Becoming sustainable doesn’t happen overnight
Sustainable architecture is not news but it’s an ongoing process to unsure that the actions we take today don’t have a negative consequence for future generations. When designing we have to make sure it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own. For this it’s important to have in mind the consumptions of energy resources and raw materials such as steel and concrete.
We started working closely with the Austrian producer of the CLT elements, advising them how to implement the CLT to execute high quality architecture. Furthermore, we also collaborated with Buildwise, testing the acoustic qualities of renewable details, a composition of CLT, hempcrete, and magnesium boards. We were asked to develop the most performant design, which was put into practise by building an actual mock-up to be able to conduct the necessary tests and experiment enough to learn from it and improve from there.
Nowadays we have the necessary tools to plan in advance the combination of these elements with the installations required. This planning reduces and anticipates materials costs while reducing the construction time.
We can say that our practice is not just a method-driven approach, but a process and experience-driven one.
We developed a material selection process that is based on ranking and comparing their qualities, durability, production process, and recyclability. We often found ourselves experimenting with alternatives to the conventional, go-to materials and opting for new renewable options. Such an example is hempcrete, which we have already executed as a substitute to the traditional oil-based insulation and levelling materials used in interiors.