Sincerely Sustainable » public

Edible Schoolyard Coming To PS216 In New York

The Author — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:03:48 +0000

In a day and age when kids are already being bombarded at schools by unhealthy choices from soda makers and fast food conglomerates, it’s nice too see that at least one school is seeing the importance of exposing kids to the importance and rewards of knowing where food comes from and the benefits of growing it themselves.

The architecture firm Work AC, in collaboration with Edible Schoolyard New York and the Chez Panisse Foundation, is designing a new schoolyard for PS216 that will give the 417 K-5th grade students the opportunity to connect with nature and learn how working with it can bring about an abundance of delicious rewards. The Edible Schoolyard consists of a series of interlinking structures; each of which will serve a specific role.

The main structure on the site of the large outdoor garden is the kitchen classroom where 30 students per class will be able to prepare meals together using ingredients from the schoolyard which they grew themselves. The angled butterfly roof incorporates a rain collection system that directs water into large above-ground cisterns located behind the building. One of the most unique features of the building is the mobile 4-season greenhouse attached to its front side. To extend the growing season, the mobile greenhouse can be extended out over 1600 sqft of the schoolyard garden to protect plants and seedlings from the cold. In addition to the large garden and kitchen classroom, there are also composting areas, solar batteries (connected to onsite solar PV), a chicken coop, and of course a tool shed.

The Good: A low environmental impact and highly beneficial school program/facility that serves to educate and engage students on a multitude of health and environmental issues.

The Bad: Only being done at one school. Security might be an issue in protecting the crops.

The Bottom-Line: By engaging children and their parents in discussions of nutrition, health, and sustainable planting, the Edible Schoolyard at P.S. 216 will promote healthy eating and a sense of responsibility for the environment to an age group that is just beginning to form their own set of ideals, ethics, and responsibilities.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 5.0/5 (4 votes cast)

A Tropical Rainforest Grows…In Northern England?

The Author — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:36:07 +0000

Yes, you heard it right people: A new rainforest will soon be growing in Northern England. How is this possible you ask? Human ingenuity of course…combined with a dash of marketing, capitalism, and of course; a gigantic dome.

By 2014, the Chester Zoo in Northern England will be home to the ‘Heart of Africa’; an enormous 115 ft high 172,000 square foot biodome which will house, among other things, an authentic growing African Congolese rain forest complete with every flora and fauna you could imagine inhabiting such an environment. There will be a band of gorillas, a large troop of chimpanzees, okapi (rare giraffe-like creatures), birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, invertebrates and of course an interactive water ride that will take guests throughout this wondrous manmade jungle. Themed retail and dining facilities will also be incorporated (after all Disneyworld doesn’t make its money by kids taking pictures with Mickey Mouse).

The ‘Heart of Africa’ project is but only a piece of the much grander ‘Natural Vision’ redevelopment plan for Chester Zoo that is projected to be totally complete in 15 years. In the near term though, the dome/amusement park/zoological conservation project should be open in 4 years. The dome itself was designed by Proctor and Matthews Architects in conjunction with the ginormous environmental engineering consulting firm AECOM and Barton Willmore. The signature undulating dome is achieved by using ETFE, a highly corrosive resistant and strong form of plastic, clad free forms as the roof. It will, in fact, be the largest of it’s kind in the world. Most recently ETFE was used to ’skin’ the Olympic Aquatic Center in Beijing a.k.a. the ‘Water Cube’ for the 2008 Olympics.

The Good: With rain forests being cut down faster than you can say “Save the Rainforest”, preservation of that habitat and it’s species is critical; in any form. The visibility and accessibility of the facility will help better educate the public on some of the issues facing the rain forests of the world. Beneficial research.

The Bad: The unavoidable commercialization and ’slickness’ of the exhibit will dilute the real environmental issues at hand and may encourage complacency about the status quo concerning the real rainforest in Congo. Northern England isn’t exactly tropical and 172,000 square feet doesn’t heat itself. So you can probably put two and two together here yourself when it comes to the energy consumption of this facility.

The Bottom-Line: A good idea with tangible benefits, but the scale and ulterior motives for the project seem to somewhat undermine its environmental objectives.

