Hanging Gardens- autonomous housing units

Hanging Gardens Housing Design and Technology: Product Design (3D Design) PROD 4 – A2 Coursework 2013 | 2014 Spain, Caxton College Sofya Abramchuk

Introduction Materials and manufacturing for scaled model.............................................................52 Project planning Gantt chart................................................................................................3 CAD modelling....................................................................................................................54 Context and objectives (problem and brief)....................................................................4 Working drawings.................................................................................................................55 Final design............................................................................................................................56 Mock-ups................................................................................................................................62 Model specification..............................................................................................................63

Task

October

November

December

January

February

Introduction Project Planning Gantt Chart Context and Objectives (Problem and Brief) Ideas, development and research Function Aesthetics Ergonomic and anthropometrics Interview with an expert.

Trends, fashion, brand and corporate identity Target market group Questionnaire

Ideas, Development and Research Function ..................................................................................................................................8 Aesthetics .............................................................................................................................12 Ergonomic and anthropometrics ....................................................................................14 Interview with an expert......................................................................................................18 Trends, fashion, brand and corporate identity ..............................................................20 Target Market Group ..........................................................................................................21 Questionnaire .........................................................................,............................................22 Ecology and product life cycle .........................................................................................24 Health and safety .................................................................................................................28 Morals, culture and ethics ..................................................................................................29 New technology ..................................................................................................................30 Quality, quantity and cost ..................................................................................................34 Maintenance and consumer education .........................................................................35 Product disassembly ...........................................................................................................36 Specification .........................................................................................................................40 Evaluation of ideas ..............................................................................................................41

Ecology and product life cycle

Production planning Stages of manufacture.........................................................................................................66 Flow chart...............................................................................................................................68 Manufacturing Gantt chart..................................................................................................69 PERT chart...............................................................................................................................70

Health and safety Morals, culture and ethics New technology Quality, quantity and cost Maintenance and consumer education Product disassembly Specification Evaluation of ideas Modeling and prototyping Further evaluation Further investigation Idea development

Product manufacture Manufacture..........................................................................................................................74 Smart film technology..........................................................................................................77 Batch production techniques and manufacture............................................................78

Materials and manufacturing Materials and manufacturing for scaled model CAD modelling Working drawings.

Final design Mock ups Model specification Production planning Stages of manufacture Flow chart Manufacturing Gantt chart PERT chart Product manufacture

Testing and evaluation Model evaluation..................................................................................................................82 Testing....................................................................................................................................84 Further evaluation.................................................................................................................85 Final evaluation.....................................................................................................................88 Bibliography..........................................................................................................................88

Modelling and prototyping Further evaluation.................................................................................................................44 Further investigation.............................................................................................................46 Idea development................................................................................................................48 Materials and manufacturing.............................................................................................50

CONTENTS

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Manufacture Smart film technology Batch production techniques and manufacture Testing and evaluation Model evaluation Testing Further evaluation Final evaluation

March

April

As a starting point for my coursework, I created a Project Planning Gantt Chart in order to manage my time and organise the tasks effectively. The grey boxes show how much time I allowed my self to complete a task, with four weeks each month, from October to April. Using Key Development Areas as my guidelines, I outlined the pages that I would have to had done, dividing the project into different sections. Also, in order to have everything completed by the end of April, when it is my final deadline, I set myself interim deadlines for each of the sections. Approximately, I calculated that it would take me three weeks to finish off double spreads, giving myself more time for investigation and research, where I will also develop my initial ideas.

As it can be seen, I plan to overlap some task completion, as the research has to be done simultaneously, and I would be going back to finish off some section when I discover something new. I believe that this chart will help me to meet my final guideline effectively and produce high quality, productive and complete project without a need to rush through.

After having completed my project, I went back and added yellow boxes- in order to show how much time it really took me to complete the tasks. I had a significant delay in idea development and my CAD modelling, as I wanted to create a very complete model, constantly changing and improving my design. After the final design was done, I had much tighter deadlines to meet, and had to spend more time each week in order to complete the project at time. Also, I realised that some pages could have been done much quicker than I planned, whereas others needed more time to be completed.

But overall, I was able to finish everything in time for my final deadline, creating complete and full project with satisfying outcome.

Bibliography

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PROJECT PLANNING GANTT CHART 3

On these pages I had outlined the context, aims and objectives for this coursework. I intended to explain clearly my idea and the context for it in our everyday lives. I described the starting point for my idea, and how it evolved and how I derived my idea from it. I believe that this clear start introduces to the world of innovative and technological solutions for the global problems, that I hope will lead to the most optimal and sustainable solutions for the world’s community. My objectives are clearly in context, making it easy to see where I am aiming at and what I will be trying to achieve with this project in relation to the societies and world’s population.

As guidance for this project, my main concern and target market group will be the Earth and how our actions affect it.

When designing and developing my idea later on, I will be always taking into account how my decisions and ideas contribute towards a better world, and how they will help me to solve the problem of climate change and other environmental issues that I outlined in these pages.

After further research during the project, my concept had changed, becoming more developed and clear in relation to this context and objectives. This was due to extensive informative and TMG research, experts’ opinions and idea development.

During a summer course at the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL, I was introduced to the book called“The Vertical Farm” by Dr. Dickson Dispommier. A workshop that I attended on the last week was called “Model Making”. In this final workshop I was given the theme floating/home to start off my project. When I was designing a model structure, I concentrated on the idea of sustainability and making the environment greener influenced by the idea of vertical farms. I thought of farming, and how agriculture affected the life on earth. In 25-45 years time, there will be 3 billion people more to come and a land as big as Brazil will be required to feed all of this people using conventional farming methods. And we just don’t have a piece of land like this on Earth. My idea was to use any kind of water surface, such as lakes, rivers or seas in order to build the farms upon them and grow the food using hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics systems. For this I created and developed a concept for a floating farm on a lake, that then can be integrated into any kind of context, such as a city or even a floating country. As my farm will be fully self-sustainable (alternative energy sources, water filtration and waste elimination systems) it will allow people to live all the time on water independently.

In order to create my model I used spray foam insulation leftovers, and bought some as well, and then built the whole environment on it. The spray foam allowed the whole farm to float on water as well as it gave it organic and pure forms, leading to innovative structural concept. All the pieces can be attached and detached from each other, and netted by bridges between them. There was a bedroom area (a spherical shape with big green bridge), living space with mini-garden and a

kitchen (another unit with black covering sheets that can be folded and unfolded) and the farm and a storage unit (the golden and plastic one). Each of the farming units would have special irrigation systems (red and black cables in the model) and rain collection tanks with water filtration systems.

Kitchen allows open space, where fishing can be done. In the bedroom there would a little unit attached to the structure as a bathroom. Although the whole concept might seem to be unrealistic, with application of similar construction techniques (spray foam or any similar mass produced material) a whole city of these units can be created. A scale could be much bigger, having restaurants, cinemas, animal farms, etc., attaching to the living units. As a method of transportation, boats and ships can be used.

In order to illustrate how the whole model would float, I used vacuum foaming technique to create a pair of clear water tanks. These were then used in a video to show the model in use. Although the tanks were not big enough to fit all of the pieces, I captured each of them separately floating.(To see the video please click here).

Having heard critics about this piece and then won a prize for this model as the most innovative one, I was inspired to continue with developing this idea of a floating farming for this coursework project.

Apart from the increased population numbers, our planet is developing a “fever”, an obvious indication that something is wrong with the entire system. Global warming, also referred to as climate change, is an unanticipated consequence of the unprecedented growth in our population. The ice is melting all over the globe: Earth is suffering from a colossal case of a “bipolar” disorder. It’s directly linked to our penchant for using more and more

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES 4

Intensive agriculture is causing serious soil erosion in some areas of the Gulf of California, Mexico. Fig. 1 (from http://www.wwf.org.au)

Pesticide spraying of a strawberry field, Spain. Fig. 2 (from http://www.wwf.org.au)

Ploughing releases greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. Fig. 3 (from http://www.wwf.org.au)

Over 56 varieties of potato are grown on Raices Andinas reserve, Laguna La Cocha, Colombia. Fig. 4 (from http://www.wwf.org.au)

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fossil fuels to accommodate our increasing demand for food and manufacturing goods.

This means that more agricultural practices are needed. Having been farming for more than 140,000 years, people had used up all of the natural resources and left the Earth exhausted and unable to produce organic, healthy and nutrient-rich yield. For this purposes chemicals were invented, and were even more developed and became more harmful during an era of Industrialization, when food companies had to increase and improve their productivity and profitability. All these led to dreadful consequences on Earth such as: soil erosion and degradation, fig. 1; land conversion and habitat loss, fig.2; increased greenhouse gasses emissions leading to climate change, fig.

3; genetic erosion leading to GMO plants and vegetables, fig. 4; wasteful water consumption, fig. 5; and extensive pollution affecting all ecosystems, fig. 6.

I believe that all of these problems can be “healed” by one and only solution.There is no way that tomorrow people will stop producing, selling and eating food. And three billion more people will not take in account the problems that there are caused by farming. So in order to let the nature do its thing,I believe it should be left alone. In order to grow plants the only thing that is required is water and the sun.

Plants require soil to get the minerals, vitamins and nutrients from it. And this environment can be artificially created with our modern advanced technologies. Rivers, lakes, seas and oceans are 80% of the Earth surface. This means twice as amount of area where people can live, as well as have an access to water all year around. I believe there is a way of designing a perfectly self-sustainable floating farm and home for people to live on water, using the natural resources available, this being the main aim and purpose of my project.

Having started to investigate the problem and the context, I realised that my initial idea is not addressing the agricultural impact problem at its full. A floating farm is not perfectly sustainable, as it will affect the habitats and environment of the sea/river/lake where it will located. So in order to solve the problem in the most sustainable way, I got an idea of having three different contexts where the housing units will not interact with land in any way. Not using land, and leaving Earth to solve the problem of pollution itself will be the best way to do it. Growing our own food in the places that are already used such as cities and urban spaces, is one way of doing it.

So for example, having house that consists of units that will be located on the roof top of an existing building will be utilising already used spaces, reinvesting the embodied energy.

A vertical farm can be incorporated into the house, so the household can be completely self-sustainable in terms of energy and food. Another option could be to live outside the city, but have the housing structure on pillars where the space underneath the house is not used and left to nature.

Lastly, living in the sea could be the last option for people that want to be isolated in a beautiful scenery, where they would have everything they need for independent living. I believe that this way, a perfect, comfortable, sustainable and “healing” buildings can be created, that will be able to improve overall living standards on the world, adopting to any required context, household’s needs and wants and location of the house.

If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are heading Chinese Proverb 5

Intensive cultivation of soybeans using rotary irrigation system, Goias State, Brazil. Fig. 5 (from http://www.wwf.org.au)

Ground water pollution Fig. 6

This graph clearly indicates how much of unnecessary greenhouse gases are emitted by industrial practices, some of them being agricultural by-products and power stations. Making every household and industry sustainable will help to decrease these emissions through using renewable and sustainable energy, coming back to traditional, individual and less mass produced and industrialised ways of living.

IDEAS, DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH In this section I will be researching and investigating all of my Key Development Areas (shortly as KDA) for my unit housing concept. I will be looking at different ways of gathering secondary and primary information, including Internet articles, books, context and user research and expert opinion. I will be generating the specification and developing my idea while doing my research.This would include sketches of ideas, decisions that I made after having researched each of the KDA, justifying the judgments with real facts that I investigated. This section is the most essential part of my project, as it will help me to answer all of the questions that I don’t have answers for.

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What do I know?

My final outcome will be able to give sustainable and organic food to the people that live in the house, being completely self-sustainable, and ecological. It has to be purely functional, where every millimetre is in direct and comfortable use and which contributes to the objectives I set myself of making the world greener.

What do I want to know?

• Renewable energy resources used in building and construction • New technology and smart and modern materials that will help me design sustainably • The way vertical farming works • Floating and transporting systems

Where will I find the information?

• Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation real existing products

What have I learnt?

Through the investigation of the functionality side for my concept, I learnt that for the house to be as functional as possible, it needs to have independent but functional unit, that all together will create the best environment for the household.

The product that I thought would help me to understand a functionality of a sustainable house is the Oil Silo Home, designed by PinkCloud.DK. The concept behind this is that for the housing, they recycle existing empty oil silos by transforming them into affordable housing for families worldwide.

It is 100% self-supporting housing solution for the post-oil world and as an adaptivereuse design, it incurs extraordinary low costs.

An oil silo, or LPG Vessel, is a storage container for compressed liquefied petroleum gas. Oil silos are fully pressurised, waterproof, and built to meet industrial standards; there are approximately 49,000 oil silos worldwide available to be used for housing. Natural gas is becoming scares and oil silos are being abandoned. Reusing them for a carbon-neuteral housing reduces the waste and embodied energy and contributes it back to the grid.

Large-scale components for Oil Silo Home are prefabricated off-site.This reduces costs and manufacturing times, enabling quality and efficient mass production of silo home components.

Being spherically shaped, oil silos provide optimal orientation for harvesting sunlight year-round. Technology which collects sunlight are the photovoltaic panels and solar hot water heaters, are installed along the silo periphery. It also provides efficient circular passive ventilation and even heat distribution.

The shared resources are produced by individual mechanisms throughout the community, all resources are pooled and shared to maintain sufficient levels of energy, water, and clean air. This unified system of resource allocation meets the needs of all citizens of the community while conserving resources and minimizing waste.

For example, windmill-derived energy and surplus energy generated by solar PV cells in silo homes are transferred to electric charging stations and community buildings throughout the local district.

All of the toxic residues left in the oil silos are detoxified with in-situ oil bioremeditaion (soil microbes eat harmful pollutants and clean up toxic chemicals).

Positive: Highly structurally stable Efficient to assembly and disassembly Has capacity for pre-fabrication and mass pro- duction, what makes the concept cheap and cost effective Abundance of oil silos eliminates the standard costs of new construction, relying solely on the costs of converting existing silos for human habitation.

Oil silos are build according to high industrial standards, ensuring a high degree of structural integrity without extra costs Very functional and effi- cient use of space, technol- ogy and design techniques ensures

In one Silo home, there are 3 units and can be accommodated up to 12 residents.

These units are accessible by a central pneumatic elevator and exterior walkway leading to the roof garden. Multi-family home encompasses one full floor plate while the smaller two- and four-person family homes are divided into two levels. All units feature large openings equipped with pre-fabricated balcony units for generous open-air ventilation. Interaction between neighbors is facilitated by situating the main entrance of each unit along the exterior walkway, thereby maintaining communal connection while providing private terrace space for each family.

the most sus- tainable and comfortable design for the inhabitants.

Negative: Not aesthetically pleasing and very much industrial looking Might give an impression of cheap and worker housing High production set up costs Still only a concept.

UNIT 1 2-PersonYoung Family Area: approx. 90 m2 UNIT 2 4-Person Nuclear Family Area: approx. 180 m2 UNIT 3 6-Person Multi-Generation Family: Area: approx. 225 m2 8

Oil Silo House, PinkCloud. DK

After having started the research, I realized I was not addressing the problem of the human impact made on the Earth through building and agriculture by designing a sustainable floating farm.This will mean that creating a floating farm might have even more impact on the nature, and specially sea/ water habitats and environments. So as a solution for my main problem, I will be integrating the idea of light building, such as building not using any land. My aim will be to be able to adapt my design to three different contexts: urban farming and living in the city; sustainable farming and living outside the city; and the same but in the sea. I will integrate and design a units system that will be adoptive to the specific situation, as well as specific needs and necessities of the client. According to the context, different units might be used to enhance the living experience of the clients.

Each unit will have its own function according to the specific characteristics of the space. This will include sleeping unit, eating and cooking unit, living unit (can be combined with the eating and cooking area), hygiene and storage units and a farming unit, which will form the fundamentals for a household of two people. After this additional units can be added, which could be a study unit, other sleeping units for guests and/or children, sports units, etc.

Living in the city context: All of the units for all of the contexts will be the same. The only thing that will change will be the system used to integrate the unit into the environment designed.

In the city, it will be essential to not use more land than it is already used for the buildings. This is why the idea of attaching/clipping of the unit to the existing buildings’ walls, roof and interiors is the solution for a “light” design. This system will have to be structurally light and transportable in order to carry the function of the “base” for the units.

This will allow the client to determine the function of their houses. For example, if a restaurant is located in a centre of the city, but it does not have space where it could grow their own food and vegetables, and would want to place the farming unit (or units) on top of the roof and always have fresh veggies and fruits. This can also apply to people that already live in apartment houses and want to have their own garden, together with additional living units.

I believe that this system would be an easy and quick way of integrating the idea of urban farming to the cities without any huge investments, as the units might be prefabricated, making them even more affordable.

Living outside of the city (residential home) context: In this case, the house for the client will be made up from the units entirely, as a new structure. The idea of units al- lows the house to be completely customizable and personalised according to the needs of the client. The bases of the house will form the sleeping unit, living and kitchen unit, hygiene and storage unite and a farming unit. After this more units can be added, or if some of the basic ones are not needed they can be taken away. In order to fulfil my idea of a sustainable “light” housing, the base for this context house will be a support of ground-level columns, elevating the building from the ground and allowing an free land for a garden underneath it. This means that the house will not have any impact on the land itself, allowing nature to freely expand under the house. This will bring harmony and balance to the house.

In other cases, if the client had already a house, but would want to expand it, the attachment system of units comes into place. The client might decide to add only one vertical farming unit, but might also want to add more rooms, as a way of expanding and integrating green technology to the house. The ways of communicating between the units and the house will have to be designed.

Having researched the Oil Silo Home, for my own unit house I would like to incorporate the same idea of a very functional separation of spaces, which in the same time tries to use the space available as functionally as possible. The units that I will be designing will have restriction in sizes in the same way as an Oil Silo givesthe units sizes would vary according to the function of them as well as the context where they would be used.

After having research my aesthetics, ergonomics and anthropometrics,TMG needs and technology available, I will be able to determine the special functionality issues of my design. The energy saving technology outlined in this concept is very valuable for designing a zeroemissions house, that I would also research later in my technology research The design idea that can be seen underneath was my starting point for the unit system idea that I had. I was inspired by a Greenhouse Botanical Garden built by idA in Grüningen, Switzerland. It was inspired by the forest surrounding it, and the idea was to adopt the greenhouse to the context where it is located. My design proposal was yet for the initial floating farm, but the way I integrated units in it, and their shape and form links directly to my final idea. Later on, I will research the aesthetics and ergonomics primary and secondary in order to determine the potential possibilities of this design. For the moment, I know that as the units will be the same to be used in different contexts, the design will have to be able to adopt to all of them. This means that my next step will be to find an organic and neutral solution to the problem, using sustainable, lightweight and aesthetically pleasing materials. This will enable me to satisfy the needs of my stakeholders: the clients that will be using and living in the house, the earth (“light” architecture), and the community itself.

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Living in the sea context: This context might well be approached by the initial idea that I had about creating a community of the vertical farms and houses.

But in my further improved unit system, living in the sea will be based upon the idea of transportable and not-permanent housing.

Living in the sea means that the sea/rivers/ lakes scenery and environment will be affected by the views of the houses. To avoid this, my units would be only used as a one-off house in any particular area, avoiding the possibility of a complex of houses. This means that this can be a summer holiday house, a home for someone who wants to live far away from the city (and is not afraid of long distances to the work) or somebody who works and studies at home. The problem with living in the sea is that there is no infra- structure nor communication links available for people that work in the cities. I will design a floating system that will support the units, and then the use and the context for any specific client will be determined by themselves.

Living in the sea concept is another way of living in the house that does not use land. But other impacts that it might have on the sea environment must be taken in account, as the house will interact directly with the water surface and nature. In other two concepts the houses will avoid interacting with the nature and land itself, making them more sustainable and a better solution for my problem.

Specification: 1. Function 1.1. Each of the units will carry its own function assigned to it 1.2.The way the units will be used will be determined by the needs of the client 1.3. Units system will adopt to the context 1.4. Every function that units carry has to be completely sustainable 1.5. The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design

On this spread I researched and outlined the functions that my final outcome would have. I researched many traditional and contemporary houses trying to find the one that will explain fully the function a perfect house has. The research also helped me to outline the main point I have to consider regarding the functions of each of the spaces that I will have in my final outcome. On the next pages I will research more specifically taking in account functions of each of the units.

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FUNCTION

To further investigate the functionality of the possible units that I will be designing for this concept, I identified and researched different areas that are usual to the houses. I outlined the functions of each of the most essential places that are need for a comfortable and easy life of the household, as well as how they would interact and connect.

A shelter: As a shelter house needs to be able to provide its inhabitants with a safe living experience of leaving on water surface, in the city and outside of it. This will be achieved by using any king of vertical and horizontal structures filled with a dense material that will be resistant to wind, rain, storms, sun and even animals. Systems such as heating, insulation, air conditioning and humidity controls will be used to provide a perfect living conditions to the inhabitants. This has to be something that will adopt to any space where it will be placed.

Using wooden structures for building is a new sustainable and save way of construction of tall buildings. Using no concrete and metal bars means that the structure will have a greater strength to low weight ration, making it a perfect substitute for transportable housing units.

Courtesy of Michael Green Architecture

Sleeping unit: This will be a sleeping unit/units for all of the members of the household. It will consist of a bed and a storeroom for clothes, but the use of specific structures and materials will make the sleeping experience the most functional and pleasing. In order to make it a more functional space, hygiene and storage units can be combined together to allow a better access to the units of the first necessity.

Storage and hygiene units This has to be accessible from all of the house units, or even can be multiplied to be attached to each of the units. This will ensure the most effective use of the space but also offer the best experience of use by the inhabitants. This spaces will serve the households personal needs and will have to be integrated into other living spaces, having a direct access to them.

This sketch was made before I had an idea of attachable and detachable units and was based on the sketch on the page 9. Here I took into consideration some of the functionality issues, combining some ideas together and integrating them into the space that I was inspired by.

As I go further along, I will investigate the farm and storage unit, and work more on the idea of attaching and detaching units from one to another, making it more flexible and available for personalisation.

Unit to prepare and consume food: This area can resemble the functions of a kitchen, but it will be different since the ingredients that will be used for food preparation, in some house configurations will be grown in the house itself. So these two areas will have to be integrated together, in one big organic and natural environment. In other cases the units will have to be able to integrate later to living areas, farming units, or any other combinations that the customer desires.

Unit where to grow food: The concept that lies behind this unit is the vertical farming that would allow growing plants with no need to use soil and reduce the water consumption. This unit will have to be able to be attached to any other unit, and the household will have to be able to choose the size of it, according to their needs and consumption necessities. It will not necessary will have to be used by a household- it will have to be able to be adaptable to any other spaces such as restaurant roofs, hotels, or any other context. Growing food will not be limited to only one unit- the new technology would allow to have vertical farms and sustainable growing spots over the house in general.

Corrected specification: After having researched function even more in-depth and having changed my concept slightly, I had to review my specification so it meets all of the needs of my design.

Living unit: This area might be combined and integrated into the preparation and consuming of food zone. This is due to the same functions they carry- it is the same place to relax and chill out.

Also this area has to take in account the possibilities of guests and events that the household might have.

Studying area and additional units: The studying units as well as children/guests sleeping units, will have to be quite and completely excluded from external impact such as noise, excessive light or destructive views. This units will not be obligatory, and they will be available to the customer according to the household’s needs, such as family expansion or changing working conditions.

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Primary research: CitizenM Amsterdam.

This hotel that I visited on one of my trips to Amsterdam was impressing in a very practical and functional way. CitizenM is intended for people who are traveling at a fast pace, staying no more than for a few days in Amsterdam. For that the rooms are quite small, with big bed, and the shower and the toilet all on one located nearby. All of the facilities are easy to use, the style of the hotel is modern and simple, but it allows a touch of personalization as the user can change the

colour of lights around the room. Also new technology used to control everything in the room is very comfortable.

I would like to incorporate the idea of features such as using technology to control the water and air con. usage, as well as the idea of changing and personalising space only using lights a dynamic and modern aesthetic features.

Also, the spaces between the hygiene and sleeping areas are only separated by a translucent curtain, and smart glass, but no walls are used, making the space more free and accessible to everyone.

FUNCTION

1. Function 1.1. Each of the units will carry its own function assigned to it 1.2.Units will have to be able to be disassembled and assembled together in order for house to be as functional as possible for the user himself.

1.3. Units system will adopt to the context specific context of the customer.

1.4. Every function that units carry has to be completely sustainable 1.5. The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design

Inspiration: Greenhouse Botanical Garden Grueningen by idA Using organic shapes and flowing lines, a functional and practical space can be created, not necessary using metal structure and glass, but using wood and transparent plastic instead.

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What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

I don’t know how the final outcome will look like, but I know that form follows the function. The way it looks will be decided upon the function and materials used in the spaces, but I have an idea of it being pure, modern and organic shape and form.

• The shape, form and structure it will take • What will be colours, materials and technology used in construction • How the most organic and natural look can be achieved in order to convey the idea of sustainable unit • Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation of real existing products • User research I learnt that for the house to be aesthetically pleasing, applied decoration is unnecessary, but that the true and organic form will follow after function of each unit, creating itself beautiful structures after studying the works of great modernist architects.

Also, through using simple but efficient design, the house will be able to adopt to any context it will be located, and that the unit system will make it flexible for the household to choose their favourite, most suitable combination, as I learnt from developing further my idea.

Farnsworth house by Mies Van der Rohe

Alemanys 5 by Anna Noguera

Daniel’s Lane Villa by Blaze Makoid

Vila Överby by John Robert Nilsson Vila Överby by John Robert Nilsson is located on a rocky hilltop in Sweden. It sits upon on a limestone-covered concrete plinth, which provides a continuous floor surface both inside and outside of the house.The main feature of this house is that three of its walls merge with the floor, flushing the base of the glass with the ground; the fourth exterior wall is finished in matte black, giving necessary privacy to the owners from only one side.The planning of the house if very simple, a rectangle is divided into private and social spaces, making the house purely functional. Nevertheless, behind the simple lines hides a series of advanced technological systems. Tap water is extracted from the sea and treated in a desalination unit. Heating for the floors, outdoor pool and hot water is produced by a geothermal heat pump. All of these features make the house partly sustainable and purely functional, allowing the nature around it engulf and predominate a very simple design.

“Nature, too, shall live its own life. We must beware not to disrupt it with the colour of our houses and interior fittings.

Yet we should attempt to bring nature, houses, and human beings together into a higher unity.” Said MiesVan der Rohe about the Farnsworth House that he built between 19451951 in Plano, Illinois. I think this glass pavilion is a perfect balance between itself and its surrounding, taking the full advantage of the beauty of the nature.

Mies also though about the possibility of the house to be flooded by the Fox river to the south , and by elevating the house from the ground, he was able to achieve two things- save the house from environmental impact as well as enhance and highlight the beauty of the nature when it is seen from inside of the house.

This house if very functional, clear and straightforward. The space decision inside the house is purely practical and very flexible because of no complex hidden technology is used.

For my aesthetics research I looked at existing buildings that in my opinion suit the best the idea of pure and organic design.Afterwards, I will also have primary research in the form of questionnaires with my potential clients, based on the products and information that I researched.

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For me this Vila is the purest and the most aesthetically living house that I had encountered throughout my research. The shapes and openings exists in harmony, allowing geometry to interact with the nature and its surroundings. The planning of this house if very functional, although a lot of space is unused, what might be seen as not practical. But in reality there is no extra- and overdecoration of the house, everything seems to be in its place in order to allow a person to feel the ocean and nature around it. Mostly the materials used are pure and are wood, limestone and concrete, what creates a very organic outlook of the house.This house is not sustainable and ecofriendly, what is a real drawback and in my own design I would like to include both, aesthetic pleasure and sustainable technology together in order to be attractive to my TMG.

This two family apartment building is located in the central part of Girona, Spain was renovated by Anna Noguera. It consist of a duplex, “El Badiu” of 180 m2 on the upper floors, and “El Jardi”, an apartment of 100 m2.

The special feature about these apartments is the combination of the “pure” materials that were used in construction of the original building in XVI century. It interrogates clean and organic lines with functional and essential elements such as spacing, light, shadows, fire, stone, water, silence.

What I like the most about this building is the way the texture and original surfaces are the real decoration of the building. They create truly unique and one-off interiors and atmospheres, combining nature and new technology together.

AESTHETICS

The most important aesthetic features that I will have to consider when designing such a diverse living space that will have to fit in different contexts are the ones that interact with the user’s senses, such as touch, sight and life perception. These will be the ones that will provoke the aesthetic pleasure that the space will have to bring to the client in order to be satisfied not only with the functionality, but also with the experience that one feels inside a space.

After having researched these and other pieces of architectural genius, I clearly understood the principles of organic and functional architecture, which in turn will enable me to create the best design outcome possible.

