Robotic kites monitor greenhouse gas emissions
CategoriesSustainable News

Robotic kites monitor greenhouse gas emissions

Spotted: Wastewater treatment systems and rice farming produce a variety of greenhouse gasses (GHG), such as methane and nitrous oxide, that have a greater warming potential than carbon dioxide over the short term. Identifying when and where high volumes of these GHGs are emitted is essential if we are to tackle them, ensure reductions targets are being met, and mitigate climate change. However, there are few projects aimed at monitoring such emissions in an accurate and affordable way.

A new project at Surrey University hopes to change this with new, lightweight wireless gas sensors. The sensors will be attached to helium kites flown by autonomous robots and used to monitor the level and direction of emissions.

The research will involve several departments from across the university, such as fluid dynamics and robotics, and will incorporate skills such as data analysis. The sensors will be built by university spin-out Surrey Sensors, while Allsopp Helikites will provide the helium balloons. The technology will be tested in a variety of locations, including Thames Water treatment works and rice paddies in Spain.

The work is supported by a £620,000 (around €719,000) grant as one of 13 projects nationwide to be funded by a £12 million investment (around €13.9 million) from UK Research and Innovation’s Natural Environment Research Council, the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), and Innovate UK. The funding seeks to support UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 — climate action.

Tackling methane emissions is the subject of a number of recent innovations spotted by Springwise, including a seaweed-based feed supplement that could reduce methane emissions from livestock and more sustainable methods for rice farming.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Kresta Garden House doubles as home office
CategoriesInterior Design

Lucas y Hernández Gil adds multi-use greenhouse to Casamontesa

A renovated 1970s bungalow with “kitsch character” and a greenhouse that doubles as a living room feature in Casamontesa – a weekend home designed by Spanish studio Lucas y Hernández Gil.

The project began when a couple asked the studio to overhaul a single-storey house that was once part of a hotel complex on the outskirts of Madrid.

Kresta Garden House doubles as home office
The renovated bungalow and a multifunctional greenhouse (above) make up Casamontesa

The brief later expanded to include a multifunctional greenhouse that can be used as a workspace, a guest bedroom, a gym or simply as a garden room.

Lucas y Hernández Gil, led by architects Cristina Domínguez Lucas and Fernando Hernández-Gil Ruano, developed a distinct character for each building.

Casamontesa renovation of 1970s bungalowCasamontesa renovation of 1970s bungalow
The main house is a bungalow built in the 1970s

Casamontesa’s renovated bungalow has a warm, playful style that draws on the 1970s aesthetic while the garden pavilion has a more utilitarian feel.

“The owners, a young urban couple who love design and live and work in the centre of Madrid, were looking for a functional and compact getaway within a fantastic garden,” Lucas told Dezeen.

“They wanted a very comfortable and flexible home that would be useful for both working and getting together with friends.”

Casamontesa house kitchen islandCasamontesa house kitchen island
The interior centres around a new kitchen island

The bungalow renovation involved simplifying the interior layout to create a combined kitchen, dining room and living room, with a bedroom and bathroom off to one side.

“The house, in addition to being small, was very compartmentalised,” explained Lucas.

Casamontesa house kitchen islandCasamontesa house kitchen island
The materials palette includes pink marble and handmade tiles

To unify the newly open-plan living space, the designers installed an island that serves as a worktop, dining table and social gathering place.

This island features a countertop made from Portuguese pink marble while its sides are covered in the same handmade burgundy tiles that line an adjacent window recess.

Casamontesa house with arched fireplaceCasamontesa house with arched fireplace
An arched fireplace provides a focal point in the living room

“The rest of the surfaces – Campaspero stone floors and waxed tinted plaster walls – establish a dialogue by contrast with the colourful and shiny surface of the tiles,” added Lucas.

Key details in the living room include an arched fireplace and a tadelakt plaster coffee table, while the bedroom features semi-circular marble nightstands.

For Casamontesa’s garden room, the design team customised a prefabricated greenhouse.

A pergola extends the building volume outwards in a bid to blur the boundary between inside and out, and is topped with wooden blinds to provide shade.

Kresta Garden House greenhouse with pergolaKresta Garden House greenhouse with pergola
A pergola extends the width of the greenhouse

A wooden box on wheels provides an additional bedroom, described as a “small Shigeru Ban-style mobile room”.

