needs 

of the building,” says El-Ishmawi, 

“creating either a really open kind 

1 

1. In adidas’s new Laces building, the ‘creatives’ gained a 

workspace specifically designed to suit their purposes. 

2-5. The WORKOUT modular furniture system comprises 46 flexible 

elements – the system runs through the entirety of the office 

area, and can be arranged to suit a wide range of needs. 

2 

3 

4 

5 

© KINZO 

“whereas cubicle-based offices are 

geared toward nine-to-five, Today’s 

office designers are exploring 

ways to dismantle that rigidity.” 

of feeling, with a few desks and low 

partitions, or a dense atmosphere 

in which the partitions go almost 

up to the ceiling and are equipped 

with lots of fabrics and so forth.” 

The creatives’ requirements, no 

matter how idiosyncratic, were 

central to the design. An eclectic 

band of materials researchers, 

biomechanical experts, designers, 

engineers, product developers 

and marketing specialists, 

these workers do not confine 

themselves to files and paper. 

The system enables them to store 

their most unorthodox office 

items – textiles, shoes, balls and 

bags – and display them against an 

unobtrusive backdrop. 

KINZO has also endeavoured 

to reflect the realities of a flexible 

working culture. “There are lots 

of modern office concepts, such 

as mobile working, desk sharing, 

co-working, you name it,” says El- 

Ishmawi. “These are all just words, 

and you have to build the space 

around the ideas.” 

Inspired thinking 

Whereas old-style cubicle-based 

offices are geared toward nine-tofive, 

today’s office designers are 

exploring ways to dismantle that 



57

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Organised by



“WORKOUT supplies a framework, 

and adidas can create their world 

within this framework. A perfect 

fit with their work identity is the 

most important thing.” 

rigidity. In practice, this means 

handling variations in the numbers 

physically present at their desks. 

Because the components can be 

easily rearranged, these furnishings 

are ideally suited to the vagaries of 

shape-shifting teams. 

This high adaptability and 

specialisation presents, as El- 

Ishmawi sees it, a resounding 

argument for going custom-made. 

“WORKOUT supplies a 

framework, and adidas can 

create their world within this 

framework,” he says. “Perfect fit 

with their work identity is the most 

important thing.” 

1 

1. Furnishings are ideally suited to shape-shifting teams. 

2. adidas products feature in the interior design. 

3. A perfect fit for adidas’s work identity was key. 

3 

2 

Conceptually, this is far removed 

from a traditional office design. A 

typical corporation, preparing to 

deck out its empty building, would 

generally select a furniture range 

that connoted certain traits – a 

‘classic’ range to suggest affluence, 

say, or more contemporary pieces 

to seem hip. 

The danger here is that the office 

will lose any sense of individuality, 

communicating its values through 

an appropriated dialect as opposed 

to its natural idiom. At worst, the 

space may resemble a furniture 

showroom; at best, the hundreds 

of other ‘hip’ or ‘classic’ offices in 

which the same range is deployed. 

Keeping fit 

This furniture, by contrast, 

conveys all the easy-going 

athleticism for which adidas is 

known. It integrates seamlessly 

with the design thread running 

throughout the rest of the building, 

such that it is difficult to say 

where KINZO’s role starts and the 

architect’s remit ends. 

Unusually for a corporate 

building, furniture, interior design 

and architecture were not treated 

as separate themes, but rather 

as a single design signature. 

The processes were developed 

in parallel, with furniture design 

incorporated at a strikingly early 

stage in the proceedings – when 

KINZO began work, the buildingto-be 

was still little more than a 

hole in the ground. 

The project architect, Aachenbased 

firm Kada Wittfeld, was 

working towards the same goals: 

creating a hub of collaboration and 

invention that would reflect the 

character of the brand. 

Their design went above and 

beyond adidas’s original brief, 

eschewing a standard office 

typology in favour of something far 

more distinctive. 

“It could be said that we won 

the commission because we didn’t 

follow the brief in every aspect,” 

says Dirk Zweering, project partner. 

“We couldn’t imagine these 

creatives and designers working in 

a conventional office space.” 

The adidas guidelines specified 

an arrangement of around 70 office 

units, positioned to minimise 

internal through-traffic. While the 

expected solution would have been 

to intersperse the building with 

courtyards, Kada Wittfeld felt that 

such an approach lacked context. 

“We considered it to be 

wrong that, as a young and 

ambitious designer in such green 

surroundings, you would have 

to sit in your office and look out 

across your generic courtyard, onto 

the façade of your own building,” 

says Zweering. “You could be 

anywhere with that.” 

© Planmöbel/Lichtblick Fotografie, Volker Bültmann © Werner Huthmacher, Berlin 


59


© Werner Huthmacher, Berlin 

The geometries of the adidas headquarters are clean and 

minimalistic with sporty contour lines. 

“There are lots of modern 

office concepts, such as mobile 

working, desk sharing... these are 

just words, you have to build the 

space around the ideas.” 

View points 

Kada Wittfeld thus determined that 

each workstation should have one 

view into a central atrium, and one 

towards the historic landscape of 

Herzogenaurach. From here, they 

developed the idea of a ringshaped 

building intersected by 

zig-zagging bridges. 

Made from steel 30cm thick, 

these bridges, or ‘laces’, are 

suspended from lattice supports, 

and serve to ‘tie’ the building 

together. They link units on 

opposite sides of the atrium 

and create a workspace rich 

in relationships. 

Six storeys high, the exterior is 

covered with windows and a flat, 

mirrored façade. The atrium, lush 

with greenery, has something of 

the semblance of a park, such that 

it is contiguous with the campus 

outside and invites those within it 

to interact. Communicability and 

transparency are the keynotes. 

The final result is unmistakably 

adidas. A squeezed parallelogram, 

roughly the same shape as a 

bow-tie, its geometries are clean 

and minimalistic, its contour lines 

sporty and straight. 

Set against the blanched colour 

scheme, the black bridges evoke 

nothing so much as the adidas 

logo. Were you to land here with 

zero foreknowledge, it wouldn’t 

take you long to guess the brand. 

Team spirit 

As workers familiarise themselves 

with the spaces, the building 

looks firmly poised to add value 

to the organisation. 

“Architecture, for sure, can provide 

the right circumstances for creativity 

and team play, and by doing so is 

able to enhance an existing corporate 

culture,” says Zweering. “If you walk 

through the adidas building right 

now, you will be able to sense that 

new team spirit.” 

El-Ishmawi agrees. “The only 

way to create your own identity, 

as an office, is to incorporate your 

specific needs – your culture and 

the way you work – into the 

design process. Interior design 

in office space is a relatively 

new field but, because of the 

change in working environments, 

the need has grown greater than 

ever before.” 

With this in mind, we might 

think back to Adi Dassler’s shoe 

designs, which were guided by a 

single tenet. 

He believed that shoes should 

be ideally adapted to the discipline 

in hand, with all their features 

expressly tailored to maximise 

the wearer’s performance. No 

doubt he would have expected 

nothing less from his brand’s 

corporate headquarters. 

As El-Ishmawi puts it, “A 

corporation has to think about how 

it can optimise its ways of working 

and install it into a building. You 

build the way you work.” ● 

60 


Company insight > Design 

Filler-free ceilings made easy 

Designers can create homogenous ceiling surfaces and make sanding and cross-sanding a thing of the past with 

VoglFuge from German ceiling systems manufacturer Vogl Deckensysteme. 

Acoustic design ceilings 

are expected to display a 

homogenous appearance. 

To achieve this, ceiling systems 

manufacturer Vogl Deckensysteme 

offers installers the use of VoglFuge – 

an alternative to existing joint systems, 

which use adhesive and compound 

seams. With VoglFuge, joint finishing 

and levelling of the ceiling surface 

can be efficiently, easily and safely 

accomplished, with excellent results. 

How does it work? First, the 

individual acoustic ceiling elements 

are installed on a rigid ceiling 

framework to create an even surface. 

Next, the comprehensive VoglFuge 

system kit is used to carry out the 

levelling procedure. 

After compensating for any height 

discrepancies by readjusting the Vogl 

perforated panel screws, the screw 

heads in the joint area are spot-filled 

with Vogl screw head and repair 

filler, and any protruding pieces of 

plasterboard removed using a sanding 

pad. The joint area is then slightly 

moistened with a sponge and the 

ready-mixed Vogl liquid joint coating 

is applied with a lambskin roller. 

The VoglFuge strip is placed in the 

middle of the moist liquid joint coating 

with its rubberised side down, affixing 

it to the joint, and the panel joint area 

is covered generously with liquid joint 

coating. This takes two hours to dry 

– plenty of time to spot-fill the screw 

heads in the middle of the panels. 

Finally, the joint surface is smoothed 

with sanding paper. 

