Artist David Franklin was sitting on a tree stump in rural Washington state when he answered a phone call that would change his life.In the early 2010s, Franklin was having difficulty finding creative work, and had taken a position as a timber cruiser, taking measurements in remote groves of trees for a forestry company. He had also applied for a role in a factory. But it wasnt an ordinary manufacturing job. It was a specialized residency program that places a dozen artists each year in the Kohler Companys Wisconsin manufacturing facilities, where they create art with the same ceramic or metal foundry equipment factory workers use to make plumbing fixtures.While out at the forest worksite, Franklin found a spot with cellphone reception and a stump to sit on for a phone interview that helped win him a seat in the program. Like other artists whove gone through the residency, he found the experience to be life-changing, exposing him to new tools and practices beyond the woodcarving techniques he was most familiar with. It also opened the door for years of public art commissions, says Franklin, who will soon have a major piece displayed at Chicagos Shedd Aquarium.David Franklin, 2015 [Photo: John Michael Kohler Arts Center/ Kohler Co.]It was just really cool, he says. I love working and making things with my hands, and then I was in this atmosphere of this bigger art world that Id never really experienced before, and that was incredible.The residency, known as the Arts/Industry program, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Its a collaboration between the family-controlled Kohler Company and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center museum in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, that today gives artists three months of unique access to industrial equipment, materials, technical assistance, housing, and a small stipend. It also provides inspiration and ideas to Kohlers artisans and designers, influencing the look of some Kohler plumbing fixtures like the companys Artist Editions line.Even as art residencies have become more prevalent, Kohlers residency is still an unusual opportunity. So much so, that one recent application cycle attracted more than 600 applicants for 12 annual slotssix in the foundry, six in the potterymaking it essentially as selective as an Ivy League university.Kohlers residency is hands down one of the most unique residencies in the world, says artist Beth Lipman, whos participated in both the pottery and foundry residency and served as program coordinator for about five years. There is not [another] consistent, long-term residency that anyone can apply to go work in a factory to create art in this way.Mark Cowardin, 2002 [Photo: John Michael Kohler Arts Center/ Kohler Co.]A factory comes to lifeThe program got its start after a 1973 contemporary ceramics exhibition at the Arts Center titled The Plastic Earth. At the time, says Arts Center Executive Director Amy Horst, the creative world rather sharply delineated between craft work and the fine arts. But Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, who then led the Arts Center, brought artists with work in the show to tour Kohlers industrial pottery facility, where they were enthralled by the ceramic work being done. She soon invited artists Jack Earl and Tom Ladousa to spend a month doing ceramic work in the factory, then expanded to the formal residency program with help from her brother Herbert V. Kohler Jr., who then headed the Kohler Company.He said, Ruthie, Ive got the factory, youve got the artists, lets see if this will work, says Laura Kohler, the companys chief sustainable living officer and Herbert Kohlers daughter.At the time, most artists hadnt spent much time in factories, and many Kohler factory workers hadnt had much exposure to the art world. But artists were quickly impressed by the workers levels of craftsmanship and deep expertise, and factory employees appreciated artists willingness to work long days to master new techniques and get as much done as possible in their limited time on site. The mutual respect that was formed and the energy that was created between them was really what solidified the program for 50 years, says Horst.Franklin, for example, found himself bonding with factory associates over a project turning wood carvings into molds for schools of ceramic fish, a natural conversation starter in a workplace just a few minutes drive from Lake Michigan. The fish thing just resonated with people, he says. The fishing culture around the Great Lakes is huge.Jack Earl, 1974 [Photo: John Michael Kohler Arts Center/ Kohler Co.]A hard hat residencyThe residency doesnt require that applicants have experience in ceramics or metalworking, and many artists have backgrounds in other disciplines. That can make for a steep but rewarding learning curve as artists don hard hats and safety glasses and learn to use new equipment to produce work on an industrial scale. Residents are expected to leave one piece with the Kohler Company and one with the Arts Center, but the two works can end up being just a small fraction of what they create. Everyone is seduced by the opportunity to make an incredible amount of objects, so even non-object makers quickly become object makers within that space, says Horst.Both the pottery and the foundry have a technician dedicated to assisting the artists, and factory workers often weigh in with tips and troubleshooting advice about, say, making molds, but artists are generally expected to rapidly adjust to the heat, noise, physical labor, and safety protocols inherent in factory work.It can be hard physically, but its very rewarding, says conceptual artist Edra Soto, currently doing a second residency in the pottery studio. Being removed from my daily life in a studio with technical support is like a dream come true for an artist like me.[Photo: Courtesy Edra Soto]Soto, a Puerto Rico-born artist now based in Chicago, has used the space for a variety of projects. One transforms cleaned up cognac bottles found in her neighborhood into works of art. Others include colorful ceramic theater masks and tiles decorated with colors inspired by Puerto Rican architecture. Its three months, but it goes really fast, so one thing that I was very mindful about was to just select a few projects that I could focus on and then expand on, she says.Other artists have found ways to work with forms already produced by the Kohler factory. Willie Cole, a New Jersey artist who held a pottery residency in 2000 and now has an exhibition at the Arts Center, says at the time he had been working heavily with found objects, so some of his work at the Kohler plant included animal sculptures made from ceramic bits and hardware culled from imperfectly formed fixtures that would have otherwise been discarded. I like to create spontaneously, so I had all these pieces laid on the table, but it wasnt what I was working on most of the day, he says. It was something I would walk by each day, and then move a little piece around like a jigsaw puzzle.Once theyve experienced whats available, artists sometimes return for second residencies to expand on their work or try new techniques. During a foundry residency