Dezeen has announced its final “shortlist”, with entries now in the running for awards in 13 different architectural categories at the Dezeen Awards later this year.
Last month, Wood Central reported that more than 4,800 entries from 94 countries were received, with the awards “celebrating the world’s best architecture, interiors and design, studios, and individuals producing the most outstanding work.”
Among the 30 shortlisted projects for the Sustainability Awards is Ombú, a demountable timber structure inserted into a disused gas plant in Madrid, Spain.
Designed by British architecture studio Foster + Partners, the adaptive reuse project created a flexible tree-lined workspace for Spanish energy company Acciona and saved the existing brick building from demolition.
The plant is fitted out with 10,000 square metres of offices and incorporates urban greening and timber finishes.
According to Foster + Partners,’ the project provides “biophilic spaces” that “maximise employees’ wellbeing and its connectivity to nature.”
Reusing the original brickwork preserved more than 10,000 tonnes of material, with the timber structure easily recyclable and demountable.
It also creates a series of staggered floors integrating building services such as lighting and ventilation.
As “one of the most sustainable projects by Foster + Partners,” it has successfully achieved a “1.0 Planet Ecological Footprint”.
This means that the project meets the requirements of Net Zero and is aligned with the requirements of the Paris Agreement.
“The design reduces embodied carbon by 25 per cent when compared to a new build over the whole life of the project while making allowances for future refurbishment.”
“The operational energy is calculated to be 35 per cent below normal expectations.”
The shortlisted projects were assessed by Dezeen’s sustainability jury, including fashion designer Patrick McDowell, industrial designer Jane Abernethy and architect Koichi Takada.
Projects are divided into the following categories:
Sustainable building
- Nightingale Village, Brunswick, Australia, by Architecture Architecture, Austin Maynard Architects, Breathe, Clare Cousins Architects, Hayball and Kennedy Nolan
- The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School, Jaisalmer, India, by Diana Kellogg Architects
- Yukinohako, Joetsu City, Japan, by Kei Kaihoh Architects
- Precise Acts – Hermès Workshops, Louviers, France, by Lina Ghotmeh Architecture
- The Black and White Building, London, UK, by Waugh Thistleton Architects
Sustainable renovation
- National Youth Theatre, London, UK, by DSDHA
- Entopia, Cambridge, UK, by Eve Waldron Design
- Ombú, Madrid, Spain, by Foster + Partners
- Park Hill Phase 2, Sheffield, UK, by Mikhail Riches
- Art_1 Office, Athens, Greece, by Neiheiser Argyros
Sustainable interior
- Edit, London, UK, by Elly Ward and Joe Morris
- Entopia, Cambridge, UK, by Eve Waldron Design
- Freitag Store Shanghai, China, by Kooo Architects
- Big, London, UK, by Nina+Co
- Lai Zhou Bar, Shanghai, China by RooMoo Design Studio
Sustainable design (consumer)
- Blue Sky Lab by NIO Life
- Ruka Edge Slick by Blond
- PulpaTronics by PulpaTronics
- Living Coffin by Studio Hendrikx and Loop Biotech
- Kankan Soap Dispenser by Kankan, Morrama and Two Times Elliott
Sustainable design (building product)
- Alted H01 Collection by Berta Julià Sala for Alted Materials
- Armourcoat Clay Lime Plaster (Clime) by Armourcoat
- Erosion Mitigation Units (EMU) by Reef Design Lab
- Flyt by Snøhetta
- Permeable YiBrick by Yi Design
Material Innovation
- Bananatex Jersey by Bananatex
- Human Material Loop by Human Material Loop, Zsofia Kollar and Leonardo Avezzano
- Celium by Polybion
- Sugarcrete by Sugarcrete
- Colorifix Limited invested in by The Mills Fabrica Investment Fund
The winner of each project category will be announced at a party next month, with winners of all six categories competing for the title of sustainability project of the year.