With VoglFuge, sanding and crosssanding 

are a thing of the past and 

the result is impressive: an appealing 

surface image without any visible 

panel edges. ● 

© Donal Murphy Photography 


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Anzeige_220x106_eng.indd 1 01.12.2010 14:02:13 


61


The elements 

of surprise 

With commissions ranging 

from converted textile 

mills to the Playboy Club, 

award-winning international 

practice Jestico + Whiles 

is celebrated for its playful 

take on design. Abi Millar, 

John Whiles and James 

Dilley discuss the firm’s 

marriage of theatricality 

with understatement. 

When Playboy began talks 

with Jestico + Whiles, 

it was adamant that its 

new Mayfair-based club should 

communicate the unique character of 

its brand. 

“’Just how many bunny heads 

can you fit on a building?’” recalls 

James Dilley, associate director at the 

architecture and interior design firm. 

“That was how the conversation with 

Playboy went. They said, ‘If you give 

us 10,000, we’ll be over the moon’.” 

Playboy being Playboy, subtlety 

was out of the equation. The brand is 

known for its highly distinctive – and 

somewhat retrogressive – aesthetic; 

a typology that would work perfectly 

in a tawdry Las Vegas casino. With 

the location being central London’s 

upmarket Mayfair district, however, 

62 



© James Newton ©.Gerry O’Leary 

the challenge was clear: how would 

a building emblazoned with 10,000 

bunny heads fit in? 

The eventual design solution was 

as simple as it was ingenious: opaque 

mashrabiya-style partitions that cover 

the windows and section off the ground 

floor. Each of these screens can pivot 

180°, facilitating privacy or openness. 

Most inventively, they are cut with 

radial patterns of thousands of bunny 

heads, which at first glance resemble 

little more than elaborate latticework. 

“It’s understated, even though 

we may have 10,000 logos on the 

wall,” says Dilley. “We had to mediate 

between the requirements of the 

context and the operator – huge signs 

shouting ‘Playboy’ wouldn’t necessarily 

have been appropriate. But you didn’t 

pick up that those were bunny heads, 

so that means we’ve succeeded.” 

Subtle distinction 

I am sitting with Dilley and the firm’s 

founding director John Whiles in their 

slick offices just off London’s Euston 

Road. Guided by a slideshow, they are 

running me through their portfolio and 

I can testify that the bunny heads did 

indeed pass me by. This is typical of 

a practice whose work is designed to 

sneak up on the viewer. 

“Design should grow on you,” 

says Whiles. “If you pass one of our 

buildings on a bus, you’ll say, ’Oh 

yes’, but then the next day you’ll go, 

’Oh that’s interesting’. And that effect 

builds. It’s not in your face; it’s subtle.” 

Jestico + Whiles was founded in 

1977 by Whiles and fellow architect 

Tom Jestico. The firm has since 

grown dramatically with a second 

office in Prague, a plethora of awards 

to its credit and commissions 

across the world. Its expertise 

spans many sectors – housing, 

hotels, retail, restaurants, offices, 

schools, universities, and transport 

infrastructure, among others. 

Theirs is a diverse portfolio without 

much in the way of visual continuity 

– each project draws far more upon 

1 

1. andel’s Hotel Lodz, Poland, mixes industry and tradition. 

2. Thousands of bunny heads adorn the Playboy Club Mayfair. 

3. The University of Southampton’s Mountbatten Building. 

4. Yas Viceroy Hotel, Abu Dhabi, is one of a kind. 

contextual factors than it does upon 

signature motifs. Nonetheless, certain 

key tenets do resound throughout 

their output: humour, theatricality and 

an element of surprise. “I think people 

go into our buildings and smile,” says 

Whiles. “Something’s happening there 

that they would not expect.” 

Take andel’s Hotel Lodz in Poland, a 

former textile mill completed in 2009: 

this is a witty, striking, art-glutted 

storybook of a hotel, simultaneously 

honouring its industrial origins and 

entrammelling itself in Polish culture. 

In the conference break-out area, 

there are seats that look like sweets 

– commodious confectionary pieced 

together from scraps of fabric – and on 

the roof a one-time water storage tank 

has been converted into a swimming 

pool. Lucent and ethereal with 

music playing underwater, the pool 

is surrounded by transparent, glasspanelled 

flooring. Beneath is a sheer 

seven-storey drop, allowing a straight 

view down to the wintry city below. 

Pride of place 

Jestico + Whiles takes a particular 

interest in hotel design, having 

started out some 15 years ago in a 

purely architectural capacity before 

moving on to interiors. The list of past 

commissions is substantial: the Dead 

Sea Spa Hotel in Jordan; London’s 

Hempel Hotel and One Aldwych; Abu 

Dhabi’s Yas Viceroy Hotel; and the 

Red & Blue Design Hotel in Prague to 

name but a few. 

Most recently, two newbuilds in 

London have opened just in time for 

the 2012 Olympic Games. 

2 

3 

4 


63


“London’s a very difficult place in 

which to build if you don’t take the 

pastichr route,” comments Dilley. 

“We’ve been sensitive and gentle, but 

also quite brave because no one’s 

done anything like this in this location. 

Especially with this forming part of the 

Olympic torch relay route, it’s good to 

have something that Westminster can 

be proud of in a global context.” 

He is referring to the W London, 

which came with some particularly 

fusty local authority planners. Sitting 

across three conservation areas, the 

building was tasked with reflecting 

the vibrancy of Soho, the theatre of 

Leicester Square and the Edwardian 

formality of Haymarket, all within the 

context of a young and elite brand. 

The firm responded by applying 

the high design treatment. Because 

planning laws required active 

frontages at street level, the hotel 

itself does not start until the first floor, 

meaning the entrance works as a kind 

of stage, and the lights and glamour of 

the elevated reception spill out onto 

the bustling streets below. 

Reflecting the context took a highly 

literal slant. Translucent glass was 

suspended from the façade, mirroring 

the surrounding hubbub. A cacophony 

of colour is visible by day; an internally 

illuminated veil of light by night. 

The second hotel, Aloft London 

Excel, which opened last December, 

was created within equally tight 

constraints. Situated in London’s 

Docklands and connected to the ExCel 

Centre, the property is a serpentine 

shape that does not to encroach on the 

dockside. With a glass central plane 

and two external wings in a specially 

treated, light-reflective stainless steel, it 

is dappled with an undulating skyscape 

of purples, pinks, greys and blues. 

Entertainment vs community 

Insofar as visual dazzle is often low 

down a hotel’s agenda, Jestico + 

Whiles redresses a recent trend. “Over 

the last 15–20 years, hotels have lost 

some glamour,” laments Dilley. “In the 

70s, going to a Hilton was the epitome 

of luxury and class, but hotels have 

been allowed to slip into a kind of 

mediocrity. It doesn’t have to be that 

way. You don’t need to spend more 

money to make something an icon.” 

Their portfolio thus eschews the idea 

of a hotel as merely somewhere private 

to recoup. Intimacy is supplemented 

with entertainment, snugness with 

spectacle and closed-off corridors with 

an expansive, public-oriented ethos. 

Nor is this element of communicability 

confined to their hotels. At present, 

the firm is working on two research 

laboratories specifically designed to 

facilitate interaction. 

“Research is all about the incidental 

meeting of people walking past each 

other and chatting,” says Whiles. 

“So we’ve put whiteboards in the 

corridors; we’ve included settees so 

people can sit down; we’ve made 

the landings on the staircases extra 

large so that people passing on the 

stairs can hang out and talk without 

interrupting the flow. The buildings are 

designed to inspire people and make 

the workplace a happy one.” 

These buildings are just two of 

many new projects in the pipeline. 

On the day of our interview, Whiles is 

gearing up for an upcoming meeting 

about an arts centre in Sri Lanka, 

and has just taken a call about a 

large retail outlet in Milan. A few 

weeks later, he will head to Cuba to 

discuss the prospect of developing 

a nanotechnology laboratory there. 

Dilley, meanwhile, is working on the 

off-site construction of West African 

modular hotels. 

Both agree that the travel is 

enlivening, adding extra character and 

flavour to their practice. 

Whiles remarks that he did not 

expect this level of growth when he 

started out, but he concedes that 

sheer grit might have had a role to 

play – this is an issue of trust, so 

the staff have a personal incentive to 

give their all. Everyone, says Whiles, 

works “bloody hard”. 

W London reflects the vibrancy of Soho, 

the theatre of Leicester Square and the 

Edwardian formality of Haymarket. 

“INTIMACY IS SUPPLEMENTED 

WITH ENTERTAINMENT, SNUGNESS 

WITH SPECTACLE AND CLOSED-OFF 

CORRIDORS WITH AN EXPANSIVE, 

PUBLIC-ORIENTED ETHOS.” 

