ecoframes 2012

ECO-FRAMES: THE POWER OF LESS Dr. Cristian Suau

www.ecofab.org

ECO-FRAMES THE POWER OF LESS DR. CRISTIAN SUAU

man is small, and, therefore, small is beautiful [1]

Schumacher, E.F., Small is Beatiful: Study of Economics as if People Mattered. Part 1. The Modern World, A Question of Size. Page 56. 1973, London, Blond editors.

THE POWER OF LESS ECONOMY = ECOLOGY design with less provides unexpected processes for adaptability, by identifying current obstacles; exploring potential spatial systems; rethinking appropriate technologies and fabricating environments free of CO2. ludic experimentation: what should we play instead? progressive design approaches on potential architecture, by exploring the spatial deterioration of the built environment and generating new spatial games. avoid bulky bodies. low-passive energy and reuse of materials apply decarbonized energy and disused materials upgrade your design outcome through the integration of structural, constructional and climatic factors. research by design – design by research never split research and design! reuse and recycle your artwork. it is an indivisible equation. form follows materials go for low-embodied energy materials. it is not a difficult choice. adaptable living systems life is frantic and changing. adaptability is smart. it merges as an antidote against reductive or dysfunctional spaces. social accessibility architecture is not merely commodity. look at the current housing situation in spain! let’s reject any design trend that excludes the ethic component of what we produce. designers are operative organizers.

PROPHECY

FORECASTING

P =W x O x E P W O E

= = = =

PRESSURE ON OUR ENVIRONMENT AVERAGE GLOBAL WELFARE GLOBAL POPULATION EFFICIENCY

the formula describes how we should increase the efficiency (E) in the use of materials and energy to keep the pressure of our environment limited.

In 1989 the global population was expected to grow 4 times and its average welfare to grow 5 times by 2030. so, to keep the P factor equal (=1) we should increase the efficiency (E) in the use of materials and energy by a factor of 20. jeroen van der bergh, professor in environmental economics at the free university inamsterdam

ILLUSION

The Society of the Spectacle

by Guy Debord (1977)

NEW ORDER

Streetscape life of a slum

FATAL ERROR

COMPACT

SMART TECH

Eboy view of London

CONGESTION

Animals

by Pink Floyd (1977)

OBSOLESCENCE

BEYOND THE ICON!

Pieter Bruegel, The Tower of Babel (1563)

MYTH

BEYOND THE COLLAPSE OF SPECULATIVE ECONOMIES… WHAT CAN WE PLAY INSTEAD?

ECO-HABITAT

REUSE OF WASTE

LIGHTNESS

ECO-DENSITY URBAN RESEARCH AT OMA (NL), ETSAB (SP) & WSA (UK)

COLLAPSING DENSITY THIS PART IS A MISCELLANEOUS OF ASSUMPTIONS, FAILURES, CONFRONTATIONS OF SPATIAL IDEAS: VERTICAL VERSUS HORIZONTAL SYSTEMS SELF-SUFFICIENT BUILT ENVIRONMENTS ETHICS RATHER THAN AESTHETICS URBAN VISIONS

QUESTION what games of ECO-density should we play instead?

KEYWORDS IRONIC SCENARIOS BUILDING ANTI-ICONS URBAN STRATEGIES PROGRAMMING NEW SENSESCAPES

THE DENSER, THE MORE SUSTAINABLE

NO FUEL = NO SUBURBIA

FAST-DENSE TRANSPORT

google-scape vertical studio autumn workshop at UIC, 2008

CACTUS ANTI-ICON FOR A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

PROGRAMMATIC STAGES

VERTICAL GARDEN - PARK

VERTICAL GARDEN – UP & DOWN

THE PLINTH

WATER GAMES DRIVE-IN CINEMA

THE CAFÉ HALL

LIGHTNESS SEQUENCE OF PROTOTYPING CARRIED OUT IN IAAC (SP) - UL (SL) - PUC (CL) – UIC (SP)

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS ON POTENTIAL ARCHITECTURE IAAC, BARCELONA (2006) LJUBLJANA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, SLOVENIA (2007) PUC, SANTIAGO DE CHILE (2008) WSA, WALES (2008) UIC, BARCELONA (2008)

COLLAPSING LIGHTNESS THESE EXPERIMENTS SHOWS SEVERAL MISTAKES NON-SENSE SYSTEMS ACCUMULATION OF FAILURES ACCIDENTS STRUCTURAL COLLAPSES

QUESTION what game should we play instead?