several years after her time working for the museum, Lipman created a series of cast metal works titled Distill, made from cardboard dioramas holding miniature furniture and ancient flora like lichen and ferns. She credits her time working for the residency program with giving her the knowledge to take the project as far as she did, like adding chrome, enamel, and a rust patina to the works.I witnessed countless foundry residents going through, she says. I was able to kind of assimilate the information as if I had had that residency, but it was just from witnessing their process a little bit.Beth Lipmans Wild Madder washroom installation at the Art Preserve, 2021 [Photo: John Michael Kohler Arts Center/ Kohler Co.]Art as a corporate imperativeThe Kohler institutions have generally blurred the lines between art and industrial design. Artists, including past residents, designed stunning public restrooms for the Arts Centers main building and its Art Preserve, which archives and showcases spaces like artists homes and workspaces. The washroomsthe museums preferred termare themselves works of art that can be almost intimidating to use for their intended purpose, including one designed by Lipman tiled with ceramic replicas of local flora specimens from the University of Wisconsin. And an installation based on the Kohler factory studios, on display at the Arts Center as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, feels like a cousin to the artist spaces showcased at the Preserve.Work produced at the Kohler residency is routinely exhibited at the companys showrooms around the world and, for pieces that can withstand the weather, along an outdoor art walk near company headquarters. The company bought one of Franklins fish pieces and displayed it at its Kohler Experience Center in West Hollywood, helping win the artist additional commissions from remodeling homeowners impressed with his style, he says.Our philosophy with Arts/Industry is to show the work, says Laura Kohler. Not store the work, but to get it out and let people experience it.Over the years, art rooted in plumbing materials has had its influence on Kohlers own designs. The Artist Editions line emerged in 1981 after pottery resident artist Jan Axel developed a sink design that caught the eye of the Kohlers. We liked it so much, we wanted to make it commercially, says Laura Kohler. I think my father probably saw it and said, I want to see if I can make that at scale.Jan Axels Kohler Serpentine [Photo: John Michael Kohler Arts Center/ Kohler Co.]Artists have over the years continued to put Kohler manufacturing technology to new uses. After artists recently inquired about a 3D printer in use at the factory, the company purchased a second one for their use. Soto recently harnessed it to help produce scaled up versions of her masks. A new MakerSpace program brings in artists by special invitationthats where Franklin created his new work for the Shedd, along with a new set of fish for Miamis Kohler Experience Center, and artist Patty Chang will soon be working there on a piece that will be shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Some artists have recently worked with material from Kohlers WasteLAB, where the company has in recent years devised ways to harness scrap that would otherwise go to landfills. And to finish some of his fish, Franklin and some of the factory staff experimented with physical vapor deposition (PVD), a technique that had previously only been used at the factory for applying glossy finishes to metal fixtures like faucets, rather than ceramics.It turned into a beautiful glosssome of them are gold, some of them are rainbow, says Laura Kohler. Thats the kind of discovery that happens with this collaboration.

Here at Ellevest, were thinking a lot about what the Feminization of Wealth can mean. And, honestly, its pretty great stuff.What is the Feminization of Wealth, you may be asking?Its a term we coined to describe a world in which women have more money. And this world isnt just a daydream. Its a world well likely usher in because of pretty powerful mega-trends in motion right now.One of these mega-trends is theGreat Wealth Transfer, which weve researched and written about in our2024 Women and Wealth Survey. To TL;DR this historic event, its the name given to the next 20 or so years when women will increasingly inherit money (directly from boomer men who will leave their wealth to their wiveswho live longer than they doand then to their kids).But its also bigger than that. Another mega-trend leading to the Feminization of Wealth is that women are increasing their earning power. This can happen as a natural result of women now making up themajority of collegeandpostgrad graduates(setting them up to earn more money) and with womenstarting more businesses(ditto). It can happen as theincreased diversity of boardsmay be driving a tipping point in women CEOs at big companies.The Feminization of Wealth can also be an outcome of womengetting married laterand so maintaining control over their money. Or womenmaintaining control over their moneyeven after they get married. It can also be an outcome of more single womenbuying homes, and of more and morewomen investing, both of which can help her build her wealth. (Love this last one particularly.)And what is a key characteristic of a woman who is building her wealth?Confidence.(Thats not our opinion. Thats whatour researchtells us.)And what does a confident woman do?She leaves a bad marriage. And then she builds a better life for herself and her children, on her own terms.She quits the dead-end job that fills her with dread every Sunday night. You know, the one where shesforced to return to the officeor lose out on a promotion. And she goes to work instead at a modern company that understands thatflexibility at work is an advantage. And thatdiversity drives better performance.She spends more money on her kids: coding courses, dance lessons, sports equipment, and field trip spending money. And she may help financially support other family members while beginning tobuild generational wealth.Shebuys the f***ing latteor goes to the Beyonc concert with her friends or takes the trip to Europe (complete with souvenirs)without the wholeguilt-driven, shame-centered internal monologue about over-spending.She donates to nonprofits that align with her values. Like fighting climate change. Like supporting other women and girls. And, in doing so,she doesnt insistthat her name is plastered all over their headquarters or that they have a big gala for her.She donates to political candidates who support legislation that supports her and her family, like paid family leave and a stronger social safety net.She invests tomake a positive impactdirecting money into the hands of companies committed to addressingissues disproportionately affecting women. Its a money move that can strengthen ourcommunities, oureconomy, and ourclimate, all while driving financial returns.We know we say it all the time, but for those in the back:Nothing bad happens when women have more money.This is a worlddriven by the Feminization of Wealththat were set on seeing soon.This article originally appeared in Ellevest and is reprinted with permission.