A testament to their ongoing 

success came last summer when 

Whiles took a trip back to an early 

project – Burrells Wharf in the 

Docklands. An industrial-style 

residential development, in the 20 

years since its conception it has 

become a surprising social hub. As 

Whiles sat in the main square with his 

picnic, residents emerged from their 

buildings to share their views. 

“Their reaction was just wonderful,” 

Whiles recalls. “They said, ‘This is the 

best place to live’, with the barbecues 

in the summer and an active website. 

The managing concierge told us we’ve 

designed a community. Or, at least, 

we’ve designed the catalyst for the 

community to work.” 

Whatever the building, Jestico 

+ Whiles sees its central task as 

developing empathy with its context. 

If you conceptualise a building as 

a journey then the designer’s task 

is primarily to understand how 

that journey makes people feel: the 

emotions elicited from the moment 

you pull up in the taxi through to the 

point at which you leave. 

Even the Playboy Club has done 

a sterling job of dispelling unwanted 

associations, evincing the firm’s rare 

knack for turning potential quandaries 

into triumphs. “We’ve been lucky 

enough to get a lot of once-in-a-lifetime 

opportunities back to back,” says Dilley. 

“As a design practice, you can’t really 

ask for much more than that.” ● 

© James Newton 

64 



Undercover inspiration 

More than mere canopies, Textil Bau’s membrane structures provide intelligent and 

innovative solutions for a wide range of construction projects. 

Textil Bau, founded in 1999, is 

a company that designs and 

implements projects in the 

field of textile architecture. The firm is 

known for its challenging membrane 

constructions throughout the world, 

in particular on cruise liners and 

ocean-going yachts, as well as in 

trade fairs and exhibitions, hotels, 

gastronomic areas, and landscape 

gardening and architecture. 

Textil Bau’s unique membrane 

constructions are created in 

cooperation with an established 

network of international engineers, 

steel and membrane construction 

builders, and installation experts. 

Whether they are conical shapes, 

free forms or arches, Textil Bau’s 

membrane structures are intelligent 

and innovative solutions. 

The company’s service starts with 

a consultation about the design and 

structure, covering detail planning, 

production and installation, and 

culminating in maintenance issues. 

This enables Textil Bau to guarantee 

a professional and economical project 

management service, from the first 

design to the finished installation. 

One successful project is the renovation 

and modernisation of the Niggemann 

fresh food market in Bochum, Germany, 

for which Textil Bau installed new 

roofing for the customer parking area. 

This is an interlinked construction 

made of eight textile funnel sunshades 

covering a total area of 1,100m². 

The supporting structure consists 

of eight pillars, each with eight 

galvanised steel cantilever arms. The 

membrane roof is made of a PVCcoated 

polyester fabric manufactured 

by Ferrari, and is strengthened 

by edge and radial straps. The 

A Textil Bau canopy covering the parking area of 

the Niggemann fresh food market in Bochum. 

outstanding characteristics of this 

structure are that the funnels are made 

in one piece and the cutting pattern of 

the shades was inspired by the natural 

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65


Above and beyond 

With approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumed by buildings, efficient 

people flow is crucial. Kone Corporation’s director of products and technology, 

Johannes de Jong, discusses how the modern elevator can help architects 

improve the design, efficiency and performance of today’s buildings. 

“We have a great variety of intelligent 

ways to increase elevator efficiency,” 

says de Jong. “Our destination control 

system, for example, puts people 

going in the same destination in the 

same car. It adds organisation to the 

whole flow process and is around 

25% more efficient than a single-deck 

conventional button system. 

Though rarely appreciated, 

the modern high-rise would 

be unthinkable if not for the 

invention of vertical transportation. 

Without a carefully designed 

elevator system controlling the flow 

of people, most buildings simply 

could not function. According to a 

recent study by Consumer Watch, 

US elevators alone make over 18 

billion trips each year. Industry 

experts often describe this situation 

like a body’s bloodstream – without 

the right flow, it just won’t work. 

Today’s elevators expend 2–10% of 

a building’s energy; a startling figure 

given that buildings account for 40% 

of the world’s energy output. It’s 

estimated that with a modern design, 

the elevator could reduce its carbon 

footprint by as much as 70%, a huge 

saving in financial, environmental and 

social terms. Kone has been at the 

forefront of that effort. Having received 

an impressive 83/100 rating from the 

Carbon Disclosure Project, it’s now 

considered the most eco-efficient 

elevator company in the world. 

Target efficiency 

“According to data we saw at a 

summit in Copenhagen, the only 

way to effectively control the rise 

in global temperature by 2020 is to 

target efficiency,” says Johannes 

de Jong, director of products and 

technology at Kone Corporation. “As 

things stand, efficiency levels are too 

low to meet the level needed. So, as a 

company, we’ve done various things 

to improve eco-efficiency in the 

It’s estimated that 

with a modern design, 

the elevator can reduce 

its carbon footprint by 

as much as 70%, a 

huge saving in financial, 

environmental and 

social terms. 

design, construction and operation 

of the elevator.” 

Conventional elevation technology 

works by using a zone of lifts and 

a standard pushbutton system. As 

people arrive in the lobby, lots of 

buttons get pressed and many stops 

are made. Each stop can take up to 

12 seconds between acceleration, 

which, with time the crucial 

yardstick of successful elevation, 

is usually considered too slow. Also, 

traditional systems are too large, 

encroaching on space that could 

otherwise be used by the owners. 

“There are three ways that we can 

improve the temporal and spatial 

efficiency of the lift,” explains de 

Jong. “With zoning, we can split the 

building into stacked areas, which 

keeps down the number of stops 

made and the length of time people 

spend waiting. Secondly, by stacking 

the cars, we can minimise elevator 

core space and use the building 

more efficiently. The idea is to place 

two cars on top of one another and 

get twice the population in the same 

cross-sectional area. Finally, when 

buildings get really big, the trick 

is to divide them in two and build 

a shuttle service up to the local 

sky lobby. These are complicated 

arrangements where you have to 

know exactly what you’re doing. 

I think the use of consultancy is 

extremely valuable.” 

Better design 

Kone has a variety of mechanical 

ways to improve the efficiency of 

lift design. One of these, introduced 

in 1996, is the machine-room-less 

elevator. In this case, by removing 

the separate area over the hoistway 

it’s possible to build an entirely new 

floor for the building, expanding 

lease space and improving 

efficiency. Another device, also 

bought to market by Kone, is the 

counterweight-less elevator, which 

can expand the size of the car in 

a way that improves wheelchair 

access and safety. 

“Our selection of elevator traffic 

tools offer architects who need to 

do all kinds of different trials the 

right technology, without heavy 

consultancy fees. We also have 

a range of eco-efficient solutions 

that are designed to improve the 

elevator’s core operational ability. 

These include sliding doors, 

lubrication-free step chains, and 

regenerative drive systems that can 

reuse up to 35% of the car’s energy.” 

The JumpLift 

When a building is under assembly, 

vertical transportation can prove 

challenging. A recent study by the 

University of Hong Kong estimated 

that greater efficiency in elevation 

could save up to 20% more labour 

time than conventional rack and 

pinion systems. Kone’s self-climbing 

JumpLift is specifically designed to 

achieve that level of efficiency in 

construction. Capable of carrying 

4,000kg at up to 4m/s, the elevator 

is being used in London’s Shard 

building where it’s thought to save 

as much as 750 hours every day. 

Along with the Carbon Disclosure 

Project, a string of other awards 

have recognised the dramatic role 

Kone has played in reducing energy 

consumption. With the economic and 

social costs of powering a building 

rising, that work is likely to become 

even more valuable in the near future. ● 


Kone Corporation 


66 



3D quality assured 

An enriched 3D modelling system from CAD/CAM solutions provider bocad enables architects and engineers 

to limit technical issues ahead of the building phase. 

Wouldn’t it be great if 

architects could minimise 

technical problems in 

the planning stage and simply 

concentrate on the creative act? 

This dream became reality in the 

creation of a new football stadium 

in Posen, Poland, when design and 

functionality were merged into a 3D 

model and the project became visible. 

The challenge of detailing this model 

– to precisely design all members, 

connections and bracing constructions 

– was carried out with the aid of 

bocad’s digital workflow system. 

All models of CAD systems for 

architects are focused on design. At 

the point of import to the bocad-3D 

system, technological information 

regarding materials, connection means 

and standards were contributed by 

bocad from its knowledge database, 

and the model was thereby upgraded. 

On the basis of this enriched 3D 

model, it was possible to define 

numerous construction rules, based 

upon which thousands of nodes could 

be detailed automatically. 

Besides the increased quality, the 

detailing speed also accelerated 

enormously. To ensure that 

everything fitted perfectly, the 

bocad-3D model was again 

enriched with production-specific 

information. Using this, production 

steps and sequences were defined 

and planned. The numerical control 

data was also derived automatically 

from the enriched 3D model, 

allowing the direct operation of 

NC machines. 