Other additions include thermal curtains and an automatic shading and ventilation system, which allow for versatile use of the space throughout the year.

Kresta Garden House creates extra living room with mobile sleep spaceKresta Garden House creates extra living room with mobile sleep space
A “Shigeru Ban-style mobile room” provides an additional sleeping space

“By complementing the programme of the original bungalow, a more complete and flexible program is achieved, overcoming the limitations of a weekend house,” added Lucas.

Other recent projects by Lucas y Hernández Gil include a bar featuring extreme colour blocking and an apartment with a hidden closet.

The photography is by José Hevia.

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yoshichika takagi hokkaido house
CategoriesArchitecture

yoshichika takagi tops hokkaido house with ‘greenhouse’ kitchen

hokkaido dwelling opened with loft spaces

 

A typical 1975-built row house in Hokkaido has been renovated by Yoshichika Takagi + Associates to introduce a pair of modern, sunlit student dwellings and studio spaces. With its contemporary intervention, the architects sought to open up the existing structure, which long stood with dark interiors, low ceilings, and a light layout which included four cramped living units. The team notes that the structure had even been extended against local building code, which needed to be corrected. Thus, a section of the house was cut back while a rooftop ‘shed’ was added to houses a stairwell and spacious bedroom loft.

images © Yoshichika Takagi

 

 

yoshichika takagi makes the most of a compact site

 

One of the primary goals of Yoshichika Takagi’s renovation in Hokkaido was to reduce the number of households from four to two while updating the entire house to provide a modern lifestyle despite its compact size. The team considered the site’s proximity to a streetcar line and aimed to create a structure that could be adaptable for future conversions. Although the building was situated in a densely populated residential area, the east side offered an open garden across the street.

 

The architects decided to capitalize on this borrowed landscape by incorporating glass walls to actively connect the interior with the garden. On the west side, the building boasted views of Mt. Moiwa, a prominent symbol of Sapporo, inspiring the architects to design spaces that could make the most of the strong western sunlight that left a lasting impression.

yoshichika takagi hokkaido house

 

 

Balancing Privacy and Connectivity in Design

 

Considering the potential conversion of the first floor into a SOHO (Small Office/Home Office), the architects at Yoshichika Takagai + Associates  designed the front portion of the ground floor to be open and connected to the street while ensuring privacy in the further back areas. To maintain a balance between openness and privacy, the large windows were positioned higher up, offering a connection to the city while also considering external lines of sight.

 

Embracing Hokkaido’s traditional approach to creating a warm and stable environment for harsh winters, the first floor followed these practices. In contrast, the second floor featured three rooms with different environmental characteristics arranged in series, providing a flexible and nomadic living space that can be adapted according to the climate.

yoshichika takagi hokkaido house

 

 

Design Elements Inspired by Scandinavian Winter Living

 

Drawing inspiration from Scandinavian winter living rooms, which offer comfort and safety even during severe cold waves, this renovated house also incorporated a ‘winter living room’ on its west side. With high insulation performance and limited openings, this space ensured a stable indoor environment. Adjacent to the winter living room was the ‘summer living room,’ a private space enclosed by walls. While not insulated, it was protected from the wind and rain by a tarp, primarily used during mild seasons and even in winter, when people gathered for events and barbecues, donning appropriate clothing.

 

Another unique feature was the ‘greenhouse kitchen,’ which faced the city through a glass wall, creating a living-on-the-street feel. This space, however, experienced significant temperature fluctuations due to sunlight, making it challenging to control the indoor climate. Nevertheless, the evergreen appearance throughout winter and the ability to witness the beauty of a blizzard from within the space provided a joyful living experience that transcended minor inconveniences.

yoshichika takagi hokkaido house yoshichika takagi hokkaido house

Reference

Sustainable Practice: An Inside Look at the Zero Waste Design for The Greenhouse Theatre
CategoriesArchitecture

Sustainable Practice: An Inside Look at the Zero Waste Design for The Greenhouse Theatre

Architizer is thrilled to announce the winners of the 11th Annual A+Awards! Interested in participating next season? Sign up for key information about the 12th Annual A+Awards, set to launch this fall.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and it has plenty to answer for in design and architecture. This is immediately evident at The Greenhouse, a zero-waste theatre complete with performance space, standalone screening room, bar and box office

Visiting three prime spots in London this summer, the first run, at Royal Docks, was part of Sea Change, a cultural program about climate. Next, the space holds a residency at Canary Wharf, from 19th June until 14th July, before finishing at Battersea Power Station between 7th August and 3rd September. A striking, if understated, approach to experimental venue design, the venue is hand-built from recycled and reused materials. After revealing his background in site-specific productions, Artistic Director Oli Savage tells Architizer how the idea came about.

