Episode 44. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman and George Morgan. Studio Weave founding director Je Ahn explains the challenges of sourcing timber from London’s streets and parks.
He describes how he translated the ambition of using local timber from London’s trees into reality at Lea Bridge Library Pavilion despite the fact that no sales channel existed for sourcing local timber and the need to prove its chain of custody because it had no FSC certification.
We also discuss how working with found materials requires a willingness and ability to improvise as a designer and creates new aesthetic opportunities. In the case of Lea Bridge Library Pavilion, this approach lends warmth and informality to the space. ‘You have to be ready to change your mind to suit the requirement,’ says Ahn.
Ahn describes sustainability as project-specific. ‘I’m very interested in where we get our materials,’ he says, explaining that timber is not always the best solution. It’s all about achieving the right balance for a given project. ‘Whatever I put out in the world has to have a purpose beyond what was initially set out,’ says Ahn.
For show notes and to catch up on all AJ Climate Champions episodes, click here.
Thamesmead Waterfront and Home of 2030, two competitions wins where ‘landscape is the glue’
Landscape architect Jo Gibbons on why trees matter, urban forestry and greening our cities
Barnabas Calder revisits architectural history through the lens of energy and climate
Guy Shrubsole on rewilding Britain and greening our cities
Steve Webb & Wilf Meynell: ‘We’re brainwashed into steel and concrete mode’
Harry Paticas on empowering communities through the low-carbon retrofit of primary schools
Owen Hatherley on Modernism + Will Hurst explains RetroFirst (bonus episode)
Anna Heringer: 'You can build with clay in a very modern way'
Sarah Wigglesworth: 'Sustainable architecture is fantastically creative'
Haworth Tompkins' Diana Dina: 'We want to share ideas with other practices'
Sofie Pelsmakers: 'Sustainable architecture is "architecture on steroids" – it needs to perform'
Annalie Riches: 'We need more projects that show sustainable design isn't ugly'
Maria Smith: 'It's depressing how much architects are the problem'
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