Project 1: Ecological/Sustainable Architecture
What Does Ecological Architecture Mean?
"Ecological architecture is about preserving and complementing the natural elements within an urban setting, whether that’s a green wall on a single building or integrating green spaces as a city is planned. Ecological architecture is a type of urban greening , which is about creating green spaces that promote symbiosis between urban and natural environments. As cities around the world become larger, ecological architecture has grown to promote that symbiosis in new, creative, aesthetically pleasing ways. It has also grown in popularity as we have become more aware of climate change, and search for means of combating its effects."
This kind of architecture has been around for longer than you may think. For example, in the 12th century AD, the Angkor Wat temple was built using an irrigation system and hydraulic power to water, heat, and cool the place. The ecological architecture we're use to though wasn't around until the 1960's. Unfortunately, as this movement began, so did an opposing movement filled with concrete buildings using lots of fossil fuels.
21st Century
Now in the 21st century, we see how unsustainable the concrete movement was and are trying to combat it. As we learn more about the relationship between our environment and our architecture, we are coming up with ways to be both eco-friendly and aesthetic. This is especially important as we keep expanding our cities, adding to the climate change problem. But this doesn't mean completely destroying all our previous buildings, there are easy ways to combine more sustainable architecture with what we already have; for example, by using green roofs or living walls. But "green" architecture doesn't have to be green. While a lot of sustainable architecture consists of using green plants to make the building ecological, there are other ways to make architecture "green". However these items, and ecological architecture in general, should not be an afterthought; sustainability should be right there in the beginning of the building designs.
"Ecological architecture is about preserving and complementing the natural elements within an urban setting, whether that’s a green wall on a single building or integrating green spaces as a city is planned. Ecological architecture is a type of urban greening , which is about creating green spaces that promote symbiosis between urban and natural environments. As cities around the world become larger, ecological architecture has grown to promote that symbiosis in new, creative, aesthetically pleasing ways. It has also grown in popularity as we have become more aware of climate change, and search for means of combating its effects."
This kind of architecture has been around for longer than you may think. For example, in the 12th century AD, the Angkor Wat temple was built using an irrigation system and hydraulic power to water, heat, and cool the place. The ecological architecture we're use to though wasn't around until the 1960's. Unfortunately, as this movement began, so did an opposing movement filled with concrete buildings using lots of fossil fuels.
21st Century
Now in the 21st century, we see how unsustainable the concrete movement was and are trying to combat it. As we learn more about the relationship between our environment and our architecture, we are coming up with ways to be both eco-friendly and aesthetic. This is especially important as we keep expanding our cities, adding to the climate change problem. But this doesn't mean completely destroying all our previous buildings, there are easy ways to combine more sustainable architecture with what we already have; for example, by using green roofs or living walls. But "green" architecture doesn't have to be green. While a lot of sustainable architecture consists of using green plants to make the building ecological, there are other ways to make architecture "green". However these items, and ecological architecture in general, should not be an afterthought; sustainability should be right there in the beginning of the building designs.
My first task was to find a site that would work for my project. I wanted to design a community that is sustainable while not being overly pricey for the residents. I also wanted the people living and working in the community to feel connected to the world around them through the buildings. Finally, I wanted to design on a site in an urban area to combat against the current unsustainable buildings there and to be a leader in promoting ecological change. This means I also would have to be contentious of how I utilized the space.
|
After some research, I decided I would use the below area for my site. It is about 139 acres of pre-developed land in Frisco along the Sam Rayburn Tollway, across from IKEA and Stonebriar Mall. Since there are two main sections, I designated the left one for commercial-type buildings and the right for residential buildings.
To the right, you can see my general layout for the site. I wanted to show that ecological architecture works for all different kinds of buildings, so to do this, I came up with different design concepts for four types of buildings: town homes, condos, a museum, and a grocery store.
|
|
|
|
In the residential section, there are a few land features already on the site that I will use to create a community space for the residents (walking trails, a park area by the pond, etc.).
My first building was a town home. A common trend that I see in many buildings, especially in residential neighborhoods, is that all the buildings look pretty the same. Town homes seem to be even worse about it because there isn't any variety in the floor plans or brick color. I wanted to change that. So I designed a town home that is eight homes wide and three stories tall that has alternating materials to give it some originality, but still has unity throughout the overall building. I ended up incorporating four different sustainable materials; every other wall would be a living wall, and the ones in between would alternate bark, bamboo, and concrete made from recycled plastic on the different floors. The building would also include a rainwater harvesting system and possible compost toilets.
|
|
The second building concept was for condos. Again, wanting to be original, I formed the overall complex in a spiral shape that leads into a community garden for the residents of that condominium complex. There would be three levels of housing, with the bottom level being a parking garage for the residents. There would be about 22 condos in total: the leg of the spiral being two condos wide and eleven long. The condos on the outer part of the spiral would be uniformly 60' x 20', but the inner condos would range from about 50' x 20' to 31' x 20' . This provides an opportunity for a wider range of people to live here as not everyone needs the same amount of space or can pay for it. It also means that there would be individual floor plans for the different sized homes. Additionally, the roof would be covered with solar panels on a mechanical arm that would tilt toward the sun so that the panels are always getting the maximum amount of sun possible. The panels would also hang over the building edge in order to create a shadow over the windows below it to help with the heat when the sun is directed in that direction.
|
|
|
My third and forth concepts transition into the commercial/assembly side of my site.
|
My third building was an environment museum. Since this whole project is basically about designing buildings more environmentally friendly, I thought a museum educating about the environment would be a good idea. I didn't want to design just any old museum though, I wanted to create an experience. So instead of visitors walking around reading signs, they would walk into a biome room and feel like they were transported across the world to that biome. Originally, I just took the 10 main biomes and organized them from warmest to coldest, but then realized that would take up too much land area. So next I made three levels of biomes. The first level would actually be underground with the ice, marine, and freshwater biomes and also a parking garage. These three biomes will be the most dense so having them underground will put less strain on the building; plus, since they are colder, it gives extra insulation. The next level is the tundra, taiga, temperate forest, and grassland. Since Texas is apart of the grassland biome, that area would be outside to really emphasize that we are always in an environment even when most of the natural landscape has been removed to create an urban area. The last and topmost level is the tropical rainforest, savannah, and desert. Since these are typically the warmest biomes, putting them higher up will mean that less energy will be put forth to sustaining those environments because it will naturally be warmer higher up. I also plan on using geothermal energy to power the building, and am still deciding on a building material (something like adobe or hempcrete).
|
|
My last building concept was a grocery store. I decided on a grocery store because dense urban areas (like the area my site is in) don't have grocery stores as a general rule even when there are residential buildings nearby. So I put the store right at the intersection of two main roads to make it easily accessible to everyone. It would be one level with the bottom half comprised of wood paneling and big windows for natural light, and the top half would be a living wall. Then on the roof of the building, there would be a garden to grow some of the store's fresh produce.
Lastly, below are the Sketchup parti models for my buildings.
|
|
