Blog Post 8: Ecosystems – A Priceless Commodity

In our capitalist society every object and service has a value attached to it based on many complex systems of supply and demand, social value, and the current desires of contemporary society. This value determines the importance of the item/commodity within the economy and this in turn influences how much the public cares about these things. The environment, while seemingly un-quantifiable due to its vastness and expected infinite production of necessary resources, actually has an infinite value within this system due to the fact that without it we would be no more. However,in the article “The Value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capitol” Robert Costanza and others have estimated the ecosystems minimum values based on how much it would cost to replicate the services with modern technology.

I believe that many people take the derives of the ecosystem for granted, the natural environment does things for us that ensure our survival and the health of the resources that we need and use every day. Ecosystem services such as, water regulation, erosion control, nutrient cycling, waste treatment, pollination, food production  and of course raw material production are all necessary for the survival of the global economy. It is these services that have allowed us to survive and thrive in this anomaly of a world we find ourselves in. We must not lose sight of the importance of the environment and think that we  control this world and any of the systems within it, the human race has the tendency to think that we rule this wold, however the natural world rules itself we simply learned to use what it offers us.

Ecosystem Services

During class we played “The Bay Game” in class in order to get a better idea on just exactly how an influential ecosystem such as the Chesapeake Bay can be seen as a commodity from the viewpoint of those who depend on it for their businesses and survival. I was selected to be a crop farmer in the Rappahannock Watershed, and i found this role to be particularly interesting with its ability to both harm the land it uses or ensure the survival of the nutrients from year to year. Depending on the farming techniques I selected i could either increase my short term gain and harm the landscape or consider the environment and the effects of the chemicals on the ecosystem and ensure its health for years to come. These decisions can be difficult sometimes, as we saw with the game sometimes you must make difficult choices to survive as a business that may not be the best choice for the health of the environment. What i found to save these goals from conflicting was the ability of the government to give incentives to those who practiced  “sustainable” farming and minimized the negative impacts on the environment. This can help to allow people to make the right decisions while also allowing their business to continue to prosper.

Bay Game Image: Sustainable Farming

The estimate that Costanza has loosely determined in his article is an average annual value of environmental services is around $33 trillion, which is about 1.8 times the current GNP. Basically, we can not afford to misuse and neglect the environment and all is does for us. These “services” created the world we know today and if interrupted these systems could fail which means we would be soon to follow. We must make the world realize that the natural worlds serves and resources are the very framework of our entire human success on this planet. Therefore, we may be able to put an estimated  value on these things but in reality they are priceless and 100% imperative to our very survival.

citations:

Costanza, Robert. “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capitol.”Nature 387 (1997): 253-59. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

Dennison, Bill, Dr. Ecosystem_services_diagram. Digital image. Integration and Application Network. N.p., 10 June 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

Assignment 5: Designing with light

To ensure that this concept is adequately explained I have included this picture that clearly shows the systems that would be in place within this design of the woodwind practice room.

As with the previous design the design of the prayer room is best explained with a picture that illustrates the atmosphere that I am looking to cultivate in the space.

Blog Post 7: Light and Design

Think for a moment how important light is to architecture, it is the reason that we can distinguish the detail of a facade, it filters through our built structures throwing shadows and color all through out the space, and if used to its abilities light can create the very space itself. “More and more, so it seems to me, light is the beautifier of the building” (Frank L. Wright. Baker_Steemers 2) Natural light, while less dependable than artificial lighting, has a very different quality and also generates a different kind of design than resorting to artificial lighting. The use of natural light is important for more than just design quality but also to create more energy efficient spaces to inhabit.

The sun and sunlight have been worshiped by many cultures both ancient any contemporary, before there was even the availability of artificial light architecture had to take into account light conditions and design entire spaces and buildings. The sun is the reason for our existence there is no wonder we find it so important. As technology advanced, and the ability to control light within spaces with no consideration of the position of the sun, buildings did not need to consider it as much in design. However, we now see the importance of the sun as a resource that can provide lighting free of charge, and even heating, if we design around its perameters. Natural light should be a major factor in any architectural project, it creates the emotions of the inhabitants and brings the space to life. Think of a room, and how the warm morning light can project colors and bounce off every corner and surface, it brings a certain quality of ambiance to the experience of the room. Within design we can control every aspect of the experience of the space, so light is one of our tools.

In order to use this tool you must understand it, and how it works. Understanding its rhythms and the way it moves through out a space is imperative in controlling it. Direct light can be harsh in some spaces depending on orientation so you must not simply create a window to let in the light but design a way for it to filter through at a level of intensity that suits the desired mood of the space or to highlight certain forms within he building.