This demonstrates how bocad’s 

digital workflow lets visions come to 

life – through the use of added-value 

3D models. ● 


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67

Special report > Practices 

Size vs creativity 

As multinational practices grow ever larger, to what 

extent are we witnessing a flight towards safety at the 

expense of ambition? And does scale stifle style? 

Herbert Wright meets RPBW’s Renzo Piano, Aedas 

CEO David Roberts and partners from boutique 

firms DGT and Plasma Studio to discuss a shifting 

architectural landscape and whether size truly matters 

68 



In 2011, less than ten years 

after its formation, Aedas 

was declared the largest 

practice on the planet, with 1,500 

architectural employees among 

its staff. In a troubled economic 

environment, and challenging time 

for the construction industry, the 

news seems counterintuitive. But 

Aedas’ rise reflects a wider trend: 

the emergence of the super practice, 

a new breed of unfashionable 

multinational behemoths that 

don’t entice the media attention of 

established ‘starchitects’, yet boast an 

unprecedentedly bulging and diverse 

portfolio of offices, projects and styles. 

What does their success tell us 

about the state of the market and 

the motivations of those holding 

the purse strings? One popular 

interpretation is that corporate and 

public clients have become more riskaverse 

and see safety in scale. Where 

this leaves young, small practices 

looking to enter the international 

arena is just one of the questions 

arising from such a shift and, if young 

talent is being muscled out, what are 

the longer-term permutations for our 

built environment? 

Wary of growth 

Paris-based Dorell.Ghotmeh.Tane/ 

Architects (DGT) is a young boutique 

practice, and Lina Ghotmeh, one of its 

three partners, would be happy to see 

its size double to 30, but fears that any 

bigger and the practice would have 

to “abide by strict rules of design, 

productivity, efficiency and hierarchy 

in order for it to persist”. 

“At some point,” she continues, 

“these factors overflow the creative 

aspects of architecture as well as the 

uniqueness of each intervention.” 

Aedas is some hundred times 

bigger than DGT, but London-based 

CEO David Roberts doesn’t think size 

stifles creativity. “We believe our scale 

offers an efficient infrastructure that 

frees up our designers to concentrate 

on the creative process. Also, the 

number of designers and breadth of 

experience throughout the practice 

allows an exchange of ideas, which 

supports the creative process.” 

Roberts describes the 32 worldwide 

Aedas offices as “rooted in their local 

communities” in Europe, the Middle 

East and Asia. 

The autonomy of corporate local 

offices is evidence that smallness can 

increase open-thinking and bigness 

stifle creativity. At least that’s how 

co-founding partner of Plasma Studio 

Holger Kehne feels. “It is proven by 

the fact that larger corporations have 

strategies to bring down their scale 

and form smaller subgroups in order 

to perform,” he says. 

Plasma started in London in 1999 

and now has three partners and 10 

project architects, although Kehne 

acknowledges that it shares resources 

with its sister company Groundlab, 

a landscape urbanism studio. With 

offices in London, Italy and Beijing, 

Plasma already has as many bases 

as far larger firms, such as Renzo 

Piano’s RPBW, with offices in Paris, 

Genoa and New York. 

From the Centre Pompidou to 

London’s Shard, Piano’s tireless 

inventiveness has established the 

74-year-old Italian as one of the 

world’s greatest architects, and, 

with about 150 people, his firm’s 

size is logarithmically half-way 

between Plasma or DGT and Aedas. 

He says the right size ultimately 

means being “big enough to do 

whatever you want”. 

“Then you become like one of those 

people who doesn’t change weight,” 

he continues. “A good metabolism. You 

1 

1. The Paris offices of DGT. 

2. Renovation of 1 Grosvenor Place by Aedas. 

3. Aedas CEO David Roberts. 

2 

3 

don’t suffer from getting thinner or fatter; 

you have great continuity.” Piano refers 

to his ten partners and 15 associates as 

“the rock upon which we base the office 

– a secret of why we’re doing well”. 

But in an increasingly globalised 

environment, how does size relate to 

a global marketplace? Aedas started 

in 2002 when young Hong Kong 

practice LPT approached mid-sized 

UK practice Abbey Holford Rowe, 

suggesting they merge. “We were 

able to capitalise on the boom in 

construction throughout both Western 

Europe and the Far East,” explains 

Roberts. “Size alone was never the 

objective; the ability to offer a full 

range of architectural solutions to 

both multinational and locally based 

clients was always the priority.” 

DGT’s international origin has quite 

different roots. Its three partners, 

drawn from Italy, Lebanon and Japan, 

got together in London in 2006 and 

decided to go for the Estonian National 

Museum competition. When they won, 

Ghotmeh realised: “Our international 

mix dressed the project with the 

strange familiarity of its being”. 

“We all come from totally different 

backgrounds,” observes co-partner 

Tsuyoshi Tane. “This makes us more 

aware of what is happening in this 

globalised situation.” 

Developing talent 

Open competitions are the gateway 

to the international stage and should 

give newer, smaller practices a chance 

on high-profile projects, but without 

a win, they burn scant resources. 

“Competitions have been vital for our 

development and we started doing 

them on a shoe-string,” recalls Kehne. 

“It is difficult, however, to keep doing 

that over a longer period. Now we are 

very rarely able to do open ones, but 

concentrate on invited competitions 

where costs are covered.” 


69


“Competitions are important to 

develop and trigger our creativity,” 

says Ghotmeh. “They also help 

consolidate and define our design 

approach and can put us on the 

market at the same level of various 

types of offices. It is true that they are 

a bit ‘dangerous’ resource-wise, so the 

type and number of competitions we 

enter is always considered closely.” 

That last factor is certainly an 

area where Roberts sees Aedas’ 

size helping. “In some respects, we 

have an advantage in that we can 

fund ourselves when bidding for a 

job, whereas some smaller practices 

might struggle,” he acknowledges. 

“However, clients will ultimately still 

be swayed by design and it is the 

quality of design above and beyond all 

other factors that wins jobs.” 

Big-name credibility 

Can the credibility associated with 

a big name help win commissions, 

particularly with large clients? “This 

is sadly often the case,” reflects 

Kehne. “Although history shows that 

an ambitious small office can get 

anything done and, in turn, many 

projects by large corporate practices 

have been a disaster. There are still 

misconceptions regarding size and 

ability to deliver. This is increasingly 

at odds with the volatilities of the 

market. In order to maintain a sizable 

office, a firm might be forced to 

compromise by taking jobs that are 

not exactly aligned with their ethos, 

skill set or quality expectations.” 

Roberts recognises the sizecredibility 

link. “In the current 

economic climate, there is no doubt 

that clients are reassured to be 

working with a well resourced and 

well managed practice that they can 

trust to deliver the job,” he says. 

Piano’s name is clearly a key factor 

with clients, but he is keen to stress 

that this means much less internally. 

“I’m not the owner,” he insists. “I 

share this. I push to share.” Asked 

if he would change RPBW’s name, 

as former collaborator and fellow 

starchitect Richard Rogers did with his 

practice, he admits,“I’ve been thinking 

about that; we’ll become the Building 

Workshop one day”, but suggests that 

will be when he decides to step away. 

There’s certainly no sign of that yet. 

Small success 

Over at DGT, Ghotmeh is comfortable 

that size has not proved a hindrance. 

“As a small office, we have not 

encountered such a problem,” she 

insists. “We have always tried to 

communicate our competence 

through our work and through 

exposing to the clients the process 

that leads to our designs.” 

Those designs may be ambitious 

and innovative, but when times are 

tight, they can also lose out to lowercost, 

safer proposals. “There seems 

to be a trend towards risk-averse 

processes and cost overruns can 

happen more dramatically nowadays,” 

observes Kehne, although he notes 

that in China, Plasma has found this 

to be “slightly less the case as the 

country is redefining its identity and 

new ideas are often sought”. 

“We have worked with low budgets 

and produced boundary pushing 

projects,” adds Ghotmeh. “In the end, 

what is a safe design?” 

It’s worth noting that in 2010, 

the biggest architectural billing 

in the US was from a firm without 

the name cache of any polled here. 

Aecom’s $666 million architectural 

turnover was just a ninth of their 

total income as a global ‘technical 

and management services’ company. 

At the other end of the scale, an 

incredible number of firms are tiny. 

In 2009, no less than 79% of RIBAchartered 

UK practices employed 10 

people or less – and their clients may 

hardly stretch beyond the country, let 

alone the globe. 