Matt Beane is an assistant professor in the technology management department at UC Santa Barbara and a digital fellow with Stanfords Digital Economy Lab. His research focuses on building skills in a world filled with intelligent technologies, often necessitating field work investigating robots and AI in the workplace. He has been published inAdministrative Science QuarterlyandHarvard Business Reviewand has spoken on the TED stage. Matt also helped found and fund Humatics, an MIT-connected, full-stack IoT startup.Below, Beane shares five key insights from his new book,The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines.Listen to the audio versionread by Beane himselfin the Next Big Idea App.1. The 160,000-year-old school hidden in plain sightConsider Athens, 507 BC. Twelve-year-old Menelaos begins his second year as apprentice to Stephanos, the master sculptor. Today, he walks to the carpenters workshop for lumber. Then to the brass smith for pins and braces. He brings it all back and keeps it organized as the senior boys finish the scaffolding for a new piece. All day, he hauls blocks of marble around the workshop, directed by the senior boys, who take their cues from Stephanos. As the sun goes down, hes cleaning up after everyone.Throughout, hes been watching. Noticing the marble scraps and bent tools. Listening as they told stories and talked technique. Asking a question or two while he did his work. Next year, if he works hard, hell be splitting the marble, keeping tools organized and sharp, and learning about the next tasks up the apprenticeship chainroughing out blocks, negotiating for supplies, talking to customers. Six years later, hell be carving his first solo work on the citys outskirts, with apprentices looking up to him. And six years later, he will be carving his first solo work in his own studio on the outskirts of the city, with new apprentices looking up to him. This is all likely true, by the way: We have one of his masterworks, a marble statue of Orestes and Electra, signed Menelaos, the pupil of Stephanos.When it comes to skillability we can rely on under pressurethis expert-novice bond has been the foundation of skill development for millennia. In fact, the archaeological evidence is pretty clear that its been in place just about as long as weve had language: about 160,000 years.2. The skill codeOver the last 12 years of my research, Ive found the hidden code that makes the expert-novice relationship so powerful. When I say code, Im talking about something like the DNA of how we learn our most valuable skills. That working relationship between experts and novices is a bundle of three Cs humans need to develop mastery:challenge,complexity, andconnection. Work near your limits, engage with the bigger picture, and build bonds of trust and respect. Like the four amino acids are to genetics, the three Cs are the basic building blocks of learning valuable skills. Look back, and you will find them embedded in Menelaoss story. Youll find them in your own journey to mastery and in how youve helped others build mastery.Just asknowingthe building blocks was only the beginning in genetics, so it is just the beginning with skill. Challenge, complexity, and connection must occur in certain healthy, sometimes counterintuitive, ways to produce reliable skill. Sometimes, these follow specific sequences that were used tothat map with our beliefs of how skill development happens. But our world is changing. New sequences are emerging, others are dying off, and one size doesnt fit every person, occupation, or organization. Knowing this skill code empowers us not just to re-create the 160,000-year-old school, but to identify and preserve healthy skill building in any form it might take in this dizzying, modern world.3. Were breaking the best school weve gotIf we dont put knowledge of the skill code to use right now, our species is in deep trouble; were handling intelligent technologies in ways that subtly degrade human ability.In millions of workplaces, were blocking the ability to master new skills because we are separating junior workers from senior workers (novices from experts) by inserting technology between them. In a grail-like quest to optimize productivity, we are disrupting the components of the skill code, taking for granted the necessary bundling of challenge, complexity, and connection that could help us build the skill we need to workwithintelligent machines.Lets visit Kristen in the OR to see how this is playing out. Six months after her open surgical rotation, she wheels a prostate patient into the operating room where a four-armed, thousand-pound robot is waiting. The attending surgeon attaches the robot to the patient. Then they both rip off their scrubs and head to control consoles 15 feet away to do the whole operation remotely.Kirsten justwatchesas her attending manipulates the robots arms, retracting and dissecting tissue. Just like many intelligent technologies, the robot allows him to do the work himself, so he basically does. He knows Kristen needs practice; he wants to give her control. But he also knows she would be slower and make more mistakes. So, she barely gets to try. No chance shes a better surgeon after this procedure. I have top-quality data on this problem from all sectors of the global economy, and the same goes for hundreds of millions of us around the world. This is a multitrillion-dollar problem.4. Learning from the shadowsThe Skill Codeis not a sky is falling book. I bring good news from the front lines. Ive gone to great lengths to find people who are defying the odds and getting good results. Faced with the erosion of the expert-novice bond, some people are finding a new way that the rest of us and our organizations can learn from.Take Beth, another surgical resident whoon paperwas in the same spot Kristen was in. They were in the same top hospital. She came from a similar medical school with similar courses. She had the same attending surgeon, similar patients, and the same formal training in robotic surgery. But right away, I could tell Beth didnt feel frustrated, bored, or shut out of the learning process like Kristen did. Thats because she wasnt; every time she came into the OR, the attending let her operate between 10 and 50 times as long as Kristen. Where Kristen looked like a baby foal learning to walk, Beth was good.Beth was a bit of a rebel, but one with a cause: skill. The approved way to learn robotic surgery didnt work. People like Beth intuitively find rule-bending ways to build skill anyway. In her case, this means watching tons of surgery on YouTube and operating on patients with limited or no supervision. . . . Cringing yet? I called this shadow learning for a reason.But at a high level, shadow learning gets results for workers who could be shamed or fired for it. Ithasto work to be worth the risk. Their tacticsand the skill code that underwrites themare crucial for the road ahead.5. Reworking the skill codeWe need to go much further than simply retrenching to protect the skill code. Intelligent technologies canand in many places, mustbe part of the skill solution. You may be tempted to conclude were living in a John Henry moment, where its techno-productivity versus human ability. However, my findings show that we can transcend this dilemma: in many cases, we can get new, breathtaking results by augmenting the skill code with intelligent technologies.Technologyitselfis not causing any of the problems were experiencing with skill.Werethe ones striking a deal with our increasingly intelligent tools:offer us techno-enhanced productivity, and well sacrifice the expert-novice bond.We must realize that such a deal is optional.To supercharge skill development to levels yet unseen in the history of our species, we need a new, always-on, accessible, globe-scale infrastructure for ensuring healthy challenge, complexity, and connection. Humans alone arent capable of something so complex. We need the best of human and nonhuman intelligences to make that vision manifest.Right now, we could have systems that coach us toward more productive outcomes. For instance, turning to ChatGPT for help with a persuasive email. We might write the first prompt, and the system would reply, Ive got to ask you a couple of questions to make sure this gets you the sale. And by the way, do you want to get better at this by the time the emails done or get an intro to an expert on this? That would only take a few extra minutes. No human in the loop. Just an AI-enabled engine with two objectives: get the user the desired results and nudge them toward more skill.Thoreau wrote, Love must be a light, as much as it is a flame. I know we both love humanity, and I hope these insights shed light on how to save human ability in the age of intelligent machines and also light a flame for you to get out there and do something about it.This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.