UPDATE: Tom from Proctor and Matthews, the architects working on the Heart of Africa project, was kind enough to forward me information that I had not been privy to prior to writing this post. It seems a lot of my environmental concerns surrounding the project, mostly due to a lack of information, have now been satisfactorily resolved for the most part. He writes:

Whilst you make valid points regarding the materials used to construct the dome there is a balance to be met regarding the global issues of sustaining the natural habitat of the Congo (and of course other areas at risk such as coral reefs, low lying islands). The aim is to raise awareness of these issues to attempt to halt the destruction. Chester Zoo has a globally respected conservation agenda that this project is intending to contribute to. The building is to reuse its substantial animal waste to maintain it’s temperature – assisted by on and off show areas that create natural ‘climate locks’ to increase the thermal efficiency of the building, coupled with a landscape design that utilised topography beneath the roof to maximise solar gain. Our response was to be as follows:

As the architects of this proposal our ambition is for the zoo to self-generate its fuel from both biomass via woodchip and animal waste in a bio digester.

Our understanding is that the project is a direct funding point for assisting, both research and education projects for animals and habitats at home in the UK, but more importantly in one of our planets threatened habitats – the Congo rainforest. Profits and donations will ultimately fund animal habitat programs in the rainforest belt which will contribute more extensively to the issue of living on a sustainable planet.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 4.4/5 (7 votes cast)

Cooper Union For The Advancement Of Science And Art: Stunningly Sustainable

The Author — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:04:40 +0000

Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis are probably some of, if not the best, architects working in the world today. Constantly pushing boundaries on both aesthetic and sustainable fronts, they never shy away from redefining what a building should look like and how it should function. The newly completed Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York is certainly no exception.

Aside from the stunningly different topography and shape of the facade, the building was designed to engage the public from both the outside and inside of the building. The transparent facade allows people on the outside to view activity happening inside the building, while window protrusions and unique viewpoints allow occupants to have clear unobstructed views of the outside.

Aside from the aesthetics of the design, the building itself is built to LEED Gold standards, but is expected to receive a platinum rating. Some of it’s more sustainable features include:

An operable building skin made of perforated stainless steel panels offset from a glass and aluminum window wall. The panels reduce the impact of heat radiation during the summer and insulate interior spaces during the winter.
Radiant heating and cooling ceiling panels introduce innovative HVAC technology that will boost energy efficiency. This contributes to making the new building 40 percent more energy efficient than a standard building of its type.
A full-height atrium enables unique circulation for building occupants, improves the flow of air and provides increased interior day lighting.
Seventy-five percent of the building’s regularly occupied spaces are lit by natural daylight.
A green roof insulates the building, reduces city “heat island” effect, storm water runoff and pollutants; harvested water is reused.
A cogeneration plant provides additional power to the building, recovers waste heat and effectively cuts energy costs.
Flexible state-of-the-art laboratories, studios and classrooms are specifically designed to accommodate pedagogical objectives, as well as current and future research activities.

photos by Iwan Baan courtesy of ArchDaily

The Good: A uniquely designed building that engages the public while reducing its environmental impact.

The Bad: Constructed using a lot of high embodied-energy materials. Of course it could always be even more sustainable.

The Bottom-Line: When it comes to balancing function and form, Morphosis is ahead of the pack.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 3.8/5 (4 votes cast)

Germans Defy Logic With Man-Made Mountain Proposal

The Author — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:08:42 +0000

Staying on what seems to be a week of ridiculous news on the sustainability front, Berlin, Germany, a topographically flat part of the country, is now seriously considering the construction of the largest man-made mountain in the world in order to attract ski enthusiasts and tourists.

German architect Jakob Tigges has unveiled a plan for the construction of a 1,000m (3,280 ft) tall mountain at the site of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, and there are actually a lot of people that are taking the prospect rather seriously. At over 1/2 mile high, The Berg, as it has come to be known, would be one of, if not the largest, man-made land mass project the world has ever seen.

I’ve got to say I’m dubious of the sincerity, validity, and reality of this project. After all, why would a city or country spend hundreds of millions of dollars, expend copious amounts of energy, and forever change a landscape just to have a huge lump of earth to call a mountain? Up until now, I thought the 8-story fake mountain at the Wynn casino in Las Vegas was impressive and as equally ridiculous. We’ll see how The Berg turns out as it would definitely be infinitely more impressive/ridiculous.

