K2 Apartments

K2 Apartments

Water

Rainwater is collected, treated and stored in rooftop tanks to supplement domestic supply. Grey water is recycled for gardening and toilet flushing.

Water-efficient fittings and fixtures such as AAA showerheads reduce water consumption, and water meters are installed in each unit to monitor water use and educate tenants. 'Water smart' gardens have been designed that need little water.

All these measures will reduce mains water use by approximately 53 per cent compared to an average apartment of similar size.

Materials

Materials were chosen because they were recyclable, robust, non-toxic, and did not produce much waste.

Timber was either reused or came from sustainable managed forests, and fly ash (a coal combustion product that is more durable and produces less greenhouse gas emissions than cement) was used instead of cement in concrete. Non-toxic paints and floor finishes were used, assuring high indoor air quality, while natural finishes reduce maintenance needs like painting and varnishing.

Energy use and solar power

Exposed concrete ceilings and heavy walls provide thermal mass to help maintain a stable temperature indoors, while insulation, double-glazed windows and shading prevent heat loss and gain. Energy-efficient fittings, such as fluorescent light bulbs, are installed throughout the apartments.

Summer

Cross-ventilation will cool the apartments and fans and ventilators will carry away built-up heat.

Winter

The buildings are oriented so that all units receive northern sun, reducing the need for heating. There are a limited number of windows on the south, east and west sides of the buildings to reduce heat loss through the glass. The buildings are well sealed and insulated, and screens beside the access balconies provide protection from the weather.

Solar power

Roof tops are angled to face the sun so that photovoltaic panels can collect the maximum amount of energy, and also provide some shade. Solar power heats at least 50 per cent of the buildings' hot water.

Landscaping

Approximately 20 per cent of the K2 site is dedicated to landscape gardens. 'Water smart' gardens drain water to areas where it is most needed, and filter stormwater before discharging it from the site. The gardens use drip irrigation from the grey water supply.

Mostly hardy native plants were chosen that suit Melbourne's dry conditions and the amount of sunlight in each space. A mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees was chosen to provide shade or allow sunlight in, as needed.

Torbreck Tower

Torbreck Tower building. a high density residential apartment block in Brisbane.

The private open space features customisable shading depending so the occupant can control the climate of the room.

The outdoor balconies are personal spaces that one can customise to suit privacy, views and temperature.

Centre for subtropical design

rule of thumb 1 – temperature control

• use elongated or segmented floor plans
• isolate heat generating functions
• shade outdoor living areas
• let the heat escape at the highest part of the roof
• capitalise on cool night-time temperatures

rule of thumb 2 – sun control

• reduce radiation of heat into covered or enclosed spaces
• control the entry of direct sun
• exclude summer sun
• welcome warm sunshine in the cooler period of the year

rule of thumb 3 – air movement and humidity

• air movement is essential
• provide cooling paths for breezes by keeping external surfaces shaded or use grass instead of hard materials

Unite d’Habitation

Diagram from Le Corbusier's Unite d’Habitation.

colours show dwellings.

note dwellings are multi level tesalations.

Byker Wall and Highpoint Typology

Highpoint appartments.
the rooms are criscrossed for maximum lighting in all the rooms and the corridors.
Ralph Erskine, Byker Wall appartment Floor plan

Porcupine Office Building

The 40,000 square foot office building sports an array of aluminum “reeds” that are all arranged in the same direction to incorporate passive solar heating into the structure and regulate its temperature— thus saving energy.

The prickly looking extensions are arranged in such a fashion that they allow early morning winter sun to go through to the interior of the building unabated, while hot summer sun at noon would be blocked off. Apart from making a grand and distinct visual statement, it also keeps the rain away as it continues to save energy in the form of the building’s heating and cooling needs.

Read more: http://www.greenpacks.org/2009/04/14/passive-solar-design-porcupine-office-building-takes-shape-in-the-uk/#ixzz0zNa1UoH6

Green School

An old cold war barracks has in germany has been converted into a school.

major design features.

1 micron thickness solar pannels across 5000 square metres of roof.

the thinness of the pannels makes them semi translusent letting light flow into the building but also absorbing most of the heat.

The sidewalls have windows that open automatically to allow natural ventilation and fresh air to flow freely into the school. The construction has kept intact the original concrete floor and support beams of the 4,400 square meter building.

Classrooms are modular and highly insulated, and have climate control facilities. This reduces the energy load vastly. The newly opened school is the first in a project that will use the existing buildings located on the site to create a science and learning center.

Read more: http://www.greenpacks.org/2010/08/30/amazing-solar-school-from-old-armory-building/#more-9126#ixzz0zNYauazl

Apocalypse

Synonyms:
Annihilation
Catastrophe
Devastation
Cataclysm

Definition:

a prophetic revelation, esp. concerning a cataclysm in which the forces of good permanently triumph over the forces of evil.

Does that make us the evil ones?

D

The Glass Bead Game

While looking into the last blog the writer mentioned a link with a fictional novel called the glass bead game.

The Glass Bead Game takes place at an unspecified date, centuries into the future.

The rules of the game are only alluded to, and are so sophisticated that they are not easy to imagine. Playing the game well requires years of hard study of music, mathematics, and cultural history. Essentially the game is an abstract synthesis of all arts and scholarship. It proceeds by players making deep connections between seemingly unrelated topics.

The reason this is relevant is because i think the 'game' draws some very neat parallels with our current situation of sustainable systems. implementing sustainable systems requires linking several areas of expertise. connecting them in such a way that they compliment each other and exist as a single almost perfect system.

The glass bead game deals with similar issues of finding the links between seemingly unrelated topics.

Diagrams of the Future

Some notes from the blog of Lebbeus Woods' Eight diagrams of the future.

"Who says we cannot know the future? We can, but it always a matter of interpretation, that is, of imagination."

"knowing the present is also always an act of imagination. We gather the facts, at least the ones available, or the ones we want, and describe what is happening around and within us. It is always an act of invention. If—following the conventions of our social group—enough people agree, then we have an accurate description of reality, the truth that Voltaire called (referring to history), “the lie commonly agreed upon.”"

http://lebbeuswoods.wordpress.com/2010/08/08/eight-diagrams-of-the-future/