Design update
Including news of an innovative façade for a building in the City of London
Recycled materials are at the heart of an innovative façade for a remodelled, five-storey commercial building in the City of London. Designed by Red Squirrel Architects, the project at 20 Cousin Lane uses locally shredded aluminium cans re-cast into honeycomb screens that provide solar shading on part of the building and form a framework for planter boxes. On two elevations a living wall that uses compost made from recycled garden waste will create year-round interest from plants such as ferns, evergreen shrubs, bulbs and herbaceous perennials. A new green roof and a rooftop garden with trees in planters complete the planting. redsquirrelarchitects.com
1 MAGGIE’S LEEDS
The 26th centre run by the cancer charity Maggie’s, has opened in the grounds of St James’s University Hospital, Leeds. Designed by Heatherwick Studio, the centre is made from prefabricated, sustainably sourced spruce, and uses porous material such as lime plaster to maintain internal humidity. The building is immersed in a planted landscape designed by landscape architects Balston Agius, with the rooftops sharing the same palette of predominantly British native woodland plants, such as Crataegus, Prunus spinosa and Viburnum opulus, as the groundlevel gardens. maggies.org
2 INFLATABLE GREENHOUSES
University of Westminster design student Eliza Hague has created the blueprint for an inflatable greenhouse for the Indian city of Jaipur where the usual material used for greenhouses polyethylene, has to be replaced annually. Eliza’s design is made from bamboo pulp, a sustainable alternative, and coated in shellac to make the structures more durable and weather resistant. The greenhouses’ structural beams are made from multiple sheets of pulp, folded like origami to create hollow forms, which can be collapsed, transported flat and then inflated on site. westminster.ac.uk
3 AMIENS FESTIVAL OF GARDENS
The 10th edition of the International Garden Festival – Hortillonnages in Amiens, France – adds 13 new gardens and installations by young landscapers, architects and visual artists to the existing floating and riverside gardens in and around the town. Selected works include
Expansion, a hut dressed in a colourful mix of living plants and artificial flowers crafted from recycled materials; and +2°C = 43cm (shown) by design team Atelier eem, which explores rising temperatures and sea levels. In total some 50 gardens can be explored, on foot or by boat. Until 18 October. artetjardins-hdf.com
4 BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL GARDENS
Visitors to Birmingham Botanical Gardens will soon be able to get ideas for creating or making over their small outdoor spaces thanks to the Urban Garden area designed by Wilson Associates Garden Design. Divided into four, disability accessible, smaller areas to represent balconies, rooftops and courtyard gardens, each area will provides space for growing edibles, including exotic species, such as lemongrass and eddoe, in raised beds and planters. Built-in bench seating will enable the garden to be used as a demonstration and learning area. birmingham botanicalgardens.org.uk
5 DRY-STONE INSTALLATION
Emergence, an installation commissioned by Wedgwood for the RHS Chatsworth Show 2018 and gifted to the Chatsworth
House Trust, has been rebuilt at Chatsworth. Created by Carl Hardman of Landmark Walling, the work celebrates the limestone and gritstone of the Derbyshire landscape with a section of traditionally made field wall, built around a large boulder, meeting a more masoned sandstone wall. A large glass fin, inspired by the panels of Joseph Paxton’s
Great Conservatory at Chatsworth, creates an airy interface between undulating sections. chatsworth.org
6 NEW FOOTBRIDGE FOR LEEDS
A striking new footbridge, by the Halifax-based design studio Gagarin has been erected across the river Aire in Leeds. Built by Hebden Bridge-based structural engineers DP Squared, the 50m-long bridge is made from a series of profiled Corten steel slats that appear to fold and crank across its length, creating a concertina-like effect. The bridge links two new developments in the Climate Innovation District of the city and connects residents of these new homes to the city centre, hopefully encouraging more people to walk and cycle to work. gagarinstudio.co.uk; dpsquared.net
7 ROYAL DOCKS BENCHES
Visitors to London’s Royal Docks this summer can enjoy views of the river from a series of benches designed by emerging architects. The five winning designs from the London Festival of Architecture‘s 2020 competition Pews & Perches have been installed at different waterside locations, and include Roly Poly (shown), a rocking bench designed by Urban Radicals in collaboration with Millimetre and Sanne Visser that takes its inspiration from the signalling buoys and ropemaking traditions of the River Thames. The benches will stay in place until the end of autumn. royaldocks.london
8 REMEMBRANCE GLADE
The National Memorial Arboretum’s new Remembrance Glade, in partnership with The Royal British Legion, has opened at the 150-acre Staffordshire site. In contrast to the other more formal memorials, this contemplative space, designed by Fira, is approached through fields of poppies. A mown path through woodland leads through a gateway of steam-bent green oak to a perfect circle of white-stemmed Himalayan birches, with a large disc of polished steel as the main focal point. The circular motif continues with a semi-circular mound where visitors can sit. thenma.org.uk