A NOT SO WHOLE EARTH CATALOG
tools to hack power
FALL 2019 ENVIRONMENTS
The Cooper Union Fall 2019 Environments I Professor Lydia Kallipoliti
A NOT SO WHOLE EARTH CATALOG Compiled by: Michael Sluchevsky Alice Meng Rhyna Chen Tianyang Sun
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A NOT SO WHOLE EARTH CATALOG 2019 Machine Atlas Ecological Urban Facade & Rooftop Solar Powered Alage Planting Pod Self-Sustaining Kitchen Self-Sustainable Nomad Unit The Unipod Pleasure House Parabolic Trough
Community Borehole Thermal Storage Venturi Wind Generator The Compact Comfort Room Indoor Environment Regulating System Sustainable Housing Algae Bio-Reactors
Interchangeable Outputs and Inputs Waste Recycling Table The Planting Wall Biodigester-Equipped Kitchen The Microplastics Pottery Wheel Water Recycling Kitchen Sustainable Kitchen
Water Filtering System The Tetrapod Porta-Potti Sustainable Kitchen Organic Fertilizer Mixer Sustainable Housing System
A Cosmology of Objects on Climate Change Capsula Mundi PM 2.5 Cremation Ring Commercialized Air Condensation Cube Locomotive Sputnik 1
Plastiglomerates Air Refresheners Plastic Recycler Waka Water The Octobot Tardigrade Surveillance Camera
Ice-Making Submarines Micro-plastics Artificial Kidney Al-Qamar Wearable Biodome Hydrofluorocarbon Foam Containers Bayou Bridge Pipeline Route
The Seeds Bank NYCMesh Sun Shower Bag Kowloon Walled City MIT ML Agricultural Grow Box Drosera Rotundefolia Hurricane Proof House
The Ocean Cleanup Kerala’s Water Dam Artificial Kidney Respirator Pedal Power Dynapod Wind Turbine Smog Free Rings
Energy Spheres Pleasure House Self-Sustainable Nomad Unit Unipod The Sun Shower Cyclic Kitchen Untitled Excrement Machine Ecological House 1 Ecological Urban Facade & Roof
Ezekiel Binns Beijia (Rhyna) Chen Michael Sluchevsky Andrew Lam Andrew Lam Andrew Song Daisy Chen Minghao (William) Du Tianyang Sun
The Inhabitable Ceiling Ecological House 2 Decomposition, Decentralized Algae Bio-Reactors Solar-Powered Algae Planting Pod
Frederick (Didi) Rapp Minghao (William) Du Samuel Dobens Sarah Saad Yuan (Alice) Meng
Atmospheres The Windmill Community Borehole Thermal Storage Venturi Wind Generator Parabolic Trough Gas Mask Indoor Urban Garden The Compact Comfort Room
A NOT SO WHOLE EARTH CATALOG 2019
PURPOSE What would a WEC catalog look like in 2019 in an era when our perception of the planet is far from a balanced whole earth system? What sort of information would be considered vital today? And most importantly, how can this reinvented information system help us understand the design process, not as the authored intended formal creation of a new reality, but rather as a collection of seemingly juxtaposing ideas, inventions and technologies? Through such a network of information, how could we design and speculate differently?
HACKING A DIGESTIVE MACHINE Each student has selected from the Whole Earth Catalog one “digestive”machine that receives input and coverts it to output; for example, a biodigester converts organic waste to methane. Students analyzed in detail their selected machines and hacked it. How can it change normative living patterns?
FIELD GUIDE If the Anthropocene defines a new “geological” age then we need a new taxonomy for life, and distribution of power both technologically and culturally. The Environments course produced a new “field” guide to identify, classify, intervene and re-imagine, digestive machines Systems of energy distribution and the microclimates of our times.
