Green Roofs

Green roofs are becoming increasingly more popular. They are good for the environment because it adds more green space to an urban setting, and they are good for the roof. Some environmental benefits include biodiversity and wildlife value; storm water management; reduction of air pollution and urban heat island effects. Economic benefits include increased roof life; cooling, insulation and energy efficiency; green building assessment and public relations. Amenity and aesthetics benefits include recreational space; public and private high quality green space in an urban setting.

Reclaiming Infrastructure

The topic of roof gardens discussed this past week reminded me of a project mentioned in studio that I am quite fond of, which is the Highline in New York.

In Manhattan’s west side, sat a mile and a half long, elevated railway track that was no longer in use. To address this vacant infrastructure, The Highline project is working to convert that track into an above ground green space and pedestrian walkway.

Since New York is a high-density city, providing extra spaces such as this for people to move around is extremely beneficial. The converted railway will contain gardens and promenades and it will provide some people with the opportunity to walk to destinations, such as work, in a more relaxing and enjoyable environment. It could encourage people to walk, and could allow certain individuals to interact with nature more then they otherwise would.

I think more designs should start considering layering environments in the same type of way. Finding ways so that movement can occur at more then one level simultaneously. This would allow use to live comfortably in more dense environments because we would not experience a sensation of being congested. In the case of The Highline, people can move above and below the track much more comfortably then if they were all on the same ground plane.

I also admire the fact that this project makes use of existing infrastructure. Too often, old structures are torn down before anyone even considers what alternative uses may exist for the materials. Cities could be much more sustainable if they found ways to reuse and transform what is already existing within the environment.

M.H.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/arts/design/24ouro.html?ex=157680000&en=cf30031f63f0ed8c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

 

 

Living Walls

A Compelling Approach to Integrating Acoustic Issues and Sustainable Design

The Living Wall

Living walls provide ecological, aesthetic and acoustic benefits. They are essentially constructed of two walls of willow filled with soil.

The willow shrubs used on these walls are native to both Canada and the United States, and they have the capacity to withstand cold winters. This means that these structures are entirely compiled with local materials and they are useful throughout our highly variable seasons.

Other ecological benefits include:

Photosynthesis, pollution filtration, soil stabilization, CO2 absorption, storm water run-off management

Then there are the obvious aesthetic benefits that these walls provide. They provide an opportunity to disguise unattractive views, by replacing them with natural elements.

The most interesting benefit that these walls provide is linked to the lecture given this past Thursday, on the topic of acoustics. Living walls act as an excellent source of sound absorption in environments. The can create barriers to unwanted noise and provide spaces of privacy.

This is significant to sustainable design since the materials typically used for sound absorption are concrete or plastic. These materials are not biodegradable, are often visually unappealing and are subject to degrading in quality.

In contrast, Living walls can provide the same acoustic benefits, while also creating zero waste, contributing to an aesthetically pleasing environment, and regenerating themselves over time.

Living walls have the potential to alter our urban landscapes, and improve the way in which we interact with, and perceive our environments.

M.H.

http://www.thelivingwall.net/

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/indoor_landscaping.php

state of flux and concrete

Very early on in our studies this year we learnt about how our environment in constantly in some sort of state of flux. The natural environment is ruler over all architects. It is not new knowledge that nature cannot be beaten. Therefore architects must not try to compete with nature because we will always lose. No matter how stong a building is it will alway be defeated. Water, wind, ice and heat are just some elements which will slowly destroy a building.

A designer must understand all natural systems. This because even more challenging in evironments like Winnipeg’s where there is extreme heat in the summer and extreme cold in the winter. A lot of Winnipeg’s roads are reflective of this extreme environment. Many of them are partially destroyed with pot holes, cracks and man holes and catch basins shifting at different rates then the road it’s self. A block from my home the road used to be so bad that it became routine for me when I drove home to know exactly when to dodge the pot holes and rises in the road. I had done this dodging routine so many times that by the time the city did repair the street I still found my self driving down the street in the same manner.

