The Ideas competition 'Adream 2012 – Architecture and design using renewable and ecological materials' – is a European project under the joint auspices of the Regional Council of Picardie (France) and the Free State of Thuringia (Germany) aimed at giving impetus to new developments.

The potential of renewable and ecologically sound materials is still substantially under-exploited. Through this competition, the partner regions have therefore invited and promoted innovative proposals for developing a sustainable economy by means of contemporary designs which make well-considered use of such resources.

Entrants from all over Europe submitted a range of creative and innovative projects. Here are some of the winning projects.

Coffee ground pots - Sanam Viseux - France
1st prize Design/Student

Modular thatch panels - Ratia Rabemananoro - France
1st prize Architecture/Professional
Modular thatch panels for insulation and exterior wall

Eco Bell - Camille Courlivant - France
2nd prize Design/Student
Storage bells

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Ziegert | Roswag | Seiler Architekten Ingenieure was founded in 2003 and is based in Berlin. Their core competency is the use of natural materials, especially earth, in construction. Their projects range from a timber firehouse in Brandenburg, a white earthen home in Berlin's Westend and a bamboo-and-earth school in Bangladesh to historical monuments in the Arabian Peninsula and school projects in Africa.

This project, financed by VEBS – Verein für Entwicklung, Bildung und Selbsthilfe e.V. (Society for development, education and self-help) is an extension of a school building out of earth and bamboo to meet the increasing space requirement due to the rising number of students.
2 earthquake-resistant and climate adapted bodies have been planned, consisting of a heavy earth cube in the ground floor and a light bamboo structure in the upper floor. The construction works have be done by local craftsmen who have been trained in the specific techniques.

This construction has received the Holcim Awards Gold 2011 Asia Pacific.
Comment of jury: "The jury commended this project because it contributes to all of the competition’s “target issues” in a convincing way. Through engineering and design, a traditional building technology has been upgraded with effective low-tech measures. Bamboo is used in an innovative way, demonstrating the potential in construction of this fast-growing and widely available material, which also counters deforestation. The propagation of the new construction methods amongst the local population aids the establishment of local businesses and improves the economic situation in this rural area. All materials are locally sourced and can be processed with low energy requirements.
The new construction approach shows the rural population an affordable, high quality and durable alternative compared to widely-used, but higher-cost and less environmentally-compatible construction materials. The combined earth/bamboo structure allows two-level buildings which reduces land use. The low-tech but sophisticated approach creates the potential to develop a unique local architecture, and transfer the approach to many other regions, particularly in less-developed countries."

The earth was mixed with straw by water buffalos and made usable. The first layer of cob was piled up and cut. The second layer was built, with window recesses.

Half of the bamboo poles, needed for the bamboo ceiling spanning over 5 metres, were pierced. In doing so, all inner walls of the poles were pierced with a metal bar.
Afterwards, the tubes were put up straight und filled with Borax – a salt solution.
It stayed within the poles during 14 days. This kind of treatment is known as the least harmful one for the environment.

The lintels for windows and doors was made of 5 bamboo poles wrapped with straw and formed part of the fourth cob layer.

The ceiling structure consists of a triple-layer of bamboo culms with the central layer arranged perpendicular to the ones above and beneath. They were fixed with steel dowels and laces. An overlay of planking made of split bamboo culms was placed on the central layer and filled with a straw-earth mixture as the floor finished of the upper level.

The bamboo elements were constructed in special mounting devices that allowed a measure of pre production and meant the components only required assembly. The beams forming the veranda were already complete and most of the first floors structural elements were prefabricated.

La Castellamonte and Adriano Design have collaborated to create Stack stoves, a ceramic line with wood burning and pellet burning fireplaces that reinterprets the archetypal object in a contemporary touch.

On one side, an excellent production that has been able to preserve a handicraft and now industrial know-how of ancient tradition; on the other side, an avant-garde design that has accepted an innovation challenge in respect of the past.

Stack is modular and customizable. The flexible structure allows the “as much as one likes” composition of the stove, thus punctually meeting precise aesthetical, spatial and functional needs. The nine models combine the combustion and heating modular elements with support modules that offer articulated materic, dimensional and functional solutions. The stoves are customizable by adding heating modules in order to create height and power variations.


The building modularity is the result of a sustainable approach, expressed in the rationalization of the production, storage and transport processes and in the consumption optimization, set on the customer energetical needs and on the emissions.

Stack is highly technological, a requirement guaranteed by the hot blast pipes heat exchanger, typical of the stoves La Castellamonte, and the excellent performance levels reached by the wood burning and pellet burning fireplaces.
“The technological innovation concerns every part of the Stack stoves that, with their modular structure, can respond precisely to the needs of the architectural contexts in which they are inserted, by optimizing spaces, consumption and emissions”, explain Davide and Gabriele Adriano, the two Turin designers.

 
Stack stoves has won the Design Plus Award powered by ISH, the international biennal fair, leader for the bath, renewable energies and air-conditioning sectors, that takes place in Frankfurt am Main. The jury has praised the “excellent and particularly innovative design” of the Stack stoves, especially for what concerns the “environment protection, energy efficiency and sustainability aspects”.

Swedish architecture office Jagnefalt Milton has been awarded the third prize in the Norwegian master plan competition for the city of Åndalsnes. Their proposal was to have buildings rolling through the city on rails.

The jury awarded the Swedish office for a proposal where existing and new rail roads would provide the base for new building that could be rolled back and forth depending on seasons and situations. Amongst other they proposed a rolling hotel, a rolling public bath and a rolling concert hall.

– We are really happy that the jury took our proposal serious,  its not only a good proposal which we are very proud of, it's also fully doable, says Carl Jägnefält one of the two founders of Jägnefält Milton.

The jury was impressed by the Swedes proposals that did not propose new city blocks, public squares, boardwalks etcetera, but instead focused entirely on the existing rail road network and created something unexpected from it. They were also moved by the presentation material which they thought had a surreal mood with a magic and Tarkovsky-esk atmosphere that contrasted well with the sober and technical plans and axonometric drawings.

Jagnefält Milton is an architecture office in Stockholm, Sweden. The office was founded in 2009 by Konrad Milton and Carl Jägnefält.

 

Lódz Design Festival has announced the results of the make me! 2010 contest.

The main prize has been awarded to Kamila Niedzwiedzka and Nikodem Szpunar for their Mosquito Lamp project.

'Mosquito' is a floor lamp designed for small interiors. It is an alternative choice for the large and heavy floor lamps. It is light, but stable, and easy to transport. The light it gives may be diffused and soft, or focused.

Ivanka Studio is a Budapest firm founded by Katalin and Andras Ivanka in 2003.
Their work is based on the versatile nature of concrete. It is famous for its unique wall panels and its contemporary gravestone.

They have been invited to attend the Hungarian National Participation at the London Design Festival 2010 (Sept 23-26 2010).
Their presentation will focus on Flaster tiles, 'Camelion' flooring with a thousand faces in colour.

Ivanka got Flooring of the Year nomination at Elle Decoration International Design Awards - 2010 for their 'Flaster' tiles.