The Good: Maybe it would provide habitat for some mountain-dwelling flora and fauna?

The Bad: An enormous amount of energy, time, and money spent on something that will occupy a huge amount of space without being habitable or agriculturally productive.

The Bottom-Line: A ridiculous idea made even more ridiculous by the fact that many people actually support the idea.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 2.3/5 (3 votes cast)

Masdar City Continues To Make Progress On Sustainability Goals

The Author — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:53:42 +0000

With every passing week, it seems like Masdar City in Abu Dhabi comes one step closer to becoming a reality. Whether it’s an announcement regarding the completion of a 10 MW utility-scale solar project being connected to the electric grid to provide power for the construction of Masdar City, or the fact that the city will be home to the newly established International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the city’s progress and sustainability goals are always generating excitement and anticipation.

A Sustainable Oasis In The Middle Of The Desert

For those unfamiliar with the project, Masdar City is currently being built in Abu Dhabi (part of the United Arab Emirates) and when completed in 2018 will be the first carbon neutral and zero-waste city in the world. With expectations of 50,000+ residents and over 1,500 businesses, how is a city in the middle of the desert going to achieve such sustainability?

Master-planned by Foster + Parters, Masdar City incorporates sustainability into every aspect of its design and planning (sans the fact that it’s a city in the middle of the desert). While an entire blog could be dedicated to its sustainable features and design, here are a few highlights:

The city will have an advanced transportation system consisting of a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) and a Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system located underneath the city allowing for pedestrian traffic to move freely above. The PRT system is an individual point-to-point mobility solution, with 83 stations, that carries residents throughout the city. It has direct links to the adjacent Abu Dhabi International Airport, surrounding developments and will have connected access to Abu Dhabi City.
The city will produce as much, if not more, power than it consumes making it carbon neutral when it comes to energy. Over 200 MW of renewable energy will be generated by the city, with over 170 MW coming from solar photovoltaics. The rest will be provided by concentrated solar and thermal energy generated from waste.
A 70 % reduction in energy usage compared to a similar sized typical city construction.
60% of the water demand will be provided by recycled water which will be cleaned and be safe enough for drinking, irrigation and any other potable use.
All of the waste in Masdar City will be managed through an integrated, user-friendly, invisible and odorless system.

The Crown Jewel

The main focus of Masdar City is it’s city center designed by the firm LAVA. Truly something out of every sustainable designers’ dream, Masdar’s city center is unlike anything else in the world. From LAVA:

We see Masdar Plaza as “The Oasis of the Future”: a living, breathing, active, adaptive environment; stimulated by the social interaction of people, and spotlighting the use and benefits of sustainable technology. As in the case of an oasis, the Plaza is the social epicentre of Masdar; opening 24-hour access to all public facilities. Interactive, heat sensitive technology activates low intensity lighting in response to pedestrian traffic and mobile phone usage. The Plaza is able to change into an outdoor cinema for international events and national celebrations.

By analysing the potential pedestrian flows throughout the Plaza and surrounding facilities, the design seeks to accentuate this ‘loop’ of indoor and outdoor user-experiences This ‘loop’ marries the lowest possible energy expenditure to the highest levels of user comfort in correlation to pedestrian flows.

Our ‘Petals from Heaven’ feature interactive umbrellas that open, provide shade, and capture energy during daylight hours; folding at night to release stored heat.

Solar analysis provides insight into the tuning of facades in order to incorporate an ability to respond to varying sun angles and levels of solar intensity.

The Oasis of the Future is a living, breathing habitat. The ability to control ambient temperature at all times of the day is the key to making the Plaza a compulsive destination. The gorges pull inhabitants into the loop. The ‘Petals from Heaven’ open and close; protect pedestrians from the sun; capture, store, and release heat; adjust the angle of shade based on the position of the sun. The heat sensitive lamps adjust the level of lighting to the proximity of pedestrians. The water features ebb and flow based on the intensity of ground temperatures.

