1.
A Report In Partnership With#BuildingTomorrow
BUILDING
TOMORROW
Trends Driving The Future of Design

2.
BUILDING TOMORROW
9 KEY TRENDS
BUILDING
TOMORROW
WHAT’S DRIVING
CHANGE
IN DESIGN
The world is changing at an astonishing pace. The resulting technological, cultural and
environmental shifts are forcing people to rethink the use of resources at both an individual
and societal level. In addition to considering material choices and energy needs, the needs and
values of residents and consumers are important factors for building more efficient, comfortable
and harmonious offices, homes, stores and public spaces for tomorrow. Below we outlined some
of these drivers, along with architecture’s responses to them.
01. COMMUNAL SPIRIT P.9
Designing social-centric and dynamic
spaces to foster conversation, collaboration
and community.
02. INTENTIONAL PLAY P.12
Embedding interactive and whimsical
elements into designs to engage passersby.
03. FLUID STATES P.15
Adapting spaces to fulfill multiple purposes
throughout the day.
04. HIDDEN ESCAPES P.18
Carving out personal spaces to allow
quiet, intimate moments amidst busy
environments.
05. BLENDED LANDSCAPES P.21
Taking inspiration from surrounding
environments for harmonious design.
06. EXERCISED RESTRAINT P.24
Scaling back the size and aesthetics of built
environments without sacrificing comfort or
power.
07. SECOND LIFE P.27
Recycling, retrofitting, and otherwise
reusing materials and buildings to save
resources and combine old and new.
08. PASSIVELY POWERED P.30
Channeling energy from natural sources
to maintain homes and buildings in any
climate.
09. BREAKTHROUGH BUILDS P.33
Harnessing new technologies to transform
forms and construction techniques.
CONNECTED LIFESTYLES P.5
Digital technologies pervade nearly every
aspect of daily life. Communication,
information and services are now
available on-demand, driving a new set of
expectations and behaviors.
EMPOWERED CITIZENRY P.6
A variety of instant communication
channels have created a globally connected
population and given citizens more ways to
share ideas. These collected voices have the
power to shape the world like never before.
URBANIZED POPULATION P.7
As more of world’s population moves into
cities there is an increased strain on the
health of the planet. This shift places a
premium on use of space and access to
nature, remaking the urban landscape.

3.
We are living in an era of unbound creativity and endless passion,
and the world around us is changing at a rapid and exciting rate.
With this societal and technological movement comes the need
for space and greater opportunities to bring our ideas to life.
Through Architizer’s A+ Awards, PSFK Labs reviewed the most
progressive ideas building tomorrow, studied them immensely
and began to understand the key trends and drivers of design
today. Whether you’re a designer or not, we can all learn to
create experiences through the concepts described in Building
Tomorrow.
From the insights uncovered by our team at PSFK Labs, the design
thinking of buildings can be applied across industries and cultures.
As the world continues to change around us, we can think of
ourselves as architects for great ideas, building out products and
services that adapt for a crowd or based on our surroundings.
What’s important to note is this report is not necessarily a study
in architecture: it is a guide for any creative professional who is
building today - whether that in the physical, media or digital
landscape. The themes highlighted within Building Tomorrow can
be used to inspire the cities of tomorrow, but the trends can be
leveraged to build the next generation of products, services and
experiences.
I can’t wait to see what you do next.
I am thrilled to introduce Building Tomorrow: Trends Driving The Future
of Design. The report is a collaboration between PSFK and Architizer
highlighting the exemplary work submitted in the third year of Architizer’s
A+ Awards.
The Architizer A+ Awards - the world’s largest architecture awards program
- is designed around one fundamental truth: architecture matters to
everyone. Americans spend over 90% of their time inside of buildings - and
when they aren’t in buildings, they are surrounded by them.
That’s why the A+ Awards break from the traditional mold of architecture
awards. Rather than have architects telling other architects what the best
architecture of the year is the A+ Awards are juried by an international
group of experts from fashion, politics, art, technology and dozens of
other fields. Architecture shapes the world we all inhabit and impacts us
constantly - it is bigger than just architects.
This year we partnered with PSFK - the renowned trend analysts - to look
at the thousands of A+ entries and discern trends impacting architecture,
and ways that architecture was impacting global trends. We turned our data
over to PSFK and they spent months sifting through the 2015 A+ Entries
and subjecting them to their proprietary methodology.
PSFK was the perfect partner expressly because they are not architects.
Their perspective meant that they could look beyond the horizon of the
architecture community to see the global impact of the buildings architects
design.
Dive in and discover what contemporary architecture is made of – told
through a captivating combination of graphics, text, and incredible images.
This is what great design looks like today!
FROM THE EDITORS
Piers Fawkes. Founder & Editor In Chief. PSFK.com
@piers_fawkes | @psfk
Marc Kushner. Founder & CEO. Architizer
@marckushner | @architizer