Sean Lee Andrew Hebert Andrew Hebert Tianyang Sun Sarah Saad Andrew Lam Carmen Maldonado
Biospheres Hydroponic Aquaculture Kitchen Porta-Potti Composter The Waste Recycling Cooking Table The Microplastics Pottery Wheel Re-imagining the Kitchen With the Bio-Digester The Tetrapod Biogas Energy Supply Kitchen
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Tianyang Sun Michael Sluchevsky Beijia (Rhyna) Chen Carmen Maldonado Carmen Maldonado Michael Sluchevsky Cindy Duan
Towards a Self-Sustaining Kitchen Sustainable Kitchen Design Ecological House 3 Probiotic Kitchen Sustainable Kitchen Design
Yuan (Alice) Meng Alex Han, Sean Lee Minghao (William) Du Ezekiel Binns Marina Akopyan, Sam Dobens
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MACHINE ATLAS
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A COSMOLOGY OF OBJECTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
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Energy Spheres Autonomy, Feedback, and Political Ecology
Ezekiel Binns - Pleasure House
Self-Sustainable Nomad Living Unit
Unipod
This living unit propose an idea of minimal living space and maximal energy recycling within a inhabitable system. The living unit is embedded within a truck and can be unplugged and re-plugged into a traditional residential building.
The Unipod Urban Tower harnesses Earth’s most abundant but unused natural resource - gravity - to generate power. Each dwelling is hung on umbilical cords stemming from an electromagnetic coil at the head of the tower. As occupants generate waste, the weight of the dwelling increases, causing the dwelling to slowly descend, pulling on the motor to generate power. Once the dwelling reaches the ground, The waste is filtered and pumped up the tower and transferred over to the other dwelling, which is now at the top of the tower. This filtered waste is reused as potable water that is shared among all of the dwellings. The result is a perpetual cycle of power generation through water and waste weight transfer. Access to the dwellings is achieved via an elevator core that can stop at any height to access the dwellings.
Beijia (Rhyna) Chen Tower head
Electromagnetic Coil Generator Gearing and water transfer wheel Dwelling umbilical cord Water turn
Drawbridge
Michael Sluchevsky
Dwelling
Water supply
Waste supply
Truck-Top Planting Bed Plants are watered by the rain water collector through capillary eect. Access lifts
Rain Water Collector
Dwelling waste dock Waste filtration pump
Rain water is recycled for kitchen and bathroom use.
Anaerobic Digester & Electricity Generator Organic wastes are collected in the anaerobic digester, which decompose and convert to electricity for kitchen use and lighting.
Living Unit Arrangement When Plugged into Residenial Houses
A B
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At Stage 01, Dwelling A is occupied. It contains residual power and potable water. This water supply is not exclusive to the dwelling, it is shared and transferred to achieve weight distribution. Dwelling B is still empty.
B
A
At Stage 02, Dwelling A has already accumulated enough waste to surpass its weight capacity. The dwelling descends while Dwelling B ascends. At the midway point, Dwelling B is occupied. It uses the remainder of Dwelling A’s water supply. While the dwellings move, The coil at the head of the tower spins to generate power via electromagnetic induction.
B A
At Stage 03, Dwelling A has reached the ground, waste filtration and transfer occurs. The filtration pump eliminates inorganic waste and converts organic waste into potable water, which is pumped up the tower to dwelling B. Dwelling A will now use Dwelling B’s full water supply.
The cycle continues indefinitely.
B A
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APRIL
MAY
JUNE
JULY
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The Sun Shower The Sun Shower is a simple machine that warms water for its user to comfortably clean o. Having the sun as a natural heater eliminates the need for electricity, which conventional heaters require. This is an example of utilizing a renewable energy source for an everyday necessity.