IMAGE 1

With the rise in technology you begin to see a change in designs, darker, cut off interior spaces are now not a problem with het ability to create a new light source. “The immediate result was the construction of high rise, deep plan, tower blocks still prevalent in our cities today.” (Baker_Seemers,1.8.2). These buildings do not condone good health in that they cut the inhabitants of the interior off from the sun which can have negative effects on mood and physical health. Buildings are meant to protect us from the environment in some cases, however they should not separate it from us completely but rather create a space to admire it and even frame it in a better way to optimally experience the environment around you.

Buildings are in just about every aspect of our lives, they house where we live,work, vacation and we are indoors a large majority of our lives. The spaces we spend so much time in should be complimenting the environment (sun) and give us a way to realize this phenomenon that has allowed our very existence. Although we no longer make temples to honor the sun we can make strong gestures to it in our design and allow it to influence our decisions. With the addition of the sun to our tools we give architecture the ability to heat and cool us, as well as the control over our experiences and mental/physical health.

“Structure is the giver of light.”   -Louis Kahn

Citations:

Dahl, Torben. “Light and Shadow.” Climate and Architecture. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2010. N. pag. Print.

Baker, Nick, and Koen Steemers. “Chapter 1.” Daylight Design of Buildings. London: James & James, 2002. N. pag. Print.

IMAGE 1: “Victoria Meyers Architect 2020:.” ‘Victoria Meyers Architect 2020:’ N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Assignment 4: Design for comfort- Bus Stop

This assignment challenges the designer to look at an everyday piece of infrastructure and turn it into a structure that is self sustaining, pleasing to the eye, and utilizes passive design strategies to maximize the comfort zone of the users. It seems that nowadays there is a push to try and encourage everyone to use public transportation and cut down on your carbon footprint, so why don’t we make using these resources a little more enjoyable and less uncomfortable and “old school”. In my design approach I focused on trying to apply design principles of heat and airflows to create a more comfortable environment to sit and wait for a bus. Bus Stops act as a sort of safe haven from the elements (or at least that’s what they should do) and this design in particular looks to put into practice all of these passive strategies that we have used in buildings and homes, but at something as seemingly insignificant as a bus stop. After analyzing the environment and the site I believe this design creates the best possible place to stop and sit for a while in comfort, while you wait for the bus.

 

Assignment 4: Draft

Diagrammatic Wind Sketch: These preliminary sketches show where the wind might move through the site based on the structures around it.  

Diagrammatic Section Sketch: This sketch was looking to identify site specific factors that would influence design criteria to consider when thinking about form/function and passive design strategies.

Orthographic Solar Projection Diagram: Showing sun path from an elevation perspective.

Stereographic solar projection: Showing sun path over the site in a plan or birds eye view.

Biophilia: Blog Post 6

 

 

Afternoon hike up to Humpback rock, just off of Blue Bridge Parkway.

 

The Favelas of Rio de Janeiro: Climate Based Design

Rio de Janeiro is the city that I chose to focus on in my work with climate consultant and studying the systems that drive the design of building and in turn entire cities. The building typology that I have looked at in this assignment is the “squatter” housing of the Favelas in Rio. These slums intrigue me in the way that they have come together with no real sense of a plan, however when analyzing them you begin to understand what works and what doesn’t in the built structure for this climate.  This hot and humid climate creates a problem with controlling the humidity of the interior spaces. Natural ventilation, brought about by multiple design factors, would be a great help in creating comfortable spaces both in door and outdoor in this sort of climate. Dehumidification and cooling would also help in terms of regulating the humidity of the indoor spaces and therefore increasing the comfort zone of the occupant.

These slum cities spring up all around Rio and they are basically structured in a way that allows everything to build off of everything else, which is visible in the images above. This creates some questionable living situations and there is also a hight rate of crime, which should be expected in such an impoverished area. The unforgiving hot and humid climate must be taken into account when designing in these conditions. With the right set of design principals, derived from the case study of the favelas, we as the designers are able to create structures that efficiently control their own sub-climate without much, or any mechanical intervention.

These diagram above show the existing conditions of design that have been created out of necessity in the designing and building of these favelas.

My objectives in creating these design primers include:

-Minimizing humidity in housing spaces in this environment.

-Maximizing the efficiency for cooling homes in this areas with a minimal use of mechanical methods by analyzing these aspects of design:

-Ventilation

-Dehumidification

-Thermal Mass

-Orientation

-Sun angle

– Rainfall and wind direction

The diagrams above develop a set of design primers for this type of climate and more specifically for this location geographically.

Citations:

“CAFA notes: Tropical Design Module 4: Passive Cooling.” [Online]. Available:http://pupclass.blogspot.ie/2008/05/tropical-design-module-4-passive.html  [Accessed: 19-Oct-2012].

“Orientation & Zoning.” Rio Renewables RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. <http://www.riorenewables.com/efficient-design/orientation-zoning&gt;.

