Solutions in Sustainable Construction

The Wasteless Free-Form Formwork construction technology combines existing processes and materials in a new way to fabricate non-repetitive free-form cast-on-site concrete structures using re-usable and digitally-fabricated wax formwork. 

In underdeveloped settlements, a lack of sanitation is one of the major problems. By applying an additive strategy, this project in a resettlement area of Savda Gherva significantly improves hygiene and strengthens social cohesion within the local community by involving the residents throughout the process. A pilot project commenced in 2012 to provide off-grid sanitation to more than 1,500 people.

Shea butter storage for Nyingali community: The striking towers of the storage units are designed for passive cooling and allude to traditional local architecture.

This project achieves midrise, mixed-use housing through a modular panel system that can adapt to create a variety of unit layouts and architectural forms, Vancouver, Canada.

Following over 25 years of civil war, the reintegration of young soldiers is one of the great challenges facing Sri Lanka. This Community Library retrained a labor force geared for combat with building skills to equip them for post-military life. The slender building sits lightly in the landscape and wraps around an inner courtyard, taking full advantage of cross ventilation and daylighting. Rammed-earth walls and recycled materials reduce costs and the ecological footprint.

To partially reduce London’s housing shortage, the project proposes a straightforward and resourceful solution – Compact ZEDPods on elevated platforms on land outside the development plan including carparks, hard standings and difficult to develop land. Intended for young people and key municipal workers (firefighters, nurses, police personnel, etc.), the modular, low-energy homes are economically affordable, since land costs are replaced by the leasing of “air rights”.

This entry is focused on the development of a smart but simple methodology to design and prefabricate building elements with complex geometries, which is resource efficient and considerably reduces construction waste. Complex geometries are utilized in contemporary architecture for the construction of concrete or mortar building envelopes, partition walls, horizontal and vertical shading elements and pavements.

Strategic design for a mixed-use civic hub with durable architecture and long-term financing in the neighborhood of Paraisópolis, Sao Paulo.

Ecommunity proposes the conversion and transformation of an existing factory into collective housing in the city of Lodz in Poland.

This project proposes a form of “social economy” with implications for inhabitants and their physical environment. Despite contemporary global urbanization and its attendant economy, there are still rural areas today where barter is the main mode of exchange. The project draws on this tradition and proposes bartering as a practice in an urban context for the refurbishment of the historical center of the city carried out by people without sufficient monetary means.