Surface Design Awards – Complete

• INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE YEAR - NEW
  This is a new category that recognises wall, floor, ceiling and surface design products, including decorative, creative and inventive surfaces for the interior of buildings including both commercial and residential properties.
• HOUSING - INTERIOR 
  Buildings such as houses, flats and apartments that are used for sheltering people. These could be either part of the private or public sector and could be individual dwellings or multi-dwelling developments. Social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing, provided to specified eligible households whose needs are not met by the market are included.

Dragon Flat is a refurbishment project for a flat within a 1950s council block. It was built in a run-down area of London for low-income households after the war, the area has since been transformed into one of the most affluent in the city.  The block retains its original concrete structure. The low floor-to-ceiling height of just below 2.4m also remained in the flat, and we needed a strategy to reconcile it. As with many London flats, complications with the separate ownership between the flats and their structure constrained our response to the client brief for a contemporary flat. The dual aspect of the flat was one of the given gifts, but due to the kitchen, dining, living, and stairwells being all subdivided, this gift wasn't apparent. We liberated the entire lower level from its post-war austerity configuration by removing the non-load-bearing partitions through diligent, painstaking structural surveys.
 Now the space is rich with natural light coming in various intensities throughout the day. The large-scale engraving of the River Thames draws attention away from the low ceiling space, and this wall-to-wall full-height cabinet unifies the space and corresponds to the corner sofa with the built-in projector screen. All utilities: kitchen, storage, seating, and toilet are set into the perimeter walls, leaving space in the middle for a floating perforated timber stair leading upstairs in the 1950´s  original stair position. On the upstairs, we went against the norm of  ´the higher the ceiling the better the space ´ and lowered the ceiling further instead of attempting to make it look higher than it actually was. The tatami bedroom is raised with a storage platform on the floor that leaves the new floor-to-ceiling height just around 2m, revealing a uniquely intimate space within the original council flat room size. 
We also focused on surfaces within these constrained structures. OSB boards, which pay homage to the humble beginnings of this flat, are used as wallpaper, they are brass clipped and engraved. Unlike the Arts and Crafts movement, which rejected rapid technological advances, here we simply embraced the available technology as a tool. An army of engraved peony flowers on the walls was shaped out of our selection following AI prompts. Irrelevant to such a process, they calmly greet the real flower head of a peace lily in this intimate room.
On the floor below, we again use this everyday building material, OSB to form walls alongside large Carara marble slabs in a small toilet, the focus of all our efforts was to enrich the lives of occupants.

” Why the Thames River?” Such a question would evoke a conversation between occupants and visitors, which we hope adds colour to everyday life. Regarding the cost of the project, it remains confidential at the client's discretion.

Completion Date: March 2022.

For the Dragon Flat refurbishment, we primarily employed conventional sheet and board materials: plywood, pine boards, OSB boards, and marble tiles. Despite their ubiquity in standard building projects, we approached these materials in a slightly unconventional manner due to structural constraints.

Our focus on surfaces emerged from the limitations imposed by the existing structure. With minimal flexibility to alter wall positions or ceiling heights, we delved deep into surface design to imbue the space with richness and meaning. A notable example is our use of OSB board, a commonplace building product often relegated to the background. We brought it to the forefront, making it the visible finish in the main bedroom. This was further enhanced by engraving peony flowers, designed using an AI image generative tool and executed via CNC routing, a nod to human craftsmanship.

Historically, movements like Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau championed surface ornamentation to enrich occupants' lives, emphasizing human craft as a counter to rapid technological advancements. In contrast, we embraced contemporary digital tools to transform these everyday building materials. A striking experiment juxtaposed OSB with marble, contrasting one of the least expensive materials with a premium one. This exploration showcased the potential of common building products when approached with innovative design thinking.

In essence, our material choices and their application, rooted in both history and modern technology, make a compelling case for the Surface Design Award.

Dragon Flat's refurbishment prioritised sustainability by predominantly utilising low-embodied carbon materials. The project's essence lies in its adaptive reuse, transforming a space initially designed for low-income households to cater to an affluent demographic, mirroring the area's evolution. This approach not only preserved the existing structure but also minimised the need for extensive new construction, thus reducing the environmental impact.

Material Carbon Footprint (A1-A3):
- Substructure Material:
- Stud work: 0.8 m^3, 650.0 Kg/M^3, 0.3 Kg CO2/Kg, 504.6 Kg, 132.7 Kg CO2
- OSB board: 1.1 m^3, 650.0 Kg/m^3, 0.5 Kg CO2/Kg, 690.7 Kg, 314.3 Kg CO2
- Acoustic Insulation: 1.0 m^3, 10.0 Kg/m^3, 1.2 Kg CO2/Kg, 10.3 Kg, 12.3 Kg CO2
- PIR Insulation: 0.5 m^3, 32.0 Kg/m^3, 1.9 Kg CO2/Kg, 14.7 Kg, 27.3 Kg CO2
- Plasterboard: 2.0 m^3, 900.0 Kg/m^2, 0.39 Kg CO2/Kg, 1,813.9 Kg, 707.4 Kg CO2
- Marble: 0.8 m^3, 2,500.0 Kg/m^3, 0.12 Kg CO2/Kg, 2,100.0 Kg, 243.6 Kg CO2
- Engineered floor board: 1.2 m^3, 625.0 Kg/m^3, 0.68 Kg CO2/Kg, 760.5 Kg, 518.3 Kg CO2

Fitting, Furnishing, and Equipment:
- Plywood: 3.2 m^3, 650.0 Kg/m^3, 0.7 Kg CO2/Kg, 2,080.0 Kg, 1,414.4 Kg CO2
- Knotless pine: 2.7 m^3, 500.0 Kg/m^3, 0.3 Kg CO2/Kg, 1,355.0 Kg, 356.4 Kg CO2
- OSB board: 0.8 m^2, 650.0 Kg/m^2, 0.5 Kg CO2/Kg, 520.0 Kg, 236.6 Kg CO2
- Steel: 0.0050 m^3, 7,850.0 Kg/m^3, 2.7 Kg CO2/Kg, 39.3 Kg, 106.4 Kg CO2

Transportation Carbon Footprint (A4):
- Plasterboard: 1,813.9 Kg, 86.9 Km, 0.00011 KgCO2e/kg/km, 16.8 Kg CO2
- Plywood and stud: 4,555.8 Kg, 85.3 Km, 0.00011 KgCO2e/kg/km, 41.4 Kg CO2
- Knotless pine: 1,355.0 Kg, 7840 Km, 0.00002 KgCO2e/kg/km, 171.5 Kg CO2
- Marble: 2,100.0 Kg, 1368 Km, 0.00011 KgCO2e/kg/km, 171.5 Kg CO2

Construction Carbon Footprint (A5):
- A5w (waste): Plasterboard: 1,813.9 Kg, 22.5%, 0.29032, 0.018, 9.5 Kg CO2
- A5a (site activity): £269,230.00 x700kg Co2/£100000 = 1884.8 kg CO2

From the provided data, the total embodied carbon for the project is 7,152 kg CO2, which translates to 86.87 kg CO2e/m^2 for a space of 82.33 m^2. This calculation, combined with the use of sustainable materials and the project's adaptive reuse approach, showcases Dragon Flat's commitment to environmental responsibility.