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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'Tower of Nests' was the project presented by Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture for Evolo Skyscraper Competition. KKA presented a vision of a tower where humans and animals coexist. A building that aims to be a symbol; not of power nor wealth, but of a new era of harmony and interplay between nature and mankind.

Creating habitats for animals that have been driven out of their natural environments as a result of development. Creating vertical density within the city to reduce sprawl and commuting distances.

The development trend of contemporary metropolises is to increase the population density. This leads to developing cities vertically instead of horizontally. Although increasing the population per unit area of the city may reduce the daily commutes, it reduces the daily interaction of people with green spaces, animals and insects. This creates a gray, dull city and may increase stress and depression among the inhabitants. Moreover, the diversity of animals and insects will be reduced significantly. On the other hand, building parks, as a suitable place for animals, may not be economically feasible due to the land price. In the era of Green Architecture, where building sustainable is becoming commonplace, what if the collection of green buildings could go a step further and actually become a functional habitat for birds and wildlife?

To address all of these issues, we developed a new high-rise typology which is essentially integrating human and animal inhabitants in high-rise buildings. The design further elaborates a combination of rational, man-made apartments and natural, organic-formed bird nests on the facade of a skyscraper. Birds and insects are nature's premier architects, using a disarranged form to build functional homes in which to live, reproduce and care for their young ones. Recycling sticks, branches, grass and mud to construct their shelters, they are undoubtedly the first creators of Green Architecture.

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Participate to the Prix Emile Hermès 2011, worldwide design competition organised by the Hermès Foundation!



As a designer, an interior designer, an architect, an engineer or a student in design, don't miss the registrations for the Prix Émile Hermès.

This design competition supports actively the young talents in their desire of future and innovation and thanks to the success of the 2008 European edition, the 2011 edition extends henceforth on the international stage.

The 2011 edition will reward projects stemming from a reflection on the sense of the object and answering the current and future needs of the society on the following theme: "Heat, me-heat, re-heat".

Beyond sheer creativity, it is a question of activating a forward-looking thought taking into account the environment (through the promotion of sustainable development) and traditional skills, two of the Hermès Foundation's core spheres of action.

The initial shortlist is drawn up by a distinguished international jury chaired by Toyo Ito. Then each designer is invited to create a prototype financed by the Foundation, from which the same jury will select three winners, each receiving a cash prize designed to launch or further their career (50,000 euros for the winner, 25,000 euros for the runner-up, and 15,000 euros for the third place). The winners' work will also feature in a special exhibition and in its catalogue and it will be promoted by the Foundation around the world.

Subscriptions already started and will be closed on November 30th, 2010. For the submission of projects and designs, it will close only on February 15th, 2011.

For further information, please visit www.prixemilehermes.com. It is also the place to participate!

The Hermès Foundation team for the Prix Émile Hermès

A unique architectural competition sees the development of five luxury insect hotels across the London's public gardens. The five hotel designs have been shortlisted as part of ‘Beyond the Hive’, a competition launched by British Land and The City of London Corporation to celebrate 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity.
Members of the public will be able to see the final constructed hotels on this site and vote for their favourite design between the 19th and 28th June.

The hotels have been designed to attract stag beetles, solitary bees, butterflies, spiders, lacewings, and ladybirds, and will be constructed at Bunhill Fields, West Smithfield, Postman’s Park, St Dunstan’s in the East and Cleary Garden.

The shortlisted designs and teams are as follows:

Hotel A: The Bumblebee City Nesters

Designed by Fisher Tomlin (Professional Garden Designers & Landscapers)
Location: West Smithfield
This design is inspired by the City of London’s prestigious tower buildings, and uses a flexible system that allows it to be adapted to create anything from a two-storey wildlife B&B for smaller spaces, to a complete five star hotel for larger gardens.At West Smithfield, the team will create a series of five towers, ranging in height from 90cm to 120cm, made entirely from recycled materials, including recycled timber, recycled broom poles, and garden and building waste. Two local schools in Wimbledon will help the team in creating the towers, which are designed with solitary bees and bumblebees in mind, but will also provide homes for an array of other insects and invertebrates.