Cyclic Kitchen Andrew Lam
Andrew Lam
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Untitled Andrew Song
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The Excrement Machine -This is a system that collects cow excrement in the farm as energy sources for a group of kitchens. Therefore, this kitchen can produce a lot of food so that the farmers and workers can enjoy food altogether. -Cow’s waste is used for gardening. When the garden produces one harvest, the blender underneath the soil will blend the waste and soil again to get ready for the next harvest. -the methane gas from cows goes through an adjustable knob and is used for cooking. Electricity is generated by the gas through a sensor. Daisy Chen
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Ecological House 1 Minghao (William) Du
Ecological Urban Facade & Rooftop Taking inspiration from Chilean Architect Alejandro Aravena’s Siamese Tower for UC Santiago, the project applies a glass layer over the facade and the fifth elevation- the ceiling of a long island apartment building to create a vertical greenhouse. 1. Glass is good at withstanding weathering and dust from the road while concrete is good at insulation. 2. Moreover, what is fundamentally different than a traditional greenhouse is that the heat trapped between the facade and the stone walls are allowed for quick convection into the sky through an opening to grow plants on the fire escape staircases without creating an annoyingly high temperature. 3. As a proposal towards reforming the water towers in New York, a stereotomic, instead of a metal container is put onto the ceiling. Because the increase of temperature within a metal container in many New York water towers creates bacteria-filled unfit for drinking. This building is not over 6 storeys but with a container that collects rainwater to both nourish the facade plants by spraying and provides toilet water usage
Tianyang Sun
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The Inhabitable Ceiling The False Ceiling is a room for mechanical devices to be hidden away and controlled. In this building I am proposing the inhabitation of the ceiling as a machine. This results in a new version of a two story apartment. The floor plan is laid out so that there are two units per floor with two stairs inside of each unit. These stairs lead to a communal bathroom or a communal kitchen in the “ceiling” which is surrounded by other mechanical devices which are stored in the ceiling. Here is where all the usage of water happens.
Ecological House 2 Minghao (William) Du
Frederick (Didi) Rapp
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Decomposition, Decentralized
Algae Bio-Reactors
This project speculates on how the disposal and processing of human waste can become decentralized. The common practice today is that these by-products are carted away through plumbing systems and processed at large scale plants, out of sight and out of mind of most of the people who partake in this system. This is achieved through the integration of a composting toilet system with a tenement style apartment building. As of now this technology is used in single homes or remote locations mainly for the fact that it allows for waterless toilets, however by modifying the storage tank to become an anaerobic bioreactor and implementing the system in a larger building, it is possible to harness countless beneďŹ ts of composting human and household waste that are overlooked. These include the heat released by the reaction, which is used to warm a seating area, as well as the liquid end product, which is used to fertilize grey water collected from the building, feeding back into a window mounted hydroponic system.
Algae Bio-Reactor tubes can be integrated into the facade of a building to absorb the Co2-generating biomass to fuel the building. as a result, Algae becomes a primary power source for the entire facility. They are used to generate power, produce less greenhouse gasses, and oset vehicle emissions which are predominate in a city like NYC. Sarah Saad
Samuel Dobens
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Solar-Powered Algae Planting Pod The new hope for algae is that they could rebalance the global carbon equation as a food, not a fuel. Despite appearances, algae are an excellent source of protein. If meat-eaters started to eat more algae, the industry’s theory goes, that shift could slash carbon emissions by reducing demand for beef and pork. The Algae planting pod is a domestic unit that consists of a semi-spherical solar energy absorber, an activated-carbon water filter, a system of pipes that could maintain the fluidity of water within, a gas tank that contains CO2, and three algae pots in where they grow. Yuan (Alice) Meng
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Atmospheres Architecture & Thermodynamics Climatic Control & Comfort Zones Indoor Pollution & The Sick Building Syndrome
Sean Lee - The Windmill
Community Borehole Thermal Storage Thermal Energy Storage is the process of collecting and releasing heat from a system depending upon user demand. A borehole seasonal thermal energy storage allows for the ground to insulate long stacks of water for many months without thermal loss. I'm applying this solution in an park setting: the boreholes poke out of the ground not only to provide seating, but they exert heat in the winter and absorb heat in the summer in order to create a pleasant microclimate for the neighborhood.
Andrew Hebert
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Venturi Wind Generator A design for a wind generator sold in the 1973 Survival Scrapbook. Using recent advancements in materials production, it features a shroud, dubbed a Venturi tube, around the blades that allows for the focusing of airflow and increased efficiency. It claims that "the velocity of the airstream can be increased up to 100%, thus giving the tube eight times the power." Originally designed for plywood construction, carbon fiber construction is allowable today and would allow for a lighter and more efficient structure. Hans Meyer's design for a wind generator is based off of the ideas of Ulrich Hütter, the engineer who originally pioneered the power-generating turbine. However it is largely unmodified and new materials and efficiencies could allow for a more effective system today.
