Kennethwong 50ideasforapostoilbuilding

Ideas for a Post-Oil BuildingKenneth Wong | Plexus Plan Ex1 | Design 750

Stacked landscapes. Increasing densities alongside an increase in quality of life, emphasizing on both nature as well as technology. MVRDV calls this creating a ‘new nature’, both literally and metaphorically.

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

TR

AN

SP

OR

TT R A N S P O R T

1

2 Urban animal towers. Intiensifying animal farming into a single buid-ing may have benefi ts such as prevention of diseases and different facilities on different levels dedicated to each part of the farming process.

Pig City, MVRDV, 2000-01

3 Urban Farm Towers 2. Concept can also be applied to crop produc-tion. High rise crop production minimises land area needed as newer technologies such as hydropnics and aeroponics can ensure effi cient, organic production of crop for people’s daily needs. Under a more climatically controlled environment, we can better control crop disease and ensure that the crops receive an optimum amount of nutrients.

Distribution Centre

Carrots

Onions

Mushrooms

Hydroponics Facility: Cabbage, Bok Choi...

4 Urban Farm Towers 3: Urban farm modules - an assemblage of farming components creating a farm city-like building.

5 Recycled + Sustainable Materials. We don’t necessarily have to look at manufactur-ing new construction materials all the time. Many materials around us can be reused and recycled. Unique properties of some natural products used to infl uence the design of our buildings.

6Self-suffi cient, off-the-grid-homes. Is it possi-ble to harness the power of the environment - by utilising clean-energy generators such as photo-voltaic panels, solar water heaters, wind turbines and geothermal systems as alternative sources of energy, to an extent that houses can be independent of the city’s energy grid?

- = =)

++

77Renewable Energy - Wind power. How can the location and form of our buildings be infl uenced by the need to harness energy from the strong winds that blow through our city?

Power StationPower Station

Hydroponics FarmHydroponics Farm

UniversityUniversityResidential Tower IIResidential Tower II

Central Business DistrictCentral Business District

Residential Tower IResidential Tower I

8 Hydrogen Fuel Cells. In the future, hydrogen could also join electricity as an important energy carrier. An energy carrier moves and delivers energy in a usable form to consumers. Renewable energy sources, like the sun and wind, can’t produce energy all the time. But they could, for example, produce electric en-ergy and hydrogen, which can be stored until it’s needed. Hydrogen can also be transported (like electricity) to locations where it is needed.

9 Renewable Energy - Hydro electricity. Could we create lagoons within the Port Philip Bay and take advantage of tidal energy to produce electricity? Could we create offshore develop-ments that take advantage of this energy? Tide rises and falls twice a day, where tidal streams are created by the fl ow of water from one area to another.

Renewable Energy - Biogas. Assuming that buildings of the future will increase in density and inevitably increase in size as well, the amount of human manure will also aubstantially increase as a result of a larger dwelling population. Energy can be produced from biogas for heating and lighting. Storage silos can be incorporated into these buildings for biogas production. After the gas has been taken out, the manure can also be distributed to crop production centres as fertilis-ers.

10

Multi renewable energy sourced facility. For example, a biomass energy plant might feature a secondary power source such as solar powered heating to ensure a consistent production of en-ergy. Similarly, a tidal energy plant offshore can also feature wind turbines, where it’s location is also ideal for harnessing wind power.

11

12Flexible Facades. Building facades that are cus-tomisable to respond to changes in the weather. Examples include motorised screens that move in response to the changing direction of the sun’s rays, or glass that change in opacity in response to the intensity of light/interior temperatures. Users should also be given opportunities to choose from a selection of ‘facade options’ to suit their needs.

Loblolly House, Kieran Timberlake & Associates, 2007

13Kit of Parts. Buildings could also be composed entirely of off-site fabricated, ready-made com-ponents which can assembled quickly on-site. This minimises disruption/inconveneince to activ-ity in the site surroundings. Lengthy on-site con-struction and fabrication of materials contribute a fair deal to air and noise pollution in the area. The idea of the building as a kit of ready-made parts also mean that these parts can be disas-sembled with minimal decomposed debris and can be relocated and reassembled elsewhere.

Loblolly House, Kieran Timberlake & Associates, 2007

Location. Location.Location of newly developed ‘Green’ Power Plants nearer to buildings as they are less/not pollutive or hazardous. It also minimizes loss of energy (wire resistance) as a result of trans-porting them over greater distances.

14CITY

15Repeating ground planes. Building on the concept of stacked landscapes, the ground plane should be re-activated on the upper lev-els, thus expanding circulation between build-ings as well as creating multi-tiered landscape of public spaces such as gardens within or between buildings.

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

TR

AN

SP

OR

T

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIALCOMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTUREAGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

16Increase Building Envelope. Higher density from higher plot ratio can be achieved from increasing the maximum height allowed for buildings. High rise buildings allow for more programme units.