“Organic architecture seeks to integrate space into a unified whole. The style of a building should grow naturally from its environment.

More specifically, “organic architecture” doesn’t mean the imitation of nature’s forms, rather a reinterpretation of nature’s principles.This includes respect for the properties of the materials and for the harmonious relationship between form and function of a certain building. Furthermore, organic architecture strives to incorporate the spaces into a coherent whole where site and structure come together harmoniously. “ are the words of Frank Lloyd Wright about his Fallingwater house located in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. This means that if I would want to have the units to be organic and harmonic, they will have to follow and adopt to the environment of the three contexts that I had outlined. For this purpose, a design such as of the Mies van der Rohe and the Villa Överby are the leading examples how architecture can really adopt to its surroundings and make it look in a different, more harmonic way. My ability of being able to incorporate these design ideas and techniques will determine how successful the concept would be among my TMG.

Decoration:

In the examples that I had researched the main decoration of the spaces and the buildings is the nature, the purity of lines and materials and light. Details such as works of art, designer made furniture is present but it is not overdone, and it does not distract from the main structure and forms of the buildings. As my units will be mostly function- al and will be easily located practically anywhere, their main decoration will the environment around it and the light highlighting it. This will be achieved by using as many glass and transparent materials as possible. Also using the materials without any additional finishes will help me achieve the most unique decoration the house might have. Nevertheless, little details, such as flowers, paintings or sculptures are very important for the user to feel home-like in my units.

One way of making this decoration functional and necessary not from aesthetic perspective, would be having plants that clean the air, paintings that tell the viewer some- thing, photos of the user or even having lamps and light sources that will be works of art themselves. This will give units their own identity an uniqueness, what will be helpful in exploring the idea of sharing the units between people and interchanging them with each other.

Touch: As I had already outlined, materials themselves can help to give the uniqueness of the space.

But another very important aesthetic features to consider is the sense of a person, and in particular touch.

The emotional satisfaction that we get after having sensed something physically with our body is usually achieved through the use of a variety of different surfaces. For example, metals give us cool and re- mote feelings, wood is softer and warmer, fabrics are smooth and sensual. Using different types of materials for different purposes can help to create an aesthetically pleasing space without using many decorative objects that destruct from the real function of the units.

As my concept will have to adopt to three different contexts, the structure of the units will be the same, but the objects used for the interior space will vary accordingly to the environment.

It is clear that metal and marble would not be used for a unit that is going to be located in cold countries such as UK or Finland. But for a country such as Spain or Brazil, they might seem to be appropriate as it is very warm there. By this I aim at offering the best possible using experience to my potential clients by adopting to the needs and necessities of each of them.

On this sketch I explored a new idea, based on the sketch on page 13, where I tried to visualise the concept in the context. I looked at different possibilities of placing the hexagons. I tried to investigate the possibility of customer to choose the material that they would want to have their walls to be made out of. The idea is very rough, but in the context it makes sense, as well as from aesthetic part, being made out of wood/metal/concrete using pure materials will give the most aesthetically pleasing design outcome.

Falling Water

by Frank Lloyd Wright

“A glass jug, a wicker basket, a coarse muslin huipil, a wooden serving dish: beautiful objects, not despite their usefulness, but because of it.”

- Octavio Paz SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Sight: Sight is another aesthetic feature that contributes to the customer satisfaction. This is all about visual impact the space creates, what can be achieved by the use of light, nature and surroundings around the units.

To be able to bring as much light and views as possible to the space, glass windows from ceiling to floor would be used. Decorative and functional use of LED lights that would emphasise specific features of the space, would help to create an aesthetic impact on the user. The world around the unit, according to the context would also be a very important decoration of the space. It will be very appealing to the user to be able to feel the city and the urban-scape in a unit that will be located on the rooftop; on the other had, units that would be located in a forest with beautiful scenery would have a strong visual impact on other customers with different personal preferences. All of this would be enhanced by the shape, form and materials used in the units, making the environment, as well as the interior of the space to be decoration itself.

Life expectancy: Another aesthetic feature that would attract customers to my unit housing is its own image and the context where it is located.

I believe that healthier, greener and purer design of the units will attract clients, being something what they would aspire to have. It would introduce a new concept of living itself, the way people experience everyday is- sues.

Being a greener and healthier space to live might well become a new trend (and in the environmental problems we have it has to become a trend), being something beautiful not because of its appearance, but of its function and purpose.

Other issues such as people’s everyday habits and the way they live day to day will also determine the way the house looks.The idea of humans always striving to personalise the space with objects of their own choice is how they make the space aesthetically pleasing to themselves after the design and construction of the building/house is done. These little objects of personal decoration have to be taken in account, as usually they don’t have any functional purpose at all, but serve as a way for people to remember about their experiences and life events that are dear to them.

This will have to come up in the way I design the space to accommodate these objects and integrate them, so they do not inter- act with the whole nature of the house. But also new technology can used to achieve this, by helping people to experience the same feelings but in a different, digital format that also will be part of their everyday life.

Specification 2. Aesthetics 2.1. Decoration in the units has to be kept at the minimum but allow the customer to personalise the space with the features integrated in the units.

2.2. Using organic, sustainable and pure materials with only necessary, practical finish, the most organic and aesthetic design will be achieved.

2.3. Units will have to adopt to three different contexts, different customers so the aesthetic part of the design has to appeal to customers.

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What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

Using this basic measurements of a human body, will help me further along when I will be considering the dimensions of the spaces. Knowing how high a cupboard has to be, how wide a passage needs to be will enable me to design the most comfortable interior for my unit housing.

These measurements, however are the “usual”, standard anthropometric data that was collected about the 50th percentile of population. Data such as how many people can fit in one room of a particular size is valuable for general consideration dealing with an unknown, predicted number of household/users. But generally the primary research that I will do, investigating already existing spaces being in use, I will be able to get a feedback from the user about the usefulness or nonusefulness of space organisation. By seeing mistakes that were made, and having the feedback on how it was fixed, I will be able to avoid myself committing uncomfortable space organisation errors.

Although it is valuable to have the data of standard measurements, me, being a designer of new and innovative spaces, I will try and come up with a new ways of looking at how spaces can be used more ergonomically and usefully than the traditional perception follows.

The final outcome should be comfortable and easy to use by everyone, combining every essential element of living house and a farm in it. It has to take in account 5th and 95th percentiles, in the same time also appealing to the group in the middle as well.

•How the most comfortable and optimal design can be achieved • What are the needs of my target market group and how my design it will be affecting the earth and nature •How traditional and unusual designing methods can be applied to modern architecture, e.g. feng shui • Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Investigation real existing products • User research

Through primary and secondary research of the human body, I got an understanding of how to make the spaces user friendly and ergonomic for the household Also, I learnt that ergonomics is not only about dimensions, but overall well-being of a person in a particular environment, so colours, touch, insulation, and even feeling that the space gives are very important; this can be achieved through combining design principles and psychological placement of objects and spaces

In order to investigate Ergonomics and Anthropometrics and how it helps to design the most comfortable to use space, I will be looking at standard 50th percentile dimensions of the human body, as well as investigating already existing spaces being in use. As well as that, apart from standard data, I will look and learn how to apply Feng Shui techniques to achieve not only ergonomic space in terms of dimensions, but also through person’s well being investigation and how it affects everyday lives.

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ERGONOMICS AND ANTHROPOMETRICS

Feng Shui Bagua Map

Le Corbusier: The Modular Leonardo Da Vinci: Human Proportion

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Feng Shui For my school’s newspaper that I am creating and editing I wrote an article on Feng Shui and how it influences our lives. This is an extract from it explaining the main concepts: “Feng shui is a Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing the human existence with the surrounding environment. The term Feng shui literally translates as “wind-water” in English. Feng Shui is one of the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics, classified as Physiognomy (observation of appearances through formulas and calculations). The Feng Shui practice discusses architecture in metaphoric terms of “invisible forces” that bind the Universe, Earth, and man together, known as qi/chi/energy.

Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water.

Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings—often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures—in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or a compass.”

This is an extract from the Wikipedia about the factual part of the Feng Shui. But how is this applied in real life?

The map above is a bagua map, used in understanding the energy areas that the rooms are located in. Some areas might be more appropriate for sleeping rooms, such as the Kun: Earth, and on the other hand, for a study room the Gen: Blue, is better suited.

I would like to study his philosophy more in-depth using primary research and understanding it through investigation that I will carry out of one of my TMG’s houses.

The Golden Section: “The proportion of the two divisions of a straight line or the two dimensions of a plane figure such that the smaller is to the larger as the larger is to the sum of the two. If the sides of a rectangle are in this proportion and a square is constructed internally on the shorter side, the rectangle that remains will also have sides in the same proportion” This golden rule was used over centuries to build perfect buildings, paint perfect paintings or even determine the perfect human complexion of the body and face.

In order for an object/person/building to be aesthetically pleasing as well as comfortable and useful in terms of ergonomics, golden ration is used.

It helps to find the mean and balance of the design, in order to attract the viewer to it.

The Parthenon Golden Section

Le Corbusier: “Form follows function”

During his career, the most impressing architect from 20th century, Le Corbusier developed a set of architectural principles that dictated his technique, called “the Five Points of a New Architecture” which were most evident in his Villa Savoye. These were: • Pilotis – The replacement of supporting walls by a grid of reinforced concrete columns that bears the load of the structure is the basis of the new aesthetic.

• Roof gardens – The flat roof can be utilized for a domestic purpose while also providing essential protection to the concrete roof.

• The free designing of the ground plan – The absence of supporting walls means that the house is unrestrained in its internal usage.

• The free design of façade – By separating the exterior of the building from its structural function the façade becomes free.

• The horizontal window – The façade can be cut along its entire length to allow rooms to be lit equally.

Some of these concepts I would like to incorporate into my design- the idea of pilotis, roof garden and the free designing of the ground plan would allow me to create the most sustainable and the most functional house.

Le Corbusier Villa Savoye

The Modulor

Le Corbusier developed the Modulor in 1943.

This was meant to be an universal system of proportions. The fundamental “module” of the system is a six-foot man, which is segmented according to the “golden section”, 1.61 ratio of the total height of the figure to the height to the figure’s navel. These proportions can be scaled up and down to the infinity using Fibonacci progression. This system combines maths, architecture and beauty with the human figure at its centre. It is clear that the things that are in proportion are more pleasing to the eye.

But it is also important to take into account other members of society that are not 6-feet tall: children and women. This system, whatever mathematically perfect it is, is somehow not universal to everyone, as Le Corbusier planned it to be. It is a practical way of finding the balanced solution for the anthropometrics of the house, but also people that will be living there has to be taken into the account.

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Sound and Feeling Sound is a very important ergonomic feature of a house. Considering all of the three contexts that my design will have to be adopted, the sound and heating insulation is very important for the household satisfaction. I will have to make sure that the insulation used is adequate for living on the roof top, so the units are resistant to the wind, street sounds and provide privacy to the user; for living outside of the city, where the temperature might be different and the neighbourhood relationships will be taken in account: and finally living in the sea units will have to be the safest in terms of water insulation, wind resistance and many other factors.

Using sound, it will be possible to create different barriers or effects that will attract the user, e.g. for Feng Shui rich house, water falling sounds would be used to attract wealthy energy.

Shape One of the ergonomic features that will determine the usefulness and the comfort of the space are the spaces and the organization of the objects.

This would be determined by the feng shui first, as the organisation of the units needs to be done according to the location of energy areas; using anthropometrics research done before I will determine the necessary space needed for a human to function in the space; then I will use the free designing of the ground plan, to allow the freedom of interchanging of the units and its location, but in the area frame established before; and afterwards the shapes will come all together perfectly, because of using golden section for that to achieve the perfect balance of objects and units. I would preferably use rectangular and square shapes, because its the most functional, and feng shui positive space, as it allows the best energy flow and the most functional and ergonomic use of space.

Colour In the design philosophies that I had studied, colour is more of an aesthetics feature, but usually it has much deeper, unconscious effect on the user, and so comes into ergonomics Key Development area as well. Overall the most appealing colours to the customers are soft and natural colours, preferably unfinished and pure- as the research of Feng Shui and Frank Lloyd Wrights philosophies had shown.

People always strive for perfectionism, harmony and calmness, and strong and intense colours do not help to that in the design. Considering Feng Shui, the colours should also be chosen according to the areas of the location of the room- which in turn will help to attract the necessary energy to the area that a house is used for.

This will help to achieve the harmony and balance in the house, making it comfortable, pleasing and useful to use.

Also I will have to be taking in consideration cultural differences, personal preferences and the context when deciding on colour, apart from the things outlined above.

Light Light is an ergonomic feature that is not tangible, but the one that determines the functionality and comfort of use of the objects and spaces.

Natural light, and as much of it as possible will be the most important feature to use in the daytime, which is also useful in cutting energy usage.Then using layered and complex lightning for different functions, separating spoaces, higlighting important detailes/ activities or even creating aesthetical and practical use of it will enable me to add identity to the units as well as make it pleasing to use.

After analysing one of my expert’s house through primary observations, I asked Katia Blankenstein to comment on the good and bad things about her house, and what she could improve to suit here needs. This was very valuable as I have now an opinion from a person that is constantly in that particular environment, and has a clear insight in the things that work well, and what can be improved. I believe that this kind of investigation will allow me to create a more ergonomic, organic and comfortable units for this concept.

Sleeping area + closet and bathroom: Advantages: Easily accessible from bedroom Private and exclusive to the master bedroom Well sized - the bathroom and dressing room combined make up the length of the bedroom Improvements: Poor circulation - one needs to enter the bedroom to go from the bathroom to the dressing room Poor ventilation - no windows in the bedroom, only a large glass sliding door No windows facing south and the main view from the house

formal entertainment Efficiency of heating and cooling one central communal space rather than many smaller rooms Large clear glass windows and sliding doors allow lots of light to enter the living spaces and gives good views into the garden and beyond, giving a sensation of being in a larger space.

Improvements: Spaces are small.

Circulation between spaces could be problematic so key pieces of furniture are used to create designated circulation routes. This allows a number of people to use the area at the same time.

Unit to prepare and consume food+ Living unit and studying space: Advantages: The living room, food prep area, dining and study spaces are open concept allowing people in these spaces to communicate easily Good sight lines between: The food prep area and the study area, for supervision The food prep area and the living space, for entertainment The food prep area and the dining area, for ease of serving food A sliding door gives the possibility of closing off the food prep area from the living space in case of more

Storage and hygene units Advantages: Each bedroom has their own private bathroom. This works well.

Guest bathroom has good access from entrance, living room and kitchen.

Each bedroom has ample storage.

The garage is large and can be used to house cars but also can be divided into large work/ storage areas.

Stable temperature in semi basement garage.

Improvements: Excessive number of bathrooms increases costs of services and fittings in initial house construction.

Lots of cleaning and maintenance required for all bathrooms.

Garage could be finished to a higher standard.

Clear zoning in the kitchen- one zone used for food preparation, another for studying or socialising This household has four bathrooms- and each of them follows its own function. In this suite bathroom for two people, each of them has his own space which is efficient when little time is left for self hygiene

Study area near big window- a lot of natural light, as well as many storage units and comfortable furniture- perfect conditions for working.

Master bedroom- not in line with the door, soft and calm colours, big bed, can be approached from both sides, has little table at each side; no TV or any destructive technology

In the suite there is a bath and a showerwhich is not preferable, as taking a bath is very water consuming, so it will not be used; this means that the space is no used functionally and it could’ve been used for other functions.

Unit where to grow food (suggestions from expert): LIving room combined with the dinning room- many storage spaces, a lot of natural light, easy connection to the kitchen Closet with light coming in, big mirror and many storage spaceclear and organised; but cannot be easily accessed from the bathroom

Kitchen triangle is created- with a small island in the middle- easy to move and creates circulation system, allowing as many people to gather around as possible

Devision of spaces- big and organised living zone with everything needed to relax- does not facing the kitchen or the entrance to the room, no flow of people through the zone ; many sources of light

Clear passage created through the kitchen, from the entrance door to the back door, not interrupting the activities in the kitchen itself- entrances and exits on one wall, making the passage flow more efficient

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Farm unit should be maintenance free and easily managed.

Should be easily accessible from food prep area.

Should be clean and neat.

Should be attractive and add to the aesthetic quality of the house Should be optimized to specific fresh produce needs eg. 2 lettuces, 5 carrots, 2 onions a week etc.

Drip irrigation on a timer could be a practical solution to maintaining the farm unit.

Storage located on basement- where the household stores non perishable goods, and other things that are no longer in use.

Specification 3. Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1. The house has to be well sound and thermally insulated according to the context.

3.2. Light and colour preferences should be adjusted according to the context.

3.3. Design principles has to apply to each unit and be constructed according to the rules when appropriate.

3.4. Units have to be user friendly fisrt of all, being ergonomic for each of the household.

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

In order to see what type of layout I could suggest for one of the houses, I drew one that I think goes well with all of the feng shui requirements and rules. Having studied my own house floor plan and compared to the bagua map, it seemed as instinctively the location of the rooms is right, and energy areas are correct. For the house for this concept I tried to create the most functional and positive layout, and I think I was successful in that. Also I took into account storage spaces, the flow of people in and out of the house, etc. The scale of objects might not be as it should be, but this technical aspects I will study more in my CAD model and final design.

Also I’ve taken into account the Five design rules of Le Corbusier, having the house to stay on pillars, have a garden integrated in the house and the possibility of green roof and free design of the floor plan.

After having studied all of the different design aspects, I got an understanding of how to manipulate spaces. For the house to be ergonomic, it will not only have to be functional and well organized, but the atmosphere, the feeling and energy inside the house. For my unit system, I would like to employ a flexible approach to organization, using separate cube or rectangular strictures, which could be composed like a Lego, one into another. Using only four of the cubes, many different spaces inside can be created. In order to create walls in the house, the spaces between the units could then be filled with “walls” (any insulation material) , doors and windows as illustrated on the right. The composition of the “boxes” can be changed, according to the sizes of the rooms required, as well as the needs of the customer.

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ERGONOMICS AND ANTHROPOMETRICS

What do you think about these houses in my aesthetics page?

When you showed me the picture with the wood decoration inside the house, it looked to me as though it was applied. (17th century flat in Spain) I much prefer this honest, revelation of the material, and it appeals more to me.The truth of the materials, the functions of them as well, the fact that there are beams, composite materials and cement, that to me is very honest. And then it is in design of the piece itself, the proportion and combination of materials, and how light the place looks without any application of decoration it is already beautiful. The application of the decoration is something personal and has to be decided by the person itself.

From this I can tell that I should allow my design to be very flexible and adaptable to the household, and be pure and organic. Being the base for my TMG’s imagination, the house can then get its own, true identity.

The Fransworth house: This house wouldn’t have worked in any other context, due to its orientation, in terms of need of privacy. The materials inside are combined, due to the fact that there is open space and nature outside.

The context of the house is appealing to me, but if I had to see a whole suburb, and that would not be surrounded by nature but by many of these houses, and would have given them to big Spanish family, which would be filled with their own things, it would look terrible. And this is one of the problems, that happened to the modernist buildings even here in Puzol, if they were to be finished and treated in a very minimalistic, there might be some beauty in it, but as they are treated now in a busy way, they need the one or the other. If you look only at the structure, on its own, there is nothing attractive in it, but its all to do with proportion, context, nature, more than anything else, the juxtaposition of the formality of building against the nature. If you start busying this up, with kids, their toys, and other little For this interview,I had asked some questions to Katia Blankenstein, an architect and one of the possible target market group for this concept. These questions derived from the research that I did previously, and I needed to do it because I felt it is important to evaluative the idea/ ideas before proceeding to the next KDA research.

things like green striped curtains, it looses beauty. I for modern and ecological buildings, being appealing would love to have one of those houses, because to almost everyone. Also, it is the material that allows the way that I live is more minimalistic, but also you to create organic and beautiful spaces using minimal would need storage spaces, where you could hide applied decoration and that can be adopted to many things to keep this minimalistic feel. contexts.

Another thing that can be used, is the storage space that can be opened to reveal the identity of the Where do you spend the most time in your house? house and its owners, and then it can be closed to Certainly, in and around the kitchen, being that the keep the minimalistic feel to display it. kitchen is the centre of the home, even if we are working, reading or entertaining, like watching a This is a very valuable analysis, that shows how a movie, it is a place where we communicate constantly; house that is simplistic and pure in form and shape I would say I spend the least amount of the awake can sometimes not be suitable for any context. Also, time in the dormitory areas; For example there is having a minimalistic house means a specific way of this space in the kitchen, which works very well in living, which again justifies the need for the design to communication with the person in the kitchen and be flexible and open to the decisions of the household the lounge. At the moment, because its cold we and their life-styles would concentrate the heating in this one area, not necessary heating the whole house.

Which are the most appealing materials to you?

Designing day and night areas with sort of a Wood appeals to me because its sustainable, its connecting spine would be an option for optimal heat warm, the colour is also appealing, wood to great distribution, as well as creating integral social areas. degree would be one of my material choices. Glass, of course, because I would always want my house What is more important to you, kitchen, living room or to have views outdoors, of course if there was the bedroom? sufficient privacy for it. I would certainly give a lot Kitchen is very important, but there needs to of thought, if I would have been designing my own be an element in it that does not only has to do house, to the materials that retain thermal energy, with preparation and cooking of food, but may so that I can reduce on the amount of heating and be enjoyment if it, in terms of relaxation. A multicooling required. But in all aspects, I would try to be purpose space, rather than a Kitchen. In my kitchen as honest as possible in the choice of the materials, I would like to boil a cup of tea, and them also sit and the way that the materials manifest themselves down and enjoy it while I sip through my emails or in the house. With correct lightning, correct internet, without having to move to other place. combination of materials, their pure form and shape, If I had to chose a working space as a housewife or there can be nothing ugly in it. The materials that I a home-keeper, I would like it to be in the kitchen, feel that would be less appropriate in a home would or close to it, because it will be easier to do notes be colder things like steel, unless the structure calls there. for it, in other places like kitchen where the use of Its unlikely that you would eat while you are sleeping, it is appropriate its fine; I would be concerned with so the sleeping areas would be more to do with sustainability issues more than anything else. washing, cleaning, storing.

Whereas living room would be closer to eating, After my research into building materials, it is apparent playing, relaxing, almost as if you would have day that wood is the perfect, green and sustainable material time and night time activities. I think the spaces can

be multi-functional, there is no need to be separating them into different separate, rooms/areas, that they can work together and function side by side.

Me being the designer, I can have different options for houses. I can have already designed layout that is perfect and meets client’s requirements, or I can allow them, themselves to be able to bring in their design to the metal structures that there will be available. There are also many options, of how flexible this could be: a very transportable house that is like Lego, or a more stable one that is possible could be built for many centuries.What do you think about this concept?

I think it is important to give people choice, so that as they go through their lives, they can grow, reduce, move around according also to their economic position. But within this flexibility, there are some things that are informed and studied, that architects that will be able to determine, e.g. the sides of windows, positions, organisations and layout that can dramatically change the house. Also many people that design their own houses, especially here in Spain, where the sizes of the rooms that had completely destroyed the possibilities of the design of spaces.

For example I take my bedroom in my house, and the south facing wall, the only window that could’ve had possible the view in the whole bedroom is not there. I wonder about this kind of decisions and how they were made, because these things with a little bit more professional though could have been done better. I think that there should be guided choice, there should be an option of different kinds of formations, from which you could choose the one that suits you the best.

I think that people will have different approaches.

There is a certain value of having something permanent in the world. Depending on the person and environment, some people prefer to own something, some people prefer to have something stable, some prefer to move around more. And I think this will determine the place where you would locate your house. A sense of permanence is more appealing to a family kind of situation, to be there

INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPERT 18

for a while and investment; but if I am just staying in a city for few month I would prefer to be flexible.

Would I prefer to move my house around? No, not really, because I understand there will be an enormous carbon-footprint left, so I would prefer to go to that area and buy something more adequate and suitable for that region. In terms of selling some parts of my house to other people, such as children units when they leave, and I no longer need them.

the converse, is that we are hooked into the system where we have to pay for all of these things, we have to pay for water, electricity, which we need to run everything in our houses. These people before worked for themselves to provide what they need; whereas we work in external places to earn money that we will then spend to buy everything that we need from other people. So I think that to return back to that certain kind of sustainability, freedom is independence that we would get from autonomy, Giving my customers flexible design choice, but still having some basic principles and rules for house combinations from being self-sustainable and so be able to make would be the way to go, allowing the house to grow with decisions according not to political or religious pressure (such as voting for politician kn owing that the household as their lives progress your choice would affect my credit rate or electricity Which context is more appealing to you? rates but his own personal integrity), but our own In my current situation, I prefer a more suburban personal needs. So I think it is a brilliant idea. situation, only because there is different amount of Designing, having in mind the sustainability aspects and social activity happening in a family that in a suburban freedom of life choices of my household will allow me to setting would get as much socializing with others, or create the most comfortable and appealing design for be private as you wish; later in my life when the the majority of my TMG. girls are left I would like to consider moving to the city where you would have more interaction going What do you think about the layout of this proposal? on, less requirement to displace yourself.The biggest I like that the house has a prime view of the house, issue with living in the ocean, and also in a suburban because it is very important and it works very nicely. setting, are transportation requirements, to do the I am not sure about the duplication of eating and things that you need to do, and so travel. I would say seating stools in the kitchen, but I can understand the travel requirements will determine my choice of that there can be formal settings where there will the context. Now with my children around, I prefer be more people involved. And then a more private more open space, cleaner air, etc., a little bit more setting can be used for work spaces. What I feel space that comes with suburban space. it is important to have is a very clear designation of storage spaces, so that the things can be put To consider a transportable house design can be an option, as people can have different lfe situations; this away very easily and taken out very easily. On one can be achieved with modular design that can be easily the aspects that I would struggle with the kitchen such as that, is that there is always a nice thing to assembled and disassembled in new location. have is a backyard door, where you would have an Do you think there is a market for this concept? exit to the garden; it is also to use when there is a Yes, absolutely, I think that a completely sustainable flow of people, especially when there are a lot of house is the thing that people been wanting ever guests. Communication between the spaces is very since things went out of persons hand to control. important, but how you would through spaces is also We’ve come long way in terms of development, in very important. Remember I told you about having historical times, in a household you would need to a view over the house as you enter through the grow your own food, cook it, keep your own animals, main door, I think now that I especially in the urban create your own cloths, you would have to do all of situation, it’s a place where you can stop people these different things. Nowadays we can buy these from entering to the house; so if there is a special things, already made, given us the actual time for happening in the living room, there is no need for a ourselves, for our development. What happened in postman to see the living room, whereas when you SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

19

stand here, it all opens up to you and you are more invited to come through.

I would propose moving the children bathroom closer to the suite bathroom, in order to allow better electricity and water flow connections. In A guest situation, you would need some kind of powder room or a guest toilet, but still in a house with four inhabitants, having more than two bathrooms might be seen as superfluous. I also think that the reduction of amenities and facilities is also important, because to have four toilets in the house that for the most of the day unused, which is not very efficient in terms of using materials.

As the system will be flexible, still a spine structure and basic limits for the design have to be present. This proposal’s layout will have to be revised again in the idea development.

Are you concerned with feng shui or any other design traditions?

I think there is a huge value on this traditions that were created through years and years of studies and investigations that were documented. We conform that when we buy an apartment or a house, that when we go an change it to serve our needs, we cant really do much because we don’t know what is the right thing and we take what’s already done for granted. Whereas these traditions what they done, was that they documented their creations of spaces, and how they interact with your well being and your psychology of a person; the fact that somebody has taken time to document these things and then to verify these things, as were done more than once or twice; trying to fuse this idea into every place where people are. I agree that there might be some elements of some suggestion, like someone says that this was identified as calm, you would then start seeing it as that too. But also I think that limiting yourself to only one tradition, is not as valuable as if you could open yourself and try to integrate other principals as well to find the common ground between them; and extracting that to become more throughout. The fact that these traditions are very culture base, and try to impose into other culture that lives in a different way, might be sometimes difficult to do. The another thing that is good to

point out is the negative things that there are, you can very easily eliminate them as being negative to people in order to create the best combination of resources. No, but I think that opinion, experience and traditions are very important to consider, and have a huge part to claim in the way that we live.

When I bought my house now, looking and considering more than 30 houses, and only few of them gave me this feeling of calmness, peace, that they had in the house. Rather than being told that the house was design in a specific way, instinctively people will feel that. However I think that you will also need a specific understanding of areas, to adopt and modify the space according to your needs. So I wouldn’t say that that’s true to everyone, perhaps because I have more understanding of space, and I have clear understanding of what I need and want, I can understand the space and see if its going to work for me. I do think that an architect would be able to infuse these things, and perhaps start to inform its inhabitants that do not have as much experience in creating spaces. I don’t think that advertising a tradition that was used in the design will attract people that are not into it, or are not part of this culture, will make them buy or choose the house. If anything, it might turn them away sometimes from it. Despite that an architect could use this traditions, the house will speak itself about it and be attractive to people as it is. And that’s the downside of the houses that where self built, as the lack of the experience will limit them in creating the perfect house for them, whereas an architect is someone who has this experience and research to inform and educate its customer.