“Favelas: Architecture of Survival.” – The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. <http://halsey.cofc.edu/exhibitions/traveling/pedro-lobo-favelas-architecture-of-survival/&gt;.

Architecture: Bond or Barrier

The built structure has long been viewed as a sort of barrier from the extremes of the environment that it finds itself in. It has been used as a sanctuary that protects and shields the inhabitant from heat, humidity, wind, light, and other factors of the climate. At times the interior has completely blocked the connection between humans and nature both visually and mentally through these implemented design strategies. James Fitch, in his book American Building: The Environmental Forces That Shape It(1972), explained quite clearly that “the ultimate task of architecture is to act in favor of man: to interpose itself between man and the natural environment in which he finds himself, in such a way as to remove the gross environmental load from his shoulders.” While this has proved successful, in sustaining life and protecting the occupant of the structure,  this design perspective lacks the valuable relationship that is fostered between man and nature when they have the ability to connect through design instead of using structure as a cushion. There are many ways to stimulate this natural relationship without blocking out nature but rather create new strategies that manipulate the climate instead of separating you from it.

Relationship Diagram (click to enlarge)

The area around your building has its own climate, however it is our job as architects to understand how to manipulate the built structure to create microclimates that feed of of the surroundings and are shaped by our specific design choices. Take for example our very own Campbell Hall, there are many different zones of microclimates all around and inside the building, all of which directly related to the construction of the space and more specifically the materials used. Glass for example is a beautiful and versatile material that has become increasingly important in design as HVAC technology allows us to control our indoor environments while also opening ourselves up to the outdoor. “Indeed, the early 20th-century HVAC system emerged from a desire to increase the connection between interior and exterior in the 19th century” (Addington 13). Glass gives the space a visual connection with the natural, that is obvious, but what does that do for the experience and the aura of the space? The openness that comes from the use of glass in design helps to create a feeling of lightness and also it allows massive amounts of natural light to flood into the space which we already know improves the mental state of the inhabitant. There is variability within glass as well, many different types and glazes help to more precisely control the natural elements of design and create the desired microclimate. False Bay Writer’s Cabin, by Olson Kundig Architects, is a good example of the use of glass to open up a small space and crete the connection with the exterior while still residing in the interior. This design also features collapsing walls that can help to further control the experience of the structure, again showing how advances in technology has allowed us as designers to have more freedom without the consequences that may have arisen in earlier years.

Concrete is another popular material choice as it  has the opposite affect of glass, in terms of feeling of weight and the allowance of natural light. It allows you to control the heaviness of the space and your feeling of connection with the earth beneath your feet or perhaps it pushes you upwards towards the sky as it supports your structure. Heavy materials conduct heat better than light materials, the thermal capacity of  a material can be utilized to maximize a minimal amount of daylight as the concrete or stone then radiates that heat long after the light has passed. On the other side of that spectrum the night cooling of said “heavy” materials can help to keep an indoor climate relatively cool throughout the day (Dahl 62).  It holds heat in direct sunlight but it also stays cooler when deprived of the sunlight and easily creates microclimates within its zone of influence in a room or building. The X House by Agraz Architects is an example of the concrete form as it creates this weight and microclimate however in conjunction with other materials it has a contrast that creates special points of interest with the exterior and focuses our attention to these points within the design.

Natural materials, such as wood, have an entirely new relationship with space and the flow of the environment into the inhabited zones of our designs, the more dynamic nature of these materials also bring some drawback along as well. As wood is moisture sensitive it must be calculated when design so that it does not end up having negative impacts on the space. Humid climates can harm wood in terms of water seepage and erosion which could lead to the deterioration of load bearing structures (Dahl 85). However in terms of experience, wood and other natural materials can bring a relationship to the surrounding environment and natural features. This connection can allow for further relationships with the climate and exterior systems.  In  The Great Barrier House,  by Crosson Clarke Carnachan Architects, the wood creates a  living zone that opens completely to this setting and the timber exoskeleton references the existing surrounding trees.

We must create spaces that are appealing to inhabit, healthy to inhabit, and each of those attributes can be directly related to this connection or “bond” with the environment and climate that you find your site within. Architecture is not meant to seal us off from the natural world and create an interior space completely devoid of environmental relationships, but as a means to connect oneself to the earth and the surrounding environment. We must not use structure to hide us from the elements but actually use our developing technologies and design strategies to make more clear connections with the world around us while still maintaing this basic concept of the dwelling as a protection for the delicate human form.

