Friday, November 27. 2009Native Land, Stop EjectNative Land, Stop Eject, Copenhagen, December 2009. Created by the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Native Land, Stop Eject explores the meaning of sedentariness and nomadism today, an epoch in which human migration flows are taking place on an unprecedented scale. The international COP15 conference on climate change organized by the United Nations and taking place in Copenhagen from December 7-18, 2009 attests to this critical moment in history, where the environment conditions what humans do, what they will become, and where they will live. Native Land, Stop Eject thus proposes a reflection on the notions of being rooted and uprooted, as well as related questions of identity in two works created especially for the exhibition. Filmmaker Raymond Depardon gives a voice to those who wish to remain on their land but are threatened with exile. Philosopher Paul Virilio, in collaboration with the artists architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Mark Hansen, and Laura Kurgan, examines and challenges new trends in contemporary human movement due to environmental, political, and economic factors. Related Links:Personal comment: An exhibition about climate and migration by Paul Virilio and Raymond Depardon. Friday, November 06. 2009Where plastic ends upIn a shocking series of photographs, Seattle-based Chris Jordan has documented the impact that an abundance of plastic waste in the Pacific ocean has had on the albatross population... Jordan's latest project, Midway: Message from the Gyre, simply shows a series of dead albatross chicks. But as each decomposes, it offers up a vivid indication of what actually lead to their death: a diet of discarded plastic waste. As Jordan explains on his site, chrisjordan.com, "These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent." The result is some very sad, powerful work. Via The Guardian's Environment page. The rest of the series is on Jordan's site. ----- Via Creative Review 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:Sunday, September 13. 2009Extreme agricultural statuary[Image: "Endothelium" by Philip Beesley & Hayley Isaacs].
This latter detail – "using tiny gel packs of yeast which burst and fertilize the geotextile" – brings to mind something at the intersection of an improvised explosive device (or IED) and a green roof: you hire Philip Beesley to design a landscape-machine for installation atop a new building downtown, and, over the course of many decades, it vibrates, yeast-bursts, rotates, crawls, and grows through extraordinary cycles of grotesque architectural fertility. A solar-powered landscape of mold and microroots, generating its own soil. Within a few years, the original sculpture it all came from is gone, archaeologically undetectable beneath the vitality of the forms that have consumed it.
I'm a bit rhetorically stuck on "between" statements, I'm afraid, but it's as if Beesley's work falls somewhere between a loaf of sourdough bread and a sculpture by Jean Tinguely.
"Once the plants take hold," the article adds, "nature will be allowed to take its course, evolving the land into microclimates." But what if those weren't landfills down there but sculptures by Philip Beesley? Strategically sown seed-patches and gel packs of yeast wait underground for new roots to rediscover them. -----
Via BLDGBLOG
Personal comment: Bien qu'"ornemental", pas très engageant comme environnement... Mais intéressant dans cette idée d'un système mi-architectural, mi biologique. un dispositif que l'on pourrait imaginer habitable, ngagé dans des processus d'échanges et d'évolutions avec ses habitants et avec l'environnement. Friday, August 28. 2009Artificial trees to cut carbon
Engineers say a forest of 100,000 "artificial trees" could be deployed within 10 to 20 years to help soak up the world's carbon emissions. BBC ----- Via Archinect Related Links:
Posted by Patrick Keller
in Sustainability, Territory
at
09:18
Defined tags for this entry: artificial reality, ecology, landscape, sustainability, territory, urbanism
Friday, August 14. 2009SIGGRAPH '09: Growth Rendering Device
See also C02 Translator Robot. This post was written by Moritz Stefaner, a researcher and freelance practitioner in the field of information aesthetics. Occasionally, he blogs at well-formed-data.net. ----- Monday, August 03. 2009Arctic Tundra Undergoing Major Changes As it Warms, Studies ShowSeveral recent studies show that the rapid warming of Arctic tundra is leading to a host of sweeping changes, including more extensive fires, the growth of larger vegetation, more absorption of solar energy, melting permafrost, and substantially larger releases of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. Taken together, the studies demonstrate that rising temperatures set in motion a vicious circle of more warming and higher releases of greenhouse gases. In Alaska, scientists studying a 2007 fire that burned nearly 400 square miles of the Brooks Range found that the burned tundra lost 40 to 120 grams of carbon per square meter, while pristine tundra absorbed 30 to 70 grams. Burned tundra also absorbed 71 percent more solar radiation than normal and caused permafrost to melt to a depth of several inches. A study in the Canadian Arctic has shown that tundra vegetation is becoming weedier, larger, and darker, significantly increasing the amount of absorbed sunlight and further boosting temperatures. The study also showed the warming tundra giving off unexpectedly high levels of methane and nitrous oxide. And in Scandinavia researchers found that by warming Arctic peatlands by nearly 2 degrees F over eight years, the tundra released an extra 60 percent CO2 in spring and 52 percent in summer, according to a study in the journal, Nature. This piece originally appeared on Yale Environment 360 ----- Via WorldChanging Personal comment: Rien de vraiment surprenant dans ce qui est dit dans cet article. Cependant, il est intéressant de souligner la complexité des phénomènes (de réchauffement), une chose en amène un autre, etc. Et ici, le facteur de l'albedo (indice de réflexion solaire d'une surface) est clairement mis en avant. Faudra-t-il repeindre (re-engineering) la surface de la planète en blanc? Ou revêtir les villes d'un albedo élevé pour compenser la pertes des calottes glaciaires? Friday, July 24. 