This is a valuable evaluation, as it shows that the design needs to be open minded and combine in one different practices that will make it much more versatile and efficient than just sticking to one of them. Also in terms of the branding and presenting the design it is true that good design would feel and be seen as right if it has fulfilled its specification, aims and objectives. For this purpose, in my design development I will be focusing more on research of a variety of design methods, and observing more closely the context for the house, interactions of spaces and how things work in relation to each other.

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

The main trend and fashion that will affect my design is the sustainability and eco-friendly features that it would have. The image of being able to give its owner organic food and be completely sustainable will be appealing to the majority of contemporaries., But i still need to research the new technologies and fashion that exist.

•What are the main trends and fashion nowadays •How does this affect the design decision related to the final outcome and TMG • What are the main features to consider when designing a modern space to live • Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • User research • Investigation real existing products After looking at different business opportunities, possible partnerships and competition, it became apparent that the concept has not only to be aesthetically pleasing and functional, but also have a strong image and start a new, ecological and sustainable trend among higher class customers.

Possible brand name for my concept

After having had to do a project for my business A2 lesson, I chose to develop current concept of unit housing. I looked at the idea, the design and how it will be made (based on the research I’ve done) and then I had to chose the branding and an international company to collaborate with and the location of my business. I chose Foster and Partners as a company to collaborate, because there image and their reputation as modern, innovative and sustainable architecture agency.

The country of my chose to start up a business would be Singapore.

After the presentation I got a very valuable feedback on my idea. The diversity and innovativeness of the idea was highlighted, as well as a little bit misunderstanding of my concept objectives. It was noticed that with my idea how it is now, it will be very hard to be able to “heal” the world and introduce new ways of farming. It was suggested that I should change my concept to become more business orientated (vertical farming skyscrapers for companies) or come up with another idea that would not target rich people only, but would address the problem more massively.

After further discussion with my expert afterwards, I came up with idea of associating my housing concepts with brands and international businesses, that are well recognised. We came up with an idea similar to Alessi’s way of designing: using famous architects and designers to design a range of “pre-fabricated” layouts of units/ houses with the specification describing specific features of it. This would allow me to target rich people, as they are usually the ones concerned with brands, as something that ensures quality, gives prestige and identity to that person. Also, more affluent people are the ones that leave the highest amount of carbon-footprint on earth, and they are the ones who have influence on the society. So the idea would be to create a trend or fashion on houses, as we have with cloths and cars, but these houses being self-sustainable, ecofriendly, with their own farming units. Another option will be to have a whole sustainable system in place, that would not only have an impact on the household and their environments, but on governments and other communities too.

On this page I investigate possible branding and corporate identity ideas that I could use in promoting and developing my idea. It is very helpful in our modern world, as people are more and more concerned about their image, and to investigate this issue even more I will carry out a questionnaire in order to find out about my TMG preferences and aspirations.

Alessi jucier by Phillipe Stark

What do I want to know?

Herzog and de Meuron

Where will I find the information?

Zaha Hadid Architects

What have I learnt?

Frank Gehry

TRENDS, FASHION, BRAND AND CORPORATE IDENTITY 20

What do I know?

My target market group will be first of all nature and the Earth, as i will be designing to address the issues of the global warming and other hazards. Secondly, families and people that are environmentally conscious and governments and companies that will be investing in my project will be my other group.

• How to make my design appealing exactly to my TMG • What is the most important factors that will attract TMG to my product • What are the personal tastes and preferences of my TMG

•Literature related

to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • User research

In order to be attractive to my TMG, which is very broad and could include almost everyone on Earth, the design has to be flexible so it can meet all of my TMG´s needs and wants; also being sustainable and ecologically green, the house will satisfy the needs of my main target group- the Earth

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Occupation My TMG would be anyone who is employed or unemployed.

It is difficult to identify the occupation of my TMG, as it could be anyone, even the government that will give incentives to buy my houses for people who currently cannot Age The age of my TMG could be anyone from 18-65 years old, or even older. Now, the growing population will be my TMG, as they are more aware of environmental problems, but I am sure there will be older population also concerned about it. It is possible that I would have parents buying an eco-friendly house for their children that are still under age, or a restaurant owner that only wants the farming unit to produce healthy food for his restaurant.

Gender There will be no division in preferences of my house for different genders, as men and women are equally concerned about such sustainable living. As my units will be completely customisable and would be in a range that can be appealing to both men and women.

Personal and purchase behaviour patterns My TMG would be people used to buying branded objects and services.

They also will be people that are willing to pay more for sustainable and green objects, as well as being concerned about healthy and organic food. It is important that they will be people willing to be growing their own food and even selling it to other people, as well as supporting local agricultural communities. They would be people that like innovation and experiments, and also are thinking for the future and about nature.

Income My TMG are working people, or someone with regular income. They could be people working in any industry, and in reality can have any income,as I will have a range of possible products for different income levels.

As I said earlier, governments can encourage to buy houses by giving financial aid to people, as they are the ones concerned mostly about sustainability issues.

Demographics In Singapore, the population is estimated to be 5,399,200 (116th in the world) in 2013. But the density of population is 7,540/km2 (3rd), which is a very densely populated country.

This means that in countries such as Singapore, my TMG will be looking for houses that are tall rather than wide, who will be attracted to living in the city context more than everything.

Marital Status My TMG could be a married couple, wishing a house for them two for now, but with possibility of expanding in the future; a family with children; parents wishing a house for their child when he grows older; or a single person that wants to be sustainable and eco-firendly, who likes to live on his/her own.

Education My TMG will have to be people that are educated about the environmental problems. These would include the growing population and middle edge people that have access to internet and information resources. Also, customers that will be attracted to brands like Foster and Parters will already have in mind possibly of including and paying more for sustainable houses, making it easier to persuade them to buy this type of houses.

Specification 5. Target Market Group 5.1 My design will have to taking in account my TMG needs and wants.

5.2 There will have to be focused on my secondary TMG which is Earth, so the design will have to satisfy the environmental issues as well.

Specification 4. Trends, Fashion, Brands and Corporate identity 4.1 The image of my concept has to have a very strong branding identity, probably by associating with other brands 4.2. A new fashion and trend for my concept will have to be created, in order to be attractive to my TMG

On this page I identified and outlined the TMG for my concept. It was based on the research done before, as well as discussions with my expert. This will be helpful for me in the future when carrying out the questionnaire, as well as I will be more specific with the design, in order to meet my TMG’s requirements and needs.

21

TARGET MARKET GROUP

Hanging Gardens Housing

College

University Graduate

Other, please specify: ______________________

Thank you for agreeing to take part in this important In which type of housing do you currently live? survey analysing my target market group buying parents and behaviour. This survey should only take a Apartment few minutes to complete. Be assured that all answers Villa you provide will be kept in the strictest confidentiality. You can choose more than one option.

Detached/ Semi-­‐detached house

Please indicate your name

Please select your gender:

Male

Female

Please select your age range:

Under 18

25-­‐34

18-­‐24 35-­‐44 45-­‐54 55-­‐64

65 or Above

Prefer Not to Answer

Please select the option that best describes your current employment status: Parent

Student

Teacher

Employed

Prefer Not to Answer

Please select your income level: Under €20,000

€20,000 -­‐ €30,000 €30,000 -­‐ €40,000 €40,000 -­‐ €50,000 €50,000 -­‐ €75,000

Houseboat

Mobile home

Other, please specify... ______________________

Are you planning to buy a new house? (In years)

>5

10-­‐15

5-­‐10

15-­‐20 20-­‐25 25

Not planning

How many rooms does your current house have?

Including bathrooms 1-­‐3

4-­‐8

8-­‐12 12<

Are you concerned with branding of products/services?

If yes, why so?

Yes No

Unsure

Other, please specify... ______________________

What are the brands that you aspire to?

€75,000 -­‐ €100,000

Apple

€150,000 or more

HTC

€100,000 -­‐ €150,000 Don't earn income

Prefer Not to Answer

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Some High School High School

Duplex

Some College/University

Samsung

Blackberry Porsche Ferrari

Lambargini BMW

Mercedes

Audi

Holister D&G

Gucci

Hugo Boss

Luis Vuitton Nike

Adidas Zara

Hermes Rolex

Prada

Burberry Cartier

Hanging Gardens Housing

Please indicate your name

Please select your gender:

No

Are you planning to buy a new house? (In years)

35-­‐44 45-­‐54

55-­‐64

65 or Above

20-­‐25 25

Not planning

4-­‐8

12<

8-­‐12

Are you concerned with branding of products/services?

Under €20,000

If yes, why so?

Yes No

Unsure

€20,000 -­‐ €30,000 €30,000 -­‐ €40,000

Other, please specify... ______________________

€40,000 -­‐ €50,000

What are the brands that you aspire to?

€50,000 -­‐ €75,000

€75,000 -­‐ €100,000

Apple

€150,000 or more

HTC

Samsung

€100,000 -­‐ €150,000 Don't earn income

Blackberry

Prefer Not to Answer

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Some High School Some College/University

On this page I will explain the analysis and evaluation of the results that I got from my questionnaire. After having carried out the interview with an expert, I decided to carry out another primary research that would help me to find out about the opinion of my target market group. I hoped that this research will be valuable in order to evaluate how attractive my idea was, what would be the things I will have to include, improve or develop even more, or even other new things that my TMG felt would be good to include in my final design according to there needs.

Porsche Ferrari

Lambargini BMW

High School

15-­‐20

Including bathrooms 1-­‐3

Please select your income level:

Would you want your house to be customizable?

5-­‐10

How many rooms does your current house have?

Prefer Not to Answer

Prefer Not to Answer

Other, please specify... ______________________

10-­‐15

Employed

Unsure

Teacher

No

>5

Student

Yes

18-­‐24

Parent

Would you aspire to buy a house with branded objects, items, designs?

Other, please specify... ______________________

Other, please specify... ______________________

Please select the option that best describes your current employment status:

Other, please specify... ______________________

No

25-­‐34

Unsure

Yes

Would you consider your house being built or designed by a famous architect?

Such as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Calatrava, Gaudi, Aalto Frank Lloyd Wright Yes

Mobile home

Female

Under 18

Would you consider buying a house that carries any of these brand/s?

Other, please specify... ______________________

Other, please specify: ______________________

Houseboat

Male

Other, please specify... ______________________

Unsure

Graduate

Duplex

Please select your age range:

Moet and Chandon

No

University

Thank you for agreeing to take part in this important In which type of housing do you currently live? survey analysing my target market group buying parents and behaviour. This survey should only take a Apartment few minutes to complete. Be assured that all answers Villa you provide will be kept in the strictest confidentiality. You can choose more than one option.

Detached/ Semi-­‐detached house

Tiffany and Co

Yes

College

Mercedes

Audi

Holister D&G

Gucci

Hugo Boss

Luis Vuitton Nike

Adidas Zara

Hermes Rolex

Prada

Burberry Cartier

Tiffany and Co

Moet and Chandon

Other, please specify... ______________________

Would you consider buying a house that carries any of these brand/s?

Yes No

Unsure

Other, please specify... ______________________

Would you consider your house being built or designed by a famous architect?

Such as Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, Calatrava, Gaudi, Aalto Frank Lloyd Wright Yes No

Unsure

Other, please specify... ______________________

Would you aspire to buy a house with branded objects, items, designs?

Yes No

Unsure

Other, please specify... ______________________

Would you want your house to be customizable?

Yes No

Other, please specify... ______________________

In order to find out about the sustainable part of my idea, I asked some questions about what these people already had in their houses and what they would like to have if it was offered to them.

Among ethical side of the product, functionality, branding and aesthetics the most important factor resulted to be functionality. So in my design, I will have to find the perfect combination of all of these, or allow flexibility in the design to satisfy my TMG. In order to get an opinion from my TMG I gave out almost 50 surveys to my school’s community. The most of the questionnaires I gave to my class mates, as they will be my TMG in 1015 years time, as the majority of them are affluent and are planing to continue being so. I also asked older people to fill in the questionnaires as I need to also know about the needs and wants of all of the population, as everyone will need a house and the problem I am trying to solve is everyone’s. So it resulted that the majority of these people lived in apartments or houses outside of the city and have around 4-8 rooms usually.

The majority was not planning to buy a house, and many of them would do it in 5-10 years time.

QUESTIONNAIRE

22

It might be possible, and many people said that they would definitely buy a house which would had been build by a famous architect and together with these brands it would mean a very high quality house for them. The controversy came when I asked if they would want to buy a customisable house and then one that would be premade, and many said they would like both things.

Considering the investigation of the branding responses, the answers were quite interesting, as many people, considering they responded honestly, said yes that they aspire to brands and would buy houses that carry any of these brands, but almost no one said they would buy a “branded” house; the confusion was probably because of the wrong wording of the question. Also many said that brands are associated with quality and prestige, what would be one of my strong unique selling points when marketing this product. The most popular brands were surprisingly Apple, Audi, Rolex, BMW, Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Hermes, so it might be an opportunity to work with these brands or their designers in order to attract my TMG and encourage them to buy this new type of housing.

It became to be apartment that although many said they would not buy a branded house, some people said they would buy a “Greenpeace House” or their own house made by a famous architect. Finally in order to find out about my TMG preferences of the context of living, the majority of people said they would like to live outside of the city, but others also said they would consider other contexts as well.This shows the need for my design to be flexible, but also may be consider transportable system that would move the house to new location, making it very customisable and adaptable to my TMG’s requirements and life situations.

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

In terms of the product life cycle, almost everyone said they would rather upgrade their old house, than have to buy a new one. It was apparent that almost none used sources of renewable energy in their current houses, apart from three people that used solar energy to heat water and recycling water systems. The majority said they would allocate around 500,000 euros for their new house, which is a good price for a sustainable house. Many said they would be willing to pay more for an eco-friendly house that does not have any energy costs in the future.

As for the food, many people had their own gardens, and I am sure they liked to have it. This can be seen in positive answers to the question about a garden incorporated in the house that does not require any maintenance. Although many people bought their food in supermarkets, many also got it from local markets and grow it themselves. These leads to the answers about their concerns about the danger on nature that mankind leaves. Many of the respondents were concerned about issues such as organic food, scarcity of natural resources, carbon footprint.

From these I can conclude that a house that is completely sustainable will be very appealing to my TMG. Also there was a big possibility that these people would pay more for such a house and would be glad to participate in sustainable systems.

23

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

A sustainable house is a first step in achieving a solution for Earth’s overheating. This can be done not only by building only one piece, but a sustainable system can be created- where not only one house is functioning, but many different ones, as well as other institutions and organisations. Also, by upgrading the house, instead of building a new one when the old one is no longer needed, longer product life cycle can be achieved, or create cradle to cradle culture. Also materials used has to be concerned with ecology and the manufacturing of the house.

•How a sustainable system can be created inside a city and what is needed for it.

• How can a house be upgraded instead of having to buy a new one • What is a sustainable house and what are its benefits • How also it can create a new culture of living

• Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation of real existing products Through the extensive research I found out about many different sides to ecology and how it can be applied to budilings and cities; redesigning and improving exisitng buildings helps to reinvest back the embodied energy used on their construction; also, I learnt about the real benefits of a sustainable house, and what features it needs to have in order to be able to carry eco- and green logos; this is believed to helpm me to include the main features into my design.

The Philips Center for Health and Well-being Insight Series on Livable Cities

nr.1

A livable and lovable city?* The Philips Livable Cities think tank believes that livable cities are successful cities.

They have identified three important and interlinked ingredients of a livable city:

Resilience

Inclusiveness

Authenticity

focuses on adaptability, flexibility and balance. It is about the

is about creating social integration and cohesion. Inclusive

is the ability to maintain the local character of the city,

ability of a city to ‘invent’ or ‘re-invent’ itself through

cities are open for participation from the widest range of

the local heritage, culture and environment. At the same

shocks and stresses, to harmoniously accommodate old and new values, and to adapt the functions and require-

civil society, irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity, cultural heritage, beliefs, religion and economic status. Inhabitants

time, a city needs to accommodate social, economic and technological changes – and evolve itself. This evolution

ments of the city. It illustrates a city’s capacity to balance

should have equal opportunities to participate in the

needs to be sustainable and match the expectations of

continuity with change, heritage and innovation, natural

activities of a city. Inclusiveness enhances community

the citizens.

spaces and the urban environment to the benefit of its inhabitants.

feelings, the sense of ownership towards the city, the sense of belonging to a place.

*Lovable cities reference based on a concept by Darko Radovic, Keio University Tokyo, first presented at the think tank meeting in Singapore on 20/01/2011

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

An authentic city can create a

In an inclusive city, inhabitants

sense of pride and belonging

are actively involved from the

“This is my city.” It can make a

start of every city initiative.

city lovable as well as livable.

The city is open to political

Livable cities need environ-

participation from the widest

mental resilience with a low

range of civil society.

ecological and low carbon footprint. They need to consider energy, food, water and materials. _______________________ Resilient cities need economic stability. They should strive for economic diversity to reduce dependence on one economic _______________________ Parks and other forms of natural heritage are important for authenticity as it creates a collective memory. Native species emphasise the unique location of a city. Parks function as resilient ‘lungs’ of a city improving the air quality.

model, job creation, as well as entrepreneurship.

_______________________ Social cohesion implies that _______________________ Everyone in the city is included has rights, and is entitled to a better life. The elderly,

a city is inclusive and breeds cooperation and tolerance between citizens with different values and beliefs.

disabled and poor are seen as potentially valuable social capital.

_______________________ Resilient cities realize that they are connected and interdependent within a system of other cities and ______________________ The history of a city makes it

also with the rural environment surrounding them.

authentic. It reflects local culture _______________________ The relationship with the surrounding rural area is

and local knowledge and reinforces a sense of place and the local identity.

important for resilience.

Food supply and urban agriculture need to be considered.

The Philips Center for Health & Well-being is focused on improving the lives of people around the world. The Insight Series shares the work-in-progress of the think tanks operating within The Philips Center for Health & Well-being. Through illustrating a snapshot or a concept, they are aimed at stimulating discussion and debate around critical challenges in improving health & well-being worldwide.

www.philips-thecenter.org

@philipscenter

A “green” or “sustainable” home is not only resource-efficient and earth-friendly but also durable and healthy. That doesn’t have to mean costly or cumbersome. To be truly sustainable in the real world, homes also must be practical and convenient -- so they can be widely adopted in the marketplace. The goal is to integrate and balance the following criteria: Energy efficiency -- tailored for a warm, humid climate to reduce utility bills, conserve energy resources and reduce pollution from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity Water efficiency -- to stem the rising costs of treating drinking water and wastewater as well as reduce depletion of our aquifers Waste management -- to reduce construction and household waste going to landfills Pollution prevention -- to protect water quality and the ecosystem Favouring “green,” renewable and local resources -- to use resources efficiently, conserve nonrenewable resources and stimulate the local economy Decay resistance -- to control moisture and prevent deterioration Multi-hazard resistance -- to resist damage from hurricanes, floods, fire, hail, etc.

Pest resistance -- to protect from Formosan subterranean termites and other damaging pests

These pages are dedicated to the ecological side of the research for my project. It is one of the most important areas to investigate, in order to find out about the limitations and possibilities of my design, as sustainability is the key area in my project. Also I will develop even more my idea, and realize all of the different ways of how I can improve it from ecological side of it.

24

Indoor air quality control -- to minimize health hazards such as mold, dust mites, combustion pollutants and other common indoor air contaminants Integrated pest management -- to control pests and minimize use of pesticides Universal design -- to provide a safe, functional, accessible and adaptable home that accommodates all ages and stages of the life cycle Functional and family-friendly -- to provide for efficient work flows and family harmony Low maintenance -- to reduce cost and time needed to maintain property value and appearance.

Advanced wiring -- for advances in the information age and to enable the home to serve as a satellite “telecommuting” office, reducing commuting time and energy.

Cost effective -- to save money in the long term with a lower life-cycle cost, considering operating costs, maintenance, longevity and loss prevention.

Available -- so contractors or consumers can buy and use it now.

Feasible -- new methods or technologies that offer a short learning curve or labour savings to address industry shortage of skilled labour and reduce the costs of making the change.

Marketable -- to preserve appeal to mainstream consumers.

Sustainable innovation-sustainable systems A sustainable system goes beyond sustainable design, and is a radical approach to seeing the whole community working on the same issue.

It might look on the whole cities, creating new systems that will collaborate in reducing energy use, and being more ecological. It means that not only one person or household will live in a house that is sustainable and ecological, but the whole community will be doing the same thing, creating a system of eco-living. This is an approach that I think would be the most appropriate in trying to solve the problem I have- and a design for this idea on the next page shows the solution.

ECOLOGY AND PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

For this idea I got influence from Sir Joseph Paxton’s Great Victorian Way (proposed in 1855) that was never built in London. It would have consisted of a ten-mile covered loop around much of central and west London, integrating a glass-roofed street, railways, shops and houses. In order to fully address my problem of global warming and food shortages in the future, I had an idea of creating a whole urbanization of houses on rooftops. Between the buildings in a city it is proposed to have parks on bridges floating over the roads. In these parks there will be trees, flowers and edible plants. By having these parks open-space, doubling trees and plants number inside the city will massively reduce CO2 concentration and decrease greenhouse emissions contributing to global warming. In order to fully benefit from these parks, on the rooftops themselves houses for people will be built. A new proposal for the

house assembly I presented in the sketches on the right. These would be wooden panels of engineered lumber which is strong and sturdy, that would have grooves in them as illustrated where another wall could be inserted. On the floor there will also be grooves or any other supporting system that would hold the whole structure together. In the groves that are not used for walls lights, electricity cables, water pipes, etc., can be inserted and then concealed by inserting small wooden panels there. These groves could then also be used for vertical farms, hanging objects and so on.

On the roof and outside walls, plants can be used for insulation and other purposes.

On the right there is an updated version of the house layout, with all of the suggestions and corrections that where to be made. By using this method of assembly, liquid layout can be introduced to the design, which can be altered after the assembly of the house.

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After watching a TED talk by Catherine Mohr, I was impressed by how unsustainable our houses are. Even if you use the most sustainable materials, the embodied energy of these materials and their uses can be more damaging to environment than we think. So in order to find out more about this ecological side of house building I researched on Mohr’s website 301monroe. com and other websites the information about the embodied energy.The results are shown on the right. It is interesting, how for example finishes to materials have very little embodied energy, whereas the aluminium windows have as twice as embodied

energy of the wooden framed windows.

I will be taking this concept into account when further designing, including material choice and manufacturing techniques.

When it comes to house life-cycle and embodied energy, a traditionally built house will always have more embodied energy than a sustainably built one from scratch, even if it is upgraded and has energy certification. Also, instead of demolition of an old house, it can be deconstructed and materials in it can be then reused again, gaining embodied carbon point for the future.

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SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Ecolable is one way of telling the customer and stakeholders about a green and ecological side of a house/product/service. For houses currently there are not many certifications.

There is energy performance certificate that checks how efficient the house is. Also there are other codes and standards that vary according to different countries. There are other certifications of white and brown goods such as refrigerators and washing machines, and materials, such as FSC certified wood or fair-trade consumer goods. Also the quality of light, insulation, electricity, water, etc., can be assessed according to different standards for being more or less sustainable.

According to the energy resources used in a house, its sustainability can vary. There are many sources of alternative energy, such as solar, geothermal, wind power. According to which ones are used and what energy requirements they satisfy, a house can be called zero-carbon footprint limiting. I want to be able to achieve this status in my design for my house, to allow complete autonomy and independence to the household.

Ecology and product life cycle does not only apply to the house and its construction, but also to agriculture and food production in our society and concept I am working on.

For this I researched sustainable agriculture concept, which has been defined as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term” For Example: • Satisfy human food and fibre needs • Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends • Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls • Sustain the economic viability of farm operations • Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole This ideas will have to be taken into account when designing the farming unit. It will be an essential to not only create a green house design, but also a sustainable way of producing and consuming food.

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This is an example of how an ordinary and abundant product can be re-used and recycled to become a building materialand example that can be implemented in every aspect of industrialised people’s lives.

6. Ecology and Product Life Cycle 6.1. Create a sustainable system that tackles the problem 6.2. When choosing materials look at the embodied energy content and its sustainability 6.3. Design according to environmental standards 6.4. New technology implemented has to be sustainable and be focused on improving the environment of a house around it 6.5. House life-cycle must be extended to be as long as possible for a more responsible design

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

A house that will be located on a roof has to be safe in many aspects, starting with rails for open spaces and finishing with the weight of a house on the building underneath it. Structural safety is very important as well as its ability to shelter from the wind and other impacts.

Safety of the materials used has to be considered, as the materials has to be non-hazardous to the health and environment.

• Which materials are safe for health and what manufacturing techniques will result in safe and sound structure of the house and its carbon footprint.

• How health and wellbeing of the household can be improved with using specific materials, objects and techniques such as feng shui.

• What are regulations and safety institution for house building on rooftops, water and pillars not touching the ground

• Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation of real existing products From this section, I learnt about regulations and safety standards that apply to timber structure buildings, and how homes can be made healthier. There are many leaflets from governments that advice households on how to look after their homes, manufactured ones and built in-situ; this is valuable, as I will be including this tips in order to many my house safe and sound for my household, as well as to achieve the BSI and Eurocode certificates.

In order to find out about the information I want to know, I researched health and safety regulations for housing and agricultural practices. I tried also to find any regulations for rooftop building and floating structures, but it seems there isn’t any. I suppose there will be special agreement and legislation applied to it.

It is possible to build green gardens on rooftops, and special regulations apply to it. Also there are examples of existing products, such as First Penthouse and LoftCube, which are built and used on t op of a roof.

I found BSI energy efficient building kite-mark and the programme that is used to assess green buildings, which is explained on the right. Also I found leaflets with safety regulations and tips for households and individuals and the construction of the house. They outline the materials to be used that are safe to health, ways of decreasing carbon footprint and maximising house’s safety, outline fire and risk assessments. Other issues, such as manufacturing techniques, maintenance, usage, etc., will be discussed and researched later.

For households safety and health that live in the city, air pollution is one of the biggest issues. For this, a minimum of three species of plants should be used in a house.

The three most important plants to clean air in houses are Areca palm, Motherin-Law’s Tongue and money plant. Areca palm is a plant which removes CO2 and converts it into oxygen. Four shoulderhigh plants are needed per person, and in terms of plant care, its needed to wipe the leaves every day in cities with high air pollution, and perhaps once a week in cleaner-air cities. It is preferable to grow them in vermi-culture, which is sterile, or hydroponics, and take them outdoors every three to four months. The second In this section I investigated health and safety issues that are to do with housing and household’s well-being. It was useful to know in order to find out about limitations of different materials and construction techniques, which later will be useful in creating the most complete design.

What do I know?

plant is Mother-in-law’s Tongue, which is again a very common plant, and it is called a bedroom plant, because it converts CO2 into oxygen at night. And six to eight waist-high plants are needed per person.

The third plant is money plant, and this is again a very common plant; preferably grows in hydroponics. And this particular plant removes formaldehydes and other volatile chemicals. Having this amount of plants per person in a house removes any necessity of oxygen. This means that using these plants for a house located in a city, as well as having it outside in parks, will help to clean air and reduce pollution.

Also these plants are good insulators, which reduces heating requirements.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Safety and Health in Manufactured Structures

Your logo

EUROCODES Background and Applications

Brussels, 18-20 February 2008 – Dissemination of information workshop

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EUROCODE 5, part 1-1 Components and assemblies Structural detailing and control Hans Hartl University Innsbruck / Austria Hans.Hartl@uibk.ac.at

EN 1995-1-1:2004 (E) Eurocode 5 Design of timber structures Part 1-1: General – Common rules and rules for buildings

HEALTH AND SAFETY For publication

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2004-11-01

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What is the Green Deal?

The Green Deal is the biggest planned home improvement programme for more than 60 years aiming to cut CO2 emissions in housing by 29% and in workplaces by 13%. It is a huge opportunity for providers of energy efficient measures such as insulation as well as installers of the measures and those giving advice on how to make buildings more energy efficient.

It is anticipated that 14 million homes will be retrofitted with energy efficient measures by 2020.

BSI is one of the first wave of UKAS accredited Certification bodies for the Green Deal appointed by DECC (The Department of Energy and Climate Change) to certify Providers, Installers and Advice Organizations.

Green Deal is a UK government initiative that aims to improve energy performance in homes and commercial buildings. It recommends that buildings will be retrofitted with energy efficiency products, which will be paid for by electricity bills over the payback time of the product. The initiative could lead to smart meters being rolled out, energy performance certificates becoming more accessible, more transparent energy bills and energy providers supporting consumers in improving energy efficiency.

