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The Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center
CategoriesArchitecture

The Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center

By Zarkon Group,

Have your say in which architects will take home Architizer’s prestigious A+Awards: Public Voting opens this spring. Interested in next year’s program? Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.  

As architecture firms across the United States join the AIA’s 2030 Commitment and integrate more sustainable practices into their work, effectively communicating the energy benefits of any given project during and after the design process is an ever-present challenge. Following a project’s completion, a plaque denoting an energy certification such as LEED may be installed on the building if it has achieved this accreditation, however, this doesn’t do much to educate the average person about what design elements actually contribute to this building’s energy efficiency. The way in which buildings, their systems and the environment interact is a complex equation that culminates in a calculated Energy Use Index (EUI) for any given project, which can vary over the course of its lifespan.

According to the International Energy Agency, architecture and its associated construction industry are responsible for approximately one third of total global energy consumption and nearly 15% of direct CO2 emissions, with energy demand from buildings continuing to rise. It is therefore imperative for new projects to not only aim for carbon neutrality and net zero status, but to also educate their inhabitants more globally about the impact of sustainability on the built environment.

With this in mind, in 2020 nARCHITECTS completed a pioneering facility that effectively visualizes how energy consumption shapes both architectural form and the natural environment. The project originally materialized when the New York State Parks Department asked nARCHITECTS to turn their attention towards a minor, ongoing renovation of a nature center at Jones Beach, that was in the planning stages at the time. The project’s ambition continued to grow as it developed, and the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center eventually came to encompass an energy education center, a series of support offices, classrooms and a continuous sequence of exhibition spaces.

Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center © nARCHITECTS

The final budget, including the landscape and exhibitions, was roughly $30 million. Slightly under half of that total sum was contributed by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), which makes annual contributions and has partial curatorial oversight of the gallery spaces. This investment arrived on the heels of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, as New York State began to pursue an aggressive clean energy plan through capital investments, systemic changes and collaborations between policymakers, energy producers and the public. 

A shaded porch creates a constant interplay of shifting shadows. © nARCHITECTS

As a net-zero targeted building that permanently monitors and displays its own energy performance, the Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center is a true model for all projects that seek to enlighten visitors about their own carbon footprint and the ways that we can all become more conscientious environmental agents. The building has a thin, linear footprint that is born from the location of existing foundations and a concrete sub-surface belonging to a boathouse that formerly occupied the site.

At 320 feet in length, this single-story structure treads lightly on the site and functions as a gateway to the beautiful natural environment of Jones Beach. The building has a simple form, with a series of Northeastern-oriented sloped roofs and clerestory windows punctuating the long elevation to create the sensation of a set of rolling waves moving toward the shore. A cedar-clad canopy wraps the building on all sides, creating a continuous shaded porch that results in a continuously shifting pattern of shadows.

Clerestory windows bring light down into the gallery spaces. © nARCHITECTS

Inside, the gallery spaces feature plentiful glazing, creating a bright environment that consistently makes visual connections to the surrounding environment; a far cry from the typical white box gallery environment, completely divorced from its context. The Lobby and South Gallery explore the history of Long Island’s energy network, while the East Gallery investigates “The Power of Nature” through exhibits on the surrounding ecosystem, landscape conservation and habitat restoration. The West Gallery focuses on “The Nature of Energy,” through exhibits on natural energy sources, energy-efficient buildings, renewable energy technologies, embodied energy, and the impact of extreme weather on our power grid.

Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center Diagram © nARCHITECTS

Geothermal wells provide heating and cooling throughout the interior, while 260 photovoltaic panels provide enough energy to allow the building to operate off-grid for 6 hours. The Nature Center is educational for visitors in both its overall form and exhibition content, as it successfully outlines the role of energy in New Yorker’s lives and how thoughtful, site responsive architecture can minimize our impact on the environment. 

Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center © nARCHITECTS

What better place than Jones Beach to juxtapose the relationship between our built and natural environments. Structures like this one are a critical part of addressing the climate crisis, meeting sustainability goals, enhancing resilience, and supporting more equitable communities, as we move towards a less destructive future.