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

TR

AN

SP

OR

T

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIALCOMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTUREAGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

Build underground. Instead of building up-wards, we can take the building extrusion in the other direction. 1. This takes advantage of the earth’s geothermal properties for natural insula-tion to maintain constant temperature throughout the year. 2. Higher urban density is achieved without much necessary expanding infrastruc-ture laterally as in the case of building upwards. Existing infrastructure such as transport can remain on the ground plain as voids created from the downward extrusion opens up new architec-tural typologies. Energy production facilities can then take advantages of freed up space above the ground plane.

17

TR

AN

SP

OR

TT

RA

NS

PO

RT

TR

AT

RA

TR

AT

RA

AN

SP

OR

TA

NS

PO

RT

AN

SP

OR

TA

NS

PO

RT

AAA

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

COMMERCIAL

COMMERCIAL

COMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIALCOMMERCIAL

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

PUBLIC SPACE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

AGRICULTUREAGRICULTUREAGRICULTURE

T R A N S P O R T

T R A N S P O R T

P U B L I C S PA C E

Performative architecture. Morpho-ecologies deals with the differentiation of material systems, integrating ecological, topological and structural performance to determine the composition of a building. Methods of assessment and production include parametrics, generative components, scripting, etc.

18

Shading Structure, Michael Hensel with AA, 2008

‘100 Mile’ Building. Materials sourced from the building should not be from distances over 100 miles from the site. This limits distances travelled as well as encourages material pro-duction within a given radii of the site.

19

Farms as nodal points that infl uence development.

Reconsidering agriculture centres as determi-nants of a sustainable city instead of agriculture sectors as supportive components of a business fi nancial centre can improve the self-suffi ciency of the city. If we rethink our ideas of a farm from a laterally spread out, high land area component, to an integrated facility that takes up smaller building footprints and incorporated in the city centre, we might achieve a more self-suffi cient and sustainable urban fabric.

2020

Farms located on main transport intersections.

New ‘urban farms’ should be located on main intersections of transport networks to facilitate effi cient distribution of crops. The distribution of crops should be mainly via rail instead of via road, where trains have larger load capacity and are not affected by traffi c congestions. With farms located within cities, distribution could be via more envi-ronmentally friendly light rail systems.

2121

Urban Farm Belt. Ignoring site boundaries and the site as specifi c, an ‘infrastructural belt’ of farms could weave through the city as attach-ments complementing the existing buildings in the city. In this way, a new zone is introduced into the city. It starts fi rst as individual pro-grammes inserted alongside existing buildings, depending initially their infrastructure for circu-lation and servicing, but eventually joining up with other similar units to form a self-supporting network infrastructure of farms in the city.

22

Centralised Amenities.

Centralised amenities around transport intersec-tions. Encourages use of public transport where the building housing these amenities becomes an interchange serving different needs of users under one roof.

23

Permaculture.Permaculture - an approach to designing human settlements and perenial agricul-tural systems that mimic the relationships found in natural ecologies. Proposal to introduce urban ‘Huertas’ featured like sky gardens in high rise balconies, or as a building programme - ‘Organoponicas’.

24

Extensive roof gardens & green walls. Reduces rate and volume of storm-water runoff. Acts as a protective membrane from extreme tem-perature fl uctuations and UV rays. Acts as an air fi lter as well as an insulating skin, improving air quality and reducing energy required for air conditioning. 1 Storey Building grass roof with 100mm of me-dium = 25% reduction in cooling needs. (Canadian Govt. Environment Regulatory and Research Arm) 1sqm of Green Roof = 0.2kg of airborne particles/year.

25

Vertical Greening. Greater proportion of green spaces within a building to act as green lungs. Could crop production start to occur on vertical planes. if not stepped planes to save space?

26

Ventiform.

The shape of a post-oil building that depends on wind power as its main source of energy will have to be able to channel maximum air fl ow through the building as well as be aerody-namically adapting to changes in wind direc-tion. Foster and partner’s project attempting to integrate an electricity generating wind turbine into a mixed-use, high-rise building. Venti-facts - rocks carved into aerodynamic forms by windblown sand. (eg. Enercon E66 wind turbine to power 1500 suburban homes.)

27

Photovoltaic facade. Exisitng skin of building could be utilised to generate electricity for consumption within. Large surface area of facade suffi cient to achieve an off-the-grid building.

28

Ventilation.

Emphasis on stack and cross ventilation as passive cooling measures to reduce electricity consumption for air conditioning.

29

Integrating recycling chutes alongside existing rubbish chutes.

With dedicated chutes for rubbish and re-cyclable materials in high rise buildings, users will fi nd an increased convenience accessing and depositing unwanted household material. Currently, only rub-bish chutes are a standard feature in high rise residential developments, while recy-clable materials can be brought to central areas for collection. Perhaps this feature can further promote habits of reusing, reducing, and recycling.