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

FIRE SAFETY IN THE HOME

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

405429_Fire_Kills_A5 AW_March 2010 wpagenos.indd 1

31/03/2011 09:29

7. Health and Safety 7.1. Design has to take into account all of the health and safety legistlations required for a house.

7.2. Household’s well-being will depend upon how safe the house is and what materials are used 7.3. House must follow health and safety standards in order to be able to get certified logos.

7.4. Features that have nothing to do with constructuion, such as materials for different objects and plants also have to be chosen carefully as they affect household’s wellbeing.

What have I learnt?

Sustainable house and urban farming is something new and not-known nowadays. This new type of housing will need to become a culture of living, the way people grow and eat their food, how energy resources are managed in the community, the feeling of responsibility towards the earth will have to be created. This will be done through many different ways, such as automated housing, vertical gardens, training, influence from school and people’s work.

•How a culture of sustainable living can be created and integrated in humans’ everyday life •What is an ethical house and how this can be achieved.

•What are smart houses and how they can be set up.

• Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation of real existing products Starting new culture through sustainable living will not be difficult, as there are already existing communities that have this lifestyle; an ethical house will be the one that is truly believed in by the created, who uses the best materials for the manufacture, creates the most efficient and extensive design; and most importantly makes it fully sustainable, as Earth being one of my TMG, and for which it needs to ethical to it too.

Educating- automated and smart house This will be another way of attracting people to sustainable living- a whole system that will look after the house. It would manage the energy consumption, vertical garden maintenance, educating the household how to use the space inside their home. more: http://smartbuilthome.com/ blog/2013/09/10/from-smart-house-tonetworked-home/

Culture- Ecovillages Ecovillages are small/medium sized communities pursuing a goal of becoming more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Their populations can vary from 50 to 2,000 individuals existing in networks of smaller sub-communities. From Wikipedia: “Ecovillagers seek alternatives to ecologically destructive electrical, water, transportation, and waste-treatment systems, as well as the larger social systems that mirror and support them. Many see the breakdown of traditional forms of community, wasteful consumerist lifestyles, the destruction of natural habitat, urban sprawl, factory farming, and over-reliance on fossil fuels as trends that must be changed to avert ecological disaster and create richer and more fulfilling ways of life.”

Creating such culture on rooftops might be one way of attracting people that support this movement but want to live in city.

Ethics Making people live in a new way might be seem as a way of gaining money.This might be due to higher initial building costs of a house- his means that the whole concept and idea has to be built and presented in a perfectly ethical way, where solving of a problem is the most important, not gaining as much money as possible.

For this project, I will not be using ecology of the product as marketing tool, but trying to creating a new culture, creating my own trusted brand among my customers that will believe in the same idea that I do. As I’ve been researching there are sustainability institutions, ecolabeling, etc., but they are not yet fully trusted (except for Greenpeace and FSC may be) because there is no other bigger institution checking for them. And it is all about new and undiscovered technology.

By building strong and trusted brand I will have to make people believe in my concept and ethics of it.

8. Morals, Culture and Ethics 8.1. The design has to integrate sustainability of a house, individual and the whole community to be able to create a new culture of living.

8.2. New and smart technology has to be used to help to create a new and user friendly culture of living.

8.3. The concept and the design must not be used as a marketing tool- but to be genuinely believed in to attract customers.

8.4. Depending on country, culture and traditions the design might vary.

MORALS, CULTURE AND ETHICS

Here I will investigate the cultural and ethical side of my idea. I want to find out how possible a new culture can be created, or even a movement of sustainable living and what will have to be done to achieve it.

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What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

In order to make my concept true, new technology will have to be used in everything that deals with sustainable housing and vertical farming.

This will include energy recourse extraction, smart house systems, farming unit, etc.

What is the new technology available for urban farming How a sustainable house should be built and what technologies are used for it What are the examples of already existing vertical gardens, and how they can be constructed and what are the requirements.

What technology can be used to make the house more user friendly and comfortable to use • Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation of real existing products Through the investigation of a variety of new technologies, it became apparent that my design will have to make use of them all- as this is the way to make it as efficient and as sustainable as possible I’ve looked at already existing examples, and there are many practical features that can be implemented into my concept Also, with extensive variety of vertical farming methods, any kinds of combinations for the growing system inside the house can be createdwhich will introduce the culture of green living to new level to the households

THE GREENEST BUILDING IN THE NETHERLANDS integrated

design

Floriade

2012,

international

horticulture

exposition

at

Venlo

no external fuel, electricity, water or sewage day time PVT-collector

night time harvesting cold + water

multipurpose parabolic solar collector polished steel sheet roof of parabolic solarmirrors example of a new PV-collector helianthos@nuon.com

During the research I found many manuals, leaflets, images with tips and explanations of how to create a sustainable house and the technology that is used. It all always refers to grid-tied houses, whereas my house will have to be off-grid and self-sustainable in order to be located in any place. On top and on the right I have some examples of companies that offer new technologies, such as grey water recycling, rain water collection, and houses that use renewable energy sources and materials for house building. Also I found examples of already existing houses that are perfect examples of a sustainable house, which is not only aesthetic but functional and ethical. Moreover, I found an example of a sustainable innovation that uses hybrid car technology to create a whole community that is encouraged to use eco-firendly cars (with some costs) instead of owning their own one. I cannot include all of the information that I found, it would take many pages, but this research and influences will go into improving further my design and concepts afterwards. When clicking on the images of the leaflets on the right the whole booklet can be viewed.

max. 80 oC hotwater collector + paper-thin photovoltaic panels in focus of nodded parabola 70 –100 Wp / m2 > 70kWh /m2y size :1220 x 2440 mm speed of production 3m1/minute

clear sky 300W / m2 IR fluoropolymer coating ±20 micrometer condensing water in most parts of the world

four stories of multipurpose space / offices www.livingmachines.com

TECHNICAL CROSS-SECTION FLORIADE 2012 installations

green-house visitors parking

carbon cycle

Secondary Research: Solar Umbrella House Wind Turbine energy generation

One of the things that I was surprised about was the fact that green walls and green roofs do exist already and the technology is available to the public and is widely used. The sales-man explained that this technology has amazing thermal insulation properties, is relatively cheap and can be installed almost everywhere, making the house several times more energy efficient any structure.

This is a system used for recycling industrial biomass waste, used in massive scale in factories, that turns waste to energy.

Passive solar heating

On these pages I had Investigated some possible technology available nowadays for create sustainable houses. It does not include materials and manufacturing research (which was also partially explored before in ecology section). I also had some primary research in an Eco Fair in Valencia, where I also had access to the latest technology in ecological design. This section was essential for the vertical farming unit design and the whole concept, as I want it to be innovative and creative in order to be useful and responsive to the problem.

In the fair there were many other efficient systems present, involving water recycling, innovative insulation, green designs for houses and projects, recycling campaigns and the way that government encourages children and community to recycle, producing everyday objects from waste; usually this technologies were mostly for the businesses but they still can be implemented

Another very good initiative is this competition for sustainable design for supermarkets, which helps to spread the need for eco-design into industrial areas and make not only homes green, but also commercial areas, using innovative technologies efficiently.

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SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Architects: Brooks + Scarpa Location:Venice, California, USA This house was built by the owners of Brooks + Scarpa agency as their own residence accommodating the couple and their one child. Carefully considering the entire site, they took opportunities os as many of the opportunities for sustainable living as possible.

Positive: Passive and active solar design strategies render the residence 100% energy neutralthese means that it is not only necessary to use new technology to achive a sustainable house, but passive design is one of the most affordable ways to do so.

Recycled, renewable, and high performance materials and products are specified throughout that would not be expected to be used in building at all Very easthetically pleasing- connects with the garden and the lanscape Many technologies used such as photovoltaics for heating and energy generation, water recycling.

Negative It is a permanent structure that cannot be moved easily For other region this house would not work due to to different weather conditins and thechnology used.

70 oC hot water tank

anaërobe organic waste biogasconverter vacuüm sewer system carbon cycle nitrogen balance electricity + CO2

new fine wire heat exchangers, use of very-low temperature www.reaquasystems.com

A

Energy Producing Greenhouses water / air heat exchangers very low temperature heating 25oC very high temperature cooling 15oC fine-wire exchanger is 7x more effective than traditional ones info@fiwihex-international.com

thermal buffer seasonal heat storage

new light-weight concrete large span double floor

BreathingWindow.com air / air heat exchanger 85% h-r. decentral, balanced room-ventilation CO2-detaching , intelligent display compact 7.5 km, 1/10mm, 500 g copperwire air guides , two 4W fans.

Two 100mm thick upper and under concrete slabs connected by special structure of reinforcement.

The firesafe cavity in the floor is accessible. The use of the building is flexible forever and also detachable. ontwerpadvies@brinkclimatesystems.nl keyzerbouwtechniek.nl

self-sufficiency of general utilities heating / cooling electricity drinking water nutrients (nitrogen) nitrogen in waste water (concentrated)

Press Pack City Car Club at a glance

conclusion On the scale of a 8ha greenhouse area and a living quarter of at least 250 householdings an ecologically self-supporting community seems to be already realistic.

Membership: More than 29,000 Number of cars & vans: Over 700 Cities: 16 - London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Leeds, York, Birmingham, Bath, Southampton, Huddersfield, Chester, Liverpool

For all press enquiries: Vicky Shipway - Press@citycarclub.co.uk weaving of 2mm copperpipes 1 / 10 mm tinned copperwire

About Us Founded in 2005, City Car Club was the UK’s first commercial car club, offering people the freedom of a car or van when they need one, without the hassle and expense of owning one. We are now the most experienced car club in the UK, providing thousands of members with access to hundreds of vehicles every day.

twinning of 1 /10 mm copperwire

20m1 span, 0.7m thick concrecte double floor

author : jon kristinsson, kristinsson architectural engineers, noordenbergsingel 10, 7411se, deventer, the netherlands, j.kristinsson@kristinsson.nl principals : InnovationNetwork and SIGN, www.innovatienetwerk.org/en/, p.t.oei@innonet.agro.nl world sustainable building conference, Melbourne, 21-25 septmber 2008

From humble beginnings, launching with just a handful of cars in Edinburgh, the club immediately gathered pace and has since grown at a phenomenal rate – prompting the launch of new operations in many key cities right across the UK. City Car Club has been at the forefront of the car club industry, as more and more motorists discover the cost saving, convenience, and environmental benefits of membership.

Our main goal is to change the nation’s mind-set, car ownership has always been considered ‘normal’. However, excluding the daily commute you would be surprised how little people actually use their car. Which is why we are challenging the traditional model and offering a cost effective, environmentally friendly alternative - pay as you go motoring.

Following a strategic acquisition of competitor car club WhizzGo in August 2009, City Car Club now has the UK’s largest national network of car club vehicles spanning England, Scotland and Wales. By the end of 2013 City Car Club plan to increase their national fleet by a further 15%.

As the only independently owned, British-based car club in the UK, we’re passionate about providing residents and businesses with a viable alternative to private car ownership and continue to expand our network of cars and vans to meet the ever increasing demand for our service.

Our Head Office is located in Leeds which is home to our dedicated Clubhouse Team, and we also have offices across the UK where our regional club managers are based.

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These are the examples of the technologies and proposals I found for improving eco-living. The building on top uses all of the possible technologies availible to create a new sustainable system that adresses all of the issues- fossil fuel usage, electricity and water usage or sewage. This concept is being built right now, but the technologies that are used there can also be used in other buildings such as implemeted into my design.

Making our cities attractive and sustainable How the EU contributes to improving the urban environment

Hydroponics system Uses water with nutrients to feed the plants. Sufficient light has to be allowed for plants, weather by using artificial lights or enhanced greenhouse light. It uses 70% less water than traditions irrigation and does not require soil.

SkyGreens Vertical Farm in Singapore From the website: “The A-Go-Gro vertical systems which are 9m in height (3 storeys), housed in protectedoutdoor green houses, allow tropical leafy vegetables to be grown all year round at significantly higher yields (than traditional growing methods) that are safe, of high quality, fresh and delicious.

ZipGrow Tower Currently awaiting patent approval, The ZipGrow Tower™ is composed of a PVC frame that acts as a housing for a matrix media made up of a recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) blend that functions to hold the seeds and seedlings in place within the vertical system. Once the seeds or seedlings have been encased in the matrix media, the towers can then be hung and irrigated by a hydroponic or aquaponic system.

It’s important to note that the towers work in both hydroponic and aquaponic systems, because typically production outcomes differ markedly when one tries to apply the same equipment without modifications to both system types.

Aeroponics system- uses 95% less water than usual irrigation systems.

Water with nutrients get sprayed on plants sufficient amounts of time

Back to the Roots: Aquafarm The aquafarm is a affordable way of growing plans using aquaponics system. It involves a fish, water pump and plants, where the fish feeds the plants and the plants clean the water. It is a sustainable ecosystem that does not require any maintenance and additional effort, only feeding the fish. It is also very simple for set up and can be placed in any location

Granpa Dome Hydroponic Farm

by Yokohama-based Granpa Co. Eight white dome-shaped greenhouses, each with a diameter of 30 meters, were built in the city’s Hamadagawa district in June along a national highway. Cultivation started on June 20. Within its domes is a circular vegetable cultivation stage with watered instead of soil.

Farmers can plant seedlings and harvest vegetables while standing up. This hydroponic farming facility utilizes the natural light and the heat captured inside the dome as energysaving measures. Seven of the eight greenhouses are already in operation.

Seedlings will be soon planted at the remaining one. If all eight greenhouses are in full operation, 3,200 to 3,600 heads of lettuce are expected to be harvested each day.

Example of a green wall integrated into an interior

Aquaponics system

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SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

After having researched the answers to the questions that I set myself before, I came up with two ideas for the farming unit/room. The first idea came from Granpa Co. hydroponics system, which could be incorporated in my design but in a smaller scale.The same circular system could be piled up in layers for different plants. A bridge would be there to reach the inner circle for planting new plants over some time. The corners and the walls can also be used for planting or storing.

After considering all sides of the design, I realised that the system would be inefficient and would require a lot of maintenance, and the busy lifestyle of my household would not allow them to spend time cleaning, planing and storing vegetables and the whole system.

For this, I came up with slightly modified, and more efficient idea for this unit. It will have a direct access to the kitchen, hidden behind doors, in the same place where fridge and dry storage are. The same circular system would be used, but now there will be no need for storing veggies, as they will be used as they grow and then replanted again. The other storage space could be used for bigger plants, such as salad tomatoes or potatoes, and espalier trees alongside walls for fruits and tree grown veggies.

In terms of maintenance this system is much more efficient, as household will be able to always control the growing cycle, as they will have direct, everyday access to the growing system. Also, like this the space will be used more efficiently, giving the most of the necessary food implementation to the household.

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9. New Technology 9.1. New technology should be used where necessary to create the most energy-efficient, userfriendly and aesthetically pleasing sustainable house 9.2. New technology does not have to be commercialised or just released- forgotten efficient systems and technologies can, and should, be used 9.3. Systems used have to be accessible by everyone, ensuring that any TMG can use and live the house 9.4. Systems such as smart house have to be used- for a modern, maintenance-free house as found in further discussion with my expert.

9.5. Farming unit has to have a direct access to the kitchen/living space and be maintenance free as found in my questionnaire.

9.6. The grinnest house will have to be the one that works in a whole sustainable system, which is beneficial for the whole community, collaborating to the same problem.

What do I know?

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

As a sustainable house is an investment in the future, in the first place its costs might be quite high, As I will be designing I will try to try and find not very expensive and durable materials and manufacturing techniques, ensuring the best possible outcome. I do not know about the final quantity of houses for the project, but I was thinking of a complex of such units in order to address the issue as fully as possible.

• What materials and the design methods offer the most inexpensive but durable and affordable results to everyone •What are the plants, and how many are needed for a healthy family of four and how much it will cost • Is it possible to grow organic plants in hydroponics system and how does it work

• Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation real existing products

As found in this research, organic plants can be grown in the farming units, but a special nutrient solution will have to be used instead of water; also not everything will be possible to grow in the farming unit, neither produced by the household- so alternative sources of alimentation such as Whole Foods Market should be integrated into the system.

The list on the right is a list of products that a family needs in a week from my expert, who eats only healthy, organic food. She buys her food in fresh, organic markets and from organic wholesalers. An estimated cost of her food in a week is around €80, which is much cheaper than buy conventional food in supermarkets for the whole family.

Based on the research done, taking in account possibility of growing in hydroponics systems and dietary requirements for a family, I chose these plants to grow in the farming unit: Lettuces Potatoes Broccoli Cauliflower Red peppers Spring onions Norma/Cherry tomatoes Zucchini Carrots Cucumbers Brussel Sprouts Eggplant Herbs (Basil, mint, thyme), flowers and berries (Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries) can be distributed around the house Apples Peaches Citruses (Lemons and mandarins) Growing more plants than listed here might be a bit problematic, due to lack of space and maintenance requirements.This means that other plants and products, such as meat and dairy will have to be bought apart, as well as crops and dry products, that will have to be stored and could be bought in bulk.

Approximate amount of food needed for four people- in one week: Veggies: 2 lettuces 5 onions 12 potatoes 6 beet root 1 large broccoli 1 large cauliflower 3 bunches of collard greens (red, yellow and green) 6 spring onions 8 tomatoes or 16 small cherry tomatoes 8 zucchinis 1 butternut Fruits: 8 apples 8 pears 20 mandarins 4 lemons Other: 2 chickens 8 mackerel/sardines Quinoa, chia, herbs, ?

1 bag of almonds 1 bag of olives in brie 1 jar of honey Pink salt 1 slab of 70% cocoa chocolate

Quality Quality of the materials used will be firstly determined by the sustainability of them.

In order to create a sustainable house, but also for it to be attractive to my TMG, the final outcome should be the highest quality possible. Usually using sustainable materials will mean high quality materials, due to their premium pricing and the material sources.

Also the quality of materials and products will determine the durability and longer product life-cycle of the house and the happiness of the household As well, for the framing unit, the nutrients used, water quality and the seeds have to be used only organic ones for it to be the healthiest and the best quality production. To grow organic plants in hydroponics, special nutrient solution has to be used, by means of parallel mineralization. This means there will be a trade off between organic food (more expensive to grow) and conventional plants using chemical fertilisers and nutrients.

Graph representing maintenance requirements for different plants

Whole foods market, a supermarket chain with over 350 stores across US and UK, specialising in organic food and supporting local farmers- a clear example of accessible and high quality natural products

Cocopeat- sustainable and organic growing medium for hydroponics

What do I know?

This chart gives another possibility of how much should be planted for a family of four- but this depends on the particular needs and tastes of the household- but overall the system will have to accommodate 15+ Plants.

10. Quality, quantity and cost 10.1. For the highest quality yield organic nutrient solution and seeds have to be used in the farming unit 10.2. The most efficient gardening system will have to be able to accommodate between 15-20 plants 10.3. Durable and high quality materials have to be used 10.4. To ensure quality, sustainable materials have to be used

QUALITY, QUANTITY AND COST 34

What do I want to know?

Where will I find the information?

What have I learnt?

Sustainable living, organic products and hydroponics systems, are high-tech, modern concepts that are still not well known. As my TMG is almost anyone who wants to live sustainably and healthier, the system and the house has to be accessible and understandable by everyone. For this purpose I will need to use manuals with instructions of how-to and smart integrated systems that will help the household to manage their house

•Will smart systems enable easier use of the house?

•How to create most simple and easy to understand manuals and instructions for the house •How easy will it be to maintain the farming unit and what will be needed

• Literature related to the subject • Internet articles • Expert opinion • Context study • Investigation real existing products These different examples helped me to see how innovative and creative instructions can be; being simple and clear they educate the customer about the product in comprehensive and straight forward way, integrating new technologies and possibilities together

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Instruction manuals are the things that customer wants to see when he buys a new product. It applies to everything, starting from bags and finishing with fridges. But the only product that never has a manual is a house. A sustainable, smart house will have to have a very easy to read, illustrated manual for all of the different aspects of the house in order to fully benefit from living in it.

For example, I had researched manuals for the products that I use in everyday life. Computers, such as MacBook Pro, a highly complicated machines, come from two, very slim manuals with a lot of photographs, drawings and ideograms

to be understood by everyone. If more information is needed, Apple Support tutorials are available in internet in videos and step-by-step instructions. For iPhone users, eBooks of manuals are available, where browsing necessary information is very easy, accompanied with colourful illustrations. As for non-electric products, Ikea’s manuals are the most easily understandable instructions that I could find. They do not use any words, or very few, and the instructions are illustrated in a way that can be understood in any country, as Ikea is international chain.This makes their products more desirable and easy to use and be assembled without

extra help.

Almost every smart system now comes with Wi-Fi access to the mobile and tablet devices, making the maintenance and access to the house easier and more centralized. Also, this allows for greater personalization of the house, such as lighting, temperature in the house, access to special features, even kitchen menu customization.

These are only few of the available examples illustrated on this page, and new technology pages. Each of them will have its own way of helping the customer to take the most of their houses.

11. Maintenance and Consumer Education 11.1. Instructions and manuals to the house have to be clear and accessible by everyone 11.2. Smart technology must be incorporated into the design in order to be able to allow the household to benefit from their sustainable house 11.3. The house must be as efficient as possible in order to be maintenance free

Z-wave smart house interface using Apple products

In order to investigate the ways that my innovative house can be maintained and be hassle-free when using, I investigated different smart technologies but also researched how through different methods like instructions (electronic, graphical and written) the house can become a learning tool for the owners.

35

MAINTENANCE AND CONSUMER EDUCATION

As part of my research I had purchased an Aerogarden Hydroiponics system for my house. Due to the nature of my project being all about hydroponics and aeroponics systems, I wanted to investigate commercially available systems and how easy/fast/smartly/expensive is to grow plants at home.

The package came with already disassembled pieces for better transportation, but overall its electronic parts were assembled and came ready to fit in. The instruction for the system were very clear and straightforward, with easy to understand graphics. This 7-pod Aerogarden consisted of a hood, special grow bulbs, lamp hood holder, the base with electronics, the bowl with the pump and seed pods and nutrients.

The way that this system works is that you fill the bowl with water, and it circulates around the system through the pump, going directly to the roots of the plant.

Using different settings for different plants will ensure the plants get as much water as required, e.g. salad greens need water all the time, whereas tomatoes and herds do not require it as much. Light settings also vary from plant variety, ranging from 8-16 hours a day for any specific plant type.

Having had this system showed me how easy it is to look after hydroponics system. Anything that is required is to add water and nutrients, and the system will work out perfect pH, light and water cycling cycles for the plants. Also, having low energy consuming light bulbs is an efficient way of having crop yield in several weeks and being able to harvest it during almost six month. I am sure there are cheaper alternatives, and there are DIY methods to create a system like this, but for a household that has no experience neither in gardening and DIY, this is perfect to be able to grow hasslefree plants. This pump cycling system can be used for any other systems, in a bigger scale, layered, which I can investigate further into my coursework. Also, this proves that almost any type of plants can be grown like this, starting with herbs and finishing with strawberries and tomatoes.

Lamp hood and two Grow bulbs, silver coating is used for the light to reflect and reach plants more efficiently.

The base with lamp holder came separately, connecting the light to the electronic system ensuring light cycle control.

The cable had a special string attached to it so it is not left laying around but is attached to the holder for safety.

Grow lights that designed to stimulate plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum appropriate for photosynthesis, usually are cool white fluorescent bulbs that allow plant growth in conditions with no sun light.

The bowl is quite simple, with an indicator until where to fill for plants to have enough water for 2 weeks. The bowl is shaped to be fitted in the majority of location, with ability to hold up to 7 plants roots freely.

This little indentations ensure the water is falling directly to the seed pod for the plant to have enough water. It comes to it through the veins pushed by a pump, falls into the bowl and comes back to the pump.

Seed pods come with germinating domes and liquid nutrient. To plant tomatoes, I placed only three seed pods, due to their roots expanding a lot as they grow, so there is enough space for them.

My first salad greens did not sprout, but the second trial with tomatoes was more successful, sprouting in a weeks time.

This is how assembled Aerogarden looks like, placed in my kitchen counter. There was no need for sunlight and much space, so it fitted perfectly where it can be observed constantly.

Instruction booklet was very clear and graphically rich, showing clear instructions what could be understood by everyone.

The lamp hood can vary in height- due to different height settings of the holder, as plant grow it needs to be lifted.

The base for the seed pods connects the pump to the electronic base and allows water to be circulated to reach all 7 pods.

Pump sponge used for filtrating waste and cleaning the water, as well as keeping the roots from going into the pump.

The black cable connects pump with the base through the hood holder, allowing for circulating cycles to be monitored. The system is quite simple, taking in account that the whole system is connected through one spot, so when made in a different way, the pump can be connected

to the electricity and the water pumped around all the time (when cycle regulation is not needed). Space where the pump mechanism goes, it would take in water through the sponge and pump it through the veins on the base that presumably were injection moulded after a CAD model simulation for a better, ergonomic flow, taking water to every seed pod.

The pump itself, which resulted that it needed to be cleaned once in a while from roots of big plants such were tomatoes, which extended their roots everywhere.

Also, the pump is an ordinary one that can be found in any DIY shop that can then be implemented to any hydroponics system.

Liquid nutrients were included with the seed pod kit, with specifically measured chemicals needed by the plants for healthy growth.

This was interesting, as I have an idea now about what kind of chemicals are required by majority of the plants, and how much the nutrients is needed to be added, e.g. herbs and salad greens need 8 ml of nutrients each 2 weeks, whereas tomatoes need 12 ml each 2 weeks.

This is a picture of growing cherry tomatoes plant, I had golden species. It took around two months for them to start having yield, whereas the ones grown in a traditional way take around 70-80 days to be ready to pick up. I did a mistake while growing them, by not pruning the right way, which gave bad results and not as many tomatoes as I could have had.

PRODUCT DISASSEMBLY 36

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

37

MOOD AND STYLE BOARD 38

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

39

In order to evaluate my design ideas now, and the final concept at the end of the project, I drew up a specification constructed from the research that I had previously done.

This way, I will be able to access the best development points of my rough designs, take only the best features from them, and combine them together to create the most efficient and sustainable design.

After having researched new technology and ecological side to the design, it became apparent that my designs need to be developed into something more innovative and use every scientific breakthrough to improve the concept.

I feel that these specification points fully describe and give clear details on how the house needs to be and what features at least it needs to have. The information in my research, where these points come from, will be used to create an informed and fulfilling outcome. Also, using valuable personal experience and expert opinion, I was able to formulate a clear idea about how the concept fits into meeting the objectives of combating the climate change.

Although there is missing the part on materials and manufacture (as I did not research it yet), the specification will be very helpful for creating a sophisticated outcome. I will create a scaled model specification later, because I still do not have my final design formulated and do not know about the possibilities of materials and manufacturing processes.

1. Function 1.1. Each of the units will carry its own function assigned to it 1.2.Units will have to be able to be disassembled and assembled together in order for house to be as functional as possible for the user himself.

1.3. Units system will adopt to the context specific context of the customer.

1.4. Every function that units carry has to be completely sustainable 1.5. The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design

needs and wants.

5.2 There will have to be focused on my secondary TMG which is Earth, so the design will have to satisfy the environmental issues as well.

6. Ecology and Product Life Cycle 6.1. Create a sustainable system that tackles the global problem 6.2. When choosing materials look at the embodied energy content and its sustainability 6.3. Design according to environmental standards 6.4. New technology implemented has to be sustainable and be focused on improving the environment of a house around it 6.5. House life-cycle must be extended to be as long as 2. Aesthetics 2.1. Decoration in the units has to be kept at the minimum possible for a more responsible design but allow the customer to personalise the space with the 7. Health and Safety features integrated in the units.

2.2. Using organic, sustainable and pure materials with only 7.1. Design has to take into account all of the health and necessary, practical finish, the most organic and aesthetic safety legislations required for a house.

7.2. Householdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well-being will depend upon how safe design will be achieved.

2.3. Units will have to adopt to three different contexts, the house is and what materials are used different customers so the aesthetic part of the design 7.3. House must follow health and safety standards in order to be able to get certified logos. has to appeal to everyone.

7.4. Features that have nothing to do with construction, such as materials for different objects and plants also have 3. Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1.The house has to be well sound and thermally insulated to be chosen carefully as they affect householdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wellbeing. according to the context.

3.2. Light and colour preferences should be adjusted 8. Morals, Culture and Ethics according to the context.

3.3. Design principles has to apply to each unit and be 8.1. The design has to integrate sustainability of a house, individual and the whole community to be able to create constructed according to the rules when appropriate.

3.4. Units have to be user friendly fisrt of all, being a new culture of living.

8.2. New and smart technology has to be used to help to ergonomic for each of the household. create a new and user friendly culture of living.