Rising temperatures due to climate change are causing more than just uncomfortably hot days across the United States. These high temperatures are placing serious stress on critical infrastructure such as water supplies, airports, roads, and bridges.One category of critical infrastructure being severely affected is the nations K-12 schools.Ideally, the nations more than 90,000 public K-12 schools, which serve more than 50 million students, should protect children from the sometimes dangerous elements of the outdoors such as severe storms or extreme temperatures.But since so many of Americas schools are old and dilapidated, its the school buildings themselves that need protectionor at least to be updated for the 21st century.Some 28% of the nations public schools were built from 1950 through 1969, federal data shows, while just 10% were built in 1985 or later.As a researcher who studies the impact of climate change, I have measured its effects on infrastructure and health for over a decade. During that time, Ive seen little attention focused on the effects of climate change on public schools.Since 2019, climate scientist Sverre LeRoy, at the Center for Climate Integrity, and I have worked to determine whether the nations schools are prepared for the heat waves on the approaching horizon.Comparing the climate conditions under which U.S. schools were built with the projected conditions over the next two decades, we looked at the vulnerability of all K-12 schools to increasing temperatures. We determined whether or not current schools have air-conditioning or whether they would be required to add air-conditioning in the future.The results of our study, Hotter Days, Higher Costs: The Cooling Crisis in Americas Classrooms, show that by 2025, more than 13,700 schools will need to install air-conditioning, and another 13,500 will need to upgrade their existing systems.Hot classroomsResearch has shown that high classroom temperatures can make it harder to learn. Hot school days cause difficulty in concentrating, sleepiness, a decrease in energy and even reduced memory capacity.Local school districts have policies for extreme heat events. However, rising temperatures mean these guidelines are no longer limited to rare occurrences.Over the past several years, schools across the U.S. are increasingly forced to take heat days, cutting school days short because of classrooms that are too hot for students to learn effectively.This is happening in places that range from Denver to Baltimore to Cleveland.Compounding the increase in temperatures is the national trend that seasonal temperatures are rising in both the spring and the fall. For example, Rhode Island and New Jersey have seen average spring and fall temperatures rise more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.7 Celsius). Rather than high temperatures occurring only when students are on summer break, these heat events now occur regularly during the school year too. Students today in a greater number of cities are beginning and ending the school year in classrooms that often exceed 80 degrees.Expensive upgradesThe problem of more hot days is due to average temperatures increasing over the past 40 years. The number of days with high temperatures has risen across the country, with notable increases in large northern cities. For example, Chicago has seen the number of days with 80-plus-degree temperatures during the school year increase from 27 in 1970 to 32 in 2020 and a projected 38 by 2025. These increases affect schools in two distinct ways.Schools in the traditionally cooler northespecially older schoolswill need to be retrofitted with new air-conditioning systems at an accumulated cost of $40 billion by 2025. For schools in the traditionally warmer South and West, many existing systems will need to be upgraded at a projected cost exceeding $400 million.Temperature increases are especially costly in large cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where existing efforts and continued needs will result in outlays exceeding $500 million, $1.5 billion, and $600 million, respectively. These large districts have a greater number of older buildings that require upgrades in electrical and structural systems to support new air conditioning systems.For all schoolseven ones that dont require system upgradesthe additional costs of operating air-conditioning systems to meet the new demands will exceed $1.4 billion per year.An equity issueSince school districts are dependent on local taxes or bond measures to finance the school system, districts in affluent areas have a greater opportunity to obtain funds through tax increases or voter-approved bond measures.In contrast, districts located in less affluent countiesincluding Bell County, Kentucky; Scott County, Tennessee; and DeKalb County, Alabamaface the challenge of creating safe learning environments without a financial safety net. With household incomes for the entire district in the bottom 20% of national averages, or less than $43,000 per year, these districts are unable to absorb significant tax increases.In this regard, classroom environments become an equity issue. While the increase in temperature may affect all children, the relative impact of the increase and the ability to adapt is not equal.Unsustainable solutionsIncreasingly, school districts are turning to individual window units to address classroom overheating. However, window units do not cool interior offices, cannot circulate and exchange air within the classrooms, and will not meet expected life spans due to extensive use. Furthermore, they create uneven cooling patterns and classroom disturbance due to noise. While these solutions are popular from an initial budget perspective, they ultimately fail to solve the hot classroom crisis.Where mechanical systems are not an option due to budgetary constraints, school districts are looking at altering the school year to start later or end earlier. However, there are limits to this approach because there are minimum requirements for the number of days that are in the school year. Some schools are even experimenting with remote learning as a response when extreme temperatures are an issue.The bottom line for schools and their surrounding communities is that rising temperatures from climate change are a growing threat to school infrastructure. Schools will need additional funding to install or upgrade air-conditioning systems, pay for increased energy usage, or redesign school buildings to enhance natural cooling. Various cities and states argue that fossil fuel companies have a duty to pay these infrastructure costs associated with climate change.The only other choice is for Americas students to continue to endure classrooms where its simply too hot to learn.Paul Chinowsky is a professor of environmental design at the University of Colorado Boulder.