4.
PSFK is a future-forward online resource that provides creative
professionals with a forecast into the smarter and better future,
acting as a hub for design, advertising, retail, technology, travel
and arts & culture news.
Its team of researchers, trend-spotters, reporters and editors help
the audiences of our daily site, newsletters, events and reports cut
through the noise and spotlight the latest innovations that help
people live, work and play better.
In tandem with their mission to inspire progressive innovation by
highlighting the most innovative ideas in our rapidly-changing
world, the PSFK Labs team provides thought-leadership and
strategy consulting based on trends research.
www.psfk.com
labs.psfk.com
The team at PSFK Labs inspire some of the world’s leading companies
to make better products and experiences. Its previous client list
includes Apple, BMW, Google, Nike, Red Bull, Samsung and Target.
Armed with over 1,500 entries from Architizer’s A+ Awards, the PSFK
Labs analysts employed a technique called grounded theory analysis
to identify patterns in the submissions. They subsequently turned to
experts for advice on the clusters they were highlighted and these
perspectives helped establish the drivers and trends that are listed in
this report which are supported by quotes from the expert interviews.
The design think-tank Consortia provided further advice to help
the team understand the design sector better and define specific
implications.
If you would like an in-person presentation of this report, please
contact reports@psfk.com.
ABOUT PSFK OUR METHODOLOGY
To Learn More About PSFK’s Recent
Reports Check out, psfk.com/reports
Free Download Available On
psfk.com/building-tomorrow

5.
1
USA
6
Japan
3
Australia
10
Spain
2
Canada
4
Mexico
Turkey
8
5
UK
7
Italy
9
France
1
2
3
4
5
# ENTRIES
TOP 10 CITIES
New York
London
San Francisco
Brooklyn
Chicago
Toronto
Los Angeles
Boston
Seattle
Singapore
6
7
8
9
10
TOTAL ENTRIES BY
CATEGORY
Typology CategoriesPlus Categories
Transportation
Student
Residential
Office
Landscape
Institutional
Cultural
Commercial
Collaboration
Self
Initated
Learning
Preservation
Branding
Living Small
Workspace
Light
Urban Transformation
Materials
Sustainability
Art
# ENTRIES BY COUNTRY
10000
Country Ranking200 Entries
Architizer’s A+ Awards present a global cross
section of the most innovative designs in
architecture. These structures not only represent
advances in building techniques such as pre-fab
units, sustainable design, and retrofitting, but
also responses to the needs of the communities
in which they are erected. The submission
process for the 2016 A+ Awards kicks off
September 29, 2015.
awards.architizer.com
ABOUT THE A+
AWARDS

6.
WHAT’S DRIVING
CHANGE IN DESIGN
Society and culture are evolving at an unprecedented rate. These
changes influence needs and expectations across sectors impacting
how people live, work and play every day. PSFK sees three major drivers
shaping the future of buildings.
• Connected Lifestyles
• Empowered Citizenry
• Urbanized Population

7.
A global survey of full time employees
revealed flexibility as the top job benefit.
Work-Life Challenges Across Generation. EY. 2015
things and 5 billion people will be
connected to the Internet of Things by
2020.
Are You Ready For The Internet Of Things.
January 2014
of Americans keep their smartphones
close by at all waking hours.
Gallup. 2015
of cell phone owners say they check for
messages and alerts even when they don’t
notice ringing or vibrating.
Mobile Fact Sheet. 2014
American workers already work as
freelancers.
Freelancing In America. Elance 2014
BUILDING TOMORROW Connected Lifestyles | 6
Digital experiences now pervade almost every
aspect of daily experiences. Thanks to the ubiquity
of smartphones and other connected devices,
people are now able to tap into more information
about themselves and those around them than ever
before. This interconnectivity blurs the of boundaries
between life, work and play, and facilitates
collaboration over any distance. The pushback to
the connected lifestyle has also been observed as
people value increasingly scarce private time and
escapes from technology.
67
%
81
%
53
million
50
billion
“Flexibility”
CONNECTED
LIFESTYLES
Components
• Freelance Economy
• Work/Life Integration
• Digital Respite
• Privacy

8.
of millennials made a charitable donation
in 2014.
The Millennial Impact. 2015
of 15-24 year olds feel that their
generation has the potential to change the
world for the better.
MTV Knowing Youth: 2020 Vision. Viacom. 2015
of global online consumers say they
are willing to pay more for socially and
environmentally responsible products,
half are millennials.
Nielsen Global Survey. 2014
of Americans think the country should
do whatever it takes to protect the
environment.
Pew. 2014
of millennials say they are more focused
on the environment than their parents’
generation.
Clinton Global Initiative. 2014
BUILDING TOMORROW Empowered Citizenry | 7
More and more people are growing up in a truly
global marketplace. Those who participate have a
broader awareness of the world and their ability to
impact it. Millennials and subsequent generations
are growing up partaking in the sharing economy,
demanding transparency from organizations, and
voting with their dollars. Knowledge of social and
environmental issues is compelling millennials and
future generations to make even small decisions with
an eye for the greater good.
76
%
71
%
55
%
80
%
84
%
EMPOWERED
CITIZENRY
Components
• Environmentalism/Sustainability
• Community Empowerment
• Sharing Economy
• Social Media

