Thoughts on architecture...: 2012

6.12.12

Thoughts linking to earth architecture...

'We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We cut windows and doors for a house,
but it is the inner spacethat makes it livable.

We work with being
but non-being is what we use.'

Tao Te Ching Chapter 11
-adapted from 1988 translation by S.Mitchell

20.8.12

Hemp-Lime Construction

The use of Hemp-Lime construction is growing in use as a more environmentally friendly choice for construction. Hemp is carbon sequestering and lime is a lower embodied carbon and breathable alternative to ordinary portland cement (OPC). Therefore, when combined with other sustainable choices for foundation and roof construction and finishes, a low to no carbon building that has a breathable and healthy environment can be acheived.

Another benefit is that if used where there is naturally occuring limestone or chalk, and hemp can be grown, a truely ecological approach of building can be used which is to build with materials from the site.

Some good examples from recent years:

This is Clay Fields development in Suffolk designed by Riches Hawly Mikhail Architects and Buro Happold Engineers, for Orwell Housing Association. Hemp-Lime sprayed onto Timber Frame with permenent internal sheathing. Source: Case Study Sheet from: limetechnology, Tradical, hemcrete. CaseStudy: Orwell Housig Association availiable from: http://www.limetechnology.co.uk

The Triangle housing development by Hab Oakus developers, designed by Glenn Howells, built by Willmott Dixon in Swindon, Wiltshire. Hemp-lime compacted within temporary shuttering onto timber frame. OPC content reducing ecological credentials. Source: University of Bath, EPSRC and BRE, Hemp-Lime, The Triangle, Low Impact Materials: Case Study H, May 2011, availiable from BRE online.

Seven Storey Office buildig, timber frame with hemp-lime blocks in Clermot Ferrad. Source: Bevan, R. & Wooley, T., 2008. Hemp Lime Construction, A Guide to building with hemp lime composites, Bracknell: IHS BRE Press.

Hemp-Lime Spray onto Timber Frame at th WISE building at C.A.T. This building succesfully used a number of ecologically minded and mostly natural materials to create a living ad studying space of outstanding architectural quality. Source: http://info.cat.org.uk/questions/wise/how-were-natural-insulation-materials-hemp-cellulose-and-cork-used-wise

A few construction details for hemp-lime construction:

11.6.12

Filtration Facade for Digbeth Digital Gateway design

Concept:

Fitted into the construction:

And Detailing:

With inspiration from:
The Microbial House bathroom:

And the Earthship filtration system:

18.5.12

Pin up for Digbeth Digital Gateway project

30.3.12

developing the Digbeth Digital Gateway project

Beginning this urban renewal project by aiming to create an architecture that connects existing open loops and acts as the processor between resources at site and brief needs.

Re-connecting green and blue routes through the city

Inital plan breakdown of built entity.

Evolving an approach to architecture. What should the goal of ecological architecture be?

Exploring timber structures for hemp and lime construction through models.

19.3.12

What is Sustainable Architecture? (CAT blog March)

What is sustainable architecture… Is it an architectural movement like modernism or brutalism? Probably not as there’s no distinct aesthetic… is it a high rating under BREEAM, LEED or CfSH? Probably not as these are designed to bring conventional design into the sustainable sphere, not as effective design tools for an already sustainable brief… Is it Passivhaus? Biomimicry? Passive Solar? Carbon Sequestering? High-tech? Low-tech? A Promise? This fascinating debate centres on the undefinable definition of Human sustainability, which was the underlying theme for this module. The essential paradox, that Peter Harper would probably call a ‘wicked question’ is that buildings are inherently bad for the environment, but necessary for civilisation.

Sustainable architecture could then be a balance between environment and civilisation, well, it will have to be; If Humans had the choice between the two and not a balance, history suggests we would choose the latter, even though we know it to be counter-active as civilisation is dependent on the environment.

Another option is to eradicate the separating terminology between man and nature, such as the philosophy set by Aldo Leopold in ‘The Land Ethic’; ‘…changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it’. If this philosophy were taken, the choice above would no longer be relevant. Even so, the main question (title) remains.

The problem to me, as an architectural designer is that to produce sustainable buildings, one must take the idea ‘sustainable’ and create a physical, functioning reality. If the idea in itself is one of unknown definition, how is it possible to solidly embody it?

25.2.12

Daylighting, Howells and the Custard Factory, (CAT blog Feburary)

Wind, acoustics, air quality, refurbishment, green roofs and schools, this month’s lectures covered so many ideas tied with a central theme of user perception. It was also the launch of our second design project, the urban regeneration of a site next to the Custard Factory in Birmingham.

During the week at CAT we went through the brief and discussed who will focus on which area of site research. I took the daylighting practical where we learnt the traditional BRE manual method of predicting skylight, sunlight and solar gain. We used this to explore light qualities on the new site taking potential window positions and assessing their suitability for various activities to be housed; for example, discovering the necessary distances from adjacent building to allow adequate daylighting. We also used the artificial sky and the heliodon with models which we will definitely be using again once more advanced models for the next designs have progressed.

At the end of the module we all made our way to the central backpacker hostel on Coventry Street in Birmingham for site analysis and client meeting, definitely the highlight of the week. HQ for the stay was a studio room in Glenn Howells Office, which is also where we will be presenting the final proposed schemes. Glenn gave a lecture on the history and urban evolution of Birmingham and the selected site. It is at the geographical birthplace of the city, although now consists of a 6-lane road, crossing the river hidden far below and bounded mostly by either derelict brick industrial buildings or boarded up brown-field sites.

The Site next to th Custard Factory, Digbeth Highstreet, Taken by George Bevan

The client is Lucan Grey, owner of the land and modern philanthropist/developer who initiated the custard factory. He gave a talk in the exquisite Fazeley Studios, an old church that from the outside, appears to be just part of the half-derelict, graffiti-covered Digbeth area, but opens up to an opulent interior with a luxurious-business atmosphere. Grey describes it as a ‘secret place, inward-looking’. The whole area, that will one day become the ‘Custard Factory Quarter’ is full of surreal surprises, including the hidden river Rea, the domes and canopies over the Custard Factory courtyards and the Indian restaurant whose day-time coffee shop aims to be a place for ‘the meeting of the minds’ and a tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, a great Indian Polymath.

After visiting the inspiring Edible Eastside community gardening project by the canal, we went on site at the new Birmingham Library, designed by Mecanoo architects. The building is huge and the scale of every part of the design miniaturised our small group as we toured around. Going up in the hoist to the roof was brilliant, cantilevered in a metal mesh box from a steel post tied in at points to the structure. From the top we could look down over the once fully red-bricked city, now carved up by wide roads and huge glass fronted, mass buildings.

The group vibe is excitement for this new project on an interesting and complex site. For the final mark, along with presentations of schemes, we will be producing detailed technical reports which will test the knowledge gained in modules so far, with a construction cost budget of only £120 per square foot. Design of The Custard-Quarter Gateway, here we come.

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