Press Release
Black House Residential by Oliver Schutte Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
Oliver Schutte honored for sustainable products, projects and green design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 16, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design category for Black House Residential by Oliver Schutte, designed for A-01. The award was conferred within the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Regarding Black House Residential
The Black House forms part of the modular No Footprint House series. The climate responsive designs of the project are based on passive strategies such as site specific positioning and the use of natural resources for cross ventilation, solar shading and energy production, as well as rainwater harvesting and biological water filtration. Industrial construction techniques create a high level of efficiency that can be delivered to any target location, combined with locally harvested and renewable materials to promote integral sustainability and regenerative development for the built environment.
About Oliver Schutte
I was educated as an architect, which is a profession that naturally interacts with a lot of other professionals who are related to the process of planning and building. Through personal drive and external influences, I started to look way beyond that group of people to think about development in a broader and global sense. I was lucky to work with a series of masters and colleagues whom I admire and who encouraged me in pursuing that path. My own office now focuses on breaking those boundaries of single professions or perspectives in order to co-create through our interdisciplinary work methodology.
Award Record
This recognition makes Oliver Schutte a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2019 - 2020 to 2023 - 2024 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design Award
The A' Sustainable Product Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good sustainable products by leading designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to sustainable product designers, green product manufacturers, eco-friendly product brands and industrial designers from all countries. Entries typically include sustainable projects, environment friendly designs, recycled, upcycled and bio-degradable products. Awarded sustainable product designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/sustainable-product
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/161375
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/161375
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!161375
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/276201
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.a-01.net/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Black House Residential
- Function
- Residential
- Category
- Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Sustainability
- Colors
- Saddle Brown, Black, Dark Slate Gray, Olive Drab and Dark Olive Green
- Images
- 5
- Client
- A-01
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Oliver Schutte
- Country
- Costa Rica
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2023 - 2024
- Design ID
- #161375
Credits
- Image Credits
- A-01, A Company and A Foundation, with Azure Peace
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- The Black House was designed as steel structure with wooden finishes, providing space for its owners to live and work in one compact unit. All wood is sustainably grown in Costa Rica. The country is defined by a unique level of biodiversity, which itself is derived from a series of micro-climates that the house responds to locally. Operable facade elements open the building interiors towards their natural surroundings, resulting in a symbiotic relationship among nature and the built environment.
- Inspiration
- The primary inspiration for the Black House and its overaching No Footprint House series is nature, as well as the question of how to ease the impact of construction on the environment. Since the creation of the first prototype, new and alternative construction materials have been developed and integrated to continuously improve project performance while stimulating local and circular economies. A broad range of typologies have been built in response to the specific locations and client needs.
- Research
- Costa Rica has shifted from a strategy of sustainability to regenerative development. This condition creates numerous implications for the Black House as part of the No Footprint House series. The project is optimized through industrial and prefabricated building techniques. It drives innovation through the development and incorporation of renewable and locally sourced materials in combination with passive design strategies and local energy production, the first of its kind in Central America.
- Challenge
- The No Footprint House was initiated to showcase the potential of decarbonized housing, based on a roadmap to a sector-wide decarbonization in Costa Rica. The project was first introduced to the public at the 2019 international conference for climate change by the United Nations. A life cycle assessment was made to illustrate the path to decarbonization. Different building typologies can be configured with sustainable materials and components according to the specific needs of each the client.
- Realization and Technology
- The Black House was designed as a three-level steel structure with wooden finishes, providing space for its owners to live and work in one compact unit. All wood is FSC certified and sustainably grown in Costa Rica. Operable facade elements open the interiors of the house towards their natural surroundings, resulting in a symbiotic relationship among nature and the built environment. Costa Rica is defined by a unique level of biodiversity, which itself is derived from a series of micro climates.
- Operation and Interaction
- The project was started as a series of case study homes to illustrate the potential of decarbonized housing, based on a broader roadmap to level carbon emissions sector-wide. Industrial and prefabricated building techniques optimize production efficiency, in combination with locally sourced and renewable materials such as bamboo, hempcrete and different types of wood. Materials are developed in collaboration with the local building industry in order to stimulate local and circular economies.
- Project Duration and Location
- The Black House was developed as a prototype for the colder and mountainous climates of Costa Rica. The country is defined by a unique level of biodiversity, which itself is derived from a series of micro-climates. The goal of the No Footprint House series is to create model homes for all of the climatic variations of the country, finding sustainable and regenerative solutions for living and coexisting with the tropical habitat. The overall project was started in 2018 and is projected to last.
- Specifications
- A broad range of project typologies are available, from tiny house to suburban villa and townhouse. Building costs range according to sizes, materials and services that are chosen by the specific client. The goal of the No Footprint House series is to create model homes for different climatic variations, providing sustainable and regenerative building solutions to coexist with the local habitat. The Black House was developed as a prototype for the colder and mountainous climates of Costa Rica.
- Keywords
- Architecture, Bioclimatic Architecture, Regeneration, No Footprint House, No Footprint Community, Regenerative Development, Sustainability, Sustainable Construction, Wellbeing, Zero Footprint