Andrew Hebert
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Parabolic Trough user’s guide to Capture and concentrate the sunlight into heating water in the wild:
Gas Mask Sarah Saad
- to use singles, run water through the pipe - rotate the parabolic panel within the sagittal plane according the angle of the sun at one time. - rotate the entire scaolding and the panel within the transversal plane according to the change sun path during a day. - await at the water collector for boiled water. - to use multiples, align the straight edges of the base to form a uniform panel. Caution: This does not save the Earth. Only reducing the use of batteries and dissipate heat that might ever so slightly contribute to Global Warming into our bodies.
Tianyang Sun
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Indoor Urban Garden Andrew Lam
The Compact Comfort Room This living space (apartment) challenges the preconception of what is thought be a home. It is organized and thought out to economize the energy sources within a living space based on thermal factors and the comfort of its inhabitants. Carmen Maldonado
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Biospheres Earth Replicas and Synthetic Natures
Tianyang Sun - Hydroponic Aquaculture Kitchen
Porta-Potti Composter The new Porta-Potti Composter utilizes a crank that churns human waste into compost that can be used as fertilizer or manure for farming. With each ush, add three cups of carbon-based composting compound: options include wood ashes, coconut ďŹ bers, lime powder and more. The device is chemical-free for human health and environmental friendliness. The interior is insulated plastic to keep compost at a warm temperature, remove fresh compost after a week of use. Michael Sluchevsky
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The Waste Recycling Cooking Table This table recycles water and food waste, then compressing them into “planting bricks�. These bricks are installed into the walls and serve as the fertilizer for plant or vegetable growing. Beijia (Rhyna) Chen
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The Planting Wall The Planting Wall is a holder for the Planting Bricks units. Each unit contains waste-generated fertilizer from the Recycling Cooking Table and plants or vegetables of choice. Beijia (Rhyna) Chen
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The Microplastics Pottery Wheel This device derives from a potter wheel and is conjoined with a shredder and compression heater. The way that this was designed was to still hold the purpose of the pottery wheel, but converts regular waste into microplastics. The heater allows the microplastics to be melted and used as material for making vases or sculptures.
Re-imagining the Kitchen With the Bio-Digester Carmen Maldonado
Carmen Maldonado
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The Tetrapod The Tetrapod is an all-in-one enclosed kitchen ecosystem. It uses rainwater as its core input to grow food inside of a chamber. After consuming the food, organic waste is discarded by inserting it into one of the four waste insertion tubes. The compost heating pads and digitally calibrated environmental conditions convert this waste into usable compost. During this process, methane gas is produced that fuels the stove top. A sloped sink on the tetrapod’s main arm diverts water into the growing chamber’s water jets. Excess water is diverted into the earthworm collection tube, during a rainstorm, for example. The earthworm chamber beneath the growth chamber contains soil and high amounts of water for simple protein production. An electrocution strip around the base of the chamber shocks the highly conductive chamber to bring earthworms to the surface of the chamber for easy harvest.
Biogas Energy Supply Kitchen Cindy Duan
Michael Sluchevsky
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Towards a self-sustaining kitchen Along with the occurrence of various environmental issues and climate crisis, “eco-friendlyâ€? has become a popular concept for domestic products. In modern dwelling units, the kitchen is not just the room for cooking and serving, but as well a space where all kinds of waste get produced and circulated. Thus the sorting and recycling of garbage should be regarded as a crucial step. The kitchen below explores the introducing of a strict and eďŹƒcient garbage sorting system along with a device to breakdown organic waste
Yuan (Alice) Meng
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Sustainable Kitchen Design Alex Han
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Sustainable Kitchen Design Sean Lee
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Ecological House 3 Minghao (William) Du
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Probiotic Kitchen Ezekiel Binns
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Sustainable Kitchen Design Marina Akopyan
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Sustainable Kitchen Design Sam Dobens
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