“Around 2016, a close friend, collaborator and colleague of mine put a script on my desk all about eco-terrorism, Swallows. It was a metaphor for violence towards each other and towards the planet by Henry Robert, a really talented writer. I’m interested in space and how a space can make the show work. And from a practice perspective, I’m interested in working holistically. To me, if you’re putting on a show, it’s important that everything around that show reflects the ideas of what that show is talking about. You’d feel a little hypocritical working on a climate piece and having lots of impact and waste,” says Savage.

 The Greenhouse is the UK’s first zero waste theatre (C) The Greenhouse Theatre

“A couple of years later, we’re on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, our show was A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Standing in the pissing rain, handing out flyers to promote the performance, I said to our head of marketing: ‘Surely this isn’t actually a very effective way of getting people through the door’. She said: ‘No, and it causes a lot of waste.’ I started digging into this, and it’s astounding how much waste is created, most of which isn’t recyclable,” he continues. “This is particularly evident in fringe arts.”

With the script for Swallows still in mind, Savage began brainstorming with collaborators, trying to figure out how the show could run at the Edinburgh Fringe and stay true to its climate message. Soon realizing there was no existing facility that could tick all necessary boxes, a decision was made to create a new space. Returning to the Scottish capital twelve months on, The Greenhouse debuted in 2019 with Swallows finally staged and, as Savage puts it, “has been on and off” since.

The Greenhouse Theatre under construction in London, 2021 (C) The Greenhouse Theatre

“I just say to people come and see the space,” Savage replies when we ask about the green credentials. “I’d say it’s obvious when you’re inside — this is not making claims that can’t be backed up. In terms of design principles, we were determined to show the materials being using, so the waste is showcased front line for people to see for themselves. And we’re a zero waste theatre, that’s the terminology. There are differences between this and, say, carbon neutral. So all the materials had a life before us, and will hopefully have another life once we’re finished.

“Broadly, the whole thing is built from three materials. Timber framing and wood pallet cladding, around a triangular lighting truss skeleton. The roof is made from corrugated PVC,” he explains. “As you’re designing, you’ve got to be thinking, if we want this to be zero waste, what materials do we have access to? How are we going to be able to deliver this in a zero waste way. Another interesting thing was our first situation for the venue didn’t have the possibility of any power. So we came to this conclusion it needed to be naturally lit with a clear plastic roof. That’s now one of my favorite aspects of the venue.”

The Greenhouse Theatre at Canary Wharf, London

The Greenhouse Theatre at Canary Wharf, London (C) The Greenhouse Theatre

For Savage, The Greenhouse Theatre design is all about dialogue between different demands. The requirements stipulated by the project itself — zero waste, low impact — and the need to develop a space suitable for creative practice. Form meeting function deep in the grass roots.

“It was also a necessity for me that it was in the round. That was a big thing. If I’m working in a theatrical space, it has to be either in the round or traverse. It creates this sense of community,” says Savage, pointing out all this is replicable. “Reclaimed timber is easy to come by. There are lots of facilities around the UK, recycling centres that take surplus timber from sites, clean it, then sell it on. Most are charities, awesome organizations. The trussing was from a lady who used it for trade shows, retired and sold it to us for a really good price. The plastic, I think it was a builder who bought it for a project that was cancelled or over-ordered.”

“The headline is that it’s not that hard. It seems like it’s challenging, but so much theatre, at university for example, relies on borrowing and reuse,” he adds. “We have a consultancy, working with filmmakers, other theatre makers, creatives, to help them towards zero waste. There’s a lack of provision for fringe artists in terms of this type of thing. It’s tricky, though. One of the hardest things is a lot of people expect work for free… Obviously, my goal as a person is to have the most impact and help. But the reality is some try to take advantage… If we can’t monetize, I’m not going to have a business, and we’re not gonna be able to run.”

Architizer is thrilled to announce the winners of the 11th Annual A+Awards! Interested in participating next season? Sign up for key information about the 12th Annual A+Awards, set to launch this fall.