The promenades lure pedestrians into the shopping and leisure facilities. Similarly, the public are seduced into the Plaza during cooler night hours and cooler months of the year.

Our 5 Star Hotel is organised efficiently around a ‘Central Canyon’ and is linked to the Extended Stay Facilities via a ‘gorge’ housing Retail premises. The Central Canyon is a day-lit space deep within the building, connecting the hotel’s restaurants and ballrooms to the guest amenities.

So if this kind of city can be built and succeed in one of the harshest environments on Earth, think of what a city like this could do in a temperament climate. You could actually have cities that produce significantly more power than they consume; virtually eliminating the need for centralized large power plants. The only problem is very few governments in the world can afford, or would be willing to fund, such a project. With an estimated total development budget of $24-billion phased over an 8 year development timeline, Masdar City certainly isn’t cheap, but for a place like Abu Dhabi that’s rich in oil money, $24-billion really isn’t that much.

pics courtesy of ArchDaily / LAVA

The Good: A city that produces its own clean renewable energy, recycles all of its waste, and is essentially built to have as little impact as possible on the environment. It’s beautiful; both aesthetically and environmentally

The Bad: It’s in the middle of the desert making Masdar City need much more power to keep its inhabitants comfortable than a city in a more ‘inhabitable’ climate. The city’s incredibly large price tag means only oil rich nations can, or would, be able to afford such an endeavor (irony).

The Bottom-Line: A carbon neutral, zero-waste and almost self-sufficient city that proves buildings don’t have to be contributors to the problem of climate change, but can be a big part of the solution.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 3.9/5 (19 votes cast)

New Computer-Controlled NASA Building Reactive To Weather And Occupants

The Author — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:39:59 +0000

From the people who brought you everything from Tempur-Pedic mattresses to Tang, NASA is again applying their collective genius and scientific findings from space to projects right here on Earth. The agency is planning to build one of the most sustainable buildings in the world at its Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Dubbed Sustainability Base, NASA’s new research center is designed by McDonough + Partners and AECOM and will feature technologies no other green building project can claim to have.

Good Morning HAL…I Mean Building

Sustainability Base, an homage to Tranquility Base where the first moon landing occurred, is designed to be a net-zero energy building (produce as much power as it consumes) and has all of the usual features and design elements one would expect with a robustly green, aiming to be LEED Platinum Plus, building. There are solar and fuel cells for power production, geothermal wells for highly efficient air conditioning, living green wall elements, and a highly sophisticated water reuse and recycling system that will allow the building to consume 90% less potable water than a comparably sized structure.

While these features are already above and beyond your average ‘green building’, the real crown jewel of the project lies in the building’s adaptive capabilities courtesy of its intelligent computer-controlled system. Based on a system used in NASA spacecraft, the computer inside Sustainability Base will connect to the Internet to call up weather forecasts for the local area to help it plan environmental control. It will also be able to access electronic calendars of workers in the building, allowing it to predict how many people will be at a given meeting or in specific rooms at one time. This information, along with integrated occupancy sensors, will allow the computer the ability to adjust heating and cooling systems appropriately. The computer will also be able to control the windows in order to take advantage of passive cooling should it detect appropriate cool breezes blowing.

Sound a little creepy? Well…I guess it kind of is, but in a good way I think. The project will cost about 20.6 million and should be completed by late 2011. Hopefully, like Tang and other NASA creations that have later hit the marketplace, their intelligent building computer technology will someday may its way into private homes around the world.

The Good: A net-zero energy building that takes sustainability to the next level by integrating an intelligent computer control system that allows the building to operate like a living organism.

The Bad: Only NASA and a handful of other people around the world have the know-how and dedication to build something like Sustainability Base.

The Bottom-Line: Given the amount of brain power and talent at NASA, this should be one of the few ambitious green building projects that actually lives up to the hype.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

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Rating: 5.0/5 (2 votes cast)

Chelsea’s Pier 57 Soon To Be Multi-Use Center Made Of Shipping Containers

The Author — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:45:11 +0000

Just like the High Line Park project, another great green redevelopment of otherwise unused dilapidated real estate in New York City is about to get underway as the Hudson River Park Trust announced last week that Pier 57, an old cargo dock located just outside Chelsea, will be getting a much needed makeover into a waterfront attraction and multi-use recreational center. The LOT-EK designed structure will be comprised of recycled shipping containers which, like their Puma City project or PLATOON KUNSTHALLE in Seoul, have proven to be both aesthetically and structurally suited for these types of projects.