During the summer of 2008 I inspected countless concrete pours for Stantec Consulting in Waverly West’s North East subdivision. It was there that I learnt about how road work in Winnipeg is done today. It became apparent to me that the engineers and planners that work for the city have found ways to make it easier for roads to co-exist with nature. Just to name a few methods, concrete has to be devoid of all air pockets (this has been done for some time now). The concrete is vibrated to release the embedded air. This decreases the amount of cracking that the street has to endure over time. Man holes and catch basins are isolated from the main concrete slabs. After the main slab dries a material called bond breaker to placed around the isolation around the man hole. Then concrete is poured around the man hole with two inches of ashfault placed as the top layer.

There are many other policies in place to ensure longer lasting concrete work. Concrete is still widely used in construction and needs to always be maintained and diligantly inspected.

Potable Water

In the last lecture, the desalination plant in Abu Dhabi was briefly mentioned. This plant works to remove salt from water in order to expand its resource of drinkable water. Considering the current ecological state, and the insufficient supplies of potable water for the ever-growing population, this concept sounds enticing for other areas of the world. However, at the same time I have mixed feelings towards this process.

Technologies such as this may not teach us to change our current mindsets towards the current environment. As the quantities of safe drinking water have dwindled, we have also seen a rapid expansion of global awareness. People are working hard to find innovative and environmentally friendly solutions that have not been considered before. It seems to be the decreasing supply of water that has been the push force of these new design ideas.

Therefore, my concern would be that if we began to use desalination plants at a large scale, we would again lose sight of why it is so important to conserve our fresh water supplies. We need to determine ways to conserve what we do have, instead of finding more to consume.

M.H.

Underground Infrastructure

Today’s lecture got me thinking about the underground infrastructure of our cities. It was mentioned that most people do not have a clear comprehension of the existence of this infrastructure. We turn on our taps, and flush our toilets, but then we forget about the water that we have just released into the system. We expect it to be properly cleaned and returned to the environment, but most of us do not know what is necessary for that to be accomplished. Maybe this is a contributing factor to why more people do not consider the issue of water conservation as carefully as they should. Since we do not see how our water reaches us, or leaves us, we do not recognize where improvements can be made. It is “hidden” infrastructure, and thus it becomes a “hidden” environmental issue.

I came across these photographs that were shot of sewer and storm drains in Canada. The photographers consider themselves “urban explorers” and travel into these structures, which most of us never have the chance to see. I find that they provide an interesting perspective of our cities. They portray the inner working that make how we live above ground possible.

 

I think that if we did have a better understanding of these structures (everything that goes into their design; the immense amounts of space that they consume; the distances that they cover) then we would also be more cautious of the water that we use and pollute. In general, we would have a better comprehension of how are daily lives are supported through urban design.

It was interesting to hear the speaker say that storm water retention structures could be eliminated with the development of sustainable ideas such as bioswales. If some of these man made structures could be replaced with natural vegetation, and still be successful at achieving the same goals, that would be a giant step towards more sustainable cities

M.H.

http://www.drainsofmycity.com/

Jeld-Wen’s Mixed Used Building

Mixed use buildings are something that I as a future architect would like to pursue in my career. The Jeld-Wen building we went to visit was a kind of mixed use building that took an existing building, remodeled the first floor for their job, then remodeled the upper floors as apartments.

The kind of mixed use buildings I would like to design would be slightly different. As I was driving to school one day, I noticed the Fort Richmond Plaza was a nice little area but was rather flat in terms of how high the buildings went.  I thought to myself, “This would be the perfect area to design a mixed use building!”. Specifically, I’d redesign the strip mall from Roger’s Video Robin’s Doughnuts.

I would create a design where you could keep most of the current structure of the strip mall and simply build condominiums above. The materials would have to be light weight because the stores below were not designed to hold anything above them. Therefore, a single layer of condos would suffice. The visual aspect would be something modern-like with lots of glass to take advantage of the large amount of natural light this area gets throughout the day. Once the construction is complete, the roof will be planted with trees and shrubs as to not only make have a green roof, but to also bring a bit of nature back to this concrete jungle.