9.
Expected deficit water supply and
demand in 2030. This would affect up to
50 % of the world’s population.
World Water Development Report. UN. 2015
people died in 2012 as a result of exposure
to air pollution which affects mostly urban
populations.
Air Quality Deteriorating In Many Of The World’s
Cities. World Health Organization. 2014
now have populations over 10 million. This
number has tripled since 1990.
World Urbanization Prospects. 2014
of millennials aspire to live in an urban
area in the future.
Millennials - Breaking The Myths. 2014
of the world’s population lives in urban
areas. That number is expected to
increase to 66% by 2050.
World Urbanization Prospects. United Nations. 2014
BUILDING TOMORROW Urbanized Population | 8
People around the world are experiencing the
increased strain on resources brought on by
population growth and urbanization. While the
growth of cities has birthed an energetic urban
identity, it has also inspired an appreciation for older,
natural constructions incorporating existing buildings
and landscapes.
•
54
%
40
%
40
%
27
cities
7
million
URBANIZED
POPULATION
Components
• Resource Scarcity
• Urbanization
• Re-Use and Retrofitting
• Rural Resurgence

10.
9 KEY TRENDS
BUILDING TOMORROW
01. Communal Spirit
02. Intentional Play
03. Fluid States
04. Hidden Escapes
05. Blended Landscapes
06. Exercised Restraint
07. Second Life
08. Passively Powered
09. Breakthrough Builds

11.
Women’s Opportunity Center
Agency Sharon Davis Design
Client Women For Women International
Location Kayonza. Rwanda
01.

12.
Congregating and connecting with other people has always
been an important function of architecture, but today’s
public and private spaces are changing to reflect a greater
desire for shared experiences and environments. This focus
on creating social-centric and dynamic designs for homes,
offices and beyond fosters conversation, collaboration and
community.
82
%
781
2,498
of 16-21 year olds think
collaboration drives innovation.
YouGov. 2014
According to a magazine survey,
there are approximately 781
coworking spaces in the US and
2,498 worldwide.
DeskWanted. 2013
“Architects have an extraordinarily
important role to play to better guide
urban growth toward more socially mixed
and more innovative cultural ecologies that
allow us to inhabit cities the way we want.”
Vishaan Chakrabarti. Principal. SHoP Architects
“Finding opportunities in which global and
local brands, connected offices and even
residential and corporate communities can
connect and engage with one another is
paramount.”
Joseph Karadin. Director of Physical Design, ESI Design
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Design community spaces to encourage
interactions between customers and associates.
• Product Encourage the input of fan communities
throughout the development and prototyping phases.
• Cities Allow uses to create or find their own online tribes
to connect with others who share their passions.
COMMUNAL
SPIRIT

13.
BUILDING TOMORROW 01. Communal Spirit | 12
Songpa Micro-Housing
Agency : SsD
Client : N/A
Location : Seoul. Korea
Songpa Micro-Housing leverages zoning constraints
to use residual space as semi-public shared zones. The
residual space forms communal spaces for as many as
three units and fosters interactions between neighbors.
The ground floor is an open-program area for gathering
and parking. The café in the basement level transforms
into a community theater at night.
High Place Apartments
Agency : Egan | Simon Architecture
Client : Community Corporation of Santa Monica
Location : Santa Monica, CA. USA
High Place Apartments was built around a series of
courtyards designed to bring natural ventilation while
promoting community between the units in the building.
Each unit on the three floors of the building has two
or three bedrooms and large windows. The open-air
corridors connect different buildings so that people can
see their neighbors.
Vienna University
Agency : Atelier Hitoshi Abe
Client : Vienna University
Location : Vienna. Austria
Vienna University designed a flexible campus with a
high degree of permeability between buildings in order
to promote interaction between different academic
departments. Overlapping volumes are arranged along
the length of the site with shared atriums. By diverting
traffic through the atriums, staff, faculty, and students
are encouraged to cross paths, congregate, work, and
collaborate.

14.
WMS Boathouse At Clark Park
Agency Studio Gang Architects
Client City of Chicago
Location Chicago, IL. USA
02.

15.
While cities and their citizens are dynamic and ever
changing, architecture is often viewed as static and sedate.
In an effort to breathe more life into the built-environment,
designers are experimenting with bright colors, interactive
elements and the whimsical use of texture, light, and
geometry to actively engage visitors and residents alike.
of millennials said “fun” was in
most need of improvement in their
current office.
AON Hewitt. 2015
Percent crime fell within a 1/4 mil
radius when the city of Topeka
commissioned public art.
Topeka Police Dept. 2014
“It is especially important to use play as the
catalyst of conversation between people in
an effort to create human connections in
the designed environment.”
Joseph Karadin. Director of Physical Design, ESI
Design
30
%
15
%
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Incorporate interactive elements to surprise &
delight along with providing added function.
• Product Use aesthetic flourishes to break conventions
and help emphasize functional components.
• Digital Gamify the experience to inject an element of play
into the experience.