Reference

Solar Geenhouse is perched on hilly terrain
CategoriesSustainable News

Solar Greenhouse is a prototype for “zero kilometre” food production and energy generation

A team of students and researchers at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has designed a prototype Solar Greenhouse for energy generation and food production with a “zero kilometre” philosophy.

The timber structure, constructed in Barcelona’s Serra de Collserola Natural Park, is intended to demonstrate how our most basic needs could be met in a more ecological way, in response to the EU’s aims to be net-zero by 2050.

Solar Greenhouse is an energy and food production prototype that was designed by students and researchers at IAAC

Led by Vicente Guallard and Daniel Ibañez, directors of the Masters programme in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities, the students worked with a variety of experts in cultivation, energy and water.

While the prototype sits in a natural landscape, it is intended it to be scalable and adaptable to a variety of settings, such as on the rooftops of inner-city buildings.

Front elevation of the Solar Greenhouse that is accessed via a footbridge
It was constructed using timber

“The aim was to design and build a system that could be replicated in both rural and urban areas,” said the designers.

“[It] represents the next step towards a more ecological agricultural transformation and progress in tackling food and energy poverty,” they continued.

Person is pictured on the footbridge of Solar Greenhouse
The structure comprises two levels and features solar panels on its roof

The greenhouse is a simple, timber-framed structure with two levels, topped by glass panels and solar panels and wrapped in glass louvres that provide light and ventilation.

Germination takes place on the greenhouse’s lower level, while the upper level contains cultivation spaces, with a glass, diamond-shaped roof maximising its exposure to sunlight.

A network of pipes carrying nutrients and lighting for growth cycles is integrated into the structure. Hydroponics allow for plants to be grown without agricultural soil and LED strip lighting aids growth cycles.

The “zero kilometre” concept is normally used to describe food that is produced and eaten locally, and thus has travelled zero kilometres.

Here, the philosophy was applied not only to the greenhouse’s food production but also its construction, with materials being locally and sustainable sourced.

Interior image of Solar Greenhouse
The prototype will be used to grow plants without soil

The pine for the timber was processed in the IAAC’s nearby Vallduara Labs, and the substrate materials in the planting beds consists of recycled sawdust — a waste product of the Green Fab Lab also on the university campus.

“The water, substrate and building materials are obtained from the surroundings, allowing the food grown to jump directly from production to consumption, without the need of a supply chain,” explained the designers.

“The ultimate goal is for the knowledge and the locally achieved systems to be applied at a global scale and, in this respect, the Solar Greenhouse is a valuable step forward,” they continued.

Interior image of the lower level at the structure
Materials used in the construction were sustainably sourced

Students from IAAC also designed and built a cabin for self-isolation using wood harvested from within one kilometre of the site.

In Belgium, Meta Architectuurbureau and Van Bergen Kolpa Architecten recently completed a greenhouse in Belgium atop an agricultural market to create an urban food production centre.

The photography is by Adrià Goula.

Reference

First California Recycled Plastic Highway - Zarkon Group News Blog - FAH33M
CategoriesConstruction International News

First California Recycled Plastic Highway

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has repaved a busy stretch of Highway 162 using recycled plastic bottles.

Source: CBS Sacramento

First California Recycled Plastic Highway

To make the recycled plastic roads, crews grind up the top 3 inches of old pavement and mix it with a liquid plastic polymer binder made largely from used plastic bottles. This mixture is then placed on top of the road.

Paving one mile of road with the new plastic-asphalt mix recycles about 150,000 plastic bottles and is estimated to last two to three times as long as traditional asphalt. The plastic-asphalt mixture eliminates the need for double layers and saves dozens of truck trips, reducing smog and greenhouse gas emissions.

“We’re excited about introducing a new sustainable technology and helping pave the way for recycled plastics throughout the state,” said Caltrans District 3 Director Amarjeet S. Benipal. “This process is better for the environment because it keeps plastic bottles out of landfills and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.”

Millions of pounds of plastic have ended up landfills across California and in the Pacific Ocean where it breaks apart and harms marine life.

Some environmentalists are concerned that the new roadway would create little bits of microplastics which could enter the state’s waterways.

Caltrans officials plan to monitor and conduct detailed studies on the plastic-asphalt section.