Archinect - News

Henning Larsen's latest K-12 design provides a lesson in bio-based construction

2023-03-08T12:34:00-05:00

Henning Larsen has released details of its newest K-12 project in the Danish village of Rønde.

The project worked to add an ultragreen extension to the village’s existing Feldballe School that offers carbon sequestering while incorporating plans for its future disassembly and reuse as components in other constructions.

Photography by Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST

Using straw, seagrass, and locally-sourced timber as its base palette of materials, the design will eventually have a carbon output equivalent to -3kg of CO2e per square meter per year following Danish standards.

Photography by Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST

A passive ventilation system helps to further reduce the consumption of energy on a daily basis. Solar panels have been installed on the timber roof, adding a further capacity for carbon independence. Compressed straw panels contained by wooden cassettes form the exterior of the walls, which are then completed with a clay plaster support coatin...

France requires new public buildings to contain at least 50% wood

2020-02-10T18:56:00-05:00

The government of France is set to require that all new public buildings must be made at least 50% from wood or other sustainable materials from 2022 as it pushes for sustainable urban development. The local government in Paris had already pledged a greater use of natural materials such as wood, straw and hemp, and any buildings higher than eight storeys built for the 2024 Paris Olympics must be made entirely of timber.

As part of President Emmanuel Macron's climate action plan, a new measure announced by the country's Minister for Towns and Housing Julien Denormandie requires all new public buildings financed by the French State to contain at least 50% wood or other organic material, such as straw or hemp, by 2022.

Minister Denormandie also called for proposals to create 100 urban farms in priority neighborhoods, so called "green suburbs," as well as adding 90 new "eco-neighborhoods" to the already existing stock.

The "Sustainable City" plan is intended to showcase France's low-carbon ambitions in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Paris.

British ice-cream shoppe, Snugbury's, creates a 35ft straw Dalek for 50th anniversary

2013-08-02T18:58:00-04:00

Snugbury's has been erecting its giant straw sculptures for more than 10 years, but this one is by far the most advanced yet. It features two fully movable parts - the head and the gun - and also includes audio. It is the brainchild of engineer Mike Harper, whose team of volunteers have put in an estimated 700 man hours to bring the creation to life.

"A Recipe To Live": Modern Japanese Straw House Naturally Heated By Compost

2013-07-02T12:06:00-04:00

The simple, sustainable design of "A Recipe to Live" easily integrates with the lifestyle and landscape of the dairy farm town Taiki-cho in Hokkaido. Designed by students Masaki Ogasawara, Keisuke Tsukada and Erika Mikami of Waseda University, the project was the winner of the 2011 LIXIL International University Architectural Competition.

"A Recipe to Live" is a perfect mixture of pleasing organic aesthetics and practicality that is suitable for life on the pastures. Clean lines and geometric shapes give the shelter durability, while the spacious interior and simple floor plan is ideal for performing everyday tasks or resting. On the other hand, natural tones, soft lighting, and dried straw convey an organic feel that reflect the house's pastoral surroundings. However, even these aesthetic qualities are functional.

An example--and perhaps the house's most unique feature--is its zero-energy heating and cooling system, which uses only dried straw and agricultural ferm...

Scale replica of Lichfield Cathedral made by farmer out of straw

2012-10-08T20:22:00-04:00

A team of faithful farmers have built a scale model of Lichfield Cathedral - out of straw. The monument, which stands 50ft tall, 74ft long and 14ft wide, took three weeks to complete before it was unveiled yesterday. Farmer Rob Gray, 50, decided to build the replica of 12th century Lichfield Cathedral which is near his 250-acre sheep farm in Whittington, Staffordshire.

The Story of Straw... and how to use straw in a modern building.

2012-02-04T20:33:00-05:00

Construction was completed on a new straw bale building for the University of Nottingham which brings together the School of Biosciences and the School of Veterinary and Medical Sciences. The project is the first stage of a 20-year visionary masterplan for the university's Sutton Bonington Campus.

View The University of Nottingham - The Gateway Building in Make's Archinect profile.