The project is essentially a larger-scale version of the concept behind PLATOON’s KUNSTHALLE in Seoul, Korea. The main Pier 57 development will include 170,000 square feet of artist work spaces as well as a public market which can be used by the tenants to showcase and sell their work. In addition to the spaces above the Hudson, there are plans for an additional 90,000 square feet of underwater space which will include exhibition and educational space. Not to leave any available real estate unused, LOT-EK also has designs for an enormous green rooftop space complete with walkways and an outdoor amphitheater to be used for public movie screenings and performances. Completion of the project is not expected until 2012, but it just goes to show you that more and more sustainably-minded developments are entering the mainstream everyday, and that’s a good thing.

The Good: A great design that incorporates the reuse of dozens of shipping containers as well as the use of all available real estate for the project. Development of on otherwise unused dilapidated area of the city.

The Bad: Years away from completion. Unclear whether all design concepts will be fully implemented as money usually cuts out some aspects of projects like these.

The Bottom-Line: New York City, once again, showing that sustainable development is not only possible, but can be a real attribute and attraction to a city’s inhabitants.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 4.5/5 (2 votes cast)

Omega Center For Sustainable Living May Be World’s First Living Building Certified Structure

The Author — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:50:12 +0000

I talk a lot about about green building and sustainable development on this blog for two reasons. The first, and most obvious reason, is it’s what my company mainly deals with on a day to day basis. The second, and more important reason, is sustainability in the building construction and operation sector is the fastest and most effective way at solving a large portion of our self-induced environmental woes.

While the consortium of self-proclaimed ‘green builders’ and ’sustainably designed projects’ grows ever larger by the day, many of these companies and projects purportedly to better serve the environment often times do so in a minimal way. Though budgets and market appeal are almost always the main culprits for these projects’ ‘eco-shortcomings’, the fact remains that the majority of green-built structures today could be much more environmentally benign than they are.

The Future Of Green Building

A good example of what a truly sustainable, or green, structure can and should be (ideally speaking) is having its opening day tomorrow, July 16th, in Rhinebeck, New York. It’s called The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) and it’s design and construction are about as close one can get to a zero-impact building without living in a shack in the woods. Already LEED Platinum certified, the center is also on it’s way to becoming the world’s first Living Building Certified structure, which is a program aimed at encouraging the construction of buildings that take nothing from the environment.

The OCSL will serve as an educational and event center hosting workshops, classes, and other sustainability-minded programs. From the OCSL website:

The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) is a state-of-the art education center and natural wastewater treatment facility. A model of sustainable architecture, the OCSL is a pioneering project in the Living Building Challenge and is expected to be the first building in the United States to receive the Living Building designation in addition to receiving LEEDPlatinum certification.

For more than 30 years, Omega has worked to bring holistic ideas and programs into the mainstream in order to help individuals and society heal, grow, and thrive. The Omega Center for Sustainable Living continues this tradition. With indoor and outdoor classrooms, a living machine called the Eco Machine™, and one of the greenest buildings in the world, the OCSLmodels a new way of being in relationship to each other and our precious planet.

What’s Under The Roof (And Over It)

The OCSL has everything one would expect from a structure whose entire purpose is to inspire sustainability. Some of the features include:

Solar photovoltaic array that provides the structure with a net zero energy footprint
Green roof
Eco Machine natural wastewater treatment (more about this below)
Net zero water consumption
Automatic windows that allow for passive ventilation
Geothermal HVAC
All building materials are FSC-certified, locally sourced or do not contain any chemicals listed on the Living Building Challenge’s “Red List”
Constructed wetlands
Rainscreens
Recycled steel
High fly ash concrete

The Eco Machine: Greenest Of The Green

The OCSL itself is definitely a model for what a truly sustainable structure can be. The green centerpiece to this hub of environmental consciousness is the 100% natural wastewater treatment system called the Eco Machine housed in a 6500 sqft greenhouse. Designed by John Todd, a pioneer in the field of ecological design, the Eco Machine is the latest in what’s known as living machine technology which essentially uses natural system processes of plants and organisms to clean wastewater. Again from OCSL’s site:

Wastewater comes into the Eco Machine and is run through various treatment zones where all major forms of life are represented, including microscopic algae, fungi, bacteria, plants, snails, and fishes. This natural wastewater treatment is a robust ecosystem that cleans the water without the need for hazardous chemicals.

