More about Studio 2

Ian Murphy and Virginia Rammou

Sustainable Workspace, Vauxhall

Something like 30% of an adult’s life is spent sleeping and 22% working which, alarmingly, leaves less than 50% for partying! So the concept of workspace requires very careful examination, let alone the spatial and atmospheric qualities that help to shape it. Working practises also need intense scrutiny, especially the drift from mindless commuting towards cyber-connectivity, robo-desking and video-conferencing. And how can workspaces be sustainable in this age of soaring energy costs and population explosions? And what about partying at work? Or working whilst partying? Simple, ask V.E.R.Dant, the font of all sustainable knowledge.

Eco-hostel, Brownsea Island

Situated in Poole Harbour, Brownsea has been an island for some 5,000 years. It’s a small, peaceful place just minutes from surrounding conurbations, a kind of totemic staging post for its ever-changing hinterland. Geologically complex and rich in flora and fauna, the island has been mined and quarried throughout history as well being used for educational and recreational purposes by generations of pilgrims. So why not make more of its abundant resources by re-inventing and enriching the visitor experience as well as providing residential and study facilities with a low carbon footprint? Footprints in the sand and footprints in the ether - both palimpsests, one trivial, the other of inordinate importance.