The Inspiration
Winter 2023

Walk the Room
February 2023
Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle.

In this edition of The Inspiration we are zeroing in on a selection of our latest projects and their achievements within sustainability. In that same spirit we're also very happy to feature an interview with Jens Rasmussen from Finnish architecture firm Helst, who have developed a tool that enables architects to do CO2 calculations directly from their BIM models. Enjoy!
Parkhuset





With an ambition to reduce the climate effect of Parkhuset to half of a regular office building, Fabege brought on AIX architects and Codesign, challenging themselves to innovate. By reusing the concrete structure from a demolished building nearby, and using a wooden structure in the new build, they were able to cut emissions to 225 kg CO2 per m2 compared to the conventional 450 kg CO2 per m2. Fabege have also gone to great lengths to create flexible office spaces that meet new demands as well as support wellbeing by providing close proximity to parks, green teracess and an abundance of daylight throughout the building.



TOG Black & White Building
A while back we shared images from The Office Group's Black & White building, London's tallest mass timber office. Since then they've won the 2022 Architectural Review Future Project Award, office category - so why not take this opportunity to celebrate a fantastic achievement?
For this project, Thistleton Architects chose a CLT frame and hard-wearing tulipwood for the exterior fins, particularly sustainable currently as a result of a US surplus created by a combination of shallow roots and heavy storms, meaning many uprooted trees were available. The studio Daytrip created the interiors, sourcing furniture from within the UK whenever possible, with a specific emphasis on London-based makers. B&W Building offers coworking lounges, separate offices, meeting rooms, private booths, bike storage, showers, and a yoga studio. The team expects to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding rating.
Posthuset
For a one-of-a-kind renovation, turn your eyes to Posthuset, (The Central Post House). After sitting empty for the better part of a decade it was placed in the hands of 7A in 2019, who started a careful restoration. The concept was developed together with Spik Studios making sure the building, from 1903 by architect Ferdinand Boberg, not only brought the services and functionalities up to the highest standards for this century, but did so with great respect for the role it has in the (hi)story of Stockholm.
The Boberg Hall, so named after the architect, is the heart of the building. Its intricate details in decorations, murals and colonnades was complemented with a central european style which extends throughout the building. Beyond offering a unique working environment Posthuset gives access to 3900 m2 for conferences and events, a core strength of 7A, who's conference program has been awarded the Nordics' official environmental label - Svanenmärkningen.
I want to start a project
WtR Conversations Jens Rasmussen
- founder and partner of Helst Arkitekter, the Finnish architects behind Laske. A tool for calculating CO2.

With a climate crisis on our hands, it is no secret that we need to shift how plan, draw, build, operate and manage our real estate. We met up with Jens Rasmussen, founder and partner from Helst Arkitekter, the Finnish architects behind Laske, a tool for doing CO2 calculations from BIM models.
Like many architects you are focused on creating sustainable architecture, but you took it one step further, why was that?
Like so many others we take the footprint of the industry we work in very seriously and wanted to do something about it. In larger projects or firms you have whole teams calculating CO2, but even when you have access to experts for calculations, it's difficult and time consuming. We wanted to automate and simplify the process to make it accessible and usable throughout the process.
What is Laske?
Laske is a plugin to Archicad that allows you to export calculations of the CO2 effect from the model, with no more than three clicks. It generates diagrams and models that show how much emissions different building components cause , and simplifies investigating how much CO2 could be saved by for example changing the frame of a building, or the windows. Simply put it enables architects, builders and clients to make better and quantifiable decisions.
What's next for Laske?
At HELST architects we are already using LASKE in all our designs, but we want to spread the knowledge to more designers. Therefore we are now developing LASKE into a program that can be used by other companies. So we are working on developing LASKE into a program that can support Nordic architects and builders with automated CO2 calculations. Since we are now searching for the right partner that can support and fund the next step.

For a full version of the interview with Jens, see the full article here.
Read more about Laske and Helst Arkitekter here.
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