The size and components of a living machine depends on how much water the system will process. Omega’s Eco Machine can process up to 52,000 gallons a day and includes anoxic tanks, constructed wetlands, the Eco Machine lagoons, sand filters, and large dispersal fields. Much of the Eco Machine’s natural wastewater treatment process is gravity fed, decreasing the amount of energy needed to operate the system. Omega plans to eventually use the purified and sterilized water from the OCSL for irrigation and in toilets throughout its campus.

So if you’re ever up in Rhinebeck, New York, take a trip to the Omega Center for Sustainable Living and let me know what the sustainable ‘Shangri-La’ looks like up close.

The Good: A center that not only focuses on and educates others about sustainable living, but the structure itself is a testament to what is really achievable on the hard core side sustainable design, construction, and building operation.

The Bad: The relatively remote location makes it inaccessible to scores of people who would be interested in visiting (counting me as one of them). Structures like this are almost always educational in nature and not built for the private and commercial sector where they are needed most.

The Bottom-Line: A prime example of a relatively benign human built structure that operates in much of the same fashion as the environment that surrounds it.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 5.0/5 (4 votes cast)

PLATOON’s Shipping Container Subcultural Arts Center…Nice

The Author — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:00:49 +0000

Shipping, or cargo, containers are probably the most widely used and almost completely ignored structures in the world. The majority of the imports countries consume arrive via shipping containers. Subsequently, there are literally millions of these containers on ships and in ports around the globe. Though it’s becoming an ever increasing trend to repurpose these containers for use as modular building materials, very rarely do you see it being done in a way that is either aesthetically pleasing and/or, in simple terms, ‘makes sense’ for the project itself, i.e. using containers as building elements then applying convoluted and expensive materials and techniques to hide the fact that containers are being used as the structural elements.

A Very Cool Container Building

A newly completed 3 story exhibition and artists’ studio space in Soul, Korea not only utilizes shipping containers for 95% of its structure, but makes no attempts at hiding the fact that it does. The building in question serves as the Asian ‘headquarters’ or ‘program space’ for the subcultural arts organization PLATOON who are a global collective of underground artists of all disciplines (street art, performance, music, etc.). In conjunction with Graft Architects, PLATOON designed and built the multifunctional building (known as PLATOON KUNSTHALLE) out of 28 cargo containers that can be rebuilt anywhere in the world (their European HQ in Berlin is of similar design and constructed using containers). The space will house artists, performers, workshops, events, and a multitude of other art-related endeavors. What PLATOON says about the space and it’s purpose:

“PLATOON KUNSTHALLE is not about entertainment. The program will provide a communication platform for anybody interested in subcultural creative fields like street art, graphic design, fashion, video art, programming, music, club culture, political activism etc.

Subculture at PLATOON KUNSTHALLE is presented in different formats like exhibitions, movie nights, concerts and multimedia performances, workshops, discussion panels and special events. the four scholarship programs give young upcoming artists from Korea and abroad the opportunity to develop creative projects at the PLATOON KUNSTHALLE. the four showcases present every month striking works from the subculture and streetart field including leading artists of the international urban art scene.”

Why Use Containers?

Due to trade imbalances in the United States and elsewhere, these heavy-duty steel boxes are piling up in ports around the globe and are beginning to pose an increasing storage problem. As a result of this, architects and builders are taking advantage of this surplus to recycle the containers due to their relative uniform size and cost. Environmentally speaking, using containers as building elements makes much more sense than trying to melt them down in order to make more steel.

The average sized shipping container has approximately 8,000 lbs of steel in it. While this steel can be melted down and reused to make steel beams or more containers, the energy required to do so is enormous. It takes almost 8000 kwh of energy to melt down and remanufacture the steel in a shipping container. By contrast, it takes about 400 kwh of electrical energy to modify and install a container for building use.