Free thinking 

“We are at the heart of a what 

a capitalist mode of production 

1. London Bridge Quarter. 

2. Renzo Piano outside his workshop. 

produced, in terms of a homogeneous 

mental environment as well as 

architecture,” Ghotmeh muses. “Being 

big doesn’t necessarily mean you’re 

clever, and being small doesn’t mean 

you can’t deliver dreams.” Such an 

outlook clearly chimes with Piano. 

“You have to be free, and not worried 

about whether you will be recognised 

for the project. That’s something I’m 

very passionate about,” he insists. 

Roberts talks about Aedas’ “ability 

to offer an environment that fosters 

best design practice”, but if the top 

is focused on a corporate rather than 

creative agenda, size won’t help – 

1 

2 

just look at giant RMJM under Peter 

Morrison, still suffering an exodus of 

top talent (Tony Kettle in February), 

staff (most recently in the US) and 

clients (Seoul springs to mind). 

By contrast, Piano still feels the 

he understands what will make 

a practice tick, regardless of size. 

“My authority doesn’t come from 

commanding because I am the 

patron, but from explaining with this,” 

he exclaims, holding his pen aloft. 

“RPBW is well ordered, but not a 

hierarchy; it’s a joyful machine.” 

And perhaps that’s the best any 

practice can hope for. ● 

© RPBW © Herbert Wright 

70 



Quiet spaces 

To absorb sound, improve acoustics and enhance the 

architecture, lomakka’s sound-absorbing structures for 

commercial and residential solutions are ideal. 

Sound-absorbing structures 

and rugs are manufactured 

by lomakka through 

a process that employs a 

combination of industrial 

and handicraft techniques. 

The fabrication procedure 

combines the wool fibres’ unique 

properties with the raw character 

of the felt. They are the perfect 

solution for enhancing spaces 

that require a good acoustic 

standard while maintaining 

aesthetic cohesion. 

Since 2001, lomakka has been 

developing its Swedish wool fibre, 

which has a unique grey lustre, 

into 3D products. Over the years, 

the wool fibre has achieved 

a high degree of warmth and 

is adaptable to changes in 

demanding architecture. 

There is no doubt that textiles 

integrated with architecture 

can possess an importance that 

far exceeds their practical and 

aesthetical function. Dealing with 

the textile as a starting point 

makes it possible to reinforce the 

architectural structure of a space 

and fulfil its role of enhancing the 

general context. Using structures 

from lomakka is more about 

visually quietening the space 

than merely decorating it. 

“It is important to draw on the 

archaic qualities possessed by 

the wool felt and turn it into a 

challenging material that can be 

used in modern environments,” 

says Barbro Lomakka, following 

an assignment for the Swedish 

Embassy in Washington DC, where 

lomakka’s Krasis structure houses 

the architectonical qualities of the 

materials in the building. 

When placing textures in a 

designed room, the odds are 

often against you. By integrating 

them from the very beginning, it 

is possible to vastly improve the 

end result, both in economical and 

aesthetical terms. The structures 

are produced in Sweden and 

custom-made for clients. ● 


lomakka 

www.lomakka.se 

lomakka’s Swedish wool fibre is 

distinctive and versatile. 

Front desk. Rugstructure Fond. 

Barbro Lomakka, Grasp studio 

Norra Kyrkogatan 3 

621 55 Visby Sweden 

THE LEAF REVIEW The Magazine for Leading European Architects | www.designbuild-network.com 71 

Phone: +46 498 - 27 29 51

Insight > Technology 

Light 

show 

As prices drop and efficiency increases, ever more 

architects are incorporating cutting-edge lighting 

technologies into the very core of their projects. Abi Millar 

talks to partners from Information Based Architecture, 

Arup Lighting and Cinimod Design Studio to find out 

how architects and lighting designers are balancing new 

technical possibilities against a taste for restraint. 

© Zhou Ruogu Architecture Photography 

72 



At 600m high, the Canton 

Tower in Guangzhou, 

China, was always going to 

dominate the skyline. One of the tallest 

buildings in the world, the shape is 

unmistakable – a hyperboloid structure 

far removed from the boxy linearity of 

most towers. With its curved, slender 

frame, cinched in the middle, it is 

locally known as the ‘supermodel’. 

Visit by day, however, and you’ll only 

feel half the impact. Once the sun sets, 

the exterior gleams with light, a vivid 

kaleidoscope of colour that streams 

from the whole surface. Sometimes 

pink, sometimes blue, often striped, the 

precise shades change frequently, as 

candy-bright as a fairground ride and 

visible for miles around. 

“We designed the tower as a beacon 

for the city; something that would give 

the people of Guangzhou something 

to be proud of, to aspire to,” says Mark 

Hemel, partner at Dutch architectural 

firm Information Based Architecture 

(IBA), which designed the building. 

“The lighting, of course, has an 

important role to play in that.” 

Technically aided by Arup 

Lighting, the structure is one of the 

most striking recent examples of 

architectural lighting in action. More 

than just an add-on, the lighting is 

incorporated into the very fabric of 

the building, with 7,000 light-emitting 

diodes (LEDs) illuminating the 

structure from within. 

“Since these LED models have been 

on the market, we have benefitted 

enormously from a new freedom in 

lighting design,” says Simone Collon, 

Europe lighting leader at Arup. “An 

LED can be seen as a single pixel 

module, so you can create matrixes 

and assemble these pixels in any 

shape you want. Light has become an 

architectural material.” 

During most of their history, LEDs 

were confined to laboratory equipment 

and household devices, their utility 

severely constrained by their price. In 

recent years, however, as the medium 

has grown cheaper and more efficient, 

architects have begun to tap a rich 

seam of potential applications. 

Fresh ideas 

Just ten years ago, when Collon 

started work at Arup, media façades 

were still something of a novelty. 

An early project of hers, the Galleria 

Fashion Store in Seoul was commonly 

cited as breaking new ground. 

“The building previously had a bare 

concrete façade, which we retrofitted,” 

she explains. “All of a sudden, there 

was a luminous surface glowing, 

radiating the character of the building 

1 

1. The slim Canton Tower is known locally as the ‘supermodel’. 

2. Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge is festively colour-coded. 

2 

to the people. Now it’s the talk of the 

town, popping up in tourist guides.” 

A trained architect, Collon went on 

to work on projects such as GreenPix 

(a zero-energy media façade in China’s 

Beijing); the Sheikh Zayek Bridge in 

Abu Dhabi (colour-coded to convey 

the spirit of local festivities); and the 

Star Place mall in Kaohsiung, Taiwan 

(frittered glass illuminated with the 

themes of the passing seasons). 

At present, she has two projects 

underway in the Yongsan development 

in Seoul. The first, a residential tower 

with a media feature, will move 

away from abstract light washes and 

towards pictorial content – carpets 

of cherry blossoms and Korean 

contemporary poetry in white script. 

Another tower, taller still than its 

Guangzhou forebear, will visualise 

nature through light. Powered by 

photovoltaic cells, it will not only 

reflect natural fluctuations, but use 

them for energy; its night-time 

luminosity depending on levels of sun 

that day. “Lighting is a very powerful 

tool,” enthuses Collon. “More and 

more clients and architects have 

become aware that if you hire an 

independent lighting designer, it can 

hugely increase the quality of space.” 

Viable options 

It’s a trend from which 

multidisciplinary practice Cinimod 

has benefitted. Combining art with 

architecture and product design, the 

firm has been able to gain a lateral 

view of the possibilities at every scale. 

“I’m a big believer that, in general, 

the architecture and the lighting 

professions don’t talk together 

soon enough on big projects,” says 

Cinimod founder Dominic Harris. 

“It’s something we’re actively trying 

to change. My preferred point of 

involvement is quite early on so we 

have a chance to achieve the most 

seamless and beautiful results.” 

© Christian Richters 


73


The entire surface of Cinimod’s Peru National Football Stadium is 

interactive, so the lights change according to the crowd’s mood. 

His practice is perhaps best known 

for its work on the Peru National 

Football Stadium, in which the entire 

façade became interactive. Aiming 

to reify the excitement of the crowd, 

the firm installed sensors to map the 

stadium’s noise levels. This information 

is fed into a computer programme, 

which renders the prevailing mood in 

the form of a lighting display. 

In projects such as this, artistic 

and technical considerations are 

inextricable, with today’s crop of 

lighting designers breaking bounds 

on either count. “I think we quite 

routinely push the technology far 

and hard,” says Harris. “When we’re 

conceiving a project, we don’t just 

use what is already on the market. 

Instead we will challenge the big 

suppliers to make bespoke products, 

and sometimes make our own. I do not 

believe that concepts or art should be 

limited by technical constraints.” 

One technology in the pipeline is 

organic LEDs (OLEDs), a flat, waferthin 

layer that can be used to coat any 

material. Based not on pixels but on a 

single, flexible surface, these look set to 

attain commercial viability within five 

years. Left-field applications such as 

glowing wallpaper would seem to be 

close at hand. 