Carbon Neutral City

In today’s lecture, when Carmine Militano was discussing carbon neutrality, he briefly mentioned that there was a plan for a carbon neutral city in the desert of Abu Dhabi.

Turns out that this is a 10-year plan for Masdar City that was announced earlier this year at the World Future Energy Summit. Norman Foster, a British architect, designed this plan that will be occupy a six square kilometer site, accommodate roughly 1500 businesses and 50,000 people.

The goal is to achieve a zero-emissions city and there are several plans outlined to make that possible. A few of those plans are:

The surrounding buildings would strategically shade the streets in order to decrease the need for air conditioning

The city would be oriented in a direction that avoided high levels of direct light

Solar panels on roofs would gather the majority of the necessary electricity.

Cars would be banned, supplemented by Personal Rapid Transit systems which are powered by solar energy.

Nearly all water would be recycled

Waste will be converted to energy

To offset the emissions created during the construction process they will plant trees

 

China is actually not far behind Abu Dhabi in trying to accomplish the same goal. They have been working on the development of “Eco-City” in Dongtan.

These initiatives show the potential for sustainable development if the knowledge and technology available is integrated and utilized in a large-scale project. When these projects are completed they can act as models for future developments to mimic and improve upon.

However, as Carmine Militano mentioned, it is difficult to create a carbon neutral design without drawing the line somewhere.

In an interview, an expert on the Abu Dhabi project explained, “What they’re currently doing is deciding where that boundary is drawn. That is, in itself, quite a complex thing to decide on as a project team … because it could include all the carbon expenditure of flying between Europe and the Middle East the design team is incurring. It could go to the extent of you guys coming here to interview us. Once you start peeling back the layers of the onion, it just goes on and on and on forever.”

Since globalization has connected people and industries all around the globe it is difficult for any one location to become carbon zero in isolation. At this point it is probably most important that projects such as the one in Abu Dhabi put forth their best effort to become carbon neutral by considering as many factors as possible in order to set an example and inspire new developments.

M.H.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90042092

Existing Infrastructure

Last week we visited Jeld-Wen’s newest showroom location on Princess Street. This is Jeld-Wen’s first downtown located showroom. The company chose to renovate an existing building in Winnipeg’s exchange district.

The building was built early in the twetieth century. The company kept the same structure to the building unlike Red River College down the street who gutted most of the buildings they moved into and rearranged them. This was a very sustainable solution on Jeld-Wen’s part. Downtown Winnipeg is always in need of vacancies to be filled up, and what better way then to fill a vacant building which already exists.

Interestingly this type of sustainable solution was mentioned somewhat in our most recent Ecology and Design class (EVDS 2200). The infrastructure for the land already existed when Jeld-Wen moved in. They did not buy a new piece of land and extended the existing sewers and water main. They simply took over what was already there.

That way, new land is not used up needlessly. The less we take over new land the better. With the growing gasoline crisis we simply cannot afford to expand outward as a city like we used to. Winnipeg needs to become compact as it grows now. The opportunity is there. Winnipeg’s core is weak and has many areas which need renewal. The infrastructure is already there. The buildings are already there and many of them still hold their early twentieth century aesthetic. We just need developers to move on this opportunity in downtown Winnipeg.

Jeld-Wen did.

http://www.naylornetwork.com/wrl/articles/?aid=21077&projid=1516

New Lighting

Last Thursday we were presented with a lecture on Lighting. At first this didn’t sound like it would be very interesting, but it was. We learnt about many different types of energy saving lights, most of them fluorescent.

These fluorescent bulbs will in the very near future replace all incandescent bulbs. This is mostly due to the fact that incandescent bulbs are very inefficient. Most of the power they use is transferred into heat and not light. Fluorescent bulbs are use more energy for actual light then incandescent bulbs. That is why they will completely replace incandescent bulbs altogether.

One light which was talked about in class that really caught my attention was a bulb with many small LED lights. There was enough LED lights in this bulb to create an effective amount of light. LED’s use almost all of their power to create light with little or no heat generated. This makes them even more efficient then fluorescent tubes. These LED lights will surely become main stream when the demand for energy efficiency becomes even greater.