Hotel B: Brookfield Bug Buddies

Designed by Brookfield Europe in collaboration with consultants Arup, DP9, Hilson Moran Partnership and Sir John Cass’s Foundation school, Stepney Way, E1
Location: Postman’s Park
Taking its inspiration from the City of London itself and the juxtaposition between the ancient past and the modern age, the hotel uses pipe work of different widths and lengths sourced from the Pinnacle project. These are fixed together in a sweeping line, rising up from a recycled wood planter base. Reinforcement bars used to create the framework will both support the structure, and allow a plant climber, such as native traveller's joy (clematis vitalba), honeysuckle (lonicera periclymenum) or hop (humulus lupulus).
Hilson Moran Partnership was employed to assess the design’s environmental impacts, Arup Structures reviewed the structural design and DP9 advised on possible planning considerations. Brookfield Construction co-ordinated the team effort and will deliver the scheme, whilst children at local secondary school, Sir John Cass, will assist in procuring the materials and furnishings for the project.

Hotel C: Beevarian Antsel and Gretel Chalet

Designed to commemorate the excursion to London of the German Women in Property; entry co-ordinated by Helaba Landesbank Hessen-Thueringen
Location: Cleary Garden
Based on the design of a typical Bavarian mountain chalet, the ‘Beevarian Antsel and Gretel Chalet’ was designed by “German Women in Property” to commemorate their recent excursion to London.
The design features reclaimed bricks to attract solitary bees, rotten logs for invertebrates, louvered boxes filled with bark for hibernating butterflies, a log drilled with holes for ladybirds and eaves filled with bamboo for lacewings. Set over three floors, all materials used to construct the hotel will be collected from within the City.

Hotel D: The Insect Hotel

Designed by Arup Associates
Location: St Dunstan’s in the East
The façade of the hotel consists of a series of compartments based on a Voronoi pattern found in the natural world, which generates a series of voids varying in size at a depth of 500m.
A variety of recycled waste materials and deadfall are loosely inserted into these voids, whilst the sides of the hotel are accessible for butterflies and moths, and the top is suitable for absorbing rain water through planting.

Hotel E: Inn Vertebrate

Designed by Metalanguage Design
Location: Bunhill Fields
Designed to reflect the diverse architecture of London, the ‘Inn’ is a stylish multi-story habitat with different-sized cavities to accommodate a wide variety of invertebrates.
The main structure will be built off-site, where a network of talented crafts people and designers will be involved in the sourcing and storing of materials, and construction, whilst the final phase - the filling-in of the cavities and planting – will be undertaken when in situ.
The inn will be constructed from recycled and reclaimed wood, bricks and off-cuts found in surrounding areas. Cavities will be filled with soil and stones collected from the garden, whilst seeds for planting wildflowers will be donated by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Once considered a 'hard' city, Seoul is making strides toward becoming a 'soft' city.
Seoul is about to be reborn as a soft city by embracing design concepts that will redefine its urban environment with an emphasis on themes centering on green, blue, history and human.

The Seoul Cycle Design Competition will be held under the theme, 'cycling with design: seoul style', and is part of Seoul's city-wide effort at improving its design brand and image. The primary goal of the competition is to help build a design oriented city that focuses on its people.

The competition is divided into three categories: cycle design, cycle fashion & accessories design, and cycling infrastructure. All three categories emphasize environment-friendly ideas, with the hope that the contest will contribute to establishing a healthier cycling culture.

Cycles have become an icon of 'eco-friendliness' and 'healthiness,' and are part of a major urban lifestyle trend. Nearly everyone can enjoy riding cycles; therefore, just about everyone will be able to enter the competition. Through this competition we hope that all citizens will have the chance to share their own personal visions for a new Seoul, a city that has embraced change through design. We invite everyone who is interested in cycling and design to take part in the Seoul Cycle Design Competition.

Deadline: July 5 2010

Architecture Studio 4of7 has developed a project for a pediatric clinic in East Africa. The intent was to create spatial solution which would be able to grow and adapt according to the changing need; or according to varied conditions at different locations. Notionally, if more and more modules were to be added, such configuration could grow infinitely but always confined the circular matrix, defined by three differently sized courtyards.

Responsive solutions in building industry are normally associated with high budgets. In contrast, this is a low-cost application of adaptable architecture. Proposed design is not site specific; it is configured to suite different surroundings and varied demands. For practical reasons, it is based on the use of a single component designed for infinite growth within a recursive geometric pattern.

Proposal for the phase one satellite clinic entails ten modules grouped around two circular courtyards, while phase two configuration will need twenty modules grouped around five circular courtyards.

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