The top winning student entries of the Troldtekt Award 2014
By Bustler Editors|
Friday, Jul 11, 2014
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Simplicity can go a long way in design, as seen in the 2014 edition of the biennial Troldtekt Award. The international concept competition challenged architecture and design students to find innovative applications of the Troldtekt wood+concrete acoustic panels made by the Danish company.
The jury evaluated 115 submissions for originality and realism in four categories: Concept, Ceiling, Spaces and Panelling. The overall winner was from the Concepts category, while three Special Prizes were announced in the remaining categories.
- Winner (€5,000): "Troldtekt RAW" (Mexico)
- Special Prize 1 (€500): "Acoustic Forest" (Malaysia)
- Special Prize 2 (€500): "Yes...it's a f---ing Vogelhaus" (Austria)
- Special Prize 3 (€500): "Season Modules" (Argentina)
The notable jury featured:
- Peer Leth, Troldtekt CEO and product developer
- Niels Kappel, Troldtekt product developer
- Mikkel Frost, co-founder of CEBRA a/s in Aarhus
- Bjarne Mastenbroek, founder of SeARCH in Amsterdam
- Jorge Vidal Tomás, co-founder of Rahola Vidal arquitectes in Barcelona
Have a look at the proposals below.
Winner: "Troldtekt Raw"
Project comments:
"'Troldtekt Raw' takes us back to the essence of Troldtekt – namely moulding a mix of wood fibres and cement. In this case the author suggests that the Troldtekt raw materials are simply sold as do-it-yourself-kits for the users to explore new ways of building with the material. Obviously it takes a lot of knowledge to produce perfect off-the-shelf Troldtekt boards –in fact, it’s a process which requires professional experience, certificates and much more. However, we believe that users and even professional builders would come up with new ideas for using the material if they were given the base materials...
If taken a little further this could be seen as a kind of crowd harvesting comparable to the present day app stores where people – not programmers – come up with fantastic ideas for new applications. We might even see a 'moulding community' sharing personal Troldtekt inventions on modern social media which would be a natural part of the new maker culture.
There is not a lot to say about this proposal since it leaves us to go and do the design and therefore you might even accuse the author of not making an actual proposal. However, it is exactly this brilliant mind trick that seems so compelling and makes us focus on the essence of the material."
Special Prize 1: "Acoustic Forest"
Project comments:
"The idea of the 'Acoustic Forest' completely nails the fine balance between innovation and realism. Inspired by hangers the author proposes a rectangular stick with a cutout making it possible to simply hang it from a suspended grid. Even though these elements could of course be cut with a regular saw, it is also possible and more realistic to line up a modern and more efficient production line based on laser cutting. You simply receive a box of stick hangers and mount them rapidly on site using no tools at all. Besides the very convincing decorative and acoustic qualities of the 'suspended forest' it is quite nice to avoid nails - seen from both an environmental, mounting and conceptual perspective. The idea is simple and beautiful and it would be wonderful seeing a prototype of the Acoustic Forest installed in a real space.
This new ceiling system is awarded a prize because it demonstrates a new way to hang Troldtekt panels from the ceiling – an application which is already so widely explored that you´d think it impossible to come up with yet another idea. It is also refreshingly simple both to understand and mass produce."
Special Prize 2: "Yes...it's a f---ing Vogelhaus"
Project comments:
"The design is 'organic' even though is it based on flat panels so it is certainly buildable and with its beehive inspired is probably very appealing to birds. Even so, the actual shape is almost secondary – the main reason for awarding this project is the new undiscovered market of birds. It should be added that the Troldtekt material is very suitable for natural environments since it is 100% organic and therefore biodegradable. The Vogelhaus would first weather and deteriorate and in the end it would simply disappear like the material in a compost facility. The project is clever and it is very refreshing to receive a proposal written with such a great f……ing sense of humour. It reminds us that architecture should be fun.
So, why the f…k is a Vogelhaus awarded a special prize? First of all, and this is the main reason, we think that bringing the Troldtekt panel into a totally new context (housing for birds) is a really simple and yet original idea. Actually when you look at the material which has an almost bird’s nest like structure you might even say that the idea is obvious."
Special Prize 3: "Season Modules"
Project comments:
"The 'Season modules' project is presented in a very clear and compelling way with fresh and provocative colours which add a new dimension to the Troldtekt material. This building block system of equilateral triangular blocks and tubes can be put together in a number of ways. The author suggests placing them on the floor, hanging them from the ceiling or erecting them as free standing space dividers. Thus the different configurations may become many different things and support many uses. It is a system which involves the user since he or she can in fact combine them freely and build highly personalised structures to suit specific spaces or be part of certain building projects.
The design is very simple and quite believable in terms of production. We think this proposal takes the use of Troldtekt further in a both inspiring and convincing way."
Click the thumbnails below for each project's panel boards.
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