Future proof 

The big question for the future, in fact, 

may not be so much what can as what 

ought to be achieved. With lighting 

applications growing ever more 

multifarious, designers will need to 

pay heed to their impact on the built 

environment. After all, the downside of 

omnipresent lighting façades is surely 

the potential for overkill: the tipping 

point between boldness and a clamour 

of visual noise. 

Take Hong Kong, in which building 

after brightly coloured building 

projects a Babel of light. Media 

façades blazon advertising messages, 

each surface competing with the 

next to grab the spectator’s attention. 

For many visitors, the effect is sheer 

aesthetic cacophony. 

Elsewhere in the world, not least 

Europe, there is a clear trend towards 

sustainability and restraint. “I think 

that modern lighting designers 

working with colour-changing LEDs 

have a social responsibility to prevent 

our urban environment becoming 

awash with non-stop colour-changing 

rainbow façades,” says Harris. “I spend 

a lot of time working with our clients 

to explore what else can be done with 

this wonderful technology.” 

Collon concurs. “There’s a tendency 

visible these days that less is more. 

Nowadays, we’re reducing colours and 

not having buildings change from pink 

to green to blue in one minute. That’s 

not something people want to see.” 

Of course, statements about visual 

preference fall under the banner of 

cultural contingency and Collon 

concedes that the Canton Tower 

was geared towards specifically 

Chinese tastes. Built to open in time 

for the 2010 Asian Games, the tower 

constituted a key component of the 

host city’s regeneration, with the final 

say over its colour scheme falling to 

the authorities. 

“The city had a direct interest in 

interfering in what you see,” explains 

Hemel. “I see its current appearance 

more as a temporary statement that 

has been directly influenced by the 

local authorities than a statement of 

our design intentions.” 

IBA and Arup had intended to 

create something white and simple, 

luminous and contrastive. 

“We wanted to make the building 

resemble an afterimage,” expands 

Collon. “In the daytime, if you look at 

the tower and then close your eyes, 

you see a beautiful, glowing structure. 

This gave us the idea to integrate 

lighting fixtures into the design.” 

While their plan for the 

infrastructure did survive, the 

versatility of their chosen medium 

turned out to be their undoing. 

Crucially, because each of the LEDs 

is individually controllable, the diodes 

function as a blank canvas – you 

can project pearlescent subtlety or 

rainbow pageantry according to whim. 

Needless to say, once local 

designers had been drafted in, local 

preferences won out. 

Freedom of choice 

Hemel, surveying his somewhat 

compromised handiwork, sounds 

a note of caution. “LEDs have an 

enormous advantage in that you 

can do anything with them, but to me 

that highlights the difficulties at the 

same time,” he says. “It’s great that 

there are more possibilities, but you 

have to find the artistic freedom to 

decide what not to use.” 

As further technological obstacles 

are overcome, these words supply 

an important guiding principle. 

If the last decade in lighting has 

demonstrated anything, it is surely 

that LEDs have an extraordinary effect 

on their environment. Monument 

to frustrated potential or otherwise, 

the Canton Tower’s visual sway over 

Guangzhou is clear. 

“Light has an enormous impact on 

people,” says Collon, who envisages 

an almost limitless scope for future 

innovation. “It’s often underestimated 

how much it can change the 

atmosphere of a space.” ● 

74 



Exciting accents for 

demanding architecture 

Architecture with a high aesthetic claim has found the 

perfect partner in the elegant Gira electrical switch range. 

and glass – and sets exciting accents 

in combination with natural materials 

such as wood and natural stone. 

Precise lines characterise the clear forms 

of the Gira Esprit switch range. 

Precise and clear lines 

characterise the simple yet 

independent forms used in 

the Gira Esprit switch range. Gira has 

now added a very high-quality version 

with shining black glass to the frame 

variants made of real materials. 

The frame’s dark shimmering glass 

corresponds perfectly with the 

architectural, linear design of the 

switch, and lends Gira Esprit its 

particularly elegant character. The 

high-gloss surface has a distinctive 

depth effect and provides an optical 

perfection that cannot be achieved 

with any other material or colour. 

Gira Esprit has an expressive presence 

that blends unobtrusively into its 

surroundings. The range is particularly 

well suited for use in architecture with 

a high aesthetic claim – for example 

with open masonry, exposed concrete 

The aluminium switch inserts 

and covers harmonise ideally with 

the black glass cover frame. Inserts 

and covers are available in anthracite, 

matt pure white and glossy pure white 

colour variants. 

More than 180 functions of the modern 

electrical installation can be combined 

with the Gira Esprit cover frame, 

including the home stations of the Gira 

door communication system. ● 


Gira 

www.gira.com 

Gira Esprit 

New frame variants 

Gira is expanding the material and colour diversity of the Esprit switch range. With the new aluminium black, aluminium brown and walnut-aluminium frame 

variants, the successful design concept is being pursued consistently: clear forms, carefully selected materials and perfect surfaces. The natural grained 

structure of the material remains visible in the frames made of anodised aluminium. The organic grain of walnut wood lends each frame its own individual 

character. More than 280 functions are available for Gira Esprit. For more information, see www.gira.com/esprit 

Ill. from left to right Aluminium black/anthracite, aluminium brown/cream white glossy, walnut-aluminium/colour aluminium 

14628_Anz_Esprit_Neuheiten_Kombi_220x106_EN.indd 1 29.11.11 12:41 


75


OUTDOOR /STREET LIGHTS 

INDUSTRIAL LIGHTS 

LIFESTYLE LIGHTS 

RETROFITS 

ACCESSORIES 

INDOOR/OFFICE LIGHTS 

Visit 

Visit 

us 

us 

in 

in 

September 

April at the 

at the 

LED Professional 

Light+Building 2012 

Symposium & Expo in 

Bregenz, 

in Frankfurt. 

Austria. 

Hall 

Booth 

4.1 K10 

B2 

Get ready to 

see the light 

Operating in Germany and with a comprehensive European 

distribution network, Zenaro Lighting develops and 

markets complete lifestyle, office, industrial and street 

LED luminaire units, as well as LED retrofits for the direct 

replacement of old bulbs and lamps. 

Zenaro’s cutting-edge 

lighting solutions are 

equipped with advanced 

LED technology from parent 

company Everlight Electronics. 

SOHO 

SETTING 

CREATIVE ACCENTS 

WITH EFFICIENCY. 

The SOHO LED downlight by Zenaro. 

Brilliant LED light comes in a brilliant design. With a mere power consumption 

of 30 W, the LED downlight SOHO sets creative accents in 

neutral white (5000 K) or warm white (3000 K) wherever efficiency in 

style is required. 100% glare-free and in a 60° beam angle, thanks to 

its combined reflector technology. Easy and safe mounting: the coffer 

in classy white perfectly fits 215 mm cut-outs of ceiling elements with 

a 5 to 20 mm thickness. The 3-year warranty plus an extra-long life 

cycle of 25,000 hours minimize running and maintenance costs to the 

max. Ensuring top performance – even in the long run. 

For more about tomorrow’s light, 

visit today: 

www.zenarolighting.com 

The company’s close relationship 

with this LED pioneer, which has 

decades of industry experience in 

LED technology and lighting, creates 

added value and enormous product 

development advantages. 

Zenaro creates imaginative and 

affordable lighting solutions for 

every key application area based 

on the latest LED technology, with 

its specific benefits and enhanced 

design possibilities. Sustainability is 

always factored in. 

The recessed LED ceiling luminaire 

SOHO comes with a clean, modern 

design that makes it particularly 

suitable for the discreet illumination 

of offices and prestigious premises. 

The circular ceiling lamp in a white 

housing is equipped with nine highpowered 

LEDs in neutral (5,000K) or 

warm white (3,000K) and has a beam 

angle of 60°. Three retaining springs 

allow safe mounting in ceilings. 

SOHO provides glare-free light 

thanks to a specially designed 

light control system. The external 

The SOHO circular ceiling light boasts nine high-powered LEDs. 

Zenaro’s new ultra-flat 

and dimmable AXENIA light. 

LED power supply unit, with plugand-play 

connection, is located next 

to the luminaire housing. 

Zenaro’s visually appealing 

SOHO light emits neither UV nor IR 

radiation, has a product life of 25,000 

hours and is available with a threeyear 

warranty. ● 


Zenaro Lighting 

www.zenarolighting.com


Laid-back 

lighting 

Using discreet lighting to 

strike a balance between 

style and sustainability is 

no easy task. Elly Earls 

meets Lighting Design 

International’s Ellie Greisen 

to find out how a concealed 

LED lighting scheme exceeds 

today’s stringent energyefficiency 

standards to create 

the desired client experience 

at Corinthia Hotel’s ESPA Life 

spa in London. 