KEYWORDS SIMPLICITY WEIGHTLESS GAMES FOLDING DO-IT-YOURSELF

www.tyrespace.com www.reciclarq.org

PLAYING WITH LIGHTNESS spatial experimentations require ludic strategies. games provide new situations to subvert rules and turn conventions upside down, and the unpredictable convergences between concrete and intangible, even virtual and volatile, spaces.

The following works attempt to achieve the potential and latent playability of any type of spatial configuration to create and fabricate new spatial interfaces and frameworks. so we need to transform the classical sense of workshop into a game-lab, a space for non-stopping brainstorming. the power of playing with less reveals a new sense in design by using three design factors: Compactness; Lightness and Speed.

the base model - fabrication

BARCELONA IAAC spring workshop – 2006 (teachers Ayala & Suau)

armadillo - workspace the tissue as collapsible membrane workshop WSA - Suau & Catina, 2008

CARDIFF

armadillo - workspace assembly and components workshop WSA - Suau & Catina, 2008

FOG IN THE DESERT Keyword: Fog water collection; climatic design; low-passive energy technologies

The Camanchaca or advent fog

REUSE OF WASTE POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROJECTS IN NORGE, SVERIGE & ESPANYA

COLLAPSING WASTE form follows material

experimental research on elementary or compact architecture through smart uses of industrial waste as new frameworks: JUNK-FRAMES - pallet shipping boards - whole tyres QUESTION what happens when disused materials become operative frames?

KEYWORDS REUSE CHEAP SPEED OF ASSEMBLY TEMPORALITY COMPACTNESS

www.tyrespace.com www.reciclarq.org

PLAYING WITH WASTE the following prototypes are based on the application of manufactured waste, as potential junk-frames with low-tech building methods. Each fabrication process reuses timber and rubber waste as structural frames: 1. PALLET HOUSING SYSTEM (PHS) constitutes an ecological design response by reusing timber shipping boards. It shows innovative and agile uses offered by shipping boards applied to compact building that can be easily assembled or disassembled. Neither cranes nor scaffolds are used to connect walls with floors or roofs.

2. TYRESPACE works in the development of minimum architectural prototypes through the reuse of disused whole tyres. It consists of a compact hexagonal layout where walls and roofing are structured mainly by combining car and motorbike tyres. these prototypes has been analyzed and tested based on structural, constructional and climatic performances.

form follows the material

1 2

FABRICATING ECO-DWELLINGS

BARCELONA tyrespace applied research work – Ayala & Suau 2006

REMOTE tyrespace collaborative work – Suau, Ayala & Zapulla - 2005

tyre-bridge

winter workshop PUC – Suau & Torres - 2008

FABRICATING ECO-DWELLINGS

tyre-bridge

SANTIAGO

winter workshop PUC – Suau & Torres - 2008

FABRICATING ECO-DWELLINGS

SANTIAGO tyre-bridge winter workshop PUC – Suau & Torres - 2008

GLOBAL Design patent of PHS collaborative work – Suau & Zapulla - 2005

TIMBER – HOUSING TYPES WITH PALLETS

CRISTIAN SUAU, RESEARCH BY DESIGN PROJECTS

TIMBER – PALLETS HOUSE IN CARDIFF

CRISTIAN SUAU, RESEARCH BY DESIGN PROJECTS

TIMBER – MOBILE ALLOTMENTS WITH PALLETS

CRISTIAN SUAU, RESEARCH BY DESIGN PROJECTS

FINALE