Citations:

Addington, https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/access/content/group/698a0a88-35a9-4c5a-bf35-d9d2e8730687/Readings/Week%208%20Heat/Addington%20Energies.pdf

Dahl,  https://collab.itc.virginia.edu/access/content/group/698a0a88-35a9-4c5a-bf35-d9d2e8730687/Readings/Week%208%20Heat/Dahl%202.pdf

All images were found at http://www.archithings.com/

The Urban Ecosystem: Natures Solutions

Cities cover only about 2% of the Earth’s ground surface, however the urban population devours around 75% of the world’s available resources and are also responsible for 80% of greenhouse gas production today. This all seems to make sense considering that about half of the worlds population lives in cities. Not only has there been an increase in technology responsible for this pollution and non-sustainable practices but there has also never been such a high concentration of the world population living so close together all over the world. While city residents can have much lower carbon footprints per capita than their rural partners, this does not negate the fact that cities could use some cleaning up. With all of these people residing in one area you would think that we would have developed a way to manage our waste and minimize the impact of the world around us, but that is still in the works. What some people still fail to realize, or maybe are too lazy to do anything about, is that the things we don’t think twice about, like runoff, driving, and burning fossil fuels of any kind are actually extremely harmful to the environment and can be changed for the better. In order to create a cleaner functioning Urban Ecosystem we must look at natural ecosystems and their success and learn from their methods. As Jane Jacobs said in THE DEATH AND LIFE OF GREAT AMERICAN CITIES, “Human beings are, of course, a part of nature, as much so as grizzly bears or bees or whales or sorghum cane.”

Having variety, in more that one context, creates a flexibility in the systems that can help to absorb the shock of problems and challenges that hit the system. Basically, the more options available to respond to a disturbance, the more effectively absorb the shock. This is usually referred to as resilience and is the reason for the survival of many different ecosystems around the world. Resilience in a city can mean many things, from having many options for transportation (bus, walking, bicycle, train etc.), multiple energy sources (solar, wind, water), and even a plethora of food sources both local (community gardens, local growers) and at a larger scale like grocery stores that have a greater reach to sustainable farming practices. Variety creates a cushion for each resource and allows for these “shocks”. In Bossel’s Systems Model of Sustainability (1998) he notes that disturbances may be a integral part of a function systems processes and allows for a sort of self-renewing that enhances the resilience of the system.

Another way that cities can better themselves as a systems is to create subsystems that can serve and supply resources to each individual zone within the whole city. Having this modularity can decrease dependence on outside sources for energy and food. If each city sector is self sustaining then if one fails then the entire city is not doomed to follow. Lets say a city is located in an area that does not produce its own food supply but rather is completely dependent on a food distributing company or grocery store chain. If this chain were to fail or if there was some sort of natural disaster that did not allow food to be transported into the area then the inhabitants would be left without any means to sustain themselves. Another example of the benefits of self sustainability can be seen by looking at cities who depend upon one energy source or on power plant to power the whole city, if that goes down then everyone is effected and this also brings us back to having variety in energy. If each zone is able to somewhat support themselves with food or personal energy systems then there is less dependence on the whole city system. Ecosystems, consist of individual habitats and groups, while these subsystems probably interact and exchange components they are also largely self-sustaining. Each piece of the ecosystem has the ability to continue functioning without much of a disturbance if another fails. This then allows the entire system to reorder itself in a way that fills the niche that the failed system once held. In terms of our communities this may mean that each sector or neighborhoods within cities may need to enhance its own local economic/energy/resource base and provide as much of its own basic necessities as possible. Rob Hopkins, initiator of the Transition towns concept, said that “local food systems, local investment models, all add to modularity, meaning that we engage with the wider world but from an ethic of networking and information sharing rather than of mutual dependence”. This leads into feedback loops and the ability of the system to respond quickly to changes and needs within the community it serves. Shortening systems of supply will provide better visibility for production methods, along with accountability for waste, pollution and the other negative effects of our current lifestyles so that they can be changed and updated when necessary.

If we realize how we are impacting the world around us and put effort into creating better and more livable cities then we can improve our quality of life and the quality of life for those who will come long after we are gone. We are given this responsibility, as designers, to create cities and building that embody this new way of thinking. Through design we are able to shape the world of today in ways that have incomprehensible impacts on society and the way the city functions. If we look to the success of the natural systems around us and model our own after them then we can work in unison with them to create an interdependent relationship that allows us both to continue to thrive and continue evolving over time.

Citations:

Defining an ecosystem approach to urban management and poliry development (2003),
United Nations University/Institute of Advanced Studies,
http ://www.ias. unu.edu/binaries/UN ULAS_UrbanReport 1 .pdf.

Jennings, Isabella. “Chapter 5: Modeling Cities on Ecosystem.” Cities as Sustainable Ecosystems. By Peter Newman. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.

Five principles of ecological design, Ecological Design Institute, http://www.ecodesign.orgledi/ecodesign.html

Psychrometric Chart: Rio De Janeiro: Week 7 Workshop Exercise

The chart below shows the comfort zone extents at its minimum without any passive design strategies implemented.

The chart below shows the comfort zone extents at its maximum with the most influential passive design strategies implemented.