Monday, October 26. 2009Omena House / Danny ForsterArchitects: Danny Forster
Click here to view the embedded video. Danny Forster Design Studio’s philosophy is that through a blend of intuitive design decisions and technologically enabled design strategies, it is possible to make beautiful sustainable architecture accessible at a reasonable cost. “While we are well-versed in latest high-tech gadgetry, we see sustainability largely as a matter of careful logic and inventive planning. In other words, why pay for air conditioning if mother nature if dolling it out on the cheap?” Their vision is exemplified in this 2700.sq ft lake house, the first private residence in northern Michigan to achieve LEED gold status, (there are 7 total in the state). The Omena Lake house is a project that combines sophisticated energy modeling software, never-before attempted active systems, and basic common sense design strategies that create a contemporary sustainable home whose goal is to connect its residents to the dynamic site on which it sits. Although flat roofed and geometrically abstract, the house is very much a part of the history of Northern Michigan Lake homes—it’s a modern, sustainable interpretation of the a Lake-side cottage. The main living area has a 15 ft long thermally broken, fully operable ‘Nano-Wall’, which acts as the main wind intake to passively cool the entire house. The interior floors are made of rapidly renewable, locally harvested bamboo. The counter-tops are richlite, made from recycled newspaper. The house is equipped with compact fluorescents, low-flow fixtures, two button toilets, and energy star rated appliances. The façade of the building is clad in vertical cedar. 60% of the home is wrapped in an Ipe-clad rain-screen, used both for solar deflection as well as passive cooling. The house is one of the country’s first to use an in-ceiling hydronic radiant heating AND cooling system – there’s no traditional forced air HVAC, just the geo-thermal powered, thermally-active ceiling that can both heat and cool the house. Also 100 % of the roof surface is covered in a unique vegetative roof, used for both solar deflection and storm water filtration. The house was designed using the energy modeling software Eco-tech, to leverage and calibrate both passive cooling, passive solar, as well as basic site orientation. ----- Via ArchDaily Personal comment:
Rather than the architecture, I'm quite interested her by these old diagrams of lighting but enhanced with new informations like the energy counter part of each part of the diagram, etc. Friday, October 23. 2009Solar DecathlonThe U.S. Department of Energy announced today that ‘Team Germany’ from the Technische Universität Darmstadt has won the 2009 Solar Decathlon with their project surPLUShome. This is the second time in a row that a team from TU Darmstadt wins this international contest after already snatching the title in Solar Decathlon’s last edition in 2007. Click above image to enlarge
Winning project at the Solar Decathlon 2009: surPLUShome by Team Germany (Technische Universität Darmstadt), Photo: Jim Tetro, U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon After 9 days and 10 contests, Team Germany reached the highest overall scores, closely followed by Team Illinois and Team California (previously on Bustler). Dubbed “the big, black monolith,” surPLUShome is almost entirely covered with photovoltaic panels that managed to generate 19 kilowatts during one day of test runs—more than twice as much as some other Solar Decathlon contestants. Click above image to enlarge
surPLUShome, Photo: Thomas Ott
Click above video to play
A video tour of surPLUShome The Solar Decathlon—a competition in which 20 teams of college and university students compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house—was hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy for three weeks this October. The contest is also an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design. Here’s some more info from TU Darmstadt’s Team Germany about surPLUShome: The Solar Decathlon design of the Darmstadt University of Technology is aimed to demonstrate innovative sustainable design and to make it an object of discussion. Our architectural vision offers an alternate lifestyle which introduces the concept of energy efficiency and sustainability as a substantial element of everyday life. Single room concept The “multifunctional body” in the northern part of the building integrates several basic and everyday functions: kitchen, bathroom, stairs, storage space and building services. It is the center piece of our design and plays an important role in defining different atmospheres and zones. The functions are stored away into cupboards and cavities – consequently the main room is open and flexible to provide adequate space for different activities. Emotional Space The choice of interior materials supports the overall idea of a light and airy feeling. Light colors on the walls contrasts to a structured wooden flooring. The functional body attains its solitaire character by the glossy acrylic glass surface. Windows are placed to support the different functions and ambiences of the room and allow different views from and into the in- and outside. Click above image to enlarge
Deck Plan Click above image to enlarge
Floor Plan Click above image to enlarge
Longitudinal Section View North Within the past process of Solar Decathlon, Team Germany has always intended to design new solutions for the integration of photovoltaic cells into the building surface. The construction of the façade is based on the traditional principle of shingles, which is commonly practiced with slate or wooden plates. We picked up this technique and transferred the principle onto a new appearance and modern materials such as glass PV-modules and acrylic glass. Click above image to enlarge
North Elevation Click above image to enlarge
East Elevation Examples of sustainable design integration Technical footprint Click above image to enlarge
PV Facade Elements Ecological Footprint
Meanwhile, California College of the Arts (CCA) and Santa Clara University (SCU), competing as Team California, won the architecture contest with a score of 98 out of a possible 100 in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon. Click above image to enlarge
Team California takes the lead in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon with its entry ‘Refract House’ Evaluating three main factors—architectural elements, holistic design, and inspiration—the jurors praised Team California’s house as “beautiful in every respect.” They commented specifically on its “excellent project documentation, crystal-clear concept, and successful translation of a regional architecture to Washington DC.” Click above image to enlarge
Exterior of the Refract House “This project broke out of the box and made exterior and interior space appear as one,” they continued, “with a varied series of sensations from the cool, shaded entry to the cantilevered balconies and a series of microclimates above and beyond” the requirements of the competition. Via Bustler.net Related Links:Thursday, October 22. 2009Harrabin's Notes: Green towerBBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin reports on the tower block under construction in China which could lead the way in green building technology.
