Design sustainability

The future workplace prioritizes user agency, sustainability, and technological integration, shaping environments that adapt to the evolving needs of a dynamic workforce.Advanced Concepts 2.0 is a research- and design-driven exploration of emerging workplace paradigms developed for Teknion following a competitive design process, in which our team was selected to advance three future workplace concepts. Positioned between speculation and application, the project investigates how work environments can evolve to support flexibility, wellbeing, and new modes of collaboration. Scott Norsworthy Conceived to respond to shifting work patterns, heightened wellness expectations, and increasing technological integration, the initiative introduce... More

Forest City Trading Group (FCTG) is an industry leader in building products that wanted to expand its footprint in a new space while creating a physical embodiment of its values. Rooted in sustainable product sourcing and building relationships across market sectors, FCTG entrusted DBW with designing a space that centers connection, warmth, and flexibility within the suite. Light cascades across every surface, while biomimicry creates a tangible experience of the vast Pacific Northwest outdoors, all within the comfort of an efficient workspace. Josh Partee Josh Partee Josh Partee Josh Partee   FCTG needed a new space that allowed its employees to freely enjoy an office connected to the natural environment. Flexibi... More

Set within one of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s oldest suburbs, Under Rimu is an alteration and addition to a heritage villa for a family of five. The original house retains its familiar street presence—albeit with significant restoration and a new colour scheme—while contemporary forms unfold behind it around established native trees. The addition reworks the geometry of the villa through a series of angled roofs and clerestory windows, drawing sunlight deep into the plan. A realigned central hallway now runs from the original porch to the rear garden, opening long views through the house. To the east, a restored breakfast porch reconnects bedrooms, living spaces and the study with morning sun and views towards the maunga.... More

The project consists of a small-scale system of productive and accessible infrastructure for community urban gardens. The intervention includes raised cultivation beds, widened and leveled circulation paths, resting benches, shaded areas, signage elements and support surfaces for gardening activities. BE STUDIO 2025 BE STUDIO 2025 BE STUDIO 2025 BE STUDIO 2025 BE STUDIO 2025 The raised beds were designed to improve ergonomic access for older adults, reducing the need to bend down during planting, maintenance and harvesting. Circulation paths were widened and stabilized to allow safer movement through the garden, while benches with appropriate seating height and arm support were incorporated as resting points along... More

Located in St. Petersburg, this hotel complex is conceived as a low-impact intervention embedded within a forested landscape. The project prioritises integration with its natural surroundings, using spatial organisation, material selection, and passive design strategies to minimise visual and environmental impact. SNOB Architects SNOB Architects The masterplan is composed of several detached volumes with restrained geometries, connected by a continuous glased axis that functions as the main circulation and viewing spine. This configuration preserves permeability across the site while allowing for both open communal areas and more private zones. The ground level remains porous, with interior spaces extending directly into terraces... More

Flishuset is a story of breathing new life into an old, dilapidated woodchip house. Completing the transformation of an old sawmill into museum and event grounds, Flishuset will complement the current facilities with two open and flexible spaces for art exhibitions, events, meetings, and educational purposes.The project carefully balances preservation, reinterpretation, and sustainability within a historically sensitive context. Thurston Empson The building is characterized by its exposed structural system, which is an interpretation of the traditional barn construction employed in the original woodchip house. Connected through traditional joinery techniques, the structural members communicate a history of craftsmanship while contribu... More

At Casa al Pozzo, we set out to create more than just a house, we envisioned a living space that would exist in quiet harmony with the Tuscan landscape. From the start, our goal was to design a home that felt like a natural extension of its surroundings, both respectful and deeply connected to the land. Caption We followed the contours of the site to shape a building that nestles gently into the hillside, allowing the architecture to adapt to the terrain rather than impose upon it. This approach fostered a strong sense of flow between indoors and out, where every space opens out to the landscape and draws the eye to nature. Caption Sustainability was a driving force behind our choices. We integrated photovoltaic panels subtly in... More

Nestled in the Mediterranean town of Premià de Dalt, Spain, this family contemporary residence epitomizes architectural simplicity refinement.  delriobani delriobani A sculptural monolith, emerges from the natural backdrop of tall pines and coastal rugged terrain. The carved endemic figure is provided with a harmonious and dynamic rhythm by its voids, reclaiming the essence of Mediterranean architecture, but offering pioneering innovations in vernacular techniques and materials, making the project not just a place to live but a space to experience.  delriobani delriobani Articulated through segments which intertwine and connect creating a flexible living programme; with each space a new narrative unfol... More

The holiday home ‘’Caravan House’’, located in Vathy, Aegina Island has northerly views towards the Argosaronic Sea and southerly views towards a rocky Mediterranean landscape and was designed to accommodate a family of four travelers. Their main criterion was the connection with nature which determined the architectural composition. Caption THE HIVE ARCHITECTS The challenge was to limit the building’ footprint and keep the plot as free as possible, minimally altering the natural landscape. The existing wild pistachio, olive and almond trees are preserved and guide the outdoor life of the family. The dry-stone walls that run through the plot, perhaps the most important anthropogenic intervention for... More

As a public building in a transitional urban area, the goal for the Ambulance Service and Medical Examiner Facility was to create a highly functional, sustainable, and pragmatic building that is also a space where employees in high-stress jobs can relax, socialize, and connect with nature. Surrounded by a railroad, convenience store, and a storage facility on three of the sides and a mundane parking ramp across the street, the challenge was to create an oasis in a banal context. Main Street Studio Main Street Studio The two-story, 34,000-square-foot facility needed to efficiently house multiple user groups — the medical examiner, county facilities personnel, EMTs, and six ambulances — in a way that clearly demonstrate... More

29' x 14' 6" Schweiss Hydraulic Door installed on Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore, MD. This Hydraulic Door is clad in corrigated metal and features Under Armour's logo for optimal viewing in both the open and closed position.  Amy Barkow / Barkow Photos Amy Barkow / Barkow Photos Amy Barkow / Barkow Photos More

An upcoming lease expiry was the catalyst for Allens’ new Perth office. After relocating, the resulting reduction in floor space meant they needed to make bigger changes to their working style than they had first envisioned. Dion Robeson With this in mind, Unispace held a series of co-creation workshops with a cross-section of staff to determine their needs. The workshops were so well attended that Allens asked us to open the sessions up to all employees, resulting in 80% of Perth staff in attendance. These comprehensive responses formed the basis for all strategy, design and construction decisions for the project. The leading law firm’s objectives for the new space included attraction and retention of top talent, improve... More