Concealed linear LED lighting is energy-efficient and 

complements the mirror-like surfaces of the ESPA Life spa rooms. 

Professional bodies are 

increasingly emphasising the 

importance of energy efficiency 

across the entire construction 

and design cycle; for example, 

the American Society of Interior 

Designers (ASID) recognises that 

sustainability should be an essential 

part of any interior designer’s 

professional responsibilities. 

ASID acknowledges that this 

extends to resource and energy 

efficiency, indoor environments that 

support occupant well-being and 

productivity, and integrated building 

design developed by collaborative 

multidisciplinary teams. 


77


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

1. Corinthia Hotel’s ESPA Life spa swimming pool. 

2. The ESPA Life spa lounge. 

3. Female changing rooms. 

4. ESPA Life spa reception. 

5. The luxurious EPSA Life spa sauna. 

Lighting designers play no small 

role in this picture and are increasingly 

being asked to deliver schemes that 

not only satisfy stringent energyefficiency 

criteria, but also continue 

to wow on the style front. 

The brief Lighting Design 

International (LDI) received from 

Corinthia Hotel’s ESPA Life spa was 

no different. The consultancy was 

asked to create a complementary 

lighting scheme, which was energy 

efficient, while being respectful to 

the original features of the historical 

building in which it is located. 

The scheme was also required 

to complement different moods 

on each of the four individually 

designed floors, while creating a 

holistic experience for the facility’s 

discerning clientele. 

“We had three different clients 

throughout this project: GA Design, 

the interior designers; ESPA, the spa 

managers; and Corinthia, the head 

client,” says Ellie Greisen, senior 

lighting designer at LDI. “They had 

strong ideas in terms of the lighting 

effects. Not only did they need to 

keep downlights to a minimum, 

they wanted each floor to have 

a completely different feel.” 

Discreet system 

For Greisen, the only option for the 

base scheme was concealed linear LED 

lighting, as this could satisfy the client’s 

sustainability criteria while creating a 

mood suitable for a luxury spa. 

Because the finishes in the spa 

were principally Kinon (a hand-cast 

resin with different effects), textured 

stone, marble and rich fabrics, the 

lighting needed to complement 

these without taking away any 

attention from them. 

“Kinon is a highly reflective surface, 

which acts almost like a mirror, and it 

was a big challenge to work with this 

kind of finish,” says Greisen. 

“In some areas, we had limited 

amounts of space, which meant that 

every detail had to be carefully 

mocked up and tested. Linear LED is 

not a pretty thing to look at, so you 

have to conceal it. Making sure you 

couldn’t see any linear LEDs from 

any angle across the whole project 

was a big challenge.” 

Yet Greisen’s hard work paid off, and 

not only is it impossible to catch even a 

glimpse of the concealed LED lighting 

scheme, the use of hidden lights 

provided a big tick in the Corinthia 

Hotel’s energy-efficiency box. 

“Energy efficiency was really 

important and it was something that 

drove a lot of the design process,” 

Greisen explains. “We had a unique 

opportunity to use completely 

concealed lighting, which also means 

it’s mostly energy-efficient lighting.” 

Going underground 

Another key challenge for LDI was the 

client’s desire to bring four completely 

contrasting floors into harmony. Each 

floor is designed to have a different 

feel, with the finishes becoming 

darker as you go further underground. 

While the lighting focuses on the 

finishes, highlighting the different 

moods of each floor, LDI also had to 

come up with an overriding concept 

to bring the whole project together. 

The London-based consultancy 

opted to use the lighting of the spa’s 

marble staircase as the project’s 

joining feature, concealing lighting 

detail at the staircase’s sides, which, 

when taken with the reflective 

surfaces across the rest of the spa, 

gives the facility’s clients a sense of 

floating. Diffusers conceal the light 

source, softening the lighting effect. 

“It wasn’t as difficult as it sounds 

because the finishes helped a lot,” 

says Greisen. “The staircase is the 

central element that goes from the 

top floor entrance all the way down to 

the sub-basement. The only lighting 

detail on the stairs is the glow at the 

side, it’s a clever way of tying the 

whole lighting scheme together.” 

Although concealed lighting was 

the mainstay of the ESPA Life project, 

it was simply not viable to completely 

avoid the use of up and down-lighting. 

The spa features pieces of artwork, 

including sculptures, which serve as 

focal points for spa-users to move 

around the space. “To highlight these 

focus points, we used uplighting and 

downlighting,” explains Greisen. It 

gave them a bit more emphasis.” 

Moreover, the stainless steel 

swimming pool, which is housed in 

the spa’s sub-basement, required fibre 

-optic uplights, which illuminate the 

water onto the white ceiling. Uplights 

were also used on frosted glass fins, 

casting patterns on the ceiling. 

The use of downlights was kept to 

a minimum. “Where we have used 

downlights in the changing rooms, 

a lot of them are LED,” Greisen says. 

“We’ve only got a small number of 

low-voltage halogen downlights.” 

LDI’s focus on energy efficiency 

undoubtedly paid off. The total 

installed load of the project is 

20.6 W/m², while the Lighting 

Energy Numeric Indicator result 

of the scheme is 95, a figure that 

compares favourably with the 

benchmark values set out in the 

European Standards for the energy 

performance of buildings. 

Just as these statistics testify to 

the energy efficiency of the project’s 

lighting scheme, the stylistic success 

LDI achieved with the ESPA Life spa 

is clear to see, demonstrating that 

style and sustainability can and do 

still go hand in hand. ● 

This article was first published on 

www.designbuild-network.com. 

78 



Switch makes 

light work 

LED lighting specialist Switch Made is expanding 

its range of products to suit specific environments 

and offer a greater local presence. 

Switch Made’s showroom 

is located in Le Cube 

Orange, near Lyon. 

Your projects 

Our LED solutions ! 

European first, the Mionnay Golf 100% LED lighted 

Products : FORTY II - LINE TECH II 

Switch Made offers a wide 

range of reliable and highquality 

LED products and 

support to its customers throughout 

the development of their projects. 

Switch Made is a start-up that was 

created four years ago in Lyon, 

France. Since then, it has grown 

considerably as a result of a strong 

investment strategy and significant 

capital resources. It has also rapidly 

developed its export department, 

thanks to the success of 

its subsidiaries and strong partnerships. 

With a cumulative turnover of 

€23 million, Switch Made’s objectives 

are to reach €40 million in 2012, to 

rapidly extend its country coverage, 

and to continue along the path to 

becoming the major brand on the 

European lighting market. 

Key concepts 

Energy saving, performance, security 

and visual comfort are central to the 

needs of various market participants. 

Switch Made can meet these criteria 

by offering its customers: 

• innovative 100% LED products 

• competitive price positioning 

• a large range of products 

covering the majority of 

lighting applications 

• product availability. 

The company’s strengths include: 

• a local presence with ideally 

located showrooms 

• experienced and dedicated teams 

(including R&D, logistics, sales 

and technical staff) 

• products adapted to specific 

environments (special requests) 

• quality products, meeting the latest 

European norms, all tested through 

a strict quality control process. ● 


Switch Made 

www.switch-made.com 

w w w . s w i t c h - m a d e . c o m

Innovations 

The innovations list 

Our favourite new products and 

innovations from the last few months. 

1 Developed by British designer 

Ross Lovegrove in partnership with 

Czech glass and crystal producer 

Lasvit, Liquidkristal is a highprecision 

heat transfer process 

that creates organic-looking glass 

panels. Allowing for variations in 

opacity and texture, the technology 

creates flowing glass installations for 

architectural spaces. 

www.rosslovegrove.com 

1 

2 Designed by Japanese practice 

Torafu Architects, the Koloro-desk is 

a small, self-enclosed study space. 