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Swirly cabinets and oak-lined ceilings feature in our latest lookbook, which collects eight residential kitchens from around the world where wood takes centre stage.Strong, versatile and often sustainable, timber is a favourite material among architects and designers.From an east London dwelling that is almost entirely underground to a rural Tasmanian farmhouse, here are eight homes united by their wooden kitchens.This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring converted barns, eclectic hotels and micro interiors.Photo by Fionn McCannChurchtown, Ireland, by Scullion ArchitectsChurchtown is a curved glass extension to a family home in Dublin, designed by Scullion Architects as a family-focussed space.The studio was informed by 1930s modernism when creating the kitchen, which is characterised by stained oak-panelled cabinetry.Find out more about Churchtown Photo by Max Hart NibbrigBolvar House, Spain, by Juan Gurrea RumeuArchitect Gurrea Rumeu designed this home for himself and his wife in Barcelona.Swirly dark wood was used to create tall kitchen cabinets, while concrete walls and floors add an industrial touch to the interior.Find out more about Bolvar HousePhoto courtesy of James ShawLondon house, UK, by James ShawKnown for making extruded recycled plastic furniture, designer Shaw applied his off-beat creative approach to his own London home which he designed with architect Nicholas Ashby to be almost entirely underground.Shaw created kitchen cabinets out of veneeredMDF, which he paired with worktops formed from pale blue HIMACS and stainless steel.Find out more about this London house Photo by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenFjord Boat House, Denmark, by Norm ArchitectsFjord Boat House is a lakeside holiday home that sits near the border of Denmark and Germany.Danish studio Norm Architects chose a warm interior palette for the dwelling, including a kitchen defined by oak cabinets and ceilings and handmade ceramic brick flooring.Find out more about Fjord Boat House Photo by Dianna SnapeCoopworth, Tasmania, by FMD ArchitectsFMD Architects designed a farmhouse in rural Tasmania with a plywood-lined kitchen and living spaces separated by a statement wood-burning stove.Located on Bruny Island, Coopworth features corrugated metal cladding that references vernacular agricultural buildings.Find out more about Coopworth Photo by Danille SiobhnZwaag house, the Netherlands, by DAB StudioTwo types of timber were used to clad the floors, walls, ceiling and cabinets of this kitchen at a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands.DAB Studio renovated the floors and ceiling with hand-scraped oak, whileAfromosia wood a tropical hardwood native to west Africa was applied to the cabinets and walls.Find out more about this Zwaag house Photo by Andrew PogueHood Cliff Retreat, USA, by Wittman EstesArchitecture studio Wittman Estes sought to immerse Hood Cliff Retreat "in the stillness of the forest" on its wooded site in Washington State.White oak floors and pine plywood ceilings feature in the neutral-hued kitchen, designed with floor-to-ceiling glazing that reveals the surrounding trees.Find out more about Hood Cliff Retreat Photo by Mark Durling PhotographyMalibu Surf Shack, USA, by Kelly WearstlerInterior designer Kelly Wearstler transformed a 1950s beachfront cottage in Malibu, California,into a bohemian retreat for herself and her family.Chunky wooden cabinets and drawers characterise the kitchen, created in the designer's distinctive eclectic style.Find out more about Malibu Surf Shack This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring converted barns, eclectic hotels and micro interiors.The post Eight wooden kitchens that make the most of the material appeared first on Dezeen.

Chinese studio Say Architects has designed a concept store for fashion brand Nice Rice in the seaside resort of Aranya, featuring bright-orange tiles and furniture intended to evoke the colour of a sunset.Having previously designed stores for Nice Rice in Shenzhen, Chengdu and Shanghai, Say Architects conceived the interior as a response to the store's setting near the port city of Qinhuangdao, also known as the Aranya Gold Coast.Say Architects has designed a concept store for Nice Rice in Aranya"Due to the individuality of the site and the splendid geolocation, we hope to bring the orange sea of Aranya inside and build a gold coast that never ends by using light as expression, creating undulating volumes, intertwining lights and shadows," the architects said.The 290-square-metre store is arranged over three floors, with retail spaces on the lower two storeys and a roof terrace accessible from the top floor.Glossy orange tiles reflect light onto white walls, creating a "golden afterglow" effectThe building's minimalist facade features an illuminated sign with the company's logotype over the entrance and a horizontal window above.A glazed entrance provides a view into the store, where bright orange surfaces create a vibrant contrast with the shop's monochrome exterior.The glossy orange tiles reflect light onto the white walls, creating an effect that the architects describe as a "golden afterglow".A leather bench provides a minimalist seating area on the first floorInside, a full-height void connects the shop's three floors, with a vaulted ceiling directing light from a window on the top floor down to the levels below.Say Architects designed each floor with a symmetrical layout that enhances the calm and serene atmosphere within the store.Clothes rails in the Nice Rice store are designed to resemble breaking wavesOn the ground floor, a pair of freestanding units are used for serving customers, while changing rooms are positioned on either side of a second entrance to the rear of the space.Clothes rails on both sides of the room are designed to resemble breaking waves, curving outwards from the wall to create space for hanging clothes underneath.Read: Tile mural fronts Cult Gaia Miami boutique by SugarhouseOn the first floor, a geometric leather bench provides a seating area, while a simple display podium is located close to the transparent balustrade overlooking the triple-height void.Throughout the store, windows of varying sizes create a play of light and shadow on the internal surfaces that changes throughout the day.A full-height void connects the three floorsStaircases on both sides of the building ascend to a roof terrace that is floored with the same tiles used inside the store.A sheltered area with matching orange benches allows this space to be used in all weather.The building's staircases lead to an outdoor roof terraceSay Architects is based in Hangzhou and is led by architects Yan Zhang and Jianan Shan.The studio works across architecture, interior and landscape design, with previous projects including an accessories store formed almost entirely of translucent resinand a grooming salon for pets featuring a sunken cafe and a paddling pool.The terrace is finished in the same tiles as the interiorAranya is built on the site of a failed real estate development and aims to provide a haven for overworked young urbanites seeking a coastal escape.The exclusive gated