Have your say in which architects will take home Architizer’s prestigious A+Awards: Public Voting opens this spring. Interested in next year’s program? Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.  

Reference

Using AI to build animal-free proteins and preservatives
CategoriesSustainable News

Using AI to build animal-free proteins and preservatives

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Lab-grown food is no longer science fiction. As alternatives to traditionally farmed ingredients, cultured meats can replace almost any animal product with a more sustainable version. Now, Chilean biotech startup Protera is using artificial intelligence (AI) to copy the amino acid structures of naturally occurring proteins – such as those in flowers. Once a complete protein is built, the company uses fermentation to produce the ingredient at scale.

Fermentation produces the proteins much faster than a farmer can grow a crop or raise an animal, and in much less space. Far fewer resources are used, and emissions are much lower than in traditional agriculture. Since the proteins are exact copies of naturally occurring ones, they can be used as direct substitutes for a number of ingredients, including palm oil, chemically hydrogenated fats, and additives that extend the long-term shelf life of foods.

Currently, the company has four proteins in pilot or development stages. Protera Guard is a protein with anti-mould properties designed specifically to help make baked goods last longer on shelves. Protera Sense is a plant-based oil used for texture in foods as an alternative to dangerous trans-fats and palm oil. Antioxidant and foaming and emulsifying proteins are two others that are also being developed, with the foaming version capable of being used as an egg replacement.

Springwise has spotted a number of developments in the cultured food industry, with fermentation replicating the tasty fats from animal meat for better tasting plant-based meat and dairy substitutes, and a new molecular process turning plant crop cells into dairy proteins. 

Written by: Keely Khoury

22nd April 2022

Email: info@proterabio.com

Website: proterabio.com

Reference

Tackling Embodied Carbon in Retrofits
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Tackling Embodied Carbon in Retrofits

By Zarkon Group,

A firm specializing in remodeling rethinks its approach to attic and roof insulation to lower embodied carbon.

By Rachel White

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) put the world on notice: To avert catastrophic and irreversible climate change, we will have to hold global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. And to keep warming at this level, we must cut global emissions roughly in half by 2030 and get to zero by 2050.

Building Sector Contributions to Global Warming

The building sector is a huge part of the problem, accounting for roughly 40% of global annual emissions. And while our industry has made progress, we haven’t done nearly enough.

Along with the work of organizations such as the Carbon Leadership Forum and Architecture 2030, the IPCC report was a wake-up call about the time value of carbon. Larry Strain, a board member at the Carbon Leadership Forum, describes it this way: “Because emissions are cumulative and we have a limited amount of time to reduce them, carbon reductions now have more value than carbon reductions in the future [emphasis added].”

Carbon Reduction Strategies                                                          

Three strategies are critical to achieving meaningful near-term reductions in building sector emissions. First, we need to repurpose buildings rather than build new ones wherever possible. Second, we need to aggressively reduce the operating emissions of existing buildings. Third, we need to build with low embodied carbon materials and ideally with carbon-storing materials.

The first two strategies are firmly ensconced at Byggmeister. We don’t do new construction, we avoid additions, and we pursue operational emissions reductions whenever possible. However, until the last couple of years, we had not paid much attention to embodied carbon. We assumed that whatever carbon we emitted to renovate and retrofit homes would be balanced by operational savings over decades. But this assumption was flawed.

Embodied Carbon Emissions

So, we turned our attention to embodied emissions, focusing first on insulation. As remodeling contractors, we know that insulation is high leverage, especially because closed-cell spray foam—one of the highest embodied carbon insulation materials on the market—has long been a go-to insulation material for us. There are good reasons we have relied so heavily on closed-cell spray foam. It blocks air leaks in addition to reducing conductive heat loss; it’s vapor impermeable; and it’s highly versatile. But none of these is a good reason to maintain the status quo.

Deciding When to Use Foam

There are times when replacing spray foam with a carbon smarter material is a no-brainer. For example, installing cellulose in wood-framed walls is typically