Diller Scofidio + Renfro has unveiled the design for the new Frederick S. Pardee School for Global Studies at Boston University, a project aiming to integrate sustainability, urban density, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The 70,000-square-foot building will rise 186 feet, making it the tallest mass timber tower in the Northeast United States. Situated on a former parking lot at the heart of the university's campus, the structure will occupy just 10% of the site, allowing for the creation of a central green space in the future.
According to the United Nations, indigenous people are "place-based" ethnic cultures that have not migrated from their initial homeland. In today's world, with human-caused climate change driving extreme weather events and a growing demand for authenticity and cultural diversity, architects are increasingly turning to indigenous knowledge systems not only as sources of inspiration but as viable solutions to adapt and respond to local and global challenges. As traditional custodians of the land, Indigenous communities possess a profound understanding of their ecosystems, locally available materials, cultural norms, and social constraints. This knowledge holds insights valuable for shaping contemporary architecture, helping it adapt to both the people and their environments.
Vernacular and indigenous practices are emerging as a foundation for architectural reimagining, informing spatial lays, the choice of materials, and building techniques while also allowing for the integration of innovation and contemporary expression. This careful blend of tradition and modernity can have a significant impact in terms of sustainability, as architects who adopt the indigenous approach to harnessing available resources can not only create structures rooted in their context but also minimize the ecological impact of the construction. Additionally, collaborating directly with Indigenous communities leads to projects that prioritize community participation, cultural sensitivity, and sustainable development.
A holistic approach to design and architecture becomes apparent when we delve into the work of NO ARCHITECTURE, an architectural practice based in New York, founded by Andrew Heid in 2014. The firm's portfolio and research showcase an integrative way of building, with projects demonstrating a close connection between the built environment and their immediate surroundings, whether in natural landscapes or urban contexts. Their programs emphasize flexibility, possibilities, and inclusion, prioritizing human well-being above all.
3XN GXN has revealed its design for Mahler 1, a 15-storey mixed-use office building. The structure, developed in collaboration with Victory Group, Icon Real Estate, and Erik Dhont Landscape Architects, features a hybrid-timber construction system that creates a stepped volume, breaking down the building’s mass. At the street level, the development offers a wide variety of public amenities, striving to become an active hub for both residents and office workers. The project is expected to begin construction in the first half of 2025 and conclude in late 2027.
Delving into the realm of unbuilt architectural projects by renowned offices offers a peak into the design principles and ethos of the studios. The curated list of unbuilt projects submitted by established architecture practices has the potential to reveal new perspectives on the socio-cultural and environmental factors shaping contemporary architecture. These designs often respond to complex challenges such as sustainability, urbanization, and cultural preservation, reflecting architects' efforts to navigate and contribute meaningfully to the built environment.
Within this curated selection, one standout project is Rafael Viñoly Architects' Médano El Pinar, marking the late architect's last contribution to the architectural landscape. Other projects such as Aedas' Ellinikon Commercial Hub explore the opportunities of new developments, such as the disused airport transformed into Europe's largest coastal park in the periphery of Athens, while others are highlighting natural landscapes or offering spaces for creative and innovative programs. Featuring internationally recognized offices like SOM, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Gensler, or GAD Architecture, the selection showcases the unrealized concepts and architectural experimentations of renowned offices.
Obra realizada com Mass Timber Urbem. Image Cortesia de Urbem
At a time when sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) concerns are prevalent, there is a crucial need to focus on a sector that accounts for 38% of all global CO₂ emissions and consumes 30% of global resources: the construction industry. In 2022, at COP27, the United Nations announced the Clean Construction Accelerator, a program with actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas production by up to 50% by 2030. A report by ARUP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development suggests that half of building emissions come from embodied carbon, which is generated in the manufacturing and transportation of materials, not just in construction sites and buildings themselves. It is precisely in this scenario that we see an opportunity for the sector. What is the only renewable material in construction that retains carbon instead of emitting it? Wood.
When thinking of wood, another question tends to arise: "How can wood be sustainable if we need to cut down trees for it?” Ana Belizário, the Commercial Director of Urbem, a large-scale Brazilian mass timber industry, explains throughout this article how planting trees specifically for consumption is not only a sustainable alternative but also an excellent practice in combating the climate crisis and can regenerate the construction sector.
Diamond Schmitt Architects, together with Associate Architect EXP, has unveiled the design for the New Brunswick Museum (NBM). Envisioned as an extension of Canada’s oldest museum, the new wing will expand the museum’s spaces for research and exhibitions while maintaining a minimum carbon footprint. The intervention is located on the historic Saint John site, taking advantage of the unique location by opening up views towards both the urban center and the Harbor of Saint John.
“The Mindfulness City will be a sustainable city. To be mindful is to be aware — to perform best,” said Giulia Frittoli, partner and head of landscape at BIG. The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked Buddhist country in the eastern Himalayas, nestled between China and India. It covers 14,000 square miles and has a population of nearly 800,000.
The Royal Office of Bhutan asked BIG, Arup, and Cistri to develop a plan for a new Mindfulness City in Gelephu in southern Bhutan, near the border with India. The city will span 386 square miles and include a new international airport, railway connections, hydroelectric dam, university, spiritual center, and public spaces.