8.3. The concept and the design must not be used as a 4. Trends, Fashion, Brands and Corporate identity 4.1 The image of my concept has to have a very strong marketing tool- but to be genuinely believed in to attract branding identity, probably by associating with other customers.

8.4. Depending on country, culture and traditions the brands 4.2. A new fashion and trend for my concept will have to design might vary. be created, in order to be attractive to my TMG 9. New Technology 9.1. New technology should be used where necessary 5. Target Market Group 5.1 My design will have to taking into account my TMG to create the most energy-efficient, user-friendly and

40

aesthetically pleasing sustainable house 9.2. New technology does not have to be commercialised or just released- forgotten efficient systems and technologies can, and should, be used 9.3. Systems used have to be accessible by everyone, ensuring that any TMG member can use and live in the house 9.4. Systems such as smart house have to be used- for a modern, maintenance-free house as found in further discussion with my expert.

9.5. Farming unit has to have a direct access to the kitchen/living space and be maintenance free as found in my questionnaire.

9.6. The grinner house will have to be the one that works in a whole sustainable system, which is beneficial for the whole community, collaborating to the same problem.

10. Quality, quantity and cost 10.1. For the highest quality yield, organic nutrient solution and seeds have to be used in the farming unit 10.2. The most efficient gardening system will have to be able to accommodate between 15-20 plants 10.3. Durable and high quality materials have to be used 10.4. To ensure quality, sustainable materials have to be used 11. Maintenance and Consumer Education 11.1. Instructions and manuals to the house have to be clear and accessible by everyone 11.2. Smart technology must be incorporated into the design in order to be able to allow the household to benefit from their sustainable house 11.3. The house must be as efficient as possible in order to be maintenance free 12. Materials and Manufacturing I will do more research for this area of specification later, after the final idea is formulated and further development done 13. Style 13.1 A combination of all of the previous specification requirements will create unique style for my concept as being pure and essential.

SPECIFICATION

Criteria (from 1-10) Units will have to be able to be disassembled and assembled together in order for house to be as functional as possible for the user himself.

The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design Design principles has to apply to each unit and be constructed according to the rules when appropriate.

Units have to be user friendly first of all, being ergonomic for each of the household.

The image of my concept has to have a very strong branding identity, probably by associating with other brands The grinner house will have to be the one that works in a whole sustainable system, which is beneficial for the whole community, collaborating to the same problem.

Farming unit has to have a direct access to the kitchen/living space and be maintenance free as found in my questionnaire.

Smart technology must be incorporated into the design in order to be able to allow the household to benefit from their sustainable house A combination of all of the previous specification requirements will create unique style for my concept as being pure and essential.

Total

9

7

9

10

9

9

6

8

10

10

10

10

3

5

6

10

8

9

5

5

5

9

6

8

3

6

6

8

8

8

5

5

6

9

7

9

7

7

7

8

7

10

4

4

4

8

9

10

8

8

8

9

9

9

50

55

61

81

73

82

On this page I have the evaluation of my ideas among the criteria that I derived from the specification. Some of the ideas are a bit different such as the farm unit, but overall I was able to assess them all.The ideas with the highest scores, idea 4 and 6, will be the ones that I will develop further, but still I will be incorporating the best things from other ideas SOFYA ABRAMCHUK too in order to create the most complete final outcome design.

PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

EVALUATION OF IDEAS 41

MODELLING AND PROTOTYPING This section of the project will be focused on trying to develop and refine my idea that will enable me to create the most sophisticated model prototype for my concept. It will involve CAD modelling, mock ups and further investigation and research so that the final outcome is a sophisticated and a working concept.

42

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

43

As a part of my further evaluation, I looked closely at the winning ideas and thought what else there can be improved and how they can be combined. I also considered the designs of the other ideas, and how they can be implemented and used to enhance the ones that won. The idea of adding the new houses to already existing buildings can be improved by using a special base/ foundation, that will not interact with the facade and the roof itself, being supported by pillars going all the way down to the street or to the roof itself. Also the bridges should be smaller and narrower as it will have an impact on the people underneath the structures, limiting the sun that will reach the street. In order to use the space on top of the houses efficiently, urbanizations and parks can be created, integrating the houses and the green space together. This will allow people that live on top to have interaction with neighbours across buildings and feel outside of the city, having a completely different perception of city life.

As to the house, the layout seems to be almost perfect, whereas the farming room will have to be changed and integrated into it accordingly. Also, it will have to be developed even further, as to accommodate the plants that will be growing there as well as to calculate and estimate the necessity of the household for grown food consumption.

It will be difficult to combine features from different ideas, due to that I kept developing my concept already as I was investigating. This is why the last ideas got more score- because they were based on all of the existing knowledge that I kept researching. Now I will be focusing on further enhancing and improving existing features, making them more flexible, adaptable and functional. Also, the CAD model will be helpful in finding the most ergonomic layout.

On this page I further evaluated the ideas that had the highest scores. I outlined some of the possible improvements that can be done and how they can be done. I also looked at the development of my concept and what are the things that can be done to improve it.

FURTHER EVALUATION 44

1. Function 1.1. Each of the units will carry its own function assigned to it 1.2.Units will have to be able to be disassembled and assembled together in order for house to be as functional as possible for the user himself.

1.3. Units system will adopt to the context specific context of the customer.

1.4. Every function that units carry has to be completely sustainable 1.5. The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design 2. Aesthetics 2.1. Decoration in the units has to be kept at the minimum but allow the customer to personalise the space with the features integrated in the units.

2.2. Using organic, sustainable and pure materials with only necessary, practical finish, the most organic and aesthetic design will be achieved.

2.3. Units will have to adopt to three different contexts, different customers so the aesthetic part of the design has to appeal to everyone.

3. Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1.The house has to be well sound and thermally insulated according to the context.

3.2. Light and colour preferences should be adjusted according to the context.

3.3. Design principles has to apply to each unit and be constructed according to the rules when appropriate.

3.4. Units have to be user friendly fisrt of all, being ergonomic for each of the household.

4. Trends, Fashion, Brands and Corporate identity 4.1 The image of my concept has to have a very strong branding identity, probably by associating with other brands 4.2. A new fashion and trend for my concept will have to be created, in order to be attractive to my TMG 5. Target Market Group 5.1 My design will have to taking into account my TMG needs and wants.

5.2 There will have to be focused on my secondary TMG which is Earth, so the design will have to satisfy the environmental issues as well.

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

6. Ecology and Product Life Cycle 6.1. Create a sustainable system that tackles the global problem 6.2. When choosing materials look at the embodied energy content and its sustainability 6.3. Design according to environmental standards 6.4. New technology implemented has to be sustainable and be focused on improving the environment of a house around it 6.5. House life-cycle must be extended to be as long as possible for a more responsible design 7. Health and Safety 7.1. Design has to take into account all of the health and safety legislations required for a house.

7.2. Householdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well-being will depend upon how safe the house is and what materials are used 7.3. House must follow health and safety standards in order to be able to get certified logos.

7.4. Features that have nothing to do with construction, such as materials for different objects and plants also have to be chosen carefully as they affect householdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well-being.

8. Morals, Culture and Ethics 8.1. The design has to integrate sustainability of a house, individual and the whole community to be able to create a new culture of living.

8.2. New and smart technology has to be used to help to create a new and user friendly culture of living.

8.3. The concept and the design must not be used as a marketing tool- but to be genuinely believed in to attract customers.

8.4. Depending on country, culture and traditions the design might vary.

9. New Technology 9.1. New technology should be used where necessary to create the most energy-efficient, user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing sustainable house 9.2. New technology does not have to be commercialised or just released- forgotten efficient systems and technologies can, and should, be used 9.3. Systems used have to be accessible by everyone, ensuring that any TMG member can use and live in the house 9.4. Systems such as smart house have to be used- for a modern, maintenance-free house as found in further discussion with my expert.

9.5. Farming unit has to have a direct access to the kitchen/living space and be maintenance free as found in my questionnaire.

9.6.The grinner house will have to be the one that works in a whole sustainable system, which is beneficial for the whole community, collaborating to the same problem.

10. Quality, quantity and cost 10.1. For the highest quality yield, organic nutrient solution and seeds have to be used in the farming unit 10.2. The most efficient gardening system will have to be able to accommodate between 15-20 plants 10.3. Durable and high quality materials have to be used 10.4. To ensure quality, sustainable materials have to be used 11. Maintenance and Consumer Education 11.1. Instructions and manuals to the house have to be clear and accessible by everyone 11.2. Smart technology must be incorporated into the design in order to be able to allow the household to benefit from their sustainable house 11.3. The house must be as efficient as possible in order to be maintenance free 12. Materials and Manufacturing I will do more research for this area of specification later, after the final idea is formulated and further development done 13. Style 13.1 A combination of all of the previous specification requirements will create unique style for my concept as being pure and essential.

In my specification evaluation for this concept I highlighted the things that are already in the design and what has to be improved.

I will be focusing on these improvements from now on to create a complete design. I will also investigate even more the materials and manufacturing areas to finish my specification and complete the concept. At the end of the project I will be using the negative crosses to see how successful I was in designing according to my specification, and how well I achieved the task of fully developing my concept. There are many unfulfilled areas still, due to the roughness of my design ideas which still need to be refined and even more investigated.

SPECIFICATION EVALUATION 45

After reviewing the context and objectives of my project, I realised that the idea of sustainable housing with ability to produce food will not fully benefit the Earth in general. It will be possible to get involved several individual families, may be even have a new mainstream of sustainable living, but there will be only a limited benefit to the whole society. This is why, I decided to look wider, and investigate more urban re-generation and the concept of microcosms. For this I looked at different cities and countries, such as Detroit, Spain, “Las Favelas” in Brazil, and many other places where the urban spaces are decaying and get abandoned. All of these places, and the ones that get abandoned every day, had used energy and materials to be built. And now people are neglecting buildings that are already there, using more and more land to build cheaper housing and factories to accommodate increasing needs of the population. It is more expensive to renovate buildings which are old and decaying, but if we look at how much more embodied energy is wasted when these places are not used or destroyed, the costs to the whole world become much higher in terms of environment, rather than economic, minimal costs. This Means that the whole cities must become sustainable without using land or more resources. How is it possible? This will be achieved by regenerating, greening abandoned, public and private spaces following a model of a microcosm, that I will be trying to create taking as an example a city block in Detroit.

As a part of this investigation, I looked at different urban spaces around the world, such as Torre David in Caracas and unused land in front of my school in order to analyse and evaluate possible opportunities and benefits of these systems and spaces.

1. Function 1.1. Each of the institutions will carry its function in an ecological way 1.2. The system must be flexible, so when replicating it in other parts of the city it can facilitate the needs of everyone 1.3. Units system will adopt to the context specific context of the inhabitants and their location 1.5. The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design 2. Aesthetics 2.1. Decoration in the system has to be kept at the minimum but allow the inhabitants to personalise the space with the features integrated in the system.

2.2. Using organic, sustainable and pure materials with only necessary, practical finish, the most organic and aesthetic design will be achieved.

2.3 The design must be neutral or adjustable to be able to fit into any context, such as country and ethnicity of the inhabitants

Images of abandoned buildings in Detroit

Torre de David in Caracuas Urban renovation in Bilbao from Bilbao Rio 2000

In Detroit since the industrialisation in 20th century, 60% of the population had moved to other more prosperous cities. Because it became too costly to produce in Detroit, many factories and developments now stand neglected by the government. This land and buildings could then be used in many other ways, such as regenerating them and using for living and commerce purposes. This in turn will benefit the whole town by having sustainable, independent communities, that will revive the whole economy of the city.

Torre de David in Caracuas is an unfinished building that became a perfect example of a microcosm of a big city. It was inhabited by people that didn’t have home, and made it comfortable for themselves to use. They have a hairdresser, several shops, restaurants, gym and public spaces. Even though there is no lift, people live on the highest floors, and they don’t have crimes inside the community, even that they live without doors or private spaces.

Water and energy was also connected. This is a perfect example of how communities can be created out of nothing, inside just metal and concrete structure, where there are no facilities for living, they inhabit the spaces the way they feel comfortable, satisfying their needs. By learning from these people, I can create a perfect infrastructure for all social levels, by providing everything that people need in a sustainable and useful way.

FURTHER INVESTIGATION 46

3. Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1. The system must be logically and strategically located 3.2. There must be comfortable links between several city blocks around the city 3.3. Design principles has to apply to the system and it has to be constructed according to the rules when appropriate.

3.4. System has to be user friendly first of all, being ergonomic for each of the inhabitants.

4. Trends, Fashion, Brands and Corporate identity 4.1 The image of my concept has to have a very strong branding identity, probably by associating with other brands 4.2. A new fashion and trend for my concept will have to be created, in order to be attractive to my TMG 5. Target Market Group 5.1 My design will have to taking in account my TMG needs and wants.

5.2 There will have to be focused on my secondary TMG which is Earth, so the design will have to satisfy the environmental issues as well.

6. Ecology and Product Life Cycle

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

6.1. Create a sustainable system that tackles the problem 6.2. When choosing materials look at the embodied energy content and its sustainability 6.3. Design according to environmental standards 6.4. New technology implemented has to be sustainable and be focused on improving the environment of a system around it 6.5. System life-cycle must be extended to be as long as possible, such as regenerating rather than building from scratch, for a more responsible design 7. Health and Safety 7.1. Design has to take into account all of the health and safety legislations required for separate institutions 7.2. Inhabitants’ well-being will depend upon how safe the system is and what materials are used 7.3. All of the institutions inside the system must follow health and safety standards in order to be able to get certified logos.

7.4. Features that have nothing to do with construction, such as materials for different objects and furniture also have to be chosen carefully as they affect inhabitants’ wellbeing.

8. Morals, Culture and Ethics 8.1. The design has to integrate sustainability of a system, individual and the whole community to be able to create a new culture of living.

8.2. New and smart technology has to be used to help to create a new and user friendly culture of living.

8.3. The concept and the design must not be used as a marketing tool- but to be genuinely believed in to attract customers.

8.4. Depending on country, culture and traditions the design might vary.

9. New Technology 9.1. New technology should be used where necessary to create the most energyefficient, user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing sustainable system.

9.2. New technology does not have to be commercialised or just released- forgotten efficient systems and technologies can, and should, be used.

9.3. Technology used have to be accessible by everyone, ensuring that any TMG can

use and live the system.

9.4. Technology such as smart house or security systems have to be used- for a modern, maintenance-free system and community as found in further discussion with my expert.

9.5. Farming spaces has to have a direct access to the kitchen/living space in private housing and be integrated into the public spaces for public use, and be maintenance free as found in my questionnaire.

9.6. The grinner facilities will have to be the ones that work in a whole sustainable system that are beneficial for the whole community, collaborating to the same problem.

10. Quality, quantity and cost 10.1. For the highest quality yield, organic nutrient solution and seeds have to be used in the farming spaces 10.2. The most efficient gardening system inside the house will have to be able to accommodate between 15-20 plants 10.3. In public spaces the range of plants can be extended 10.3. Durable and high quality materials have to be used 10.4. To ensure quality, sustainable materials have to be used 10.5. Systems should be replicated around the city, combining all of the essential facilities for different households 11. Maintenance and Consumer Education 11.1. There must be instructions and manuals for all of the social groups, ages and generations about using the technology inside the system.

11.2. The system must be as efficient and logical as possible in order to be maintenance free 12. Materials and Manufacturing I will do more research for this area of specification later, after the final idea is formulated and further development done 13. Style 13.1 A combination of all of the previous specification requirements will create unique style for my concept as being pure and essential.

47

Having decided to focus more on the idea of the sustainable system (which initially was the most important specification area for the house) I corrected the specification according to the new investigation done, as well as to be able to create the most comfortable and userfriendly, sustainable and as green as possible. The idea will stay the same, in fact I did not have to change the specification much, because it was already written in general terms for the Hanging Gardens housing.

In the system there will be a school, an elderly home, economical apartments and high-end, self-sufficient housing, a park and commercial areas such as shops, cafés and restaurants. This will be a base for other city blocks, but the institutions/housing that will go in other areas, might vary according to the density of population, needs of the city, institutions that are lacking, etc. For example, instead of a school a hospital can be implemented, and instead of a plant production, small animal farms can be set up. This will enable the communication between different areas in the city, and ensure that the inhabitants have every of their needs satisfied.

Images on the right and bellow show an investigation of the area where my school if located. In the satellite view below, three areas are highlighted, an urbanization, the school and unused space right in front of the school. To the left of the school, there is high density housing and institutional facilities in a small town of Puzol. It can seem to be logical to use the space that is available right in front of the school, and expanding the urbanisation towards it in a sustainable and ecological mannerimplementing the microcosm idea.

After having done further investigation and improved my specification, I started searching for a real context for my problem. After finding the best location I evaluated different possibilities and came up with possible designs of how the whole concept could look like. After this I will start developing the idea further according to the specification, producing final CAD model that will then assist me with manufacturing.

In order to investigate possible contexts for my proposal, I looked at abandoned or unused spots around different cities, using Google maps as a tool for search. I considered London city squares, but usually they are not abandoned and it is difficult to integrate something new to it. So I looked at places around where I live, and just in front of my school there is a huge spot where there is a lot of land which is not used. As there is already a school there and an elderly home five minutes away, as well as housing developments, no abandoned buildings or a big city, it is not the best location for my proposal. Although it can be integrated anywhere, as the design has to be flexible and adjustable, it is better to go to the areas that really need renovation.

So the next step was investigating abandoned places around Europe, searching around different webs and using Google maps. It will be more useful to involve people that live in the region itself that will know the problems of their own area, that will allow greater customization. Then I searched for the abandoned areas around Detroit, and found many city blocks with existing buildings, and half destroyed ones. Using Google maps dimensions and approximation, I was able to see if there was enough space for housing development, a school, etc. And resulted to be the perfect lot to use for the design proposal. Also there is loads of free space around the area, which then can be used for different purposes and city blocks.

IDEA DEVELOPMENT 48

Power Tower Eco-apartments

An Elderly Home

Hanging Gardens Housing Communal area

Model created using SketchUp 2013 and render using V-Ray

An example of how the Hanging gardens housing can be connected with other institutions, by providing fluent pathways combined with plants and trees.

Layered structures can be created, being multi-layered complex all together.

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A school

Cafe/Restaurant/Supermarket/Grocery

I created this quick model to illustrate my proposal for a TEDxYouth@RioTuria talk that I was chosen. Preparing for this event allowed me to explore deeper the concept of creating sustainable microcosms, as a way of creating a more independent and self-sufficient way of leaving not only for wealthier people that will enjoy my sustainable housing, but will also enable better and independent economies around the city. The presentation that I created for the talk can be seen following this link and the talk can be watched clicking on the picture on the left.

It would be a completely green space, open to everyone. Combining high density living areas with low density areas will allow a better mixture of social classes and narrowing social gap. From this CAD model, I will be developing a better complex, with better location and infrastructure, creating a comfortable and functional city block based on the new specification. It was a purely descriptive model, colour coding different institutions, representing them by blocks.

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As a part of my manufacturing and materials research, I had looked again into Tall Wood building techniques and materials. It is one of the most sustainable, ecological and versatile method of creating buildings. It was created and developed by Michael Green Architects. It consists of a core structure in the middle of the building, then flooring, skeletal structure and glass envelope. As the floor plan is very open, it gives many possibilities for the design. Also, the whole structure is wrapped into glass, it shelters the building from rain, wind, etc. and helps to have the whole structure stable. I will be using this method of building for the apartment block, and I decided to make it 6 floor high. I will be following the model of the first option, up to 12 storey high building.

The materials used for construction of this types of buildings are very strong, engineered to have the same or even better characteristics than concrete.These woods are fire-resistant, use natural, non-toxic adhesives and come in man made boards in big sizes. Also laminated or toughened glass can be used for the envelope, which is a hard and impact resistant material, providing air and noise insulation.

From “Tall Wood” Case Study by Michael Green: Adhesives used in Structural Composite Lumber Adhesives are used in structural composite lumber for lamination purposes and to transfer stresses between adjoining wood fibres.

Understanding Formaldehyde While formaldehyde is commonly known to be an irritant and potential carcinogen, it is important to understand the different formaldehyde based products: UF, PF, PRF and pMDI. Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring chemical that is present in the atmosphere, our bodies and even some vegetables we consume. Exposure to formaldehyde happens on a daily basis because of its presence in the atmosphere and in manufactured products.

Manufactured formaldehydes bind formaldehyde with other chemicals and

are used in many products from carpets, upholstery, furniture, and computers to medicines, and vaccines. Different types of formaldehyde compounds have different levels of chemical stability that reduce (high stability) or increase (low stability) their emissions of VOCs under different environmental conditions - impacting human health and comfort.

In the Structural Composite Lumber and CLT, a mixture of Phenol Formaldehyde (PF) and Phenol Resorcinol Farmaldehyde (PRF) is used, due to their similar properties. They both create strong bond that is necessary for the composition of any exterior wood adhesive application and eliminate the possibility of VOC emissions. A blend of those two is used, due to higher cost of resorcinols, as well as they have a quicker curing time at room temperature, unlike the PFs.

Laminated glass windows have a protective vinyl layer of material inside of two pieces of glass. There are several advantages and disadvantages to using laminated glass in your home.

Advantages: Additional break-in protection is provided since the glass cannot be cut from outside, making glass cutters useless for entering your home.

Sound Reduction- The airspace increases the sound proofing quality of the laminated glass.

Reduced UV Fading- UV rays from the sun are blocked up to 95 percent by the film in laminated glass.

On these pages I explored potential materials that could be used in construction of the house and the city block, as well as the model of them afterwards. As wood will be my primary building material as for model as well as for the real construction, I did a through research on its different types, as well as investigated the method of Tall Wood building, that seems the most appropriate technique, over steel frame and concrete buildings.

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Impact Resistance- In the cases of storms such as hurricanes, tornadoes and large thunderstorms, laminated glass windows provide the strongest layer of protection possible. If the windows shatter, they won't fly through the house, making them the safer option.

Modular Home Building Modular homes appraise the same as their on-site built counterparts do. They do not depreciate in value.

They are more affordable and save money on construction as the manufacturer buys good quality materials in bulk, unlike site-build home by a contractor Modular homes can be customized.

Most modular home companies have their own in-house engineering departments that utilize CAD (Computer Aided Design).

Modular home designs vary in style and size.

Modular homes are permanent structures – “real property.”

Modular homes can be built on the following on crawl spaces and basements.

Modular homes are considered a form of “Green Building” due to their energy efficiency.

Modular homes are faster to build than a 100% site-built home.

Modular homes can be built to withstand 175 mph winds.

Modular homes can be built for accessible living and designed for future conveniences.

Disadvantages: Inadequate Airspace Installed with Poor Construction- One solution is to install fixed windows (ones that don’t open up) with laminated storm windows over them. That design is generally very effective to keep all the best properties of the windows.

MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING

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Steel beams Advantages Durable and long lasting Can be recycled Not expensive Is considered renewable

Disadvantages Prone to corrosion, unless finished with coating Conducts heat and cold- not good for insulation

Steel Framing Homes Advantages Steel is often lighter in weight than wood.

It doesn't warp, expand, contract or twist as wood can.

Steel can't catch fire. Some insurance companies may lower their rates on such a home.

Termites can't eat it.

Pre-punched holes for wiring and plumbing are located on the studs.

Durable and long lasting Can be recycled Not expensive Is considered renewable Disadvantages Many builders are not familiar with steel construction.

Special tools are required.

Specific design is necessary to brace the steel properly.

Prone to corrosion, unless finished with coating

Concrete Block Building Advantages Repels Insects, do not need additional finish Resist Natural Disasters (With proper construction, including steel rods and a cement/sand/pebble mixture in the blocks’ voids, concrete block homes are able to withstand vicious hurricane winds) Fire Resistant Unaffected by Extreme Temperatures Sound and Air Insulated: Different Finishes, concrete block accepts any color or type of stucco very well.

Disadvantages Water Seepage Unattractive Look Cost of Block is much higher than poured concrete Heavy to transport- higher costs

Concrete Building Overall Advantages Greatly diminished outside noise Resistance to fire Able to prevent damage from subterranean termites and dry wood termites.

Stronger than wood framing and able to resist wind-blown debris Reduced HVAC loads because their continuous wall assemblies reduce air infiltration and have inherent higher levels of insulation Disadvantages Has high embodied energy Susceptible to moisture, causing cracks Environmentally unfriendly

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Stucco Finish Advantages Can be textured as well as tinted.

Gives house a tight seal against weather.

Low-cost compared to other sides of siding.

Low-cost also interpreted by many

homeowners and potential buyers as “sub-standard.”

Disadvantages Not for every locality.

Repair of stucco finish not easy.

Do-it-yourself opportunities with stucco finish limited.

Cultured stone Advantages Light Weight Tons of colours and designs to choose from.

Easier to install.

Disadvantages More expensive

Not as durable as normal stone Can look unnatural Not reusable They are painted concrete. One hit, and you see the aggregate

PVC sheets Advantages Easily cleaned Excellent durability and long-life expectancy Cheap and costeffective Resistant to UV light degradation Inherent fire safety Good electrical and insulation properties over a wide

temperature range Does not leave visible joints (no environment for fungus and bacteria) Disadvantages Limited thermal capability.

Thermal decomposition evolves HCI. Higher density than many plastics.

After having assessed different manufacturing techniques and potential building materials, I came to conclusion that timber is the most environmentally friendly, cost and energy efficient and the most sustainable material.

Engineered lumber offers immense tensile and weight to strength ratio, being flexible and appealing for a variety of designs in the same time; this means that it is preferred over concrete and steel frame building methods. I had also explored applied decoration materials such as cultured stones, stucco or ceramic tiles, but they all seem to be unnecessary compared to natural, aesthetically pleasing finish that wood gives. Also it is one of the areas in my specification that states that I should avoid finishes in my design, what clearly means giving preference to the wood construction.

After assessing tall wood building methods and traditional concrete and metal frame ones, I came to conclusion that modular, timber frame and glass building technique is the most appropriate for my design after checking with my specification.

Specification 12. Materials and Manufacturing 12.1 Wood has to be the principal building material 12.2 Modular design should be implemented, with possibilities of mass prefabrication of units 12.3 Minimum of applied finish and decoration has to be used 12.4 Materials and manufacturing techniques with low embodied energy should be used 12.5 The majority of the house has to be recyclable and reusable/possible to update, using sustainable and ecological materials and manufacturing techniques to have strong environmental image and energy efficiency

Scalpel or X-Acto knife Essential kit, perfect for fine, detailed work and accurate cutting of paper, card veneers, thin ply, styrene sheet and acrylic.

Calculator Useful tool for accurate scaling building to model scale, adding and subtracting measurements, etc.

These are some examples of scale models that were used to represent a house “Split View Mountain Lodge” by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter and a new bike store “Electra BikeHub” by Andrey Ukolov + Ekaterina Osipova. The Bike Hub was created using 3D printing from a CAD model .The other model of the house was created using balsa wood, clear polystyrene and carved, wooden block to show the relief of the location. These two models look professional, sophisticated and clear to the viewer, and that is what I want my model to look like.

An example of a model above is a scaled model prototype of the “Solo House: Casa Pezo” from Pezo Von Ellrichshausen Architects. It was done using extruded polystyrene, being purely descriptive of the spaces. There are no doors, not windows recreated but grey massing of the structure, for better construction perception.

The model bellow is OMA’s winning proposal for the Axel Springer Campus in Berlin, an excellent example of a realistic model presented within possible context.

The scale is unknown, but the details of the interior of the building can be seen inside it, showing precision and accurate representation of a potential campus in real life.

T-Square Essential for creating a square edge; if a series of blocks isn’t square then they won’t stick together correctly.

Placed on the edge of the pieces and used to check 90 degree angle

Angle blocks (123 blocks) Uself for keeping floors in position as they are stacked or elevations square as you glue and assemble them. They are often also very useful as weights to postion materials as it is gluing.

Ruler A ruler is needed for general measuring and for cutting against.

It has to be metal: plastic rules become inaccurate when cutting along them and-more importantly- they can be dangerous as the blade is liable to ride up onto plastic ruler. Tip: cover one side in masking tape; this will prevent damaging the delicate surfaces that are being cut.

Veneer Gauge The ultimate model-making measurement tool can also be used for cribing materials if the front outside calliper jaw is sharpened. The veneer calliper acts as a three-in-one tool for emasuring internal, external and depth values, as can be seen in the diagram. IMportant for almost all poarts of a build, it quickly replaces the steel ruler for accurately measuring a 3D object.

Sanding blocks These can be made to an appropriate size, and The model below represents a massing landscape of use paper of various grit sizes, depending on the buildings in a contextual representation of a city where specific job. Attaching ‘wet and dry’ sandpaper potential construction would take place. to robust materials such as acrylic sheet or MDF provide a flat, inflexible surface with which to sand from. The most useful sandpaper coarseness is 80, 180, 320 and 600 grit, for more coarser to smoother finishes.