30

Hydroponics + Aquaculture.

Aquaponic modules featuring tanks that veg-etables grow by fertilising them with nutrient-rich water from fi sh tanks underneath. Fish tanks can consist of cultivated native fi sh to be sold in markets eventually. Such a system would need to be carried out in a large scale in order for it to be commercially profi table.

+

31

Skybridges. Link buildings to one another. Activates new planes for circulation, thus creating a more porous urban space. Skybridges act like spatial layers creating loops so that users do not not need to proceed to the ground fl oor to get to another building. This way, human density and traffi c fl ow can be managed in zones.Example shown is the Linked Hybrid project by Steven Holl, 2003-09.

32

Lighting.Abundant use of natural lighting in buildings. Reduction in energy used to illuminate interiors of buildings.

33

Parking.

Parking provisions for vehicles should be reduced to a minimum as people are encour-aged to take public transport. Less parking spaces required frees up space for more programmatic functions in a building, such as to make provisions for public transport infra-structure.

34FULL

Replacing Vehicles.

Additional parking facilities for bicycles.Light Rail System stopping at every building.Capsule hotels in case you need to spend the night without heading home. (If your home is not within the building)High capacity lifts will replace the need for cars as they connect people to diffrent fl oors tens of storeys apart.

35

Education.

Gallery space that encourages ideas of sus-tainability. These could be ideas-in-progress spaces can increase public awareness of the changing city, showing examples from new farming techniques to a city without cars.

36

Colour of buildings. The albedo of building facades could lead to substantial energy losses or gains required in maintaining internal air conditions within the building. The colour of the building in relation to sun orientation should be taken into serious consideration.

37

Interior lighting. Energy saving measures might also include light-emitting diodes (LED) technol-ogy as they save on unit space, have longer lifespan and provide a higher luminance to en-ergy ratio.

38

Manpower. Gym equipment such as treadmills, elliptical runners and rowing machines could be sourc-es of dynamic energy transformations that could contribute to the building’s energy grid.

39

Sun orientation. Emphasis on sun orientation - determines the amount of radiation it re-ceives. This infl uences the programmatic layout of buildings.

40

Brise Soleil. Sun shading systems are integral in complementing a building’s ori-entation to the sun’s path. They allow for low incidence of sunlight to penetrate the interior during winter and provide shade from the sun during summer.

41

Insulation.

Appropriate application of glazing, double/triple glazing as well as thermal massing to miti-gate heat loss/gain. New technologies include a Panelite IGU which has the adaptibility of tubular polycarbonate honeycomb core for use in glazing and curtain walls. These panels can also be used for sliding, pivoting and partition walls and ceilings.

42

Commuter-focused corridor as a building. Park and ride schemes encourage people to take public transport. If the ride component of this scheme can be further expanded to incor-porate other modes of commuting such as jog-ging tracks, cycling paths or even swimming lanes, the buildings on either end would need to provide facilities for showering and chang-ing. Commuting to work can also be a healthy lifestyle experience.

43

Community Urban Farms or ‘Safeway’ farm/market. Minimizes distance crops are sourced from and delivered to, reducing cost of logistics.

44R

ES

IDE

NT

IAL

RE

SID

EN

TIA

LA

GR

ICU

LT

UR

E

Community Barter Trade Markets. If urban ‘huertas’ are small in scale in residential de-velopments, community barter trade markets allow exchange of crops grown by households. This creates a community supported network of crop production, where a household ‘huerta’ can choose to focus on cultivating a particular type of crop.

45R

ES

IDE

NT

IAL

RE

SID

EN

TIA

L

RESIDENTIAL

RESIDENTIAL

TR

AN

SP

OR

T

Shared crop production

Inland fi sh farms. Do fi sh necessarily have to be harvested from open seas or fi sh farms just off the coast? If fi sh can be cultivated inland, then the carbon trail can be reduced through less dependence on ships and overland trans-port.

46

DISTRIBUTION

TIilapia

Murray Cod

Blue Grenadier

Trouts

Salmon

Institute/Museum of Urban Agriculture. Along introduction of new building types, an institute/museum of urban agriculture acts as a research and development facility that builds upon the examples seen in the ‘huertas’ of Cuba. This building will promote a culture of sustainable living and educate the public through a detailed documentation of the evolu-tion of agriculture.

47

Energy Stations I. Stations generating their own power (eg so-lar energy) will provide energy for vehicles to ‘plug-in’ and charge their battery cells.

48

Energy Stations II. Stations generating their own power (eg solar energy) featured at each train station to recharge the electric trains suffi ciently for it to arrive at the next station.

49

Energy Stations III. Offshore Stations generating their own power from hydroelectricity act as new ‘fuel’ stations, recharging sea vessels that don’t need to rely on oil for fuel.

50