community contains several architecture projects that have helped elevate its profile including an art centre designed by Neri&Hu, a monolithic concrete concert hall and a chapel raised above the beach on stilts.The photography is by Wen Studio.The post Orange floors create "golden afterglow" in Aranya fashion store by Say Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Brooklyn studio CO Adaptive has retrofitted a terraced house in Queens, New York to meet Passive House energy efficiency standards.The 1,152-square-foot (107-square-metre) brick townhouse was originally built in 1945 and has undergone a considered "deconstruction" process during its recent renovation.Throughout the home, CO Adaptive removed perimeter flooring to install a membrane, then replaced it with reclaimed boards at an angleRather than throwing out the contents of the existing structure, all of the removed materials were separated by type and sent to new homes.The renovation work revolved around the goal of the unit becoming a Passive House or Passivhaus a certification that recognises outstanding energy efficiency in buildings.The kitchen was fully replaced using maple-faced plywood for millworkThis is the first project undertaken by CO Adaptive Architecture's construction management arm, CO Adaptive Building."We believe building to Passive House standards is the future of ensuring resilience for our cities, particularly in the restoration and upgrade of the older building stock," said CO Adaptive co-principal Ruth Mandl."We want to work on simplifying and scaling this endeavor; ideally ensuring that we can bring the cost down on Passive House for our clients, and make it a solution that is more affordable and available."Counters and backsplash are made from blue porcelain with coloured specklesChanges to the layout of the compact two-storey, three-bedroom home were kept to a minimum since the room program was already efficient.The perimeter of the existing wood floors and subfloors was removed, enabling the team to install an airtight membrane that seals the wood joists which were in good condition to prevent heat loss.Bright blue was chosen for new window and door framesWhere the flooring was removed, reclaimed red oak planks that matched the originals were laid at an angle to highlight the minor intervention.Larger windows were added to bring more light into the dining room, which overlooks a new rear deck.Upstairs, features include a built-in ladder that provides roof access via a skylightThe home was refitted to be fully electrified, powered by a solar canopy from Brooklyn Solarworks on the roof, and is now net positive, according to the studio."The solar array provides more than enough energy to cover the significantly reduced heating and cooling loads of the building, in addition to heating water, cooking with an induction stovetop and charging an electric vehicle," said CO Adaptive.Through-wall AC units were replaced with an energy-recovery ventilator systemAny holes in the exterior previously used for through-wall air conditioning units are now occupied by an energy recovery ventilator system, which helps to control the interior humidity.All changes to the facade are denoted by a checkerboard brick infill pattern, similar to the approach taken inside.Black-and-white details, such as the bathroom tiles and fixtures enliven the minimal interiorsSouth-facing openings are shaded by Hella operable Venetian blinds, coloured bright blue to match the new window frames.Natural materials were prioritised inside, such as a lime and sand-based plaster layer that allows the masonry walls to breathe.Read: CO Adaptive Architecture converts Gowanus foundry into flexible theatre spacesThe kitchen millwork is maple-faced plywood, while the countertops and the backsplash are blue porcelain with coloured speckles.The red kitchen floor is made of solidified linseed oil, pine resin and sawdust, which forms a natural linoleum that's soft underfoot.On the south-facing front of the house, openings are shaded by Hella operable Venetian blindsOther details include a ladder built into the wall on the upper-floor landing that provides access to the roof via a skylight."This project prioritises careful deconstruction rather than demolition, to ensure that whatever is removed is either reused or sorted for down or up cycling," said CO Adaptive co-principal Bobby Johnston.A solar array added to the roof provides more energy than the house needs to runAmong the firm's previous renovations is an industrial building in Gowanus converted into bright and spacious theatre rehearsal spaces, which was shortlisted in the rebirth project category of Dezeen Awards 2022.Passivhaus is a popular standard for achieving energy efficiency in residential and other buildings, with other recent examples to have achieved this certification including a stucco-clad, cube-shaped holiday home in Mexico, and a house in the UK with an undulating green roof and timber cladding.The photography is by Naho Kubota.Project credits:Architect: CO Adaptive ArchitectureConstruction management: CO Adaptive BuildingMEPS engineers: ABS EngineeringStructural engineers: ADoF Structural EngineersConstruction manager: CO Adaptive BuildingSolar panel installation: Brooklyn SolarWorksKitchen millwork: ArmadaWood flooring, stair and other millwork: TriloxThe post CO Adaptive overhauls Queens home to meet Passive House standards appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen School Shows: a project which proposes using clay waste from projects like HS2 towards 3D-printed and ceramic architecture is included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Bartlett School of Architecture.Also featured is a library intended to assist with learning languages and a stadium which draws on Japanese principles of timber construction.Bartlett School of ArchitectureInstitution: UCLSchool: The Bartlett School of ArchitectureCourse: Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), Architectural & Interdisciplinary Studies BSc, Engineering & Architectural Design MEng (ARB/RIBA Part 1, CIBSE & JBM), Architecture MSci (ARB Part 1 & 2), Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2)Tutors: Farlie Reynolds, Sophie Reed, Elizabeth Dow, Luke Olsen, Murray Fraser, Alicia Gonzlez-Lafita, Sara Martnez Zamora, Sara Shafiei, Matthew Butcher and Kostas GrigoriadisSchool statement:"The Bartlett School of Architecture has been recognised as the world's leading institution for studying architecture."Renowned for its innovative approach to architectural education, The Bartlett continually sets high standards in the field."Each year, the school's eagerly awaited summer show showcases the immense talent and forward-thinking perspectives of its students with a global audience, both online and in-person."The diversity of projects and resonance of thematic concerns exhibited allows audiences to explore what is meant by 'architecture' and what it could be."Land, Building and DwellingbyYaowen Zhang"This project develops and tests experimental construction