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Tweezers Used when attempting precision model-making work, tweezers allow for a cleaner, more accurate finish to detailed work, whether it is applying architectural figures to a model or sticking small components together.

Superglue, Spray adhesive, masking tape, double-sided tape and lighter fluid Different types of adhesives are used for model making. Superglue is a versatile, universal glue that attaches any surface together;sets fast and leaves clear and transparent residue; comes in different densities- thin, medium and thick- and can be used for filling small gaps; it also can be sanded and squeezed into hard-to-access areas.

Masking tape is useful in holding model components together while they are being glued or while they are curing Double-sided tape is useful when laminating lots of sheet surfaces together, for positioning things when mocking together a model, and when quickly assembling card and paper studies.

Lighter fluid is a good cleaning solvent for removing residue such as spray adhesive or tape residue, and is good all-round cleaner for machined or worked acrylic, timbers and sprayed surfaces. It is petroleum based and highly flammable, so safety should always be paramount.

MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING FOR SCALED MODEL

Acetate film Acetate is a thin, clear plastic with uniform optical properties and good dimensional stability. It is commonly used to represent glazing and other transparent elements. It can be cut using X-Acto knife, and is available in clear and mate finish. It can be printed with graphic and colour information. Acetate works well when used in small areas structured by wall material, but ripples when spanning in large distances.

PVC (Vinyl) Is a versatile, durable, inexpensive material made from polymerized vinyl chloride or vinyl acetate. It is a thermoplastic compound that can be reprocessed using heat and can be made flexible, rigid or semi-liquid. PVC veneers come in many colours, thickness, and surface finish and can be laminated onto other materials and lasercut or machined.

Foam board Foam board consists of a thin sheet of polystyrene foam sandwiched between two sheets of heavy white paper. It is available in many different thickness and is an excellent choice for quick massing studies, mock-ups, and stacked topographic models. The material is easily cut and produces finer lines than cardboard, but it tends to warp and does not react well to some glues and paints.

Ground foam Ground foam, also known as flock, consists of soft urethane and is used in model building to create landscape elements, giving the impression if plant life. A diluted white glue solution brushed on a glaze bonds ground foam to most materials. Flock comes in different grades from fine to rough and is available in most landscape colours.

Polyurethane foam Polyurethane foam is a resilient, flexible foam that takes paint and adhesives well due to its closed cell structure.. It comes in densities from one to six pounds per cubic foot, ranging from very soft to semi-rigid. In modelling building this materiel can be used as a landscape base or a filler and is easily carved and formed using a sanding stick or other modelling tools.

Styrene This low-cost synthetic material, which comes in a variety of sheet thickness, rods and profiles, is a good alternative to cardboard and is particularity useful for structural and curved elements of a model. It can be manipulated in a great variety of ways, is not sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, cuts and sands easily, and finishes well die to its lack of grain. Styrene bonds with acrylic solvent, white glue, or super-glue, and styrene extrusions curve without kinking.

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Balsa Wood Balsa is the softest of all modelling woods and has a slightly shiny whitish surface. It is too weak to be structurally useful, but has an incredibly malleable form and can be cut, carved, bent, shaped and bonded with great ease. It is best cut using an X-Acto knife and bonds well with with cellulose cements or white glue. It is quite difficult to achieve a high level of finish with balsa, as the surface is easily dented and its grained texture cannot be readily removed.

Cork It is lightweight, impermeable, and easy to cut with a knife. Cork bonds well with thickened superglue and white glue, and is available in sheets and rolls of various colours, degrees or graining and thickness. With its natural colour, it makes a great material for topography layers.

MDF Medium-density fibreboard, consists of a moisture of wood fibre and resin. It provides a uniformly flat surface with good structural integrity, comes stained in many different colours, and can be processed with standard woodworking tools. MDF is an inexpensive rigid sub-base material for site models.

Plywood Plywood consists of wood veneers glued together in a crosswise pattern, producing a lightweight, warp-resistant material. Aircraft plywood is made in sheets that come in thickness suitable for model making. It can be easily processes with regular woodworking tools, bonds well with white glue, and can withstand fasteners for joining. Plywood makes a good base substructure for models.

Basswood Basswood is the preferred wood for almost all modelling purposes. It is light to reddish brown, and has a medium density, an indistinct, straight grain and a uniform texture. It is difficult to cut using X-Acto knife, and requires wood-working tools, but can be sanded easily and achieves sharp edges without splintering.

Cardboard Cardboard is a gray-brown heavy-duty paper product made of ground wood pulp particles. It generally consists of a corrugated middle sandwiched between two flat faces, forming a relatively sturdy board that can be bent easily in one direction or cut with a knife. In modelling building cardboard is often used for structural support, to form large flat surfaces, or to create rough, fast topographic models of a site.

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Veneer Veneer is a thin layer of wood typically covering particleboard to convey the appearance of solid wood. Its characteristic grain is achieved by slicing through the growth rings of a tree at varying angle. For modelling purposes, veneer can be cut with an X-Acto knife and glued onto a structurally backing using white glue or sheet adhesive, Paper-backed veneer will not split when surfacing curved forms. Not very appropriate for small scale models, as the wood grain is quite big, and can give unrealistic feeling to the model.

After this thorough research of model making materials and model examples, I decided to make my model true to the materials that would be used in real building, i.e. mostly wood. For this purposes, I would use mate, timber-like materials in warm tones, so they will have the same range of finishing appearance, for example balsa wood for main walls and different colour wood or cardboard for other areas. I would use cork or plywood for the base, and PVC to represent windows. To give the model realistic context, I could use trees and artificial grass. In terms of representational details, such as furniture, I would keep it simple, and would do only the structural walls, to show the overall massing of the house to see the volume, leaving only the greenhouse and trees as realistic details, making them myself or printing on acetate sheet.

After having done all of the research and investigation, I started creating the CAD model of the potential house. First of all I had started by creating a mock up of the wall attaching and detaching system, for the whole house to be flexible and work in units.

It worked in the prototype, but when I applied to a potential layout, designed based on the Feng Shui location of the rooms, ergonomics and anthropometrics of the human body, it did not work the way I was wanted it to. It would have been very difficult to assemble and disassemble the house, as well as it would have been impossible to make it entirely flexible, so some walls had to be fixed, for other spaces to work. So in the end, I decided to stick to modular homes approach, with them being more flexible, still keeping the modular system, i.e. possibility of changing entirely rooms, taking them away and putting new ones (although this would require further engineering research).

After I started to add furniture to the house, I realised many ways how the layout can be improved. As the furniture was scaled for a persons dimensions, I was able to judge more or less where the objects had to go, how much space they needed, etc. This is how my design developed into something more comfortable and useful for the household. I included green zones as a greenhouse directly linked to the kitchen (being part of a cupboard), kitchen and living zone combined together with working space, open and closed terrace, and separated the sleeping zones with living ones using a corridor.

After further assessment of the location of the spaces, I came to conclusion that many things did not work coherently, such as a closet and a cupboard in the master bedroom, a corridor which is a space that is not used, terraces that do not have a real function.This is why after a thorough discussion with my expert, more brainstorming and exploration of other possibilities, we came with a better design, that is much greener, environmentally friendly, functional and comfortable for the household to use.

On these next pages I explained a whole journey I took from my initial design, to a final CAD model, with all of the rethinking, investigation and exploration to achieve a better design that fits into my specification. Due to the ability of a CAD modelling software called â&#x20AC;&#x153;SketchUpâ&#x20AC;? I was able to conduct quick changes to my model, changing locations of the furniture, walls, adding context and realism to it. Through all of the modelling I was able to really understand how design works and in the same time experience all of the versatility of CAD software.

Improved design (above and bellow) from an initial layout on the right. Due to SketchUp abilities, I was able to easily modify my design and adopt it to the furniture and possible context of a household of four people.

After further discussion with my expert and more brainstorming we came to conclusion that the initial design with corridor and traditional layout is not as ergonomic and efficient for a modern and contemporary house to have. From here, the idea of inclined roof and the service wall evolved into being the key concepts of my design, and became almost open plan design, with very few rooms that are divided by walls, but using objects that will demarcate different zones and areas in the house.

CAD MODELLING 54

On the right, a new design and a layout can be seen. I took intiial dimensions of an old house, and applied them in a new way to the new design. After a disscussion with my expert, we came to concludion that the house needs to be more technologically advanced and has to take use of all of the spaces and make them equally functional.

The main concept of this new design involved two service walls that would run through all of the house, divinding it into two zones: living area and sleeping area. In the service walls, all of the electrical plumbing, solar and water recyclyng systems and heating and cooling systems.

The roof is extended upwards in order to allow for a better sun energy collection from inserted solar panels. The angle they have to be tilted to I worked out using the formula below for a specific location, in this case Detroit. Big windows, from floor to ceiling to allow as more light as possible in the morning to living zones rather than sleeping, and other way round in the evening.

In the illustrations above and bellow, different elevations of the house can be seen in orthogonal perspective.

Illustrations on the far right show onepoint perspective view of the house for a better understanding of spaces, their location and inter-connections.

In this chart, different fixed tilt angles can be seen for different locations all over the world. This might be helpful when deciding on the tilt for the house in other locations, as to fit it to customized context and make it as energy efficient as possible.

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WORKING DRAWINGS 55

1. Darker walls inside are the service walls, that as explained before, bare the function of connecting all of the technological, electronic, heating and water supply systems. Also, these walls will enable the house to be flexible- as different modules from sleeping and living zone can be interchanged, attaching and dis-attaching to it. So the core of the house would be its service walls with two bathrooms, which can be customised as well as the rooms that attach to them will also have specific characteristics needed by the household.Very few walls are used for the whole house, only three partition walls and the exterior structure, making the whole house easy to assemble if it was prefabricated before. The square between the bathrooms also can be used a space for an elevator if the house needs to be adopted for disabled person, or simply as a way of dividing spaces, from witch guests would have also an access to guest (children’s) bathroom but not to the en-suite.

2. In the final model, the whole terrace was taken as a greenhouse and green zone. Around it, espalier trees will be growing, supplying the household with essential thoughts that cannot be grown on bush. Also, they would act a screen from the neighbours and would create a forest/garden like feeling for the household. The terrace then can be then integrated into the living zone, by opening the sliding windows, or enjoyed by itself placing soft furniture there. Also, there will enough space to place vertical hydroponic systems that would enable a household to grow tall plants, such as tomatoes, eggplant or cucumbers.

3. In order to explore fully the concept of integrating a comfortable and functional growing system directly into kitchen, I created a layered hydroponic system, that has direct access from the kitchen, the same way as the cupboard and a fridge do.This system is circular, and as the time passes, plants rotate, so as they grow, their cycle comes to end and they come ready for the household to harvest them directly from the plant. Also, this system is sustainable as you would replace harvested plant straight away, which does not require any maintenance, cleaning or storage space. You would have the most needed objects/products by hand, and always fresh and grown by yourself.

4. Floor to ceiling windows can be integrated with smart glass technology, making them sort of an interactive and technological tool to be experimented by household. Firstly the smart glass would enable to see through but not be seen, using opaque or reflective exterior surface, Secondly, a smart glass can act as a screen, where different images, TV programs, or even computer monitor can be projected, allowing the household to create new and creative sceneries for themselves, customizing their home with works of art, new types of wallpapers, or even changing window size- by making unwanted part of the screen opaque.

This enables huge potential for education, aesthetic features of the house (without necessary using applied decoration which uses to much materials and energy) and socialising.

5. Timber trusses are used to support the heavy loaded roof tops by solar panels, but also could have another function for the house. As an initial idea was to use the service wall for all electrical appliances, and not have any plugs, cables or connections around the house, light sources could come from the trusses themselves. As they are connected to the service wall, and divide the space underneath in four parts, specifically programmed smart system can be integrated for creating spotlight where the household needs it. It can be done by implementing lamps in long cables, that would extend according to the light settings, and then can be personalised by the household manually due to their flexibility. This will enable many different light scenarios for the household and customization.

6. This area in the living zone is designed to be used as studying/working area, integrated into socialising space. Th main purpose of it is to allow different members of the household to use all of the spaces efficiently, as well as interact with each other. In case this space is needed as a quiet space, a soundproof curtain can be integrated into the trusses that would insulate two zones when needed, and removed when a clear space is required.

9. A terrace that is open and has a direct access from the bedroom. This space would be a bit of a private area for the household, an open space which has a more pleasing function, than purely functional. Although, this space can be utilised by integrating a staircase there that would lead to upper roof areas that can be then integrated to become additional living/sleeping areas. Or simply more plants can be planted and this space can become even more private.

9.

2.

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7.The kitchen area would be created using Italian Kitchen manufacturer Valcucine “New Logica” kitchen solutions.They are the world’s first 100% aluminium, most environmentally friendly, ergonomic, 100% recyclable and energy efficient. It is also a perfectly minimalistic, with least amounts of decoration applied, but precise and with every detail thought through. Appliances are connected to a bar that runs horizontally throughout the work top, being flexible, allowing for movement of the cooker. A board is flexible too, it can be moved from one place to another, as well as adds additional space to the kitchen. It is designed to conceal everything when unused, but is the most ergonomic when it comes to cooking/storing/working.

I would like to implement this system in the kitchen, as it ticks many of the points in my specification and would be a perfect system to use in a smart house for any household due to its functionality and properties.

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10. Bathrooms would be almost identical, as they would come with the service wall directly, and will have to be adaptable different modules that could be potentially attached to them. In this case, the en-sute bathroom is open to the master bedroom, and the guest/children’s one is more private. Both bathrooms have additional space for washing and drying areas, cleaning and storing, as it is more ergonomic and comfortable to do the hygiene tasks in the sleeping zone.

8. After having had not-so-good experience with inefficient corridors that use and waste a lot of materials and space, I decided to use a bookshelf or any other useful partition object that would visually divide space for the new comers to the house.

Also, hidden in the service wall, the smart house system would be integrated, making it directly and straight forward to access by the household to adjust their light settings, put on scenario programs, etc.

12.

12. This bedroom is an example of a room that can be used by two children, with enough storage and working space. It also can be used as a guests room, or any other purposes of the household. Also, if it is not required, the unit of the room can just not had been added, and the house could have only the master bedroom. If the children grow/change, a new unit with new design can be added, or it can be taken away its not needed anymore. Windows, both in the master and this bedroom would use the smart technology in order to protect the household and allow them privacy, as well as many possibilities for creative spaces.

On these and next pages I will explain the concept of my final design, evaluating and justifying every feature that I decided to include and why I did so. It was an interesting process, where I learnt to develop through actual trial and improvement, due to versatility of CAD software.

Also, using scaled, real objects as part of the interior helped me to find the most ergonomic and organic design, satisfying my specification.

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11. A closet zone in the master bedroom is integrated into the room and is not separate by any partition wall, but rather the location of the back wall of the bed. Also the location of the cupboard is such that anyone who enters, firstly comes into a “reception” zone, and only then into the bedroom and the bathroom themselves. If it is desired the same partition curtain from the timber truss above to insulate closet from the sleeping area.

Overall the interior design of the house came out to be very flexible and adjustable to the needs of the household. Mostly using soft and subtle tones for the interior walls, design can be changed overtime, as well as it is believed that it can fit in any possible context. Also, there is always a possibility of changing units, and creating your own version of the house, based on the needs. Privacy issues are tackled with huge windows that are screens in the same time, which can be used in any imaginable way. In the end, zoning still exists, but it is not so obvious as when it was with corridors and rooms.

Also, much more spaces are created without using division walls, which contributes to efficient and sustainable design, as well as being ergonomic.

FINAL DESIGN

13.The roof on top will be constructed using photovoltaic panels, that will collection solar energy to run it into electricity and heating for the whole house. Hopefully, technology will also advance, and allow the windows in the whole house to have the same solar energy capturing functions. Also, tilted roof will enable rain water to come naturally to the water collection tank and then recycled in the lower part of the building.

15. The area underneath the house can a variety of different purposes and functions.

As the household will have their private area below the ground, this area can be used for many activities, social as well as individual. As the garage is separated from the area using service area, this space can be left to become a fitness zone, a park area, or chill out zone for both the household and other people. The functionality that the zone will have depends on the owners of the house, but initially the concept is to allow it to be used by everyone, so every piece of land is utilised, being the purpose of implementing piloti.

14. Compared to my initial design, this area of the house was not used at all. As there will have to be a reception area in front of the door, I decided to extend the greenhouse, which will enable the household to have more privacy and grow more plants. Also this zone can be separated, and be used by kids/guests separately to other household.

13.

14.

16.

15.

Examples of possible scenarios that could be implemented in that area

17. Another feature that this house would have, is an additional privacy to the owners by having the whole structure on piliti. This means that upper, living part will not accessible by anyone who is not wanted by the household. A special staircase, that would be flexible, will be programmed in a way that when a household is inside the house, the stairs go up, and form sort of a porch, making the upper part of the house inaccessible from the ground. When somebody approaches the stairs from the household, e.g. comes to the garage and parks the car, they would lower, allowing the person to come up. This will give additional sense of security to the household, allowing them to have the upper area the way they would like to, knowing no intruders can come.

17.

16, This area underneath the house that I created by extending the service walls downwards. I realised that there were no functional storage areas inside the house, and in order to keep the house minimalistic, a family of four will need a place where to put unnecessary belongings. I did not want to use the garage space, as it would be more aesthetically pleasing to have it as open and clear space for others when looking at the house, but in turn use the space underneath for all of the services. This would be the place where all of the water and energy recycling would take place (even enabling geothermal energy collection from the ground) as well as give a workshop/storage area if needed to the owners. I located the door underneath the stairs, so it is discrete and can be not so easily accessed by anyone by being barely noticeable. I included a garage in my design, as it would be an option for a household to use the space for their electric car, bicycle or any other vehicle as they are supposedly are higher class, and would need some sort of transportation vehicle.

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Images on the left and top right illustrate the house in an exploded view, as if it was disassembled by parts. It is useful in order to see the relationship of the spaces, their location, massing and spacial occupation. Also, it can bee seen how they would look in a modular system design, when as a core there is the middle service walls and the base and other parts can just be attached as desired.

Later I had presented the top view and the front view of the house and its real dimensions. I would use these measurements afterwards when creating my scaled model, as a reference to the real size of the house. Also, after having placed furniture, I placed real context to the house, and ensured that everything in it is ergonomic, but by no means the interior design is the final way of representation.

Due to flexibility and adaptability of the house, any sorts of designs can be created based on the clients needs, cultural and social context, location, traditions and individual preferences. Even without furniture this house is a functional and selfsufficient, green dwelling that enables its owners to feel under control of their lives as well as contribute to global cause, i.e. making the world greener.

In my scale model, I will create a whole massing of the house, not separate elements. It will be much more efficient for showing the whole shape and form of the house, where as the idea oh how elements can be pulled apart can be seen in the CAD drawings.

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Above and below: Street view of the building that can be used for a school, after having been renovated.

Image above shows a close up of the microcosm, showing already existing buildings and relative free space that can be used.

Space that is after the elderly home, that can be used for apartment block and other additional facilities.

Distant view on the city block of interest, to show the facilities and environment around it, indicating higher density housing on the right, and a stadium right bottom corner, etc.

Building in a traditional style that can be used for an elderly home, after having been renovated to meet the needs of less-able, older generation.

View on the building that can be used as a shop, and commercial area that will can be expanded to facilitate more commerce.

These are the images from a street and satellite view of the city block on Sibley street in Detroit, USA. This is where I got the dimensions for the base and already existing buildings, that will have to be renovated and extended to meet the standards and the requirements of the context.

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On these pages I explored the development of the city block concept. After having created the model of the house, I incorporated the design into the CAD model that I had before, reconstructing and fitting it to size. It was not the most efficient solution, as now the house idea was a little bit different, and due to solar panel roof design, it will not be possible to stack the houses on top of each other. So I had to redesign the idea, bearing in mind new dimensions of the house.

Also, I decided to work more into the power tower, creating a more efficient design, with curved walls, that will allow sun to be captured from any point during the daytime, due to photovoltaic properties of the glass that would be used. The curved shape of the base also serves as a connector between one building and another, creating much more pleasing and fluent outline. This facility could then be used as a research area for vertical farming, laboratories and science museum for kids.

After having placed the outline of the CAD drawing of the house (only the outer dimensions, counting the balconies and the roof), I realised that the position of the houses are too bulky and crowded, making the whole infrastructure of the city block not ergonomic and fluent. Also, the dimensions of the city block looked unrealistic to me. After visiting Google maps again, I realised that the scale that I was working with was not right, and that in reality the whole area that I would take for one microcosm is narrower and longer. Due to this, I had another conversation with my expert, where we came to agreement on another design, which looked more efficient and ergonomic.

It included using less private housing and space them around the microcosm; adding driving and walkways between the private housing; moving the apartment block to the end of it to give more space in between other facilities; moving the power tower to the right of the apartment block to have a connection between high and low buildings, to create a pleasant skyline; due to getting rid of more private housing, in the middle there is now more free space to use as park and public zone; another building was added close

First modified model with addition of real size private houses

to apartment block that can have any institutional purpose, such as being a museum or a library. It is understood that for such a big population density as in a city, more housing will be needed, so another option would be to use the space around this microcosm for housing only or, take away the roofs of the private housing to be able to stuck one on top of another. This will allow more houses to be placed in a lesser area, as well as extend the apartment block too, to give housing to more households. Other city blocks can then be used as a variation of this one. <-- Improved and developed model with addition of trees and cropped houses Calculations for the population density for this city block Apartment block: 1st floor would be a commercial area 2nd floor- 8 one bed. apt. (50m2)- approximately 18 people 3d floor- 6 two bed. apt (70m2)- approx. 56 people 4th floor- 4 three bed apt. (112 m2)- approx.

24 people 5th floor- two 4+ Bed. apt. and two 2 bed apt.- approx. 20 people.

Overall in the apartment block there can be from 100- 120 people living considering this apartment planning (it can vary due to open floor plan design) Private housing: Taking a scenario of 9 houses in the complex, there can be around 40 people living.

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This sketch illustrates my further brainstorming with my expert that helped us to find the most efficient and fluent design for the city block. Due to my lack of knowledge in urban design it was difficult for me to know the right way of locating and mixing housing with institutional facilities. Also in the bottom there are some sketches of possible layouts for the apartment block and calculations on a side.

In order to construct a CAD model of the Tall Wood building for the apartment block, I used existing floor plans and build on top of them. Then I just decreased a number of floors to six for the purpose of the concept, by this creating a open plan building with a glass envelope on outside and wooden structure on inside.

As a part of preparation for the model I had done a quick mock up for my final model using paper and tape. I had previously scaled all five elevations of the house using Microsoft Publisher and then printed them out. I did not include the terrace for this, as it was not necessary to see the scale of the house. After that I cut out the printed elevations and stuck them together to create the shape of the house. This quick and simple mock up was very useful for many things determining the outcome of my final model: I used these elevations to determine the size of the model and prove that 1:50 is the perfect scale; it was very helpful when choosing materials and the sizes of which I would need; also it would be very helpful when creating the actual model, as it would help me to make it even more accurate.

Due to the experience that I got since last years project, I already new about properties of different materials and their properties. Using techniques and tips from the Model Making book and the specialist tools that are purposed for specific works, it is believed that I will be able to create the best quality outcome.

Model Specification

Manufacture 6.1 The manufacturing processes used have to give a very Function careful and conveying outcome 1.1 It will show and convey the overall structure of the 6.2 Quality control and quality assurance must be fulfilled house 6.3 There must not be any details falling off the model while 1.2 There is no need for furniture placement, as the idea is to transporting or storing it only show the concept of the house and its relation to the real life spaces and people Ecology and life cycle 1.3 Has to be presentable form all angles 7.1 The model is going to be made of recyclable or 1.4 The model has to be simple and clear sustainable materials as much as possible 1.5. Only the structural and organisational elements will be 7.2The model could have quite a long life-cycle and if included needed has to be reusable

As being something that I had never done before, I tried to create the green wall using different joining methods. I firstly tried out the glue gun, as it dries very quickly and attaches everything very strongly. But it resulted that glue gun also leaves quite a think layer of residue/milky solid silicon glue that does not look nice on the other side (as my green wall will be attached to a transparent wall it needs to be aesthetically pleasing for both sides). For this purpose I tried super glue “UHU” as an alternative to find a better way of join the moss to the fence. It resulted to be a much better adhesive, as it was stronger using thinner layer, also did not attach to the glass table, so I could spread it over. I decided to go with “UHU” glue and create double sided wall for a more complete outcome.

Aesthetics 2.1 It has to be attractive and informative about the final product to the viewer 2.2 It needs to look professional 2.3 Materials from similar colour scheme, touch and finish should be used (not counting transparent plastics representing windows) Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1 The final board and the base has to be not bigger that 800 mm x 1000 mm, so it can be transported easily 3.2 It will be able to fit thought doors and fit in car trunks 3.3 t has to fit into displaying stands if needed and have a free standing structure Quality, quantity and cost 4.1 The model must not cost more than 50€ 4.2 The quality of materials used must assure that they will be durable and easy to be worked with

Another technique that I wanted to try out before starting the model was creating a piece that would represent the floor on terrace. I wanted to create a screen of wooden pieces, that would give an interesting touch to the model and differentiate the greenhouse zone to the house itself. I was following the technique that I found in the Model Making book, where the wooden planks cut into uniform sizes would be combined with styrene pieces. This combination would have been too time consuming to complete and due to time limitations, I tried to use the same wooden planks as spacers, which worked out well enough and quite accurately. I would continue this piece in manufacturing, so that I am not wasting materials on making.

On the left, there is an example of how I was assuring of the quality, as well as testing different wooden sticks. Cutting balsa wood was easy, due to its low density, but a pine stick was much harder, so I had to use masking tape to tape it down, what ensured straight edge.

I dedicated this page to testing of materials and explorations of whatever techniques and combinations that might cause problems in my final model making.

I also ensured quality by doing this trials, which then greatly affected my final outcome in a positive way.

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MOCK UPS

This is an extract from a Model Making book by Megan Werner, which gives very useful tips when making scaled architectural models. It is beliueved that following this tips and other useful techniques, I will be able to achieve the most satisfying and sophisticated a 3D and conceptual representation of my house.

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Materials 5.1 The materials chosen for the model have to be lightweight and easy to work with, but still have enough strength to support itself (such as piloti underneath the house) 5.2 Materials for walls have to be stable and tough 5.3. Materials have to imitate the real materials to be used

Health & Safety 8.1 The model must not have any sharp angles or parts that may cause harm to the viewer 9. Maintenance and Consumer Education 9.1 The model has to be stable and self-supoorting while presentation as well as when transported and stored 9.2 Some kind of a presentation board will have to be created if no furniture will be present, for better customer perception.

10. Style 10.1 The style of the model will come from the materials that are used, but needs to be as close to the real house as possible 10.2 Using materials of the similar touch, colour scheme and feeling, with contrasting materials sometimes for specific purpose (such as transparent PVC for glass) will create a uniform and stylised representation of the model

After having done thorough research on manufacturing techniques and materials available, did mock ups and testings, I was able to draw up a comprehensive specification for my final outcome, as a guidance for quality control and measurements and to achieve the most satisfying result, that can be later evaluated using this specification.

MODEL SPECIFICATION 63

PRODUCTION AND PLANNING After having refined, documented and explored fully my final design for the concept of the house, I will start planning actual production of the scaled model, carefully considering the bits of information that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve described in the manufacturing and material research.

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Stage Description

1 1.1.

1.2,

1.3.

2.

2.1.

2.2.

2.4.

Preparation of materials Buy all of the materials needed for manufacturing, including missing equipment and tools Print floor plan and elevations to scale Prepare the work place and equipment

Measuring and cutting to size Measure PVC structure for the whole model, as well as wooden walls, holes where the doors and windows go and floor based on the template, measure the greenhouse and garage Cut first the PVC structure and then the wooden elements Measure and cut wooden planks and spacers for the porch, terrace and stairs

Materials and components

Balsa and pine wood sheets and sticks, MDF base, PVC transparent and translucent sheets, synthetic moss, plastic netting, trees and people Paper, ink

Tools and equipment

Estimated time Health and safety

Action if delayed

X-Acto knife, masking 2 hours Carefully transport the materials. tape, adhesives, T-squares, (including If anything is big size make sure to sanding paper and transportation) cover edges and corners sanding block, silicon sticks for the glue gun

Check for the quality of materials, and be sure to buy it in specialized model making shop

Printer

Go to high quality printing firm, look for reviews. Go to the Ensure the size and dimensions to be right and to next task scale

10 min

20 min Sturdy table and make X-Acto knife, masking sure it is stable and even. tape, adhesives, T-squares, sanding paper and sanding block, silicon sticks for the glue gun, metal ruler, scale, calculator, red pencil, rubber, litter bin, boxes for off cuts PVC structure, wooden walls and floor

Quality control

Ruler, rubber, pencil, ink pen, templates, scissors

2.5 hour

PVC structure, wooden walls and floor

X-Acto knife, cutter, straight and square ruler

4 hours

Pine and balsa wood sticks

X-Acto knife, cutter, straight and square ruler

45 mins

Make sure knives and other sharp materials are covered and are in good conditions. Make sure glue gun is placed were it cannot be reached by accident when it is hot.