Chinese temples have stood for centuries, battered by wind and earthquakes, without a crack or timber out of place. They employ an ancient technique called “bracket set construction” that requires no nails or metal parts to connect wooden structural elements. Scandinavian stave churches are nearly as durable. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of trees in Sweden and all over China.
So what is with the hype about innovation in “mass timber” construction over the past few years? As Boyce Thompson argues in his thoughtful new book, Innovations in Mass Timber: Sequestering Carbon with Style in Commercial Buildings (Schiffer Publishing), this will be the next big thing in “green” tech for architects feeling guilty about their costly titanium skins and outsized carbon footprints. The color photos show some impressive buildings in places where the wood industry has always been healthy, such as the Pacific Northwest and Scandinavia. The Japanese build log cabins with imported material that might as well be gold.
Bjarke Ingels Group and A+Architecture have revealed the design for the 12,000-square-meter Marengo Multimodal Transport Hub in Toulouse, France. The project will expand the functionality of the city’s central station, Gare Matabiau, strengthening the area’s public transport networks by creating a hub for bus, railway, and metro, all connected under one roof. The design of the new hub takes cues from the city’s distinctive roofscape and the traditional use of the rose-colored “foraine” brick, employing a mass timber structure and low-carbon concrete to ensure a sustainable intervention adapted to its environment. The Hub is set to begin construction in 2026.
Brooklyn-based firm SO-IL has revealed the design for a new campus art museum at Williams College in Massachusetts, created to become a primary teaching resource for the institution renowned for its art history program. Since its inauguration in 1926, the Williams College Museum of Art has gathered an expansive collection of over 15,000 works. Through the design of SO-IL, the museum will be able to move into its first freestanding purpose-built home. In May 2024, the museum will present an exhibition on SO-IL’s design.
Mass timber is an innovative construction solution that is gaining prominence worldwide due to its sustainability and technological benefits. In 2020, the opening of the first Dengo concept store, located in São Paulo, marked the debut of the brand's first interactive factory and the pioneering use of CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) in a high-rise building in Brazil. Developed by architecture firm Matheus Farah and Manoel Maia, the project faced several challenges precisely because of its use of this new technology, which was just beginning to emerge in the construction sector.
The choice of CLT as the project's main building material reflects a commitment to sustainability and to reducing its environmental impact, as it helps mitigate carbon in the atmosphere. In addition, its use allows for cleaner, lighter, and faster construction compared to traditional building methods. However, it is important to keep in mind that mass timber construction requires special care in the handling, storage, and assembly of materials, in order to preserve their integrity and aesthetic details throughout the construction process. Using the right methods is therefore essential to guarantee a high-quality result, which include practices such as not leaving the wood exposed to weather or using wedges to prevent the wood from coming into contact with the ground.
In Paris’ thirteenth arrondissement, the architecture office Moreau Kusunoki has completed Le Berlier, a 50-meter-tall timber tower housing residential units along with various other amenities. Situated at the intersection of multiple urban flows, networks, and scales, the project aims to find the middle ground between innovation, monumentality, and domesticity. The new residential center expresses its structural system through the grid of the façade, rendered in charred and pre-weathered wood.
Housing is a fundamental aspect of architecture, providing shelter, which is essential for everyone. In urban environments, addressing the housing challenge is both urgent and complex. Social housing initiatives aim to provide a substantial portion of the population with access to this fundamental architectural concept: a home.
Wood, one of the oldest building materials, has been continuously reinvented throughout history. As contemporary architecture becomes more and more concerned with sustainability and environmental responsibility, the popularity of the material has also increased. As trees absorb carbon dioxide during their growth, their wood stores that carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. The materials derived from wood are thus associated with less greenhouse gas emissions on the condition of trees being harvested from sustainably managed forests. But in order to capture the full potential of this material, a plethora of techniques and modifications have evolved with the purpose of adapting and customizing wood’s characteristics to the demands of modern design and construction. From thermal modification to engineered wood or versatile particle boards, these methods not only enhance wood’s suitability for the rigors of contemporary architecture but also expand the usability of this sustainable material to an unprecedented scale.
The Farmhouse / Studio Precht. Image Courtesy of Precht
Wood, an age-old building material, has left its mark on the history of architecture. Structures like townhouses and ancient cathedrals have seen usage and innovation with wood as a primary material. As technology evolves and urban landscapes grow skyward, wood has emerged as a strong contender to steel and concrete in the area of skyscraper design. Recent advances in engineering, materials science, and construction techniques have welcomed a new era of experimentation, enabling the construction of timber skyscrapers across the world. Timber skyscrapers signify a departure from traditional construction methods, seamlessly blending aesthetics, functionality, and ecological consciousness. Wood as a material, with its inherent strength and impressive fire resistance, presents hope to an industry in pursuit of a more sustainable future.
Timber has been a popular source of construction material for thousands of years. Through sawing, milling, and other engineered wood conversion processes, various wood forms have been created and applied in products, furniture, and architecture. However, these processes can sometimes alter the basic lines of wood structure. The stems can be split, grain patterns changed, and some woods, such as oak and cedar, are easily reduced while others can become intractable. This led to the exploration of whole timber forms in ancient structures, such as log cabins, which layered timber in different cross-sections to form home profiles. Through design, the use of trunks or branches of trees in their entirety can accentuate their innate mechanical properties for structural sustainability. Although these practices are fairly absent in contemporary building techniques, new technological innovations expand the prospects of timber construction in architecture.