2009STEMcloud v2.0 / ecoLogicStudioAfter meeting Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, founders of ecoLogicStudio at the Beyond Media Festival in Florence, they talked to us about one of their latest projects, the STEMcloud v2.0 that now we want to share here, as is a really new and avant-garde vision about parametric and genetic architecture and the way that human interaction can bring new life to architecture projects: The STEMcloud v2.0 project proposes the development and testing of an architectural prototype operating as an oxygen making machine. The project has been presented and designed for the SEVILLE ART and ARCHITECTURAL BIENNALE 2008.
STEMcloud v2.0 technological matrix will operate as a breeding ground for micro-ecologies found in the local river of Seville, the Guadalquivir, and will involve the public in the breeding process. The transparency and porosity of the architectural system allows the process to be visually and materially exposed and interfere with the microclimate of the gallery; the public will feed the colonies present in the river water with nutrients, light and CO2 and as a result oxygenate the gallery space; the growth process will be triggered by patterns of interaction with the public and in turn will affects these patterns with its visual effects. Multiple feedback cycles are provoked within the components of the system, with the gallery environment and within the city itself. This extended model of systemic architecture can be framed and understood in cybernetic terms as a multilayer crossing of feedback loops; cybernetics provides an operational framework to deal with change and transformation, the two main defining qualities of our new ecologic understanding of architecture; the starting point of the experiment is artificially defined by us and provides what scientist call a primed condition necessary to promote interaction. The cybernetic loopsThe basic cybernetic set for the Seville experiment includes 3 components: the urban environments (the river ecology and the gallery space), the architectural machine (STEMcloud) and human behaviour (the visitors). These systems are multilayered and diverse and they will interact in a variety of ways: in this sense we can consider the experiment as complex and the outcome of it unpredictable. It is impossible to tell what kind of equilibrium will emerge within each of the 3 systems; what kind of algae ecologies will grow? How will visitors be reacting to them? In the impossibility of control the experiment is about communication: STEMcloud is organized to allow and promote communication among the systems in such a way that a conversation/learning process could emerge. Visitors will be transformed in ecologists, the STEM blocks into microhabitats, the gallery into an oxygenating garden or, perhaps, laboratory. The priming of the system and the channels of communication between systems have been carefully designed and engineered and can be summarized as a series of feedback loops within the more generic cybernetic set previously described. Machinic feedback cycle 1: organic growth in relationship to radiation fieldWide spectrum light is positioned strategically to generate a radiation field, kept constant in time. Algae growth is stimulated by the field and will respond to it; feedback arises while each block develops his own internal equilibrium. Machinic feedback cycle 2: organic growth in relationship to nutrients concentrationNutrients is inserted into the system to prime its starting condition. More active blocks will consume more nutrients and grow faster. Overgrown blocks will be more opaque to light affecting the radiation field. Coordination between nutrient and radiation will push the differentiation further. Machinic feedback cycle 3: oxygenation to frequency of usePhotosynthetic activity will be monitored live and visually fed back to the user. More active block will signal the need to be fed with CO2 provided by the user. Users will respond to visual clues (LED intensity) and trigger modifications with their action. ----- Via ArchDaily Related Links:Personal comment: L'intégration de flux/échanges biologiques dans le bâtiment: production d'oxygène et échanges énergétiques (pouvant potentiellement rafraîchir, chauffer, etc.) est une piste intéressante. Wednesday, July 15. 2009Hellman's Eat Local, Eat Real Campaign: Food-Driven Infographic Movie