Make sure that the workplace is clean and the equipment is in good condition.

Go to the next task as quick as you can

Go to the next task

Check that dimensions are the same for every the same piece, use templates to make the dimensions more accurate and check it with straight and angle ruler

Make sure using knife and ruler safely, and leave it in one specific place, e.g. soft cloth or put a tap on it. Place fingers on the middle of the ruler, never close to the cutting edge Make sure using knife and ruler safely, and leave it in one specific place, e.g. soft cloth or put a tap on it. Use masking tape for a secure placement of planks.

Make sure to cut straight, using ruler as a guide; Go onto the make sure all components are the same; use next task templates; rub all the marks after cutting; sand the edges of wooden elements ensure straight edges

I created Stages of Manufacture pages in order to clarify all steps that I will have take to in order to create my scale model. It shows how my scale model will be made including materials that will be used, equipment needed, how long it will take me to complete each task, health and safety measures, quality control methods and what I would do if any task would take me more than I planned. I will use these steps a guide and will try to complete my scale making process as efficiently and at high level as possible.

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Tools and equipment

Estimated time Health and safety

Quality control

2.5.

Materials and components Measure and cut the roofing, Balsa wood sheets, garage and greenhouse transparent and elements transluscent elements

X-Acto knife, cutter, straight and square ruler

1.5 hours

Check it with straight and angle ruler; sand the edges to create straight edges

3.

3.1.

Joining Assemble the PVC structure PVC elements

Make sure using knife and ruler safely, and leave it in one specific place, e.g. soft cloth or put a tap on it. Place fingers on the middle of the ruler, never close to the cutting edge

UHU glue

1 hour

Work in well ventilated place

Go onto the next task

3.2.

Attach wooden sheets to the PVC structure

UHU glue

1 hour

Work in well ventilated place

3.3.

Assemble all house together, Previously created according to the floor plan elements on the base

UHU glue

1.5 hours

Work in well ventilated place

3.4.

Assemble the greenhouse, terrace and garage

Plastic netting, synthetic moss, transparent and translucent PVC

UHU glue

1.5 hours

Work in well ventilated place

4.

4.1.

Finishing Varnish balsa wood for the service walls

Use masking tape to fix the elements in one position while drying; use 123 block or any other 90 degree cube to create a straight edge; make sure the surface is even Use masking tape to fix the elements in one position while drying; use 123 block or any other 90 degree cube to create a straight edge; sand edges for a perfect joint; make sure the surface is even Use masking tape to fix the elements in one position while drying; use 123 block or any other 90 degree cube to create a straight edge; sand edges for a perfect joint; make sure the surface is even Use masking tape to fix the elements in one position while drying; use 123 block or any other 90 degree cube to create a straight edge; sand edges for a perfect joint; make sure the surface is even

Balsa wall elemnts

Mate varnish, brush, disolvent

Work in well ventilated place, use gloves

Make sure not to touch the elements until they are completely dry; use tweezers to hold the elements while painting

Go onto the next task

5 5.1

Detailing Create the presentation board as a base for the model

20 mins (2 hours to dry until you can touch them)

Paper, printed images

Cutter, pencil, pen, ruler printer

2 hours

Make sure using knife and ruler safely, and leave it in one specific place, e.g. soft cloth or put a tap on it. Place fingers on the middle of the ruler, never close to the cutting edge

Use sharp cutter; cover the edge of metal ruler so not to dmage the paper

Go onto the next task

Go onto the next task

Make sure using knife and ruler safely, and leave it in one specific place, e.g. soft cloth or put a tap on it. Place fingers on the middle of the ruler, never close to the cutting edge

Use masking tape, make sure you cut 90 degree angle and all pieces are uniform length by measuring them constantly; sand the edges to make them uniform length

Stage Description

Go onto the next task

STAGES OF MANUFACTURING

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Balsa wood elements

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Action if delayed Go onto the next task

Go onto the next task

Go onto the next task

Go onto the next task

Task

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Preparation of Materials Buy all materials Print floor plan and elevations to scale Prepare the work place and equipment Measuring and cutting to size

Measure all elements Cut the PVC structure Cut the wooden elements Measure and cut wooden planks Measure and cut all other elements Joining Assemble the PVC structure Attach wooden elements to the PVC structure

Assemble all house together Assemble the greenhouse, terrace and garage Attach the greenhouse, terrace and garage to the house

Finishing Varnish balsa wood Detailing Create the presentation board

In this page I created a graphical representation of the manufacturing process. I included each stage of manufacture and the quality control measures that I should consider when manufacturing my model. This flow chart will help me to visualise in a better way the process and make sure I achieve the best outcome possible by doing the quality control measures after completing every step.

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FLOW CHART

After deciding on the stages of manufacture and completing the flow chart, I created another graphical representation the manufacturing process. Unlike Project Planning Gantt Chart, I divided this one into days and hours.

Each grey square represents how much time I planned previously for completition of each task and yellow squares how much time it took me to complete the task. I allowed myself 5 hours of work each day. Overall, it would take me around 20 hours to finish the model, and so I decided to spend four days and a half making it. When manufacturing I will try to work in the time frames for each stage, which are foreseen to overlap with other stages, and I believe it will help me to finish all the work more efficiently and perfectly in deadline. After having carried out the manufacturing, I added yellow squares in order to show how much time it really took me to carry out each stage. It was difficult to keep up with the deadlines, as there were some unexpected changes in the manufatcuring, causing a delay in manufaturing and further overlaps in tasks.

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MANUFACTURING GANTT CHART 69

Task Discription

0 0

1

KEY The number is semi-circle indicates the number of the stage The number in the right upper quarter indicates the minimum required number to complete the

5

The letter above the line indicates the letter of the task The number below the line indicates the amount of time (in hours) the task is planned to be carried for The solid line connects the nodes (one task

15

K 0.5

11

L 1.5

10.5 15.5

M 2

17

12

17

N 1

19

13

19

14

20 20

O 2

15

22 22

Buy all materials

B

Print floor plan and elevations to scale Prepare the work place and equipment Measure all elements Cut the PVC structure Assemble the PVC structure Cut the wooden elements Varnish balsa wood Attach wooden elements to the PVC structure Assemble all house together Measure and cut wooden planks Measure and cut all other elements Assemble the greenhouse, terrace and garage Attach the greenhouse, terrace and garage to the house Create the presentation board

C D E

D 5

A 2

10

A

F 0

A 2

J

0

2

2 2

B 1

3

3 3

C 1

4

4

G

3

1

4

H I E 2

J

6

6 6

F 1

7

7 7

G 3

8

10 10

H 3

9

13 13

I 1

10

14 14

K L M N

Following the manufacturing Gantt Chart, I created a PERT (The Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart that will show for how long specific tasks can be delayed and which ones are critical to be completed in order to complete the model in time. It is useful to find the minimum time required to complete the task, allowing more efficiency and productivity.

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PERT CHART

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Duration of the task (hours)

2

Order

1

To be completed first A

1

B

5

C

2

C

1

E

3

F

3 1

G H

3

I

0.5

D

1.5

L

2

J+L

1

M

2

N

These pages were very useful for me to forecast in a much clearer and organised way, the time that the whole manufacturing would take me. Also, I helped to visualise much better the way that the tasks will follow, allowing me for a clear plan of action.

Although, the time that I initially planned in the Gantt was extended by 2 hours in this PERT chart, as the tasks were not over laid now, and it is much clearer now that the project would take 22 hours, instead of 20, because I included the drying time for varnishing, because without this detail, I would not be able to proceed with assembling the house and thus carrying out other tasks.

Also, this showed that some tasks will have to be carried out parallel to each other, such as measuring and cutting of the wooden and PVC elements, etc.

As a result this chart was the most helpful one, as it combined all three previous planning tools, including the task description, time for each task and how much time a task can be delayed for. Together with the flow chart for quality control decisions, I believe I was able to achieve the best outcome and manufacture my model almost in time (although with some unexpected delays as it can be seen in the Gantt chart).

PRODUCT MANUFACTURE As a final stage in my product development, after thorough planning and investigation, I started to produce the final model. The process had positive and negative issues, what impacted on the manufacturing plan, but in the end the outcome was satisfying, from which I learned about scale model manufacturing.

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First of all, for the three of my first stages of manufacturing, I went to buy all of the materials needed to create the model. Also prepared the work place in a well ventilated terrace, and used a glass table as a base, as it is very hard to scratch it and the majority of glues do not stick to it.

After having printed the elevations using perfect scaling, I started with the first step, measuring of the elements. It resulted that measuring everything first is not the most quality orientated approach, because I had to create multiple similar pieces, and in order to make them all the same, I decided to measure and cut one piece and use it as a template for another one.Then I would tape the same pieces using masking tape, and check that they are identical, and if they are not, would cut all rough edges. Also, I realised that assembling the PVC structure will not be sensible either, as afterwards I will not be able to stick wooden panels to them at right angle and with the right finish.

However the templates were good, for better quality, I decided to make the other elements tailored specifically for the wall structure, so I will have less work in the future for fixing errors.

In order to ensure a right, 90 degree angle I used a triangle ruler, taped down to the table so I don’t move it accidentally and taping the edges of the house together to ensure it dries in a right way. As a quality assurance check, I had a perfectly cut floor (checked several times before when and after it was cut; easier to do as it is only one integral piece) for the model, and when the structure was placed on, it fitted perfectly, with all angles being at 90 degrees, so I did not have to sand or polish the base and the walls to achieve a better quality. The checks that I carried out preciously, helped me to ensure that at the end of the process all of the elements that I use will have high quality standards.

The main quality control tool that I used was the sanding block for wood.

I used two different grits, the block itself being coarser and a piece that I cut out from a sheet and stuck onto the block being finer. I used one for finishing off the imperfections, like rough edges and the other one when smooth wooden finish was required.

After having created the frame structure of the model, I started working on the internal walls of the house. I took the measurements directly from the house, checking with the printed elevations and the CAD model, deciding to make the service wall (and its extension under the house) be 4 mm (and the structural walls are 2.5 mm). When I had the pieces measured and cut out, it was the step of varnishing them. From the instructions on the bottle and my previous experience with varnishing, I firstly used disolvent to take off any oily bits from the wood surface, and then sanded the surface to make it uniform and clear off the impurities. After this I proceeded with the varnishing, using big synthetic brush. As health and safety measures I used gloves when painting, and ensured to have all windows to be open so not to be intoxicated by the varnish. In the future, I might try to use natural varnishes for my models, as they are more sustainable and do not cause harm to the environment (when cleaned and disposed away).

I documented all of the steps that I undertook in order to complete te manufacturing procees, including unexpected changes and issues, and what measures I took to deal with them.Also, I carried out the numerous quality controls and checks that helped me to create a satisfying outcome in the end.

After having cut out the PVC elements, I proceeded with the wooden window frame for the house. This was also the stage where I realised that I had to work on each of the walls once at the time, because they had their own requirements, and to make the house be of good quality, they had to be worked on much more carefully and be compared to each other all the time.

As I was waiting for the varnished elements to dry, I started working on trusses for the roof. As I already new the dimensions that the walls will be, and their placement, I was able to measure and cut them out. I used 5 mm wide balsa sticks for this, checking the angle and dimensions of the inclination with the CAD model and the template.

When I had the base for one of the trusses, I used it as a template for other ones, taking exact dimensions and constantly placing them in their potential location, as I already had the structure, and knew more or less other placement of the objects.

MANUFACTURE 74

As I had to create like a skin for the PVC elements to make it resemble windows, I had to cut out twice the wooden walls (1 mm thick) and do the same quality control, by sticking them together and making them look identical, using the knife and the sanding block.

When it came to cutting out the windows, there was a huge delay in the time that I assigned to myself. I had forgotten that I will have to do double the work when cutting and measuring the wooden pieces, as they will be sandwiching the PVC elements. This meant twice as much accuracy required, as the windows are transparent and the walls will have to look identical from both sides. Although the templates that I had done were useful in measuring and scale management, I still had to make the frame a little bit thicker for the walls to have structural integrity and be less fragile to work with, due to extremely thin balsa wood.

As I had printed out only the front, side and back elevations of the house and the base, I did not have the section cuts for the service wall and forgot about additional holes in it for the doors and connection with the bedroom. Also, there were additional walls of 2 mm (i had to join two 1 mm elements together) that were not part of the service wall, the partition walls between them, that were not supposed to be painted. Looking at the cad model for dimensions, this meant that I had to measure and cut again the holes again, and varnish the cuts for uniform look. Also, the service wall side of the bedrooms was not supposed to be painted, which I did remember, but I sanded all unwanted painting that went through to the side to get back balsa’s natural colour. I had to create 90 degree angles at the connections of the supporting walls and the service wall, what took me more time than expected.

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Afterwards, I realised that for the house to have clear and invisible joints on edges, I will have to create 90 degree angle on the walls. For this I had to make the plastic in-between the wooden frame narrower and the edges of the wood sanded down for a 45 degree angle. This was laborious, and also took me more time than expected,

This is when I started to assemble the outer structure of the house, and prepared the floor for the base.

This step was necessary before others, because I would be creating the inner walls and other elements when the structure is assembled together, for more accurate and specific measurements.

When I had the walls placed and located in the right place, I added the trusses to them, previously prepared. They resulted to fit perfectly into the space between the service wall and the windows, creating a much stronger structure and support for the roof to come. Smaller trusses at the bedroom side were done in the same way, although I decided to decrease their number by one, as I did not have enough balsa sticks for more of them. This did not detriment the structural integrity of the model, still giving enough support to the roof due to the piece that was attached to the partition wall between two bedrooms. As a way to make the model resemble more to the CAD model, I could have created trusses for the parts of the windows that are inclined, in the exterior of it.

“A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint Exupéry 75

After I had created the structure, the walls and everything inside the house, I decided to continue with the terrace, as it will be easier and logic to proceed with. As I did not lift the house on piloti, it would be more secure to attach the terrace to the house on table. Then I started creating the 5 cm sticks for the screen floor using pine sticks.

In order to ensure quality of the terrace screen, I sanded the sticks to create a straight line (as cutting was very difficult, it was challenging to achieve perfect edge the first time). As pine is a hard wood, it was quite time consuming to create the perfectly straight edge. After having created the terrace of 5 cm for the side greenhouse, I created 3 cm porch for the front greenhouse and the entrance, using the same pine sticks. As the terrace and the house was still on table, I decided to cut out the green house walls, the translucent and transparent parts. I built it outside the terrace, and then assembled it together afterwards.

After completing all three sides of the green wall, I was close to the end of the manufacturing process. I decided to create both sides of the green wall fully, as they can be seen through transparent and translucent walls of the greenhouse, giving bushy and green feeling to the whole house.

A problem arouse when I placed all three green walls to the greenhouse. Although they did not weight that much, the piloti were not enough to support the weight of it and the wooden screen, what made the whole house quite unstable. In order to avoid this, I created a stand that would support the structure when it is not used to show to the client, so its tensile strength does not weaken.This worked well, together with more strategically placed piloti.

Last element of the house were the roof and the stairs.The roof was easy to create, using already constructed house structure. For this I used 3 mm balsa wood, and as a quality control again sanded all of the imperfections for the edges and joins.The stairs were created using the same 3mm balsa wood, cut into 3cm strips, and assembled together using the UHU glue.

The next step was creating the extended service wall and the garage. After having had previous experience, I used the same techniques to assemble the structures, using the triangle ruler and sanding block, taping everything with masking tape for better joining. In order to support the structure, I used balsa wood sticks to represent the piloti, placing 5 of them underneath the house.

Then I continued creating the green wall. I did not include time for this in my planning, which caused quite a delay and I over-went my deadlines on the 5th day. As I had already tried this techniques, creating the wall was laborious but I was confident about how these pieces will have to look like.

When I already had my final model, the last stage of my manufacturing was creating the presentation board. As my model does not require any packaging and is not informative in any written way, it needed to be supported graphically for the potential customer to understand the concept behind it. So for this purpose I summarised the main key concepts of from my project, using elevations and illustrations from my CAD model, supporting with conceptual mood board and a study of the site plan and explanation of the microcosm idea. In the end, this board took me longer than expected, as I was not planning to write anything about the model, just use the graphics, but to meet the educational area in my specification this would be a convincing and straight forward presentation of the model.

Overall, the manufacturing of the model, the process and unexpected changes that I had to carry out were more than satisfying, Due to lack of experience in model making, and quite a complex structure of the house, I was not as accurate in my planning, which caused a delay for several hours. This nevertheless, allowed me to create a much better, thorough and complete model than i could have done using my previously planned tasks. I did not discard them, and flow chart was useful for quality control and checks, but the lack of time and rush to complete everything for the deadlines made me realise that if I had more time, the quality of the model could have been a bit higher. Also, an improvement of creating furniture for the model could have been done, by making the model more realistic and giving it context such as trees and the surrounding environment through topography could have added to the final concept, reducing the need for such graphical and thorough presentation board.

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In order to practice and experiment with the smart film technology- one of the most important technologies in the house- and see how the mechanism works for myself. For this purpose I purchased the started kit, which comes together with 4â&#x20AC;? x 2â&#x20AC;? electrochromic film, which included 2 pieces of copper, 1 piece of cloth , 1 new razor blade, 1 12-110v inverter, 1 set of wiring and small PVC tubes for insulation of wires. In order to make the inverter work, I needed a 12 volt battery being connected to the inverter. A health and safety precaution that I had to take was not to touch exposed wires when the system was working and make sure I connect the right red and black cables to positive and negative on the battery.

After this, I had to attach the copper pieces to the film.They already had one side that was sticky, protected with a paper. So I peeled it off, and attached each copper piece to both sides to the exposed plastic bits.

The copper pieces were already cut to size, and had to stick out a little bit for a better current flow.

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Then I connected the wires as it was indicated to the battery, and connected the switch on and off cables that were already in the kit. I used insulating tape for the cables to connect them together, making sure red one is connected to red and black to the black one. I did not join the power with inverter until I was ready to try the system and until I was sure I am not touching the exposed cables.

In order to investigate the smart film technology and how it works, I experimented with a starter kit; this was very valuable, as I had seen that this kind of technology is freely available and can be applied virtually to anything- and can be applied to houses in windows, separation walls, etc.

The smart film was milky at the start and in order for the electronic particles to work, I firstly had to prepare the connector parts of it. For this, I had to cut between two plastic sheets. This would allow me to eliminate the electrochromic pigments from one side of the film, where the copper will be attached to. This them would allow electric current to flow through the film and switch it on and off.

I had to take precautions with the razor blade, as it was quite sharp and had no safety features. It was flat, so it allowed me to go between two plastic sheets and cut only one side off; then I flipped it around and cut another piece of another side.

After this to eliminate the electrochromic pigments I used alcohol on both sides, leaving this pieces of film completely transparent.

During the summer foundation at The Bartlett School, I was introduced to a real metal and wood workshop. For workshops such as furniture masking and model making, I had an opportunity to use a band saw, sanding machine and vacuum forming.

For a seat for a chair, to make it stable and ergonomic, we created a CAD model of the base of the seat, and then printed to the right scale, traced it to the MDF boards and cut them off using band saw and sanded down for perfect curve.

For my other piece, a scaled model of the vertical farm, I had to create two basins where I would put water for my model to float. For this purposes, I used expanded polystyrene as it is dense, stack several sheets together and cut them for desirable shapes. I had to create two of them, as the vacuum former allowed only limited sizes. I had to use 5 mm PVC, as it would be thick enough to cover the mould and support the weight when stretched at the corners. As the PVC sheet had to be heated up, in contact with polystyrene it melted it on the surface, so I had to literally dig out the mould out of the basin. At the end, the models were able to float and even spin around. This experience gave me a real perception of how vacuum forming can be used, its properties and limitations. Below there are some screenshots from my video filming my floating farm in these basins (to see the video click on the photographs).

When I closed the circuit and touched with cables the copper pieces the smart film turned absolutely transparent. When the cables were removed, the smart film turned back to milky again. In order to fix the cables, I attached them to the copper pieces by folding them (as they had adhesive already); now I only had to connect and disconnect the circuit for the smart film to be switchable.

SMART FILM TECHNOLOGY 77

During my trip to London,I was lucky enough to visit an exhibition that took place in the Design Museum called “The Future Is Here”. This was an amazing opportunity to witness break through technology that was recently invented, focusing on 3D printing techniques and innovation in this field. Some of the technologies that were presented there can be easily applied to house manufacturing and architecture of the future.

One of the most interesting features about the exhibition was that there were 3D printers, CNC machines,very powerful computers for CAD modelling, laser cutting machines, and other tools for free designing. This space was open for two weeks for people with no design knowledge, experience and skills to experiment and explore the techniques and possibilities of the technologies. It is a way of showing that new technology can

be accessible to everyone, and when looking at the products that were made by these people, it was impressive to realise how good they are and the quality and innovative designs were truly outstanding.

On the right, I will explain about some cutting-edge technologies that could be applied to my design, allowing mass manufacturing and innovative approach to fabrication of the houses, in order to become more sustainable, flexible when designing homes. This allows for further customisation, cost savings and reduction of materials used on manufacture, with further quality improvements and higher standards of safety and living available to everyone.

I had lost some of the pictures that I took while observing the exhibition primary, still experiencing the innovation myself.

Extract from the exhibition explaining CNC machining (computer numerical control) CNC is the oldest true form of digital fabrication, which involves cutting tool moving in just three directions, x,y and z axes, controlled by a set of instructions generated by a computer directly from digital design drawings.

The main benefits of the technology are automation of the processes that make production more efficient; consistency and accuracy is superior to any manual process; and finally it allows flexible production of different objects at a required rate, simply by loading different sets of instructions.

Grow portable CNC router system, designed by Michael Warren Grow system is a unique modular CNC machine that can be unpacked and set up in a new site in less than three minutes, allowing designs to be routed in various materials almost anywhere.This is useful when the space for installation of the machine is limited and flexibility and quick assembly is required while moving regularly between various locations.

WikiHouse, developed by 00:/, Espians and Momentum Engineering WikiHouse is an open source construction set, aiming to allow anyone to design, download and make CNC milled houses, which can be assembled without bolts or screws and with minimal skill and training. As an introduction to the process the creators have developed a set of design standards, principles and basic building components, intended as learning tools for new users to build upon as their designs grow.

The WikiHouse system uses standard, widely available materials like plywood to form unique timber structures suited to each site and user.The end structure is then ready to be made weather-tight using cladding, insulation, damp proof membranes and windows. This means the system can evolve and adopt to different locations around the world.

The designs are shared under a Creative Commons licence, so they belong to everyone and can be used by everyone. This kind of system could be implemented to create a platform for designs of my sustainable housing, with a database of possible proposals that can be improved and worked upon later.

I really like this open source architecture approach, as it means that the houses can be customised to the needs of the person, but in the same time can be used by others that share the same needs.

Click on the design guide to view how the design process works and on the image of the web-page to visit www.wikihouse.cc.

v3.0 DESIGN GUIDE

May 2013

Main design principles of the WikiHouse

‘Be lazy like a fox’. Rather than solving problems from scratch, adapt other people’s solutions, and then give them credit. Linus Torvalds thought of this phrase.

Design for materials and components which are reasonably cheap to buy, low-carbon and fully recyclable or biodegradable.

Design is disruptive when it lowers the threshold. Design structures which can be assembled with minimal formal skill or training, and without the use of power tools.

WikiHouses should be capable of being habitable throughout the year, and as efficient as possible in the use of energy and water. We are working to get to the first habitable WikiHouse prototype built in the near future.

Design in such a way as to offer maximum provision for the safety, security and health (both mental and physical) of the users at all stages of the structure’s life.

As a general rule, design for the climate, culture, economy and legal / planning framework in which you live, and you know best. Others will then be able to adapt the design to suit their environment.

Share your work as much and as openly as possible, it might come back better. At very least you’ll have contributed to solving a common problem. All components on WikiHouse are shared under a creative commons license, and authors are always attributed.

“It is easier to ship recipes than cakes and biscuits” - John Maynard Keynes Design to dismantle. The easier it is to dismantle structures or replace individual parts, the better.

Design for mistakes. Try to design components which either make it impossible for the assembler to get it wrong or are designed in such a way that it doesn’t matter if they do.

BATCH PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES AND MANUFACTURE 78

Assemble and Join Described as a community micromanufacturing workshop, Assemble & Join offers schoolchildren, shopkeepers, market traders and other community groups the chance to collectively research, design and build changes to the public realm. This re-imagining of the role a high street can play within a community uses local people to develop and improve an area over time, creating an environment to better suit their needs as well as those of the community as a whole. This includes everything from wayfinding schemes and flatpack market stalls and seating systems.

Using digital manufacturing techniques, the Assemble & Join team work collaboratively with community groups to design and build their ideas in a matter or minutes. All machinery is on view, meaning participants can watch tehir designs come to life in real time workshops. The workshop, primarily funded by the local council, was set up for a three month period in aformer cafe in Waterloo, London. After the success of this intial period, the Assemble & Join team are reopening the workshop in a new location in Camden, London.

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Connected bulb designed by the Agency of Design This bulb brings together internet connected hardware and a leasing ownership model to create a sustained relationship with the user that ensures optimal material recovery and product efficiency.

Recycling rates for light bulbs are typically very low, resulting in finite materials being lost to landfill. The connected bulb attempts to capture 100% of the material used. Internet connectivity allows the manufacturer to maintain a live inventory of materials being used in its products. Using this connected relationship between manufacturer and owners, products can be updated, recycled and repaired when required.

Real-time usage and temperature data is sent to the manufacturer to accurately monitor the bulb’s health. If required, a replacement is automatically sent ahead of failure with the packaging used to return the old parts for reprocessing.

LED bulbs can last up to 25 years.

In order to take advantage of new technologies such as increasingly efficient LEDs, the Connected bulb’s modular design makes it easy to change and install different elements.

This is a very energy efficient concept, that can easily applied to a smart house, that could monitor the overall state in the building and can be repaired, updated or recycled when it is needed, tracking it real time.

D-Process by Facit Homes This process uses a 3D CAD model, which contains every aspect of your home from its orientation and material quantities, even down to the position of individual plug sockets. Avoiding the complex logistics and need to have a large factory, the process fits into mobile production facility (MPF). Right on site, the components are created from the 3D elements using this CNC machine from plywood timber sheets, on demand, as required, keeping costs down and eradicating lead times. Also, the structures are build hollowing, as chassis that will accommodate electrical and plumbing requirements, and serve as a base for “super insulation”, finishes, etc. This method is excellent for creating houses like in my concept, as they can be completely customized right on site, Although some element of prefabrication will have to exist if mass manufacturing is needed.

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KamerMaker by Dus Architects and Ultimaker This project was not in the design museum, but this is another way of 3D printing houses in a mass produced, innovative way. In fact this is the first 3D Printed house, using a 3D printed big enough to print chunks of buildings up to 2x2x3.5 meters high, out of hotmelt, a bio-plastic mix that is about 75% plant oil.The chunks can then be stacked and connected together like LEGO bricks, forming multi-storey homes whose designs can be adopted according to users’ needs/desires. As the building industry is the most polluting and inefficient industry there is, this method is believed to make house building more sustainable, efficient and quick by reducing transportation costs, zero waste and at the end of the day the whole house could be melted down and recycled. The technology is still perfecting, testing translucent plastic and wood fibre mix, like a liquid form of MDF that can later be sawn and sanded. They still have to back-file the plastic blocks with lightweight concrete for structural strength and insulationwhich makes for the moment recycling of the parts somewhat difficult.

This is an extract from A10 magazine that explores concept of catalogue, modular housesanother design and manufacturing method that could be implemented in my concept.

EVALUATION AND TESTING After having completed all of the project, I will be evaluating the final outcome that I achieved to create. I will be analysing positive and negative sides of it, exploring possible modifications and improvements that could have been done, and really understanding everything that I learnt throughout the journey.

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As it can be seen in the photographs, my final outcome is different from what the model looked in the CAD concept, but it quite representative of how it could look like in real life.

Using materials that match the materials that could potentially be used in real life, helped me to achieve a high level of similarity and conceptual understanding of the massing and structure of the model. I achieved one of my aims to contextually and accurately represent the house, conveying to the viewer its true essence, being able to feel and understand the curves and edges for a better perception of space.

In order to add realism to the model presentation, I attached lights to the inside of the model in a dark studio, so the negative space of the elements and the walls, transparent properties of the plastic and natural wooden colour could be better perceived.

