The interest for mass timber construction in general, and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) in particular, has been intensified by the ever-looming threat of climate change. Urged on by a lack of standards and the slow-moving wheels of the Swedish building industry we decided to take matters into our own hands. We are proud to announce that this effort has now resulted in a first iteration of resources to be used by architects in early phases of CLT-design - a CLT handbook, a Grasshopper definition and a Revit library/template file
The architectural corps has been the punching bag in the public debate about style and aesthetics. Thus far we have taken a quiet and passive stance on the issue, and have not participated to the extent we can and should. Sometimes out of strategic reasons and so as not to step on any "political toes". This Swedish language article written by Kayrokh is an attempt to nuance the polarized debate and explain to the public why they have taken the wrong people as hostages.
Shinelle, Arkemi and Loft Sweden win competition in Västervik! The team behind Trekvart aquire the land allocation agreement to develop a block of 86 rental apartments, divided on three wooden buildings with generous shared spaces.
We are proud to announce that our CEO has participated in Architects Sweden's annual industry report where he contributed with a chapter discussing integration issues and why diversity is to be pursued. The text is both personal and universal, weaving together his perspectives as a foreign-born architect as well as an employer. A very readable article for everyone, regardless of background and situation! Scroll down for the Swedish language article in its entirety.
Katarina Andersson has written a highly interesting article published in the Swedish language news magazine Syre for which she, among others, interviewed our CEO Kayrokh Moattar. The article explores the relationship between the whiteness norm of the Swedish architecural world and the often uniform and excluding nature of its output.
Arkemi has received a generous grant from Stockholm's Building Association (Stockholms Byggnadsförening) for a project which aims to simplify the early stages of designing, dimensioning and budgeting Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) buildings.
On our way back to Tehran we stayed a couple of days in the northern parts of Esfahan province. In Kashan, a city of about 400 000, we experienced some of the most exquisite examples of Persian architecture.
Next up on our journey was the capital during the Safavid rule of Iran and modern Iran's third largest city: Esfahan. As a former royal capital it exhibits an abundance of grandiose public buildings and palaces from the 16th to 18th century. The huge (way too big to grasp by a picture) Naqsh-e Jahan Square is the city's historical center of both political, religious and commercial power.
Our next stop on our epic Iran-trip was the ancient city of Yazd, a labyrinthine and mud-clad desert city, six hours by train south of Tehran. Considerably smaller than the capital (roughly half a million people) and UNESCO protected it has been able to keep its dense and homogeneous old city core.
This spring's official Arkemi study trip went to... *drum roll*... Iran. Birthplace of such important things as the solar calendar, backgammon, Persian rugs and of course: our friend and CEO Kayrokh Moattar.
Conceptual sketch for a parametric facade design based on solar heat gain.
Our main agenda in this project was a connective tissue which brings the nature to Bjärred’s new centre. This was achieved by multiple programmed wedges and through blue and green corridors which interconnect natural spots and public spaces in and around the city.
We use VR to evaluate and verify our designs, we don’t use it solely for presentation purposes. Have a nice weekend folks ?
Arkemi invests on timber architecture knowledge. Trästad 2019 finished by an inspiring keynote lecture by Andrew Waugh from Waugh Thistleton Architects. Download the free ebook at www.thinkwood.com
Lest week we held a lecture for our friends at Reflex Arkitekter. Kayrokh was talking about digital design methodology in architectural practice and the history of CAD/CAM developments.
Having a busy time behind we are back on track with our academic discourse sessions Arkademi. This time it's about Architecture History, for which we will follow the book "Modern Architecture: a critical history" written by Kenneth Frampton.
We start from the scratch and continue forward, for this week it's "Cultural transformations: Neo-classical architecture 1750-1900". It's a seminar setup, so we read the chapter before and discuss it together over the lunch in the office.
?? The image above is Cenotaph (empty tomb) for Sir Isaac Newton by French architect Étienne-Louis Boullée, 1784.
We are happy to introduce Arkemi's academic discourse sessions, Arkademi. It consists of a presentation/film screening followed by open discussions, Thursday lunch at our office. The subject is different every week, but focuses on architecture history and technology, as well as architectural news.
We have recently been working a lot with urban density for an exciting project of ours (coming soon), so our amazing fellow arkemist Niels has chosen Kowloon Walled City as the topic this week. Located in Hong Kong.
Kowloon used to be the most dense and ungoverned human settlement on the planet. Demolished in 1987, it housed ca 50'000 residents within its 6.4 acre borders. That's a population per acre rate of 7'888 and FAR of 12.0, exceeding any other known example.
Fero and Kay are right now at Forum Wood Building Nordic at Linnaeus University Växjö, discussing opportunities and challenges with timber architecture. Arkemi sees timber construction as a central solution for a green future!
Our CEO, Kay is in Gothenburg attending Advances in Architectural Geometry conference learning about collaborative robotic construction of lightweight timber assemblies.