methodologies for housing in the context of Martin Heidegger's concept of learning to 'dwell'."Sited in Rotterdam, the project begins with detailed analyses of the local marine and riparian clay deposits and proposes innovative modular construction techniques using these local materials."On a local scale, the scheme develops continuous interaction between building, land and resident."Ultimately, traditional 'linear' models of construction are replaced by a series of circular processes that feed into a masterplan comprising factory, landscape and housing units."Student: Yaowen ZhangCourse: Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), UG9Tutors: Chee Kit Lai and Doug John MillerEmail: yaowen.zhang.21[at]ucl.ac.ukBallonparken Logging CompanybyElliot Woolard"Ballonparken, a 'free town' community in central Copenhagen, spreads into the neighbouring park woodland, constructing and inhabiting its own hidden, growing architecture to care for and manage the forest."The project a covert community sawmill and forestry interrogates the relationship architecture can have with its surroundings."It critiques unsustainable and invasive practices within the logging and construction industries and offers a unique alternative that engages with trees and the forest in a more considerate way."Each programmatic element of the building honours the lifecycle of a tree."Timber milled in the sawmill is used to construct the rest of the building within the carpentry workshop and finally composted at the end of its lifetime."Student: Elliot WoolardCourse: Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), UG13Tutors: Laurence Blackwell-Thale and William Victor CamilleriEmail: elliot.woolard.22[at]ucl.ac.uk(De)coding the StitchbyFreya Leonard"This project explores the translation and encryption of urban resources into a delicate textile language."It responds to the question: how can sewing practices facilitate a discrete transferral of information?"The work is situated in a contemporary context of women's refuge, culminating in the creation of an embroidered garment that reveals crucial resources to the wearer as they navigate to safety."It therefore reflects a need for both creative material experimentation and social sensitivity, demonstrating the power of unspoken codes in providing aid to high-risk demographics in the city."Student: Freya LeonardCourse: Architecture & Interdisciplinary Studies BScTutors: Elizabeth Dow, Kevin Green and Freddy TuppenEmail: freya.leonard.21[at]ucl.ac.ukMnemonic Museum of ShipbuildingbyMaria (Mat) Vogeler Balczar"Deptford Creek rich shipbuilding history has long been forgotten."This museum acts as a mnemonic device for the construction of a collective memory of Deptford's shipbuilding past."Centred around Mary Lacy (17401795), a carpenter and shipwright, the building is divided into a chronological succession of galleries representative of the 16th to 21st centuries with a private residence for Lacy, who, as the museum's carpenter, crafts a new apparatus every high tide."Visitors build a collective memory of Deptford's shipbuilding history by revisiting the museum and encountering the new artefacts."Student: Maria (Mat) Vogeler BalczarCourse: Engineering & Architectural Design MEng (ARB/RIBA Part 1 CIBSE JBM), Unit 3Tutors: Daniel Godoy Shimizu, Thomas Hesslenberg and Graeme WilliamsonEmail: maria.balcazar.20[at]ucl.ac.ukFlooding: The Anatomy of PropagandabyAleksandra Lemieszka"In the face of an ever-rising tide of misinformation, this project aims to create a home for unbiased, free media."Located in Ghent, Belgium, the proposal retrofits an old meat market into a printing hall."An extension hosts a museum of propaganda and a school of journalism."The suspended printing machine, visible to museum visitors, symbolises transparency, as it rises above the flood of propaganda."Journalists remain anonymous to prevent leaks and undue influence, with newspapers dispatched through secret canal passages, delivering on the project's goal of preserving truthful and independent media."Student: Aleksandra LemieszkaCourse: Engineering & Architectural Design MEng (ARB/RIBA Part 1 CIBSE JBM), Unit 4Tutors: Yasemin Didem Aktas, Arianna Guardiola-Vllora, Alexis Koufakis, Daniel Ovalle Costal and Santiago VlezEmail: aleksandra.lemieszka.20[at]ucl.ac.ukMinistry of Rural CatastrophebyTiger Campbell-Yates"This new specialist research body advises the Catalan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, an overburdened department located in Barcelona."The proposal forms a research community in the hills of El Garraf for developing new techniques in disaster response and recovery, finding novel ways to mitigate the harmful effects of major natural catastrophes."The site has experienced numerous agricultural challenges typical of rural Catalunya, including forest fires, blight, plagues, lack of surface water, flooding and seismic activity, while still being relatively close to the region's political centre of Barcelona."The community uses traditional knowledge and modern simulations to create a disaster recovery framework that can be replicated across the region, while training first responders in full-scale test beds of catastrophe."Student: Tiger Campbell-YatesCourse: Engineering & Architectural Design MEng (ARB/RIBA Part 1 CIBSE JBM), Unit 5Tutors: Matthew Heywood, Aurore Julien, Filip Kirazov and Luke OlsenEmail: tiger.campbell-yates.20[at]ucl.ac.ukLondon la CartebyForrest Xie"The current food system within the UK is severely broken."From the mid-17th century, the agricultural revolution shifted production methods and efficiency processes to reduce labour costs and make foodstuffs more affordable for end consumers."However, the costs of producing food were transferred from monetary to environmental."In this project, a new link between rural and urban is explored within the context of London, reinterpreting the centuries-old practice of nomadic pastoralism and communing."The investigation reveals how a now-urban model of transhumance can serve as an educational link between consumption and production, unlocking unused land within a dense metropolis and feeding those who need it most."Student: Forrest XieCourse: Architecture MSci (ARB Part 1 and 2), Studio 3ATutors: Murray Fraser and Michiko SumiEmail: forrest.xie.21[at]ucl.ac.ukRejuvenating the Veins of Tidal MarshbyJihoon Baek"The project envisions retrofitting London's post-industrial waterfront landscape into an inhabitable energy reserve that can mitigate fuel poverty and social isolation."Greenwich Peninsula exemplifies current urban regeneration practice where homes are isolated sanctuaries and the River Thames's ecology is engaged with passively."By reshaping the emotive language of London's vanishing coal-gas technology into a new 'third landscape', this riverside rewilding proposal embodies a marshland blanket that embraces humans, non-human organisms and energy, holistically creating a symbiotic community mediated by the Thames's daily tides."Student: Jihoon BaekCourse: Architecture MSci (ARB