After having completed the manufacturing of my final scaled model, I photographed the outcome using different light settings. Also, on these and next pages I will be analysing and evaluating my final outcome, outlining the possible modifications and improvements that could have been done.

In order to illustrate the proposal of smart windows, I used Photoshop on a photographs with windows, to show how it would look like when the current is not applied to it. This was a convincing tool to use, as it gives realistic perception of the technology applied to the model.

MODEL EVALUATION 82

The front view of the model has a strong fuction, as it summarises the whole house in one elevation. This is due to that every main element in the house can be seen from this point, giving a strong conceptual image, Also, due to the flexibility of the joint between the stairs and the porch, I was able to move the staircase up and down, representing the idea of smart staircase. A way of improvement could be creating mechanical stairs for the model, that could fold-up and down, convening in a much clearer way this important concept.

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The addition of the roof was a successful way of helping to understand the purpose of the inclined walls, conveying the presence of solar panels, without even needing to show them on the model. Another way would have been creating a conceptual representation of photovoltaic, using printed image and plastic on top. This could have been a way of representing the house as even more greener and sustainable.

I had to use less columns in the end, and the stand that I created, as the terrace was too heavy, Also, there was little bit of a unbalance between elements, what made the whole house unstable. As a way to improve the structure, I could have checked much carefully and evenly the level of the extended service wall and the greenhouse, and worked out how to balance the structure in a more stable way. This results show that in real life, the house will have to be engineered with a greater through for the placement of the piloti, for it to have structural integrity and stability.

On of my intentions when creating the model was to create a comprehensive and fluent representation of how the house might look like. For this purpose, I included 1:50 figures of people, placing one in open space in the balcony and another one inside the house. This helped me to achieve that the doorways and the structures are percieved in relation to body diemensions, imaginining how furniture can be placed and spaces utilised. Aloso, I used LED lights placed inside the model to create dramatic atmopshere, highlighting the most important structural elements, such as the walls and trusses. Addition of the green wall gives a very special and realistic atmosphere to the model, adding freshness and vividness, which in turn is an aesthetical feature that derived from being also functional.

As the final step in the manufacturing, I created a presentation board that helped me to summarise everything about my project in one place. The model being conceptual, and without any furniture or finishes on the interior, and context outside, the mood collage, context study and elevations of the CAD model were very useful in visualising and comprehending the concept of the house.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the outcome of this scale model. After having done very useful planning, studied thoroughly model making and design literature, I was able to produce a sophisticated, informative, although conceptual, representation of my proposal.

Being purely functional, using minimum of applied decoration and finishes, my model has a very aesthetically pleasing look, reflecting perfectly on the house and they way it could look like in real life.

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Key Development Area Function

Aesthetics

Ergonomics and anthropometrics

Another benefit of this presentation board is that it can be presented either vertical or horizontal, for any kind of presentation, for example when the model cannot be carried to sight. Photographs of it can be included for better visualisation.

Also, I had used super glue to stick images to the MDF support, which means that they are securely stuck and can be safely transported. Although, this board has a disadvantage, as it is quite havy and slippery, and some kind of a handle could have been made in order to allow safer and easier transportation of it.

In order to transport my final model, I tried myself to carry it through several doors of different width. Firstly, I was able to move through double sided door without separating the model and the board, as well as through the 75 cm door, as the dimensions of the board are 80x67. Although, to take it through the door to my room was impossible and I had to separate the two, carrying firstly the board and then following with the model.

As the model was made using super glue, it is strong and sturdy and there are no parts that fall off it, apart for the roof which can be transported separately or attached temporarily to the model using masking tape.

The only area where the house is unstable is the bottom piloti that do not have enough strength to support the weight of the terrace for long time, which requires additional support, and for this purpose I created a quick, mock up stand that would support the structure when it is not presented, so the house does not tilt or break.

As a part of my evaluation, I carried out testing of the ways I could transport my final model and the presentation board.This is an important area in my specification, and after the testing it resulted that the final outcome satisfies it and it can be transported easily and without any breakage, but also be used in a multiple ways for better presentaton.

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Quality, quantity and cost

Materials

As the model is extremely lightweight, there was no problem in carrying it with one hand, making it very flexible to transport. Also, it fits into a small box, which means it can be transported safe to the new site, with or without the board, which needs more space and is heavier. Although, a box and the board can be attached together, and inclined together when this is needed (as some sapces like car entrance and buses have narrow doors) to fit through the doors.

Manufacture

Ecology and life cycle

Health and safety

Maintenance and Consumer Education

Style

TESTING

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

Model Specification

Evaluation Functionally, my model satisfies all of the areas, being informative, presentable from all angles and is simple and clear to be understood by a potential customer; also colour coding and differentiating of the walls helps to perceive clearer the concept.

The model certainly looks professional, uses materials effectively and the combination of materials chosen creates very pleasing and beautiful outcome with minimum of applied finishing and decoration The model is lightweight, small and fits through the majority of the doors, with and without the presentation board, as well as has good scaled dimensions (by including figures of scaled people) and feels right dimensionally I exceeded the budget for the model, as I wanted to use better quality materials, which had higher costs; this helped me to achieve high quality of the model as well as create strong and durable outcome The material choice that I did for using Balsa as my primary building material was right, as I achieved high quality, strong and stable structure, that was possible to finish off and work into it to achieve straight and uniform finishes. Also it was possible to work on imperfections, and together with clear and translucent plastic it gave the model sophisticated and representative look.

The changes that I carried out in the manufacturing process helped me to achieve careful and conveying outcome, together with quality control and assurance checks; also the use of â&#x20AC;&#x153;UHUâ&#x20AC;? superglue allowed me to have strong and sturdy structure In this area, I was not able to find any FSC certified balsa wood to use in my model and PVC that I used will not be able to be recycled as it is sandwiched with the wooden parts using glue; if I would have used sustainable materials, I would over-exceed my budget, as well as the quality of the model would be different; Model is sturdy and of a high quality so it can be used and re-used as demonstration tool for long time Using wood allowed me to create smooth edge, and the joints that there are not harmful to the viewer, not counting the presentation board that does have sharp edges I had to add a supporting piece to the model, as the balsa columns did not have enough supporting strength Presentation board is very clear and self-explanatory, educating the viewer about the whole project and the purpose of the model, giving it context and possible scenario of the house The model has a strong and uniform style overall, being clear and informative; also it is representative of the real materials that could be used, without decoration creating appealing concept representation

As a way to further evaluate the model and the project itself, I used the specification that I drew up before doing the manufacturing in order to see clearly how well I achieved to develop and design my concept and what further improvements and modifications can be done on areas where I did not succeed.

Function 1.1 It will show and convey the overall structure of the house 1.2 There is no need for furniture placement, as the idea is to only show the concept of the house and its relation to the real life spaces and people 1.3 Has to be presentable form all angles 1.4 The model has to be simple and clear 1.5. Only the structural and organisational elements will be included Aesthetics 2.1 It has to be attractive and informative about the final product to the viewer 2.2 It needs to look professional 2.3 Materials from similar colour scheme, touch and finish should be used (not counting transparent plastics representing windows) Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1 The final board and the base has to be not bigger that 800 mm x 1000 mm, so it can be transported easily 3.2 It will be able to fit thought doors and fit in car trunks 3.3 t has to fit into displaying stands if needed and have a free standing structure Quality, quantity and cost 4.1 The model must not cost more than 50â&#x201A;Ź 4.2 The quality of materials used must assure that they will be durable and easy to be worked with Materials 5.1 The materials chosen for the model have to be lightweight and easy to work with, but still have enough strength to support itself (such as piloti underneath the house)

5.2 Materials for walls have to be stable and tough 5.3. Materials have to imitate the real materials to be used Manufacture 6.1 The manufacturing processes used have to give a very careful and conveying outcome 6.2 Quality control and quality assurance must be fulfilled 6.3 There must not be any details falling off the model while transporting or storing it Ecology and life cycle 7.1 The model is going to be made of recyclable or sustainable materials as much as possible 7.2The model could have quite a long life-cycle and if needed has to be reusable Health & Safety 8.1 The model must not have any sharp angles or parts that may cause harm to the viewer 9. Maintenance and Consumer Education 9.1 The model has to be stable and selfsupoorting while presentation as well as when transported and stored 9.2 Some kind of a presentation board will have to be created if no furniture will be present, for better customer perception.

10. Style 10.1 The style of the model will come from the materials that are used, but needs to be as close to the real house as possible 10.2 Using materials of the similar touch, colour scheme and feeling, with contrasting materials sometimes for specific purpose (such as transparent PVC for glass) will create a uniform and stylised representation of the model

FURTHER EVALUATION 85

1. Function 1.1. Each of the units will carry its own function assigned to it 1.2.Units will have to be able to be disassembled and assembled together in order for house to be as functional as possible for the user himself.

1.3. Units system will adopt to the context specific context of the customer.

1.4. Every function that units carry has to be completely sustainable 1.5. The final design will not interact with the land in any way, but use the space already used and allow nature to dominate the design 2. Aesthetics 2.1. Decoration in the units has to be kept at the minimum but allow the customer to personalise the space with the features integrated in the units.

2.2. Using organic, sustainable and pure materials with only necessary, practical finish, the most organic and aesthetic design will be achieved.

2.3. Units will have to adopt to three different contexts, different customers so the aesthetic part of the design has to appeal to everyone.

3. Ergonomics and anthropometrics 3.1.The house has to be well sound and thermally insulated according to the context.

3.2. Light and colour preferences should be adjusted according to the context.

3.3. Design principles has to apply to each unit and be constructed according to the rules when appropriate.

3.4. Units have to be user friendly fisrt of all, being ergonomic for each of the household.

4. Trends, Fashion, Brands and Corporate identity 4.1 The image of my concept has to have a very strong branding identity, probably by associating with other brands 4.2. A new fashion and trend for my concept will have to be created, in order to be attractive to my TMG 5. Target Market Group 5.1 My design will have to taking into account my TMG needs and wants.

5.2 There will have to be focused on my secondary TMG which is Earth, so the design will have to satisfy the environmental issues as well.

6. Ecology and Product Life Cycle 6.1. Create a sustainable system that tackles the global problem 6.2. When choosing materials look at the embodied energy content and its sustainability 6.3. Design according to environmental standards 6.4. New technology implemented has to be sustainable and be focused on improving the environment of a house around it 6.5. House life-cycle must be extended to be as long as possible for a more responsible design 7. Health and Safety 7.1. Design has to take into account all of the health and safety legislations required for a house.

7.2. Household’s well-being will depend upon how safe the house is and what materials are used 7.3. House must follow health and safety standards in order to be able to get certified logos.

7.4. Features that have nothing to do with construction, such as materials for different objects and plants also have to be chosen carefully as they affect household’s well-being.

8. Morals, Culture and Ethics 8.1. The design has to integrate sustainability of a house, individual and the whole community to be able to create a new culture of living.

8.2. New and smart technology has to be used to help to create a new and user friendly culture of living.

8.3. The concept and the design must not be used as a marketing tool- but to be genuinely believed in to attract customers.

8.4. Depending on country, culture and traditions the design might vary.

9. New Technology 9.1. New technology should be used where necessary to create the most energy-efficient, user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing sustainable house 9.2. New technology does not have to be commercialised or just released- forgotten efficient systems and technologies can, and should, be used 9.3. Systems used have to be accessible by everyone, ensuring that any TMG member can use and live in the house 9.4. Systems such as smart house have to be used- for a modern, maintenance-free house as found in further discussion with my expert.

9.5. Farming unit has to have a direct access to the kitchen/living space and be maintenance free as found in my questionnaire.

9.6.The grinner house will have to be the one that works in a whole sustainable system, which is beneficial for the whole community, collaborating to the same problem.

10. Quality, quantity and cost 10.1. For the highest quality yield, organic nutrient solution and seeds have to be used in the farming unit 10.2. The most efficient gardening system will have to be able to accommodate between 15-20 plants 10.3. Durable and high quality materials have to be used 10.4. To ensure quality, sustainable materials have to be used 11. Maintenance and Consumer Education 11.1. Instructions and manuals to the house have to be clear and accessible by everyone 11.2. Smart technology must be incorporated into the design in order to be able to allow the household to benefit from their sustainable house 11.3. The house must be as efficient as possible in order to be maintenance free 12. Materials and Manufacturing 12.1 Wood has to be the principal building material 12.2 Modular design should be implemented, with possibilities of mass prefabrication of units 12.3 Minimum of applied finish and decoration has to be used 12.4 Materials and manufacturing techniques with low embodied energy should be used 12.5 The majority of the house has to be recyclable and re-usable/ possible to update, using sustainable and ecological materials and manufacturing techniques to have strong environmental image and energy efficiency 13. Style 13.1 A combination of all of the previous specification requirements will create unique style for my concept as being pure and essential.

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Key Development Improvement Area Function

Aesthetics

Ergonomics and anthropometrics

Trends, Fashion, Brands and Corporate identity Target Market Group

Ecology and life cycle

Evaluation

Key Development Improvement Area

Units have to be able to adopt to the context of the customer Every function of the unit needs to be sustainable

The new service wall system allows customers to choose the units that want their house to have- the whole housing concept being neutral and uniform for all contexts; the same sustainable and ecological base was applied to all design- and thus all units Minimum decoration but maximum Smart windows integrated into the walls allow any customisation to the household using features environment to be created based on the desires and integrated into living spaces moods of the household Units have to adopt to three different contexts Using piloti allows the house to be integrated into any context, whether it is a rocky mountain, seaside, forest of a rooftop of a skyscraper- it can be achieved because of the flexible design Sound and thermal insulation according to the Using advanced technology that was investigated the context house can be modular, prefab and well insulated due to Adjustable light and colour preferences triple glazing and due to special properties of wood and Be user friendly to the household new technology Light and colour can be adjusted easily due to integration of smart windows Smart house system makes the house user friendly, together with logical and ergonomic placement of objects, rooms and open space Concept will have to have strong branding Integrated into microcosm and combined with new and identity innovative technology the house’s brand identity will be New fashion and trend for the concept will have created through its ecological and sustainable approach to be created Design has to take into account TMG’s needs Due to extensive varieties and possibilities that the and wants modular concept has, the household will be able to create the best environment for themselves according to their needs and wants Create a sustainable system that tackles the The microcosm idea integrated into a city block, when global problem multiplied and extended will definitely allow whole Embodied energy in the materials and their cities to become independent and sustainable, reducing sustainability the CO2 emissions and contributing to reduction of New technology used to make the house and greenhouse gases emissions the environment around it sustainable and Wood is one of the most sustainable, durable and strong better building materials, that has the lowest embodied energy, Extend house life-cycle to be as long as possible being able to capture CO2 even after it was processed and utilised as building material New technology applied to manufacturing technique as well as renewable energy collection systems will make the house not only self-sufficient but contribute to the environment around it Re-usable modules with possibilities to be updated or improved will allow the house to have long life-cycle instead of being demolished and new one build instead; also the materials used and quality achieved will enable the whole house to be as durable and long-lasting as possible

Health and safety

Morals, Culture and Ethics

New Technology

Quality, quantity and cost

This evaluation was an excellent way of revising and analysing all of the aspects of the concept, looking back on the research and new discoveries, created a complete and final design clear, with all its aspects being justified and evaluated.

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Evaluation

Use safe and sustainable materials for the house Has to follow health and safety standards to get the logos Objects that are used in furniture and environment have to be safe and sustainable too

Using engineered timber and tall wood manufacture, will make the house durable and safe to live Using sustainable, ecological and natural materials and modular, prefabricated parts will make the house safe and energy efficient This will depend on the preferences of the household and their needs/requirements/abilities but the concept is built around everything being sustainable New and smart technology has to be used As explained in my idea development, almost every part of the house uses new technology or something innovative, being educational, sustainable and together with all of its features morally and ethically correct and adaptable to all cultures; also, the use of piloti allows the space underneath the house to be used by public, mixing different class and social groups New technology to create energy-efficient, user- As stated above, every aspect of the house has something innovative about it, making the house employ friendly and aesthetically pleasing, sustainable house cutting-edge advanced designs to combine all these features in one Use any efficient productive technology- not necessary commercialised and today ones The whole concept of being independent and selfsufficient, growing your own food and have your own Technology has to be accessible by everyone energy stopped being something ordinary, which Implement smart house systems needs to come back to the culture of people, that was Integrate the house to the community grid, forgotten before helping its environment to become more Smart house system will take control over the needs sustainable and requirements of the household, making it hassle-free and user-friendly, as everything will be thought through Integrating into the microcosm allows the house to be not only for one family, but integrated into society to make it better Use organic nutrient solution for the farming As the whole concept is about sustainability and systems ecology, it will be suggested by the system to use organic Gardening system that will accommodate up to nutrients to the household, educating people about the 20 plants healthy and safe way of living Durable and high quality materials will have to Extensive use of the terrace will be able to accommodate be used many possible varieties of plants, but as the system is Sustainable materials will have to be used flexible, household will adjust it to their specific needs

Maintenance and Consumer Education

Instructions and manuals to the house have to be clear and accessible to everyone Incorporate smart technology to the design Make house as efficient as possible for it to be maintenance free

Materials and Manufacture

Use materials with low embodied energy Make house re-usable/possible to update and recyclable, using sustainable and ecological materials and manufacturing techniques

Style

Style will be created based upon meeting other areas from the specification

Smart technology might be used to substitute the manuals and instructions- making living and controlling the house intuitive and hassle-free to the owners, as well as being precise, reduce waste (because of constant control and measurements) and be sustainable will make the house as efficient as possible Using the idea of the connected bulb- having the house system to be connected to the grid will allow the manufacturer to monitor house performance and have constant updates and revisions of it- making it longerlasting, more durable and safe for the household, reusing and recycling the parts of the house that were replaced/changed/updated Overall, the whole image, brand identity and aesthetics of the final design give strong and green feeling to the concept, and combining modernist principals with technological advancement help it to create its own, new style of living.

Conversation with Tim Zihong Yue Overall, what is your opinion about the functionality and possible future of the concept? What would you improve in the concept/model?

Yes, I’m very keen on self-sufficient structures. It’s probably more a system reserved for the high-income group, because it needs a lot of initial investment, but once you get it going, it should be pretty easy to maintain, just like a human body It has its own respiration system, heat exchange system, etc; it can even has sensors to detect the mood of the

occupants, and change theme or colours This could be worth considering. and lights accordingly, all part of being However still, I’m in doubt such a system will in any time soon be for most of self-sufficient. the general public, because as I said, the Does this concept of self-sufficient housing initial investment is quite high, but also and microcosms contribute to the solutions if he/she grows their own food, selfof the problems of global warming? Do you employed, produce their own energy, and not a lot of people can survive this think it is financially viable design?

Such a unit based system could be way nowadays, most of economy still rely damaging in the short term to, lets say, on collectively companies. Nevertheless, super powerful energy companies who there is a trend, for sure. rely on mass-scale systems, so politically, Note: When I was asking these you should expect a lot of resistance questions, I had only shown a from them. Furthermore, how do you tax someone who lives a self-sufficient life? presentation board that I created Off grid, and do not use public services? to my experts, without having So there is this side of politics to take explained properly the concept of into consideration, which could impact microcosms and how the sustainable innovation can be brought to city the architectural side of the concept.

Also, other than the socio-political, can blocks, integrating them together economical aspects of self-sufficiency with the house. This gave more affect the future of the concept, is there clarity on the concept and how it will an emotional side to it all? Sensual side? function and its future possibilities.

Interactive side? What do they mean? inspired me to create the majority of my side projects and push design boundaries further)

Conversation with Carlos Jimenez Cinamor (Who was also my teacher at the Bartlett Summer Foudnation and

Overall, what is your opinion about the functionality and possible future of the concept of my project?

I think the functionality of the project is very consistent, every element has a well defined set of roles, so the space is not redundant, but efficient.

Reading the concept description, I also think it is definitely a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, I think the spatial investigation is very limited for now to fulfil your potential.

As a way of evaluating my project through third party opinions I asked Carlos Jimenez Cinamor, a former architect, designer and part-time professor in charge of Unit 22 in the Bartlett, UCL, Katia Blankenstein, an architect, Alex Clarry, architecture student at Sheffield University and Tim Zihong Yue, architect and UCL graduate. I had asked them a set of questions, showing the presentation board where all of my project is summarised.

Does the concept of self sufficient housing and microcosms contribute to the solutions of the problem of global warming?

Yes, I totally agree with the strategy of empowering all future built environments to be self/sufficient till the degree that this can be achieved successfully. But at the same time, I don’t necessarily agree with the social organization the project implies.

The project relies in building individual spaces that supports the necessities of the private owner/user. The failure of the welfare state we all are immerse in, precisely rely in this paradigm of comfort and privacy. It is time to find new ways of collaboration among members of the society in regular basis. So privet spaces

Conversation with Alex Clarry Overall, what is your opinion about the functionality and possible future of the concept of my project?

Depending on the cost to develop a working prototype I see a bright future for this concept.

By combining real technologies both simple and cutting edge I see no reason why this project couldn’t be a success in years to come and repeated on a reasonable scale given the market keeps up demand.

Does the concept of self sufficient housing and microcosms contribute to the solutions of the problem of global warming?

I believe the science isn’t yet settled on whether or not humans are directly causing global warming through high usage of fossil fuels and the emission of CO2. I do however think it is worthwhile investing in self sufficient housing and more efficient ways of using of natural resources.The idea proposed is a very beautiful idea which maintains a continued comfortably lifestyle. Whether or not it is repeatable on a large scale is yet to be realized. It is definitely worth pursuing and developing further as we progress into a more sustainable way of living.

What would you improve in the concept/model?

The next step in improving the concept/model could be using a more complex software package to investigate the feasibility of the design further. Perhaps by using more photorealist software where specific materials and their properties can be explored in more depth. Perhaps models of specific construction details could be produced.

should be organize among other sort Do you think it is financially viable design? of spaces for communal uses (kitchens, Yes! But as I said before, it is based in the paradigm of capitalism and private launderette, workshops...) ownership, economical models that are How do you find the model, is it under scrutiny and revision. informative and is it an effective conceptual representation of the house?

Again, this expert did not know fully It is very competent. But I consider about the social aspects of the design; necessary to innovate not only in the but in no doubt the microcosm concept communication format, but also in the should be explored and investigated more space definition (your model making indepth, may be with a help of economists, project was as viable as this one, but politicians and sophisticated scientists, that pushing the boundaries of what is known work in urban planning; this would allow at the moment). me to further extend the possibilities of the idea, and make it much more viable and can be then applicable to a larger scale.

FINAL EVALUATION 88

that is yet to be understood. Universal government and large corporation controlled infrastructure becomes largely redundant. How can society be controlled without dependency? This concept is nothing less than revolutionary, giving architecture the ability to educate and liberate people, while at the same time significantly reducing the negative impact on the earth.

How do you find the model, is it informative and is it an effective conceptual representation of the house?

Yes by representing the model in a variety of medium both physically and virtually the audience gains a very clear insight into how the building would look and function in a real life situation. The physical model looks very professional due to the usage of multiple materials. The variety of positions and camera views, and in particular the exploded virtual model displayed, help the viewer understand how the building assembles together.

Conversation with Katia Blankenstein Overall, what is your opinion about the functionality and possible future of the concept of my project?

Overall the concept of your project is progressive, innovative and environmentally aware while still embodying a universally accepted understanding of a family dwelling.

The concept takes into account issues of sustainability, security, convenience and sanctuary in a fluid and elegant way that your target market group would appreciate. The basic precepts, technologies and solutions behind the concept, personalized with your extended branding ideas, launch this type of dwelling into the future with a dynamism that is, as yet unexplored in the architectural world. Continue to develop these relationships and marketing strategies and the outcomes will evolve and develop exponentially.

Does the concept of self sufficient housing and microcosms contribute to the solutions of the problem of global warming?

Self sufficiency of basic needs on a family and community level is hugely significant in finding solutions to our environmental destruction and global warming. It is also a concept that democratises society bringing about a completely new, self sovereignty

SOFYA ABRAMCHUK PROD 4- 2013 | 2014

How do you find the model, is it informative and is it an effective conceptual representation of the house?

The model, together with the skilful photos taken of it and the presentation board, all serve to capture the many complex issues investigated and developed in the written document. In the model and presentation board, the key issues and concepts can be instantly identified, leaving the details of habitation up to each individual to complete in a personalized way. The materials and techniques used in making the model, embody the overriding sense of sustainability, ecology and sanctuary.

What would you improve in the concept/ model?

The development of the perfect family dwelling and societal structure is an issue that mankind has tried to perfect for millennia.The concepts and model of your project demonstrate your commitment to understanding the development that mankind has made in these areas thus far, the shortcomings of the systems that are in place and possible solutions, using current and projected technologies. Despite the sophisticated success of your concepts and your model, as a young architect with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and development, I believe that this is just the beginning of your journey along a path to continually develop and perfect the most basic of human needs - a home.

Improve by continuing to pursue the ideas

of self sufficiency, personalization and sustainability. Continue to adapt existing technologies and innovate cutting edge technologies for effective use in living environments, in an effort to constantly improve the sovereignty, security, convenience and sanctuary of a home and a community. Improve by removing conventional understanding from your mind, breaking the moulds of furniture, divisions and roads, focusing rather on the relationship between need, space and environment. In terms of the model and the presentation board, improve by striving to convey an idea in a glance, a concept in a sentence, a solution in an image. You are well on this path already ... continue with confidence.

This opinion is different from others- as this expert have been with me throughout the journey and helped me to develop the concept. All of the opinions are valuable, as they had shown me, from a different angle, how my project looks like, its many positive and negative sides. Now, I would need to go into more research, as it was said using more sophisticated CAD software for spatial analysis, together with collaboration of other experts. It is definitely a new and progressive trend, that might, or might not work out in the future.This means that more investigation and research should be done to explore all of the possibilities of the idea of microcosm, rather than the housing itself; this would enable me to see how whole new sustainable system can be created, studying economical, political, technological and natural sides of the concept. Still I will be looking at earth as my main target, and think that the concept should evolve around it, people being the ones who are willing to step back from their traditional and conventional living in order to save the planet from a natural disaster.

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SWOT analysis SWOT analysis is a method to plan a structured analysis, in order to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats about a business venture, person, organisation or idea.

This analysis is helpful in identifying things that have to and can be improved in the future, in setting design objectives and plan of actions to achieve them, reducing the risk of failure and unexpected threats.

In the case of my concept, housing system is a product that requires much more thorough research into an extensive market of sustainable architecture.Also, this includes seeking collaborations with the inventors of the technological devices in order to

be able to employ these technologies into my concept.

And most importantly, my main TMG is the Earth, and this is very important to outline. Being sustainable and selfsufficient, taking only natural and recycling and reusing is the nest way to tackle the objectives I set myself at the start, but that needs to be done quick and fast, so the change can be noticeable. As globalisation evolves, it is believed that technology does the same, so in order to be avoid a threat of natural disaster from external factors, the sustainable housing concepts should be developed quickly, and shared around with everyone, so the databases like WikiHouse and Assemble & Join expand and contribute to the global cause.

Books: Weston, Richard. Materials, Form and Architecture. New Orlean: Yale University Press, 2003 Werner, Megan. Model Making. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2011 Yee, Rendow. Architectural Drawing: A Visual Compendum of Types and Methods. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, inc. 2013 Dunn, Nick. Architectural Model Making. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd. 2010 Despiommier, Dr. Dickson. The Vertical Farm. New York: St. Martin’s Press. 2010 Keith, Robert. How-to Hydraponics. an e-book. 2013 Gordon, J.E.. Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down. USA: Da Capo Press.. 2003 Driscoll, Matthew. Model Making for Architects. Wiltshire: The Crowood Press Ltd. 2013 Neumeier, Marty. The Brand Gap. Berkley, CA: Peachpit. 2006 Hough, Romeyn Beck. The Woodbook, Germany: Taschen, 2007 Lefteri, Chris. Materials for Inspirational Design. Switzerland: RotoVision SA, 2006 Neufert, Ernst. Neufert. Arte de proyectar en arquitectura. Spain: Editorial Gustavo Gil, 2006

Magazines New European Architecture “A10” Issues #55 and #56 Various articles and information from folllowing websites: http://www.archdaily.com http://www.yellowtrace.com http://www.dezeen.com http://www.301monroe.com http://home.howstuffworks.com/smart-home3.htm http://the-future-is-here.com/digital-fabrication-meets-massmanufacture/ http://howstuffworks.com http://Wikipedia.org http://www.telegraph.co.uk http://www.ted.com http://www.theguardian.com/uk http://www.designboom.com/architecture/ http://mashable.com/design Throughout the coursework, the PDF files can be accessed by clicking on the image of it when indicated.

Evans, Brian and Potts, Willl. AQA Design & Technology Product design (3-D Design) for As/A2. UK: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 2008

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