At the 2016 World Economic Forum, the high-profile annual gathering of leading technocrats and politicians happening this week in Davos, Switzerland, a modest building constructed for the event hopes to become part of the global conversation about sustainable development.
The 90-sm (969-sf) ICEHouse (short for Innovation for the Circular Economy house) is the brainchild of William McDonough, FAIA, Int. FRIBA, the noted architect who specializes in Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) design solutions. His firms, William McDonough + Partners and WonderFrame LLC, constructed ICEHouse at the invitation of Hub Culture, a global collaboration network with 25,000 professional members, which each year makes space available for the press, NGOs, and other support staff attending the event.
After the Forum ends, ICEHouse will be taken apart and reassembled at The Valley at Schiphol Trade Park in Amsterdam, the location for the new National Hub for the Circular Economy, for which McDonough is an equity partner and master architect.
Speaking from Davos by phone, McDonough told BD+C that ICEHouse is the latest effort in his career-long quest to come up with innovations that provide shelter for people in need around the world. (McDonough is co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, and serves as Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Meta-Council on the Circular Economy.)
His prototype at the Forum, which was assembled in two days, is framed with aluminum covered with a polycarbonate sheathing system provided by SABIC, a remnant of the former GE Plastics. McDonough says ICEHouse is an experimental platform for his “WonderFrame” system, which he designed to be erected using locally available materials, such as polymers or even bamboo. “I think that, in the future, we’d be using a lot of composites, taken from the existing waste stream,” he predicted.
The space has a heated floor, and Shaw Contract Group provided the flooring materials. McDonough wasn’t able to provide the cost of the structure, which he says his team is still analyzing.
McDonough estimates that 1,000 Davos attendees will have walked through ICEHouse. To his surprise, what was meant to be nothing more than an “evocation” and “a place for dreaming” about the future might actually turn out to have more immediate and viable product potential.
“The typical reaction of people who come through is, one, ‘Wow, this is beautiful,’ and, two, ‘I want one of these.’ ” McDonough envisions ICEHouse, because of its recycling flexibility and ease of assembly (it doesn't require a foundation, for example), having all kinds of “pop-up” applications, for housing, education, heath care, even manufacturing.
McDonough also sees ICEHouse as part of a bigger shift away from the primacy of ownership. “People don’t see a stigma about ‘temporary’ anymore. They are more interested in the quality of the services provided.”
(To learn more about McDonough's thoughts about Cradle-to-Cradle design and construction check out his interview last year with inhabitat.com.)
Architect William McDonough (left) and former Great Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair share a moment inside ICEHouse at the World Economic Forum at Davos. Photo courtesy of William McDonough + Partners
Related Stories
Building Technology | May 9, 2017
Movers + Shapers: Innovation Superchargers
Wexford Science & Technology’s ‘knowledge communities’ provide the real estate spark to ignite budding S+T startups.
Great Solutions | May 5, 2017
No nails necessary: Framing system comes together with steel zip ties and screws
Clemson University’s School of Architecture develops a patent-pending construction method that is gaining attention for its potential use in rapid, low-tech sustainable housing.
Building Technology | May 5, 2017
Tips for designing and building with bathroom pods
Advancements in building technology and ongoing concerns about labor shortages make prefabrication options such as bathrooms pods primed for an awakening.
Building Technology | Apr 21, 2017
AIA selects 2016 Upjohn Research Initiative Projects
Grants awarded to initiatives that study various aspects of design within the built environment.
Building Technology | Mar 9, 2017
Prefabrication's predicament: It's much harder than it looks
Many of the nation’s largest contractors, including Gilbane, Mortensen, Skanska, and Turner, have been utilizing prefab techniques on select projects for a decade or more.
Great Solutions | Mar 8, 2017
Pop-out balcony is a breath of fresh air for stuffy hotel rooms and apartments
In less than one minute, Bloomframe transforms from an insulated picture window to an open balcony.
Building Materials | Feb 15, 2017
New metamaterial cools roofs without any energy consumption
The material is barely thicker than aluminum foil and can be economically manufactured for large-scale residential and commercial applications.
Building Technology | Feb 13, 2017
Denver’s ‘smart neighborhood’ will be packed with futuristic technology
The neighborhood will become a test lab for innovative technology.
Virtual Reality | Feb 1, 2017
Tour ancient buildings and cities as they were when new with Lithodomos VR
An Australian archeological startup is bringing the ancient world to a VR headset near you.
Building Technology | Jan 30, 2017
Machine learning could help buildings notify occupants about critical systems failures before they happen
Data from sensors built into HVAC units paired with a machine learning algorithm predicted 76 out of 124 real faults for an Italian hospital.