THE GREEN TOWER OF GUANGZHOU CITY Among a host of features designed either to make or save energy, the one that caught my eye was the shape of the Pearl River Tower itself. It is built in a curve, facing the prevailing winds. And it has been deliberately sculpted to increase the speed of that wind and force it through slots in the building where wind turbines will be located. Now, on many buildings, wind turbines are a waste of space because there's so much turbulence in cities. I heard an apocryphal story about a Japanese firm that installed a turbine which needed electric power to keep it turning to save the face of its would-be-green owners.
HOW THE TOWER SAVES ENERGY
But the American architects of this tower - SOM - insist that their experiments in a wind tunnel show this building will generate economically viable wind power. The vertical axis turbines will be located in the mechanical floors mandated by the Chinese government as emergency muster floors, so no usable office space will be lost. SOM claims that by thinking carefully about the use of space combined with energy-saving and energy-generating technology, they have been able to make unprecedented gains, so this building will potentially create as much energy as it uses. They are by no means the only architects to espouse the principle of integrated design, of course. But some observers believe that too many buildings are still being put up with a few bolt-on green features, without proper thought as to what could be achieved through a more considered approach. Take the cooling system in the tower. Most of the time, air conditioning is done by fat air ducts which gobble both energy and space between floors and ceilings. Here the cooling is done by a cool water system. The water flows in ducts through concrete beams, and cool air descends upon the toiling masses from cold water radiators in the ceilings. This doesn't just save energy. SOM say it saves so much space that it's allowed the building's owners to put in an extra five storeys of usable office floor at little extra cost. Indeed, they predict that the extra investments in the building will start making the money in five years. There are other green features too. There's a wide-spaced double-glazed wall, which channels hot air upwards to a mechanical floor where it's harnessed for dehumidification. There's also substantial use of solar photovoltaic technology on the frontages of the building, which curve upwards toward the sun, although the current cost of photovoltaic arrays militated against cladding the building completely in energy-generating glass. Inside there are numerous automatic control systems to make sure power isn't being wasted. SOM say they could have coaxed the building to produce more energy but it would have been futile because there's no facility in Guangzhou to feed self-generated power back into the grid. To many, this will be a familiar tale. 'Radical' design I can't verify whether all its claims are true, but the building is undoubtedly an exciting project. Ame Englehart, director of SOM's East Asia office said: "This building is so radical it could only have been commissioned in China. The owners are very self-confident and have been prepared to push the design as far as it will go." SOM insists that the design is site-specific and can't just be replicated elsewhere. But the sad observation from my viewpoint standing on the girders of the 24th floor is that this tower is very much the exception rather than the rule. The Chinese government has increased building standards recently but they still don't lead to anything like the performance of the Pearl River Tower. A report in the China Daily during my trip suggested that 40% of bribery cases in China involve property development. And a Western businesswoman I bumped into told me her firm couldn't persuade Chinese clients to invest in more energy-efficient vehicles even if she could prove that they would start paying back their owners in energy costs is just 10 months. Later in the week I'll be looking at the building frenzy in the Chinese countryside. Tomorrow, though, I'll be looking at electric scooters in Guilin. ----- Via BBC News Related Links:Personal comment: Effet d'annonce ou réalité? Le point frappant est que l'on recommence à dessiner des architectures dont la forme et l'organisation est (en très légère partie ici) déterminée par un design "climatique", à la façon des architectures vernaculaires. A suivre... Thursday, October 01. 2009Taichung Convention Center / MAD ArchitectsMAD Architects shared their recently completed design for the Taichung Convention Center with us. Conceived as “a continuous weave of architecture and landscape that blurs the boundary between architecture, public space and urban landscape, proposing a futuristic vision based on the East’s naturalistic philosophy,” the convention center is the first project in Taiwan commissioned by the Taichung city government. The project is meant to surpass the traditional metropolitan landmark to become something that pushes Taichung “into the arena of world class cultural cities…. through unique architectural concepts and proposing a new kind of architectural philosophy.” More about the convention center and more images after the break. The form, with its crater-shaped formation and rotundas, is an abstracted representation of the existing landscape conditions. ”It simultaneously shapes and influences the surrounding environment, opening up a dialogue between architecture and landscape,” explained the architects. The project’s billowing skin is a high-tech, eco-friendly pleated skin system. The envelope provides enough air flow through the building to naturally ventilate the spaces, and the pleating integrates a double photovoltaic glass that will reduce energy consumption levels. The materiality of the “eco-skin” changes as one side is transparent to allow light to penetrate the interiors, while the other side is solid. Although there are individual “mountains”, the project was conceived as a whole, and open courtyards connect the pieces to create an integrated sequence of outdoor spaces. “This project seeks greater meaning in its non-material qualities, spaces encircled with the utmost naturalistic spirit,” concluded MAD. All images courtesy of MAD. CreditsLocation: Tai Chung, Taiwan ----- Via ArchDaily Personal comment: Vues développées du post précédent sur le même projet. Les espèces de "cheminées" ne sont pas sans rappeler aussi le projet de pavillion réalisé cet été par MOS Architects au MOMA-P.S.1 de New York. Echelle et esthétique poilue mise à part bien sûr...
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fabric | rblgThis blog is the survey website of fabric | ch - studio for architecture, interaction and research. We curate and reblog articles, researches, writings, exhibitions and projects that we notice and find interesting during our everyday practice and readings. Most articles concern the intertwined fields of architecture, territory, art, interaction design, thinking and science. From time to time, we also publish documentation about our own work and research, immersed among these related resources and inspirations. This website is used by fabric | ch as archive, references and resources. It is shared with all those interested in the same topics as we are, in the hope that they will also find valuable references and content in it.
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