16.
BUILDING TOMORROW 02. Intentional Play | 15
Swing Time
Agency : Höweler+Yoon Architecture
Client : City of Boston
Location : Boston, MA. USA
Swing Time is an interactive playscape composed of 20
illuminated ring-shaped swings located in a temporary
park between the Boston Convention and Exhibition
Center and D Street. The swings are outfitted with
accelerometers which influence the color of the light
ranging from white when they are static to purple when
they are in full swing. The interactive component is a
playful way to invite the citizens of Boston to come
together in a communal space.
Shipyard Cranes
Agency : Skira
Client : Tourist Board Pula
Location : Pula. Croatia
Shipyard Cranes transforms eight cranes at one of the
world’s oldest shipyards into a giant light show, creating
a new tourist attraction in Pula, Croatia. The cranes are
still in everyday use, which meant that Skira had to work
with the shipyard’s engineers to ensure lighting did
not interfere with their regular working activities. The
“Lighting Giants” project managed to emphasize this
distinctive symbol of the city and celebrate its industrial
heritage in a playful manner.
Dallas Brooks Community Primary School
Agency : McBride Charles Ryan
Client : Dept of Edu & Early Chilldhood Development
Location : Dallas, Victoria. Australia
The Dallas Brooks Community School uses color to
provide warmth and vibrancy to an otherwise barren
site. Taking inspiration from the rings of Saturn, the
designers chose to band the outer wall in a playful
gesture of color and movement. The wall is both
functionally protective while also being a civic gesture
and an invitation to participate in the shaping of the
suburb’s future. The form of the wall itself silhouettes
the architectural context of the school, mimicking
housing, industry, and the ecclesiastic.

17.
Cykelslangen
Agency Dissing+Weitling
Client City of Copenhagen
Location Copenhagen. Denmark
03.

18.
As the lines between live, work, and play blur, homes, offices
and public spaces must now fulfill multiple purposes in a
defined amount of space. Modular and flexible designs solve
this issue by adapting throughout the day to accommodate a
changing set of uses and needs.
53
million
American workers already work as
freelancers.
Freelancing In America. Elance 2014
Flexibility was listed as the top job
benefit employees seek.
Work-Life Challenges Across
Generations. EY. 2015
“We are heading towards cities of
radical mixed use, in which building
programs are not pre-determined, but
remain flexible throughout the lifecycle
of a building.”
Vishaan Chakrabarti. Principal. SHoP Architects
“We’re about to enter a new era
of “mixed-up-use” — strange new
combinations of living, working, and
lifestyle amenities.”
Greg Lindsay. Senior Fellow. New Cities Foundation
“Flexibility”
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Use movable and interchangeable pieces to adapt
spaces to events and other functions.
• Product Design components to be easily upgraded
and replaced to allow greater customization and future
proofing.
• Digital Highlight different items depending on what is
most important for the time of day, user’s preferences,
and other contextual features.

19.
BUILDING TOMORROW 03. Fluid States | 18
Griss Equine Veterinary Practice &
Doctor’s Apartments
Agency : Marte. Marte Architects
Client : Robert Griss
Location : Rankweil. Austria
Griss Equine Center combines apartments for
veterinarians and the in-house equine pharmacy,
treatment rooms, lab, and stables under one roof. In this
set-up, private and public areas are able to coexist and
function independently. The dominant base plate and
concrete floor draw a clear boundary between inside and
outside. The living room, which is rather small compared
to the high ceiling, exudes transitory qualities as it brings
the garden into the house and extends the living space
into the open air.
Airbnb Portland Office
Agency : Aaron Taylor Harvey and Rachael Yu
Client : Airbnb
Location : Portland, OR. United States
Airbnb’s Portland office revolutionizes work by creating
a space that invites employees to “Belong Anywhere.”
The design dissolves the idea of a desk as an individual’s
address at work. Instead, the design replaces the desk
with the spatially efficient “landing spot” — a veritable
Swiss Army knife of storage, workspace, and team
identity. From here the office is a landscape of shared
amenities, including comfy lounges, communal tables,
standing monitor stations, and even a tree house.
Children’s Home Of The Future
Agency : CEBRA
Client : Kerteminde Municipality
Location : Kerteminde. Denmark
The Children’s Home of the Future is a pioneering project
for a new type of 24-hour care center for marginalized
children and teenagers. The vision for the new institution
is to establish a care center that encourages social
relations and a sense of community while at the same
time accommodating the children’s individual needs. The
overall organization provides each age group with a self-
contained, varied unit or its own “house” in connection
with a central unit for flexible use. The layout aims at
providing the residents with a sense of belonging to their
unit — a homely base where they can retreat alone or in
smaller groups, thus establishing a care center which is
more home and less institution.

20.
Knot House
Agency Atelier Chang
Client House of the Mind
Location Geoje. South Korea
04.

21.
Spaces are being designed to help individuals find
moments of solitude and quiet to connect with their
thoughts, individuals or their surroundings. These intimate
retreats allow people to filter out the distractions and
pressures of modern life and reconnect with the things that
are most important.
of US employees say people
disturb them when they are trying
to focus at work.
Gensler. 2013
of workers say their office provides
the ability to concentrate easily.
Harvard Business Review. 2014
HIDDEN
ESCAPES
53
%
70
%
“In order to be open to creativity,
one must have the capacity for
constructive use of solitude”
Rollo May. Psychologist, Columbia University
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Designate areas where customers can try products
with no pressures.
• Product Consider how to incorporate natural materials.
• Digital Allow users to select times to silence non-priority
or all alerts.