The customisable desk includes 

lighting, a window, space for potted 

plants, books and hot drinks, and 

adjustable side and back hatches. 

www.torafu.com 

3 London-based designer Philippe 

Malouin has expanded on his 

Gridlock furniture range with five 

new pieces: a bowl, desk, shelf and 

two lights. Based upon repetitive 

grid structures, the range pairs 

handmade brass lattices with 

concrete slabs in a nod towards a 

brutalist and industrial aesthetic. 

www.philippemalouin.com 

4 Barcelona-based SF Kooperation 

shareholder Breinco has unveiled 

its new ELEMENTS street furniture 

range, which has been created to 

brighten up contemporary urban 

public spaces. Featuring seats, 

LED lamps and planter boxes, the 

refreshing new line was designed to 

appeal to a future-oriented customer 

base through innovative designs 

using eco-friendly materials, striking 

colours and excellent surface finishes. 

www.sf-kooperation.com 

www.breincobluefuture.com 

2 

3 

4 

80 


Innovations 

5 The fruits of a collaboration 

between Zurich-based UrbanFarmers 

and Conceptual Devices, the Globe 

(Hedron) is a geodesic greenhouse 

designed to rest on top of flat roofs in 

urban areas. Framed with bamboo, 

the dome-shaped aquaponic 

greenhouse contains both fish and 

vegetables. The project has been put 

forward for this year’s Buckminster 

Fuller Challenge. 

www.conceptualdevices.com 

6 British design studio Barber 

Osgerby won the International 

Design Award for the London 2012 

Olympic torch. Chosen from among 

89 entries, the winning torch is 

crafted from aluminium and is being 

carried more than 8,000 miles in total 

across the UK to London. It is also 

perforated with 8,000 holes that are 

more than merely decorative: they 

reduce the weight and prevent the 

heat of the flame being conducted 

into the bearer’s hand. 

www.barberosgerby.com 

7 Possibly one of the world’s first 

tables to generate power through 

moss, the unique structure of 

the Moss Table incorporates 

biophotovoltaic technology, in 

which electrons produced during 

photosynthesis are converted 

into electricity. Designed by 

Biophotovoltaics, the table is still 

in its conceptual stages, but is 

already able to produce enough 

energy to support devices such 

as digital alarm clocks. 

www.biophotovoltaics. 

wordpress.com 

8 French architect Jean Nouvel 

has showcased a new line of 

uncomplicated laser-cut furniture 

at Milan Design Week 2012. 

The stackable, weather-resistant 

chairs are made from aluminium 

and come in a range of colours 

including white, red and grey. 

Nouvel’s MIA collection, which 

includes elegantly designed 

armchairs, benches, 

stools and tables, was designed 

in collaboration with 

Italian manufacturer Emu. 

www.jeannouvel.com 

9 90° MINUTO is the latest addition 

to the Teckell Collection, which 

puts a new twist on the game of 

table football. Designed by brothers 

Davide and Gabriele Adriano, it is 

composed of a light wooden frame, 

which supports a crystal enclosure 

that is populated by abstractly 

carved footballers. Elegant and 

attractive, it is a novel take on a 

traditional game. 

www.adrianodesign.it 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 


81

Directory > Events diary and Suppliers guide 

Events diary 

Hands-On Urbanism, 1850–2012 

How urban architecture like Hong Kong’s has learned to adapt. 

The Greatest Grid: 

The Master Plan of 

Manhattan, 1811–2011 

Until 15 July 

Museum of the City of New 

York, US 

www.mcny.org 

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of 

the Commissioners’ Plan of 1811, the 

foundational document that established 

Manhattan’s famous street grid, this 

exhibition features an original hand-drawn 

map of New York’s planned streets and 

avenues prepared by the Commission in 

1811, as well as other rare historic maps, 

photographs and prints of the evolution of 

the city’s streets. 

Bauhaus twenty-21: 

An Ongoing Legacy 

8 June–22 September 

Yksi Expo, Eindhoven, 

Holland 

www.yksi.nl 

This acclaimed exhibition has been 

travelling widely throughout Europe 

since its opening at the German 

Architecture Museum in Frankfurt in 2009, 

commemorating the 90th anniversary of 

the founding of the Bauhaus School. It has 

been shown in eight venues and there are 

three more to come, with the European tour 

scheduled to finish in 2013–14. 

© Shu-Mei Huang 

Until 25 June 

Architekturzentrum Wien, 

Vienna, Austria 

www.azw.at 

Looking at how the world’s towns and 

cities have adapted to modernisation, the 

exhibit takes a look at the lessons learned 

and the innovative thinking of architects 

that have changed the face of construction 

in an ever-developing urban environment. 

Consense 2012 

19–20 June 

Stuttgart, Germany 

www.dgnb.de 

This year Consense hosts the World Green 

Building Congress in which the World Green 

Building Council brings together experts 

across the built environment to drive forward 

sustainable and green building solutions. 

London Festival of 

Architecture 

23 June–8 July 

London, UK 

www.lfa2012.org 

Drawing on the London 2012 Olympic Games, 

this year’s event celebrates ‘The Playful City’. 

A midnight bike ride, London Velonotte 2012, 

highlights the changing face of architecture 

in East London, with guides including Peter 

Ackroyd, Ricky Burdett and David Adjaye. 

Stadia: Sport and 

Vision in Architecture 

6 July–22 September 

Sir John Soane’s Museum, 

London, UK 

www.soane.org 

May 2012 – October 2012 

With the London Olympic Games stealing 

the headlines in 2012, Stadia takes a look at 

the influence of sport on our architecture. 

The exhibition tracks the development of 

early athletic and sporting venues to modernday 

facilities, showcasing the deep ancient 

history of these events while celebrating the 

role of architecture in delivering them. 

ONE Lab: Future Cities 

9 July–3 August 

New York City, US 

www.onelab.org 

ONE Lab addresses the emerging discipline 

of global urbaneering by assembling a wide 

range of innovators from fields as diverse as, 

architecture, material science, urban design, 

biology, civil engineering and media art. 

Europe’s Best Buildings 

19 July–8 October 

Architekturzentrum Wien, 

Vienna, Austria 

www.azw.at 

Europe’s Best Buildings will attempt to 

engage young architects and showcase 

the very best in European construction. 

Celebrating and recognising architectural 

accomplishments within the EU, prizes 

will be awarded to certain projects for the 

development of contemporary architecture. 

International Festival 

of Art & Construction 

2–11 August 

Villarino de los Aires, 

Salamanca, Spain 

www.ifac2012.com 

Two hundred young people involved in art 

and architecture will live and build together 

in a creative space where ideas, work and 

experiences are shared as well as new links and 

contacts within the architectural community. 

LEAF International 

12–14 September 

Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

www.arena-international.com/leaf 

The Leading European Architects Forum 

brings together leading international 

practices and designers operating in Europe 

and beyond to share knowledge, to network 

and to develop new partnerships. 

Suppliers guide 

3M ...................................................................21 

www.3m.eu 

Artecta...........................................................12 

www.artecta.nl 

bocad .............................................................67 


Burlington Slate ..........................................50 


Cosentino ......................................................30 

www.silestone.com 

Desso .............................................................49 

www.desso.com 

EeStairs .........................................................15 


Elsner Elektronik ........................................23 


GAIL Architektur Keramik .......................41 

www.gail.de 

Gira .................................................................75 

www.gira.com 

Kebony...........................................................21 

www.kebony.com 

KONE ................................... front cover, OBC 


Kusch+Co ........................................................4 

www.kusch.com 

lomakka ........................................................71 

www.lomakka.se 

Markilux ........................................................33 

www.markilux.com 

MEINERTZ ....................................................53 

www.meinertz.com 

Prinz Optics....................................................7 

www.variotrans-glass.com 

Rodeca ...........................................................26 

www.rodeca.de 

Sefar ............................................................ IBC 

www.sefar.com 

SENDA ...........................................................42 

www.senda.pt 

SF-Kooperation ............................................34 

www.sf-kooperation.com 

Shaw Contract Group ................................29 

www.shawcontractgroup.com 

Switch Made ................................................79 

www.switch-made.com 

Taiyo Europe ................................................36 


Tecsom ..........................................................54 

www.tecsom.com 

Textil Bau ......................................................65 


TRILUX ....................................................... IFC 

www.trilux.co.uk 

Vandersanden Group .................................35 


Visio-Technic ...............................................43 

www.visio-technic.com 

Vogl Deckensysteme .................................61 

www.vogl-ceilingsystems.com 

Wrightstyle ..................................................47 

www.wrightstyle.co.uk 

Zenaro Lighting ..........................................76 

www.zenarolighting.com 

82 


Making 

the functional 

attractive 

Architecture 

Modular fabric ceilings 

for lighting and acoustics 

Sefar AG 

Architecture 

Hinterbissaustrasse 12 

9410 Heiden 

Switzerland 

Phone direct +41 (0)71 898 56 18 

Phone general +41 (0)71 898 56 17 

Fax +41 (0)71 898 58 71 

systems@sefararchitecture.com 

www.sefar.com

17:45 

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING, MILAN 

Helping the Bilotta 

family reduce their 

building’s carbon 

footprint with every 

elevator ride 

KONE is constantly looking for new ways 

to improve the energy efficiency of its 

solutions. During 2010 we achieved our 50 

percent energy reduction target for volume 

elevators, an ambitious goal set in 2008. 

Our elevators have also been awarded 

A-class energy ratings. 

In 2010, KONE celebrated 100 years as a 

pioneer of innovation. In the future we will 

continue to lead the way in developing 

innovative and eco-efficient solutions that 

help people move smoothly in urban 

environments. 

kone.com 

KONE elevators’ energy efficiency 

performance according to VDI 4707* 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

A 

KONE MonoSpace® 

KONE MiniSpace 

F 

G 

*Guideline issued by the Association of German Engineers

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