Wood is rapidly becoming the go to material for an architecture profession that is trying to transition to a more sustainable approach. This year's most inspiring wood projects include the world's tallest timber building to date, a mosque as a calm oasis and an architecture school designed as an incubator for architectural experiments.
1. Sara Cultural Center by White arkitekter AB
The newly opened Sara Cultural Center in Skellefteå, Sweden is a mixed-use cultural hub and hotel complex which serves as a new cultural and aesthetic landmark for Skellefteå as well as an invitation for architects, designers and builders to reconsider the viability of timber as a sustainable and innovative material appropriate to highrise and complex builds.
2. Cambridge Central Mosque by Marks Barfield Architects
Stemming from a limited international competition that began in 2007, the Cambridge Central Mosque is a 1000 person capacity mosque that is sustainable as well as socially and architecturally integrated into its neighbourhood. Designed by Marks Barfield Architects , the Mosque is intended to announce Islam's presence in Cambridge as a spiritual and cultural center not only for Muslims but also for the wider community.
3. New Aarhus School of Architecture by ADEPT
Bringing together ten former locations into one building, the new Aarhus School of architecture by ADEPT Architects was conceived as a living laboratory of architecture, fostering workshop-style learning and spatial concepts inside a raw, industrial building that refers to its location on a former railyard . Refined detailing, strong spatial organization and a selective material palette result in an architecture that serves as background, allowing a flexible system for activity.
4. Stony Hill by Bates Masi Architects
On a pastoral site bordering meadow and woodland, the Stony Hill residence by Bates Masi Architects is located in Amagansett, an early English and Dutch farming settlement on the East End of Long Island. The project references the agrarian history of the location by dividing the site into zones in a manner similar to the original pasture parcels.
5. House in the Orchard by firm Architekten
In the village of Frastanz – Gampelün, Austria, a new three-storey residential 'tower' and patio with carport are situated in a way that creates a new ensemble with two beautiful existing farmhouses that adjoin. Designed by firm Architekten , the new building's distinct simplicity contrasts against its richly ornamented neighbours.
6. Community Center Edegem by Marc Koehler Architects
Located south of Antwerp in the village of Edegem, Community Center Edegem by Mark Koehler Architects is constructed entirely of massive timber (CLT). Multifunctional, flexible, and open, the project sits in harmonious integration with the existing monumental Huis Hellemens Exhibition Center and its gardens. Project goals include reactivating a redundant site in the heart of the historic town and creating a symbol of sustainable design.
7. Indigo Tanja and Jos by Woonpioniers
A concept by Woonpioniers , Indigo aims to make architecture and sustainable building techniques available to a wide audience. Design freedom combines with an efficient building process and little environmental impact.
8. Engelbach Kindergarten by Innauer Matt Architekten
The two-storey structure is finished with refined wood detailing by Innauer Matt Architekten in a delicate architectural language. The local wood surfaces are completed with metal window frames. The compact kindergarten volume conceals a multi-layered inner world.
9. PokoPoko Club House by Klein Dytham Architecture
Outside of Tokyo, Nasu Highlands is a lush farming region and urban escape dominated by Mount Nasu. PokoPoko by Klein Dytham Architecture is the playful result of the client’s desire to connect two hotel buildings and provide a new amenity on a lush resort site.
10. Bayhouse by Studio Rick Joy
Presenting a unique verticality, Bayhouse by Studio Rick Joy responds to the stormy and snowy weather conditions of the American northeast and reflects the local building tradition of large shed roofs while also inventing an aesthetic of its own.
