A notable feature is the BBM designed Waste House at the University of Brighton.
Around the same time as the waste house completion in 2014, BBM director Ian Mckay talked to House Planning Help about choosing a suitable building for an eco retrofit:
Themes drawn out by Baker-Brown both in this issue of the AJ and in his work in practice include placing more value on materials through the use of material passports and designing building as material banks for the future, and designing buildings for delicate deconstruction rather than demolition.
Lendager Group’s Resource Rows in Copenhagen is one of the case studies featured in the journal, featuring repurposed materials in the facade. Another case study, Lacaton and Vassal’s refurbishment of three 1960s housing blocks in Bordeaux, follows the circular economy principles espoused by Duncan Baker-Brown. Instead of knocking the buildings down, the architects added winter gardens. These gardens reduced the energy use by 60% and opened the building up to light, air, and views.
Duncan strikes many positive notes in the journal, emphasising that architects are in a good position to effect environmental progress in the construction industry, because they oversee the design and detail of buildings.
Check out this week’s AJ here: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk
Above Image: Material Passports https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/material-passports-finding-value-in-rubble/10043989.article?blocktitle=in-the-LATEST-ISSUE&contentID=18097
July 25th 2019, the UK’s second hottest day ever:
With the train network unable to handle the heat, highly energy consuming air conditioning on full, a new build house by BBM was able to cope.
“…with the doors shut and the blinds down in the sitting room we were a fair bit cooler indoors than out”. -client
The new house is expected to be near enough cost neutral in heating through the winter months and has now shown itself to cope well with heatwave conditions in the summer.
‘It’s architects who manage resources: we choose what we build buildings out of’
Last month architect and circular economy expert Duncan Baker-Brown gave the keynote speech “Can Architects Save Planet Earth?” at the AJ100 Awards night. The audience fell silent when Duncan delivered his speech on the Climate Emergency. The full speech can be found below and further reading on the evening can be found here.
Beechwood House is cut into the steep site and terraced over two levels. Sitting comfortably in the landscape, the timber-clad first floor blends in with the surrounding trees.
The proposed layout accommodates a multi-generational family with an emphasis on privacy and generous shared living spaces. Direct access outside is provided from both storeys. The lowest storey of the proposed house, sunk deep into the slope, contains the sleeping quarters. Bedrooms all have access onto an external balcony and views towards the South Downs.
The first floor level contains the main living spaces, including the kitchen, dining room, and living room. Housed under the monopitch roof and with dual aspect views to both the back garden and the South Downs, the living spaces feel lofty and well-connected to the landscape. The open-plan kitchen/dining/ space has direct access to the back garden.
Baker-Brown emphasised that we are at a historic cross-roads; we can either change our attitude towards the environment now or suffer severe consequences in just a few decades. Governments are at last declaring a climate emergency; we may have woken up to our impending doom, but it will take more than stirring declarations to save the day. Decisive, immediate action is required.
Despite such a serious wake-up call, the speech set a positive tone, inspiring the attendees to reconsider how they practice architecture. Baker-Brown covered topics ranging from our unsustainable love for concrete to the idea of designing buildings to be material stores for the future. Although progress has been slow, there is still hope both for the architectural profession and humanity in general. We have the knowledge and power to dramatically reduce the damage we do to the natural world, and to reduce our contributions to global warming.
The keynote speech adds to the ongoing discussion within the profession about architecture’s approach towards tackling climate change. Earlier this year, several RIBA registered architects were arrested during Extinction Rebellion protests, and only a few weeks ago seventeen RIBA Stirling Prize winning architects called on the profession to declare a climate emergency.
Opinion is changing more rapidly than practice, however, which is why Duncan Baker-Brown thought it was essential to set a positive tone and discuss practical ways architects can design with the environment in mind during his keynote address to the AJ100 attendees.