There are also inherit advantages to using shipping containers over traditional building materials. The units are stronger than conventional house framing because of their resistance to lateral loads. The roof is strong enough to support the extra weight of a green roof. The building envelope of a container structure reflects about 95 percent of outside radiation, resists the loss of interior heat, provides an excellent air infiltration barrier and prevents water migration (though this is so only if experienced people are installing them).

There are also some disadvantages which are almost all as a result of improper installation or modification. After all, these boxes were never manufactured to be used as building materials, so care has to be taken when utilizing them for that purpose. Because the containers are steel, corrosion, water infiltration and thermal bridging are some of the biggest concerns when working with these modules. Fortunately, all of these concerns can be easily addressed and advances in products, like sprayed on ceramic paints that have an R-Value of 19, solve a multitude of problems in one application.

Not The Greenest, But It Works

PLATOON KUNSTHALLE is probably one of only a few ideal building projects where shipping container usage makes both aesthetic sense and practical sense in terms of the purpose and intent of the space itself. The raw industrial nature of the containers adds to the entire urban/underground vibe of the space and caters to the raw urban artists in which it houses. From an energy efficiency standpoint, there are things that possibly could’ve been done differently to improve it, but would most likely not work for the purposes of the space itself. Though the large expanses of glass for the artists’ studios may not be energy efficient, it serves to provide abundant natural light. Insulation is also an issue, but the main hall space, while naturally cross-ventilated, is not air conditioned, so controlling air temperatures there is not an issue.

The Good: A creative and appropriate reuse of an incredibly strong and versatile commonplace shipping staple turned building material. The energy saved repurposing the containers instead of melting them down is enormous. The steel containers offer many inherit advantages both structurally and in energy efficiency.

The Bad: Containers are not made to be used as building materials. Uniformity, integrity, and ability to be modified into a workable structure are all issues. Many containers being used for buildings now come from companies that modify and prepare raw containers for building use adding cost. Effectiveness as a functional and green building material largely lies in proper modification, application of necessary products, and installation.

The Bottom-Line: PLATOON has built a structure that is both a creative reuse of materials and a signature aesthetic that fits perfectly with their organization. Though not every aspect of the structure is focused on sustainability, its ability to be easily reproduced anywhere in the world, as well as the recycling of tons of steel, make PLATOON KUNTSHALLE a building project worthy of mention.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

YOUR SUSTAINABILITY RATING:

Rating: 4.5/5 (2 votes cast)

New York City’s High Line Park; Opening Day

The Author — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:32:46 +0000

I’m a fan of almost any and every park, so long as its not used as a garbage dump/junkie rest stop. New York City’s High Line Park is one that I’ve been quite excited about for some time. Open to the public for the first time today, High Line Park is essentially a green roof running along what up until recently was abandoned elevated railroad lines. In lieu of tearing down the structure, which spans more than several city blocks, the city decided to make it into a park…and what a cool park it is!

While it’s no Central Park where you can throw frisbees, drink beer, and let your dog run around (rules of the park can be found here), it is a really cool and unique use of what otherwise would have landed in a landfill a great expense, both financial and environmental. From the High Line’s website:

“The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan’s streets. Section 1 of the High Line will soon open as a public park, owned by the City of New York and operated under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Friends of the High Line is the conservancy charged with raising private funds for the park and overseeing its maintenance and operations, pursuant to an agreement with the Parks Department.

When all sections are complete, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. It features an integrated landscape, designed by landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings. Fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features are also included in the park.”

Well, the day has arrived. Enjoy, you lucky New York bastards.

High Line Park Before

High Line Park After

The Good: It’s a great unique natural break in the heart of Manhattan. A well designed park that will provide habitat for species of birds and insects. Prevented tons of material from ending up in a landfill. IT’S AN ELEVATED PARK IN THE HEART OF MANHATTAN!

The Bad: There are some rules to follow that don’t normally apply to parks. I don’t live in New York

The Bottom-Line: How can you hate something so cool for so many reasons. Dog people…you’ll get over the restrictions.

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