22.
BUILDING TOMORROW 04. Hidden Escapes | 21
Entropy
Agency : Taylor and Miller
Client : Echoing Green
Location : New York, NY. USA
The Entropy office was designed to house collaborative
spaces as well as nooks for distraction-free individual
work. The repeated box motif creates an intentionally
“disordered” environment. As the office expands, this is
meant to encourage an increased density of people and
overlapping tasks. Larger boxes divide workspaces and
provide a quiet layering of space and privacy.
Pillar Grove
Agency : Mamiya Shinichi Design Studio
Client : Mamiya Co. Ltd
Location : Nisshin. Japan
Pillar Grove was designed to encourage
communication between staff. Freely arranged slabs
of concrete partition the office vertically, allowing the
staff to find their own spaces without opaque walls.
Because space is delineated on the Y-axis, the small
office is still able to be filled naturally. The design’s
wall-less architecture connects the staff in one space
and encourages rich communication.
Tongva Park
Agency : James Corner Field Operations
Client : City of Santa Monica
Location : Los Angeles, CA. USA
Tongva Park creates a braided pathway through nature
designed by and for the community of Santa Monica
between the freeway and Ocean Avenue. The park is
carved into four sections: Garden Hill displays intimate
alcoves, Discovery Hill gives children a playspace,
Gathering Hill provides the community an outdoor
space to congregate, and Observation houses small
orbs that give couples an intimate viewing spot to
overlook Santa Monica’s natural landscape.

23.
House In The Mountains
Agency Gluck+
Client N/A
Location Rocky Mountains, CO. USA
05.

24.
In today’s mass marketplace where everything from
advertising to architecture is competing for attention,
numerous designers are pushing back with understated
getaways and buildings that gain their power through
achieving harmony with their surroundings. Whether by
taking design inspiration from their locale or integrating key
elements directly into the landscape, these structures are
making a new kind of statement.
of millennials have donated to a
historic site in the past 3 years.
National Trust For Historic Preservation.
2013
Average lift old buildings are rated
than new buildings.
Sandra Shannon, Department Of
Heritage Conversation. 2014
“Ultimately, truly timeless architecture
is inseparable from place; its
authenticity derives from its context,
allowing it to remain relevant.”
Olson Kundig.
61
%
.77
points
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Engage local artists, designers, and leaders to
embed the space in the community’s culture.
• Product Partner with complementary events to become
part of a cultural conversation.
• Digital Integrate into existing social profiles like
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkein in order to
simplify the authentication process or better tailor
services based on profile information.

25.
BUILDING TOMORROW 05. Blended Landscapes | 24
Moesgaard Museum
Agency : Henning Larsen Architects
Client : Moesgaard Museum
Location : Skåde, Højbjerg. Denmark
Denmark’s 172,225-square-foot Moesgaard Museum
for Archeology is nestled discreetly in the rolling
hills of Skåde. The green roof, bright courtyard, and
underground terraces provide unique exhibition spaces
for artists while creating recreational outdoor areas for
barbecues, picnics, lectures, and traditional Midsummer’s
Day bonfires for patrons. The interior’s design mimics
archaeological excavations with varied terraces giving
the impression of unearthing layers of history.
Trollbeads
Agency : BBP Arkitekter
Client : Trollbeads
Location : Copenhagen. Denmark
In need of a high-security headquarters, jewelry firm
Trollbeads selected a historic building on Copenhagen’s
waterfront. The jeweler wanted to create a building
that reflected their brand’s signature chain-link charms,
while not disturbing the harmony of the historic block.
A brass curtain opens in the morning revealing a facade
that emulates the buildings on either side. The curtain
closes again at night and is illuminated from the inside,
revealing a modern glass house behind a veil of burglar
proof, translucent brass.
Bruggerberg
Agency : Ken Architekten
Client : N/A
Location : Brugg, Argau. Switzerland
Bruggerberg defies the conventional idea of what a
terraced house should look like. The 16 condominium
apartments are fused like islands into an overall form
with clearly defined edges. The shape clings to the
contours of the existing terrain, reacting to the course
of the slope with differentiated oblique angles. With its
choice of materials, coloration, lack of detail, and large
scale, the volume seems to be part of the Bruggerberg
hill as opposed to its own independent structure.