Part 1 and 2), Studio 3ATutors: Murray Fraser and Michiko SumiEmail: jihoon.baek.20[at]ucl.ac.ukBarrington North: The Geology of a VillagebyAnna Williams"The project explores concepts of transplantation, both of identity and material."It envisages a future design strategy for the rapidly changing parish of Barrington in response to an influx of 15 million tonnes of urban soil."The project follows the journey of the incoming urban soil from the high-speed railway network, HS2, through its infilling of a local quarry to its role in the creation of a new village typology."It narrates the potential of Barrington North if an opportunistic approach is taken towards the current context, thereby fostering a unique sense of place derived from two intertwined material systems: that of extraction (Barrington Cement Works) and that of infilling (HS2 landfill)."The project proposes a design that respects their legacy and supports everyday life within a new artificial topography, using the incoming soil for practical advantage and in forging a new identity for the parish."Student: Anna WilliamsCourse: Architecture MSci (ARB Part 1 and 2), Studio 4ATutors: Johan Hybschmann and Matthew SpringettEmail: anna.williams.20[at]ucl.ac.ukEmerging Ceramic Systems byJosef Stoeger"Every day around 7,000 tonnes of 'waste' clay are sent to landfill from excavation and construction projects in London such as HS2 or the Thames Tideway Tunnel."This is an incredibly large resource stream and represents a golden opportunity to use this material to design and build future architectural projects."This project explores the potential for 3D-printed, post-tensioned ceramic systems which have the potential to be made from waste streams and bring to physicality the intelligence of organic and data-driven design methodologies."Student: Josef StoegerCourse: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2), PG15Tutors: Enriqueta Llabres Valls and Egmontas GerasEmail: josef.stoger.17[at]ucl.ac.ukFigures Play: The Mind Sports Stadium byAyaka Sato"The project explores the structural principles of traditional Japanese timber construction for designing a large-scale stadium in Tokyo."Sited in Odaiba, a high-tech entertainment zone, the project proposes a stadium that integrates mecha robots with mind sports as a new entertainment typology, providing Japan's hyper-aged society with new opportunities."The overall structural system is developed by integrating traditional Japanese flexible timber structures and the reciprocal stacking method."The system functions as a component that can be combined to form a more extensive system for a substantial roof on a large scale."The movement of figures establishes the spatial arrangement, and an atrium promenade is introduced to respond to players of varying skill levels."Student: Ayaka SatoCourse: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2), PG14Tutors: Jakub Klaska and Dirk KrolikowskiEmail: ayaka.sato.22[at]ucl.ac.ukThe Anthropogenic LeechbyMatthew Choy"Addressing the locality of pollution within our built environment, the anthropogenic leech is a decentralised community hub that converts carbon emissions into renewable energy."Employing a parasitic philosophy, the infrastructure attaches itself to energy-inefficient buildings throughout the city of Hong Kong, exploiting their resources systemically as a holistic system."In this parasitic approach, environmentally vulnerable buildings are seen as hosts with unrealised potential to be colonised and exploited."The host, despite showing little resemblance of what it once was, perseveres functionally as a part of the city's post-carbon narrative."Ultimately, the intervention rethinks parasitism as a negative term and creates climate-resilient cities that will withstand the test of time."Student: Matthew ChoyCourse: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2), PG20Tutors: Marjan Colletti, Javier Ruiz Rodriguez and Tony LeEmail: chi.choy.22[at]ucl.ac.ukThe Domestic AlienbyBeatrice Frant"Developed as a three-act play set between Bucharest and London, the theatrical set defines the female psyche as a tangible way to inhabit domestic architecture."The project addresses the lack of belonging in familiar spaces, using ficto-critical narratives to visualise the alienating experience."It analyses socio-political situations in which women felt confined by their homes, combining transformative structures with accurate site portrayals."Additionally, the project proposes a visual reinterpretation of the female body as an othered 'alien' through the use of inflatables."By choosing the kitchen, the bedroom and the bathroom to depict the stage set, it questions whether buildings can respond to the specific psychological needs of a woman/alien."Student: Beatrice FrantCourse: Architecture MArch (ARB/RIBA Part 2), PG24Tutors: Penelope Haralambidou and Michael TiteEmail: beatrice.frant.18[at]ucl.ac.ukAtlas for the FuturebyArchitecture BSc Year 1 Students"This year, first year Architecture BSc students embarked on their academic journey with the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology at UCL, home to an extensive collection of 80,000 Egyptian and Sudanese artefacts."This initial project served as a reflective exploration of deeper historical periods, which informed understanding of contemporary and future challenges, such as cultural interpretations and material scarcity amid climate volatility."Students were prompted to consider how architectural craftsmanship could integrate preservation, reuse and adaptation while also innovating and creating new materials to craft spaces and reshape the environment."Each participant crafted their own Atlas for the Future, comprising drawings, models and catalogues."Students: Architecture BSc Year 1 StudentsCourse: Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), Year 1Tutors: Year 1 Design Team TutorsLexicon: Language as a Drawing ToolbyAriel Alper"The project identifies a link between language, grammar and architectural space."With the creation of a visual lexicon, made using linguistic descriptions of spatial experiences, a new type of architecture is created where words and their rhythm help to define the building at multiple scales."In this way, the words used to describe architectural ventures become the ones used to design them."Situated in Athens, Greece, the project encompasses a language centre and translation library."It embodies the design process itself while serving as a community hub where individuals can engage with language learning, global media and diverse cultures in Greece and beyond."Student: Ariel AlperCourse: Architecture BSc (ARB/RIBA Part 1), UG3Tutors: Daniel Dream, Ifigeneia Liangi and Vasilis Marcou IlchukEmail: ariel.alper.21[at]ucl.ac.ukPartnership content This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Bartlett School of Architecture. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.The post Fifteen architecture projects by students at Bartlett School of Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.