The movie, with a graphical style similar to the Stranger than Fiction opening scene, is part of the campaign Eat Real, Eat Local [eatrealeatlocal.ca], by the Unilever brand Hellman's. More information about the design process and creation of the movie can be found at the Glossy project page: "We all found the statistics pretty eye opening. I think everyone involved changed the way we buy our food. Yoho's wife had a baby girl in the middle of the project, and I grew a playoff beard which I've been reluctant to shave (just superstitious I guess). Challenges early on were the levels of legal approval the team at Unilever and Ogilvy had to go through on all the stats. Everyone wanted to make sure that the information was fair and irrefutable. All the food in the shoot was Canadian, which is no small challenge in spring. I don't think I've ever been hugged by agency and their clients in twenty years in the business. That was definitely a high point." You can watch the video HERE. ----- Personal comment: "Information design" (motion, 3d) en rapport avec le post ci-dessous bien sûr. Concerne le canada, mais a le mérite de donner de la visibilité aux chiffres. Friday, July 10. 2009First Hand on the HighlineThe New York Highline, a project by James Corner Field Operations with the collaboration of Diller Scofidio + Renfro has been open to the public for a few weeks (as we reported previously on AD) and as a New Yorker who has waited patiently for the project to finish, I was anxious to stroll along the latest addition in Manhattan. The visit was a completely new way to experience the city. Just the idea of observing Manhattan by walking above (and through) it, rather than being an actual part of it, made the Highline a project one must encounter to feel what the space can offer. More about some impressions after a visit to the Highline and more pictures after the break. Entering on Gansevoort Street, I was greeted by papers being thrust in my hand as protesters quickly explained that the wood on the Highline was taken from an endangered Amazon rain forest. The protestors were trying to prevent the remaining parts of the project from being made with this material and thus tried to raise awareness by handing out fliers and talking to those about to walk up the main stairs. It is interesting to note that the Highline’s official website refutes these attacks by explaining, “The Ipe wood used on the High Line was chosen for its longevity and durability, and taken from a managed forest certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which is recognized for creating and enforcing the world’s strongest standards for forest management. FSC membership requires conservation of biological diversity, water resources, soils, and fragile ecosystems and landscapes to maintain the integrity of the forest and discourage exploitative deforestation.” After passing through the protesters, the main entrance stands invitingly and allows light to channel down the stairway. As I walked up this great entrance, I couldn’t rid my mind of how unfair it is that a handicapped person would never be able to experience this space (much farther down the line, on 16th Street, a small glass elevator is haphazardly plopped on the side of the line). Once up the stairs, the chaotic streets seem to fade away as the overgrown landscape dominates the setting. The perfectly arranged grass and flowers, growing between and over the tracks, creates patterns of varying heights, colors and textures. The original tracks, complete with their old writing and graffiti work, show that the architects truly embraced the past and incorporated it into its present condition. The compositional quality of the landscape transforms the whole atmosphere making it entirely different from the portion just down a few stairs. The beginning parts of the Highline are beautifully designed. The overall aesthetic is very simple and yet, flexible as a variety of benches and seating are all different and yet all seem to belong. Handrails are engraved with the streets numbers, providing a map to those walking along. And, the walk provides perfect views of the Empire State Building, the Hudson River and Gehry’s IAC Headquarters. On the downside, there are also spectacular views into people’s apartments, galleries and conference rooms, as well as the exposed, and unappealing, meatpacking factories and rundown buildings. People walking along the line can come face to face with those changing their infant or interviewing their newest prospect. In addition, large billboards are angled directly toward those on the Highline. It would be a shame if the Highline became an advertising haven constantly annoyning those walking with the latest fashions or technologies. Approaching one bend in the Highline, there is an amphitheatre condition with broad stairs allowing people to sunbath, read, or be at their leisure. The amphitheatre is stepped down toward the street, so those sitting are confronted by a large glass panel that focuses on the taxis whizzing by and the people dining on the sidewalk. Although the idea to isolate a busy Manhattan street is very enticing, it is a lot like DS + R’s tactic for their Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Rather than isolating the water as in Boston, the architects have merely flopped the city for the water to copy the effect. It is true that some pieces of the Highline are still very much under construction. Some stair cases are far from being close to the elegant main entrance and the area under the residential tower needs some work, but all will come together in time. There is so much potential for the surrounding areas and within a few years, the area is going to be exponentially more popular than it already is. The Highline was bustling with life as people enjoyed sitting, lying, reading and walking in this new atmosphere. It is a successful project that highlights New York as much as the actual Highline. It is truly a great treat for anyone. ----- Via ArchDaily Related Links:Personal comment: The NYC Highline garden coming to life! Don't miss it on your next trip to the city: close to the rising "hip" neighbourhood of the Meetpacking District, it will surely become another "must go" place of NYC...
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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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