26.
Malboro Music : Five Cottages
Agency HGA Architects and Engineers
Client Malboro Music
Location Malboro, VT. USA
06.

27.
Extravagance and scale are no longer necessary for
architecture to make a powerful statement. Architects are
creating designs that provide more than they consume. Using
small spaces efficiently and keeping a more minimal profile
without sacrificing comfort or aesthetics are the hallmarks of
this new approach to architecture.
8,689
ft2
Median lot size for new single-
family houses. This has shrunk
14 % between 1976 and 2014.
Characteristics Of New Housing. US
Department Of Housing And Urban
Development. 2014
of respondents say green space is
a priority in their communities.
America In 2015. ULI. 2015
“Simple, elemental design is a
peaceful, natural response to the
chaos of daily life. The goal is not
austerity or to pare back elements
for the sake of doing so, but about
curating the unique assets of a site or
space, no matter the size or location.”
Olson Kundig.
55
%
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Incorporate digital overlays to maximize showroom
areas in tight spaces.
• Product Focus the capabilities of an item to provide
superior performance for its given task.
• Digital Minimize the number of steps to access
information.

28.
BUILDING TOMORROW 06. Exercised Restraint | 27
1.8-M Width House
Agency : YUUA Architects & Associates
Client : N/A
Location : Tokyo. Japan
The 1.8-M Width House is an example of an ultra-
compact house, “kyo-sho-jutaku” in Japanese, built
on tiny pockets of land and suited to young people
looking to build their homes in over-populated areas
like Tokyo, where skyrocketing property prices have
forced a generation of designers to rethink the
concept of urban living. Its interior layout is largely
a hybrid space of shifting floor plates and multi-use
areas. Despite its extremely limited lot size, the YUUA
Architects & Associates project epitomizes the vitality
of the Japanese concern with staging and social
aspects of architecture.
The Haffenden House
Agency : PARA Project
Client : N/A
Location : Syracuse, NY. United States
The Haffenden House addresses the suburban context
and the repetitive image of a ‘house’ — creating a
blank space for retreat, reflection, and writing. The
interior’s indifference to context provides secluded
space for work yet maximizes the amount of natural
light through the structure’s section and skin. A bowl-
shaped division separates the writing room from the
reading space above, increasing indirect light for the
second level and avoiding any association with the
landscape on the third.
The Highline
Agency : James Corner Field Operations
Client : City of New York and Friends
Location : New York, NY. USA
Manhattan’s Highline elevated park opened its final
section over the Hudson rail yards. This extended
walkway offers views of Manhattan’s iconic buildings in
midtown as well as New Jersey on the other side of the
Hudson. Peel-up benches, children’s play spaces, and
exposed train tracks provide variety as Manhattanites
elevate themselves to enjoy their city.

29.
837 Washington
Agency Morris Adjimi Architects
Client Taconic Investment Partners
Location New York. USA
07.

30.
In a throwaway culture, many architects are responding by
creatively reusing, recycling and upcycling materials and
fixtures in new projects. Abandoned and underused buildings
are also gaining new life as architects put more and more
effort into smart renovations that combine the best of old
and new.
of all construction projects are
retrofit projects.
McGraw Hill Construction. 2010
Estimated investment owners
and managers will invest between
now and 2023 on greening their
existing built infrastructure.
Navigant Research. 2014
“The global north marketplace is only
beginning to learn from the incredible
insight of the global south, where
resource limitation requires the up-
cycling, reuse and re-imagination of
material and land for multiple and many-
phased use.”
Michael Murphy. Principal. MASS Design Group
61
%
$960
billion
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Consider how retrofitting a space can influence
a store’s character before tearing it down.
• Product Source recycled and recyclable materials for
both packaging and product.
• Digital Draw inspiration from analog rituals for
intuitive controls.

31.
BUILDING TOMORROW 07. Second Life | 30
Bombay Sapphire Distillery
Agency : Heatherwick Studio
Client : Bombay Sapphire
Location : Hampshire. United Kingdom
Formerly a water-powered paper mill, the Bombay
Sapphire Distillery contained more than 40 derelict
buildings, many of historical significance, which were
regenerated and restored as part of the overall master
plan. To bring clarity to such a disparate site, a central
courtyard was created as a gathering area and a point
of focus. In this courtyard, two intertwining botanical
glasshouses were built to house and cultivate the
10 plant species that give Bombay Sapphire gin its
particularity and create a focus and identity for the new
complex.
Ring Of Celestial Bliss
Agency : JJ Pan & Partners
Client : Delta Electronics, Inc
Location : Hsinchu. Taiwan
The Ring of Celestial Bliss appears as a glowing object
hovering in the night with constantly moving images
produced by the latest projection technology and
LED lighting. The choice of form and materials used
for the lantern is inspired by the historical and cultural
characteristics of Hsinchu, whose ancient name was
the City of Bamboo Walls. The inner projection screen
is made of recycled materials, and bamboo tubes are
used as a permeable flooring material. After the lantern
festival, all of the materials will be reused or recycled.
One Plus Office
Agency : One Plus Partnership Limited
Client : One Plus Partnership Limited
Location : Hong Kong. China
One Plus Office’s sustainability extends from cement
walls and flooring to upcycled leftover fabrics and
recycled designer pieces. Plastic blue wrapping
redecorates designer chairs and fabric samples
sourced from suppliers adorn a meeting room sofa.
Old closets once destined for the dump proudly show
their age with washed-away paint and weathered
scratches. The grungy junkyard concept is designed to
demonstrate the potential of putting waste material to
stylish use.

32.
Hy-Fi
Agency The Living
Client Museum of Modern Art & MoMA PS1
Location Queens, New York. USA
08.

33.
With a wider adoption of alternative energy sources from
wind to solar, many architects are taking the next step in
sustainable solutions by creating spaces that help promote
greater efficiencies. The adoption of new materials in
combination with thoughtful design techniques are reducing
the amount of resources needed to maintain a home or
building in any climate.
43
M2
of buildings are Green Star
certified.
US Green Building Council. 2015
of US homeowners say they
purchase clean-energy products
and services to save money. The
next most popular response was to
reduce environmental impact with
34 % Navigant Research. 2014
“Will the combination of individual solar/
wind generation, home-based storage
- such as Tesla PowerWall - and electric
vehicles lead to a new flourishing of micro-
grid suburbia? Maybe!”
Greg Lindsay. Senior Fellow. New Cities Foundation
“As city planners and architects we need
to design more self sustainable cities
with more public transport on alternative
energy.”
Winka Dubbeldam. President. Archi-Tectonics
82
%
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Incorporate alternative energy sources to not only
cut costs, but also build a socially responsible image.
• Product Consider how alternative forms of energy like
kinetic and solar can aid in increasing battery longevity.
• Digital Offer basic and downloadable offline versions of
services for places with limited connectivity.

34.
Energy Positive Relocatable Classroom
Agency : Anderson Anderson Architecture
Client : State of Hawaii, Department of Education
Location : Ewa Beach, Hawaii. USA
This modular, off-site fabricated, re-locatable classroom
prototype is designed to provide an optimized
educational environment for students and teachers while
advancing sustainable design principles in construction
and in classroom learning. The classroom is designed
to conserve as well as collect energy, and generates
natural resources, including electrical energy, daylight,
wind energy, and rainwater. As well as being strong,
efficient and conserving, natural forces and resources are
highlighted and exposed throughout the structure, and
all systems and performance criteria are monitored and
broadcast to the web. In this way the building acts as a
learning tool for occupants, other schools, and the public.
BUILDING TOMORROW 08. Passively Powered | 33
House In The Mountains
Agency : Gluck+
Client : N/A
Location : Rocky Mountains, CO. USA
This guest house in the Rocky Mountains extends the idea
of the ‘Landscape House’ by integrating and accentuating
its mountain environment. Two intersecting bar shapes
bookend to complete the implied courtyard of the original
house, creating a high mountain yard that connects the
two structures into a single-family gathering place. A thick
solar wall on the south side separates the service side of the
building from the main courtyard while creating a secondary
space for cars, storage, and the harvesting of solar energy.
A corten-clad retaining wall slices diagonally across the
site, capturing the solar courtyard on one side and forming
a private sunken court on the other. The pool and interior
floors are ‘overheated’ during the day, acting as heat sinks to
avoid mechanical heating at night.
Josey Pavilion
Agency : Lake | Flato Architects
Client : Dixon Water Foundation
Location : Decatur, TX. USA
With aspirations to be the first “Living Building” project
in Texas, the Dixon Water Foundation commissioned
this 5,400-square-foot open-air pavilion is an education,
meeting, and demonstration center. Designed to be flexible
and adapt to climatic conditions year round, the structure
captures cool breezes in summer and blocks cold winter
winds. As a fully restorative Living Building, the project
represents the most advanced measure of sustainability
in the built environment — 100% of wastewater is treated
onsite and returned to the natural water cycle and at least
100% of the energy used is produced by solar panels.

35.
Incineration Line
Agency Erick Van Egeraat
Client Kara / Noveren
Location Roskilde. Denmark
09.

36.
Disruptive technologies are finally at the scale and
sophistication to radically transform architectural forms and
construction techniques. From drone assembly to emerging
3D printing formats, these once experimental tools are
pushing the possibilities of what future building designs and
cityscapes will come to resemble.
$213
million
Percent the federal government has
lowered its energy consumption in
building. This is its lowest level of
energy consumption since 1975.
US Energy Information Administration.
2015
were allocated by the NSF in 2014,
the NSF for multidisciplinary research
in manufacturing and emerging
technologies focusing on new
materials, smart systems, advanced
manufacturing technologies, and
robotics technologies.
White House office Of Science And
Technology Policy. 2014
“[New materials and building
technologies] can result in a cleaner way
of producing with less waste and more
efficiency. This is long overdue!”
Winka Dubbeldam. President. Archi-Tectonics
30
%
DESIGNING BETTER EXPERIENCES
• Retail Integrate methods of on-site production to
serve bespoke products and services for individual
consumer needs.
• Product Use rapid prototyping capabilities to test
new ideas.
• Digital Experiment with new storytelling media like
virtual reality, augmented reality, ephemeral messaging,
and online chat to create authentic connections with a
new generation of consumers.

37.
BUILDING TOMORROW 09. Breakthrough Builds | 36
Formstelle
Agency : Format Elf Architekten
Client : jc.d Grundstücks GmbH & Co. KG
Location : Töging am Inn. Germany
Located at the entrance of a former aluminum plant,
the FORMSTELLE provides a successful structural
transformation from heavy industry towards a modern
office space. A smooth, honeycomb structure calculated
using a parametric process gives the building its
contemporary appearance. The implementation of the
laser façade panels was only feasible through the new
digital process of design.
Grotto
Agency : PARTISANS
Client : N/A
Location : Georgian Bay, Ontario. Canada
The Grotto combines vision, technology, and old-world
craft combine to create a transcendent sauna integrated
with the Canadian landscape. The concept prescribed
a solid, simple presence on the exterior, while the
interior followed dynamic air movements in curvature
forms that required design solutions. Challenging the
standards of current practices in the construction
industry, the designers worked directly with a millwork
and steel fabrication partner on every detail to develop
a new process of fabrication. This process utilized state-
of-the-art 3D technology to scan, model, and build the
Grotto.
Bao’an International Airport, Shenzhen
Agency : Studio Fukass
Client : Shenzhen Airport (Group) Co., Ltd, Developer
Location : Shenzhen. China
Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport’s building
envelope is dominated by a honeycomb-like façade
which permits indirect light to enter the interior through
25,000 openings in its double skin. Depending on the
sun’s position, rays of sunlight also enter the building
directly, offering unusual and continuously changing
lighting effects throughout the day. Developing the
geometry involved the specification of the structure,
the steel construction, as well as the coordinates of all
façade elements of the outer shell. Parametric software
tools allowed iterative optimization of the façade at very
short time intervals, making it possible to complete the
preliminary design of both the façade and the structure
within the space of a year.

38.
4 PILLARS FOR
CREATING EXPERIENCES
The practice of architecture is as much about the form of physical
structures and spaces as it is about the way people experience those
environments. In reviewing the nine trends within this report, the PSFK
Labs team noticed several larger themes that point to the ways the built
environment can truly impact the lives of residents and visitors.

39.
4 PILLARS
CREATING EXPERIENCES
BUILDING TOMORROW Creating Experiences | 38
EMBRACE CHANGE
Modern life is in a perpetual state
of flux. To be successful,individuals
and businesses must constantly
learn and adapt. Similarly, the
buildings people live, work and
play in and around must be able
to adapt throughout the day to
accommodate a diverse set of use
cases and needs, and welcome
residents and visitors with features
that enable them to make them
their own.
SOURCE LOCALLY
In a global marketplace, place
has never been more important.
Cities and neighborhoods take
their strength and character from
their businesses and residents.
To truly engage a community,
architects must first consider the
existing foundation of a site and its
surroundings before any concrete
is poured or bricks are laid.
CATALYZE CONNECTION
With so much of people’s
communication now mediated
through a technology medium, the
importance of face-to-face human
interactions are more important
than ever. Building designs and
spaces must not only be able
to provide shelter and comfort,
but also foster impromptu social
connections and moments of
private reflection.
SCALE DOWN
A turbulent economy and
environment are causing people
to reconsider the ways they spend
and consume, making simplicity
a welcome luxury. Smaller
spaces, purposeful designs and
unostentatious aesthetics cater to
this returning attitude, supporting
human scale intimacy and
efficiencies for a more conscious
generation.
for

40.
BUILDING TOMORROW 12 Experts Building Tomorrow | 39
Winka Dubbeldam.
President.
Archi-Tectonics
archi-tectonics.com
Michael Murphy.
Principal.
MASS Design Group
massdesigngroup.org
Beatrice Galilee.
Curator of Architecture and Design.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
metmuseum.org
Piers Fawkes
Founder & Editor In Chief
PSFk.com
psfk.com
Marc Kushner
CEO
Architizer
architizer.com
Vishaan Chakrabarti.
President.
SHoP Architects
shoparc.com
Dan Barasch.
Founder.
Lowline
thelowline.org
Joseph Karadin
Director of Physical Design
ESI Design
esidesign.com
Roy Kim
Chief Creative Office.
Douglas Elliman Real Estate
eliman.com
Matt Anderson
Director of Communications.
Olson Kundig
olsonkundig.com
Greg Lindsay.
Senior Fellow.
New Cities Foundation
newcitiesfoundation.org
12 EXPERTS BUILDING TOMORROW
Chris Barley.
Founder.
Consortia
consortia.net
SPECIAL
THANKS TO :

41.
Piers Fawkes
President & Founder
piers.fawkes@psfk.com
1+ 646 520 4672
PSFK Labs
Project Lead
Scott Lachut
Michelle Hum
Designer
Sarah Lee
Research
Tim Ryan
Andrew Vaterlaus-Staby
Charlotte Hellichius
Marc Kshuner
CEO
marc@architizer.com
1+ 646 461 6083
Luna Bernfest
Director of Engagement
luna@architizer.com
Cover Photo
Agency : 3xN
Client : Blue Planet Aquarium
Location : Kastrup. Denmark
Photographer : Adam Mørk
Ver.2.0 | Published September 2015
©PSFK 2015
All rights reserved. No parts of this
publication may be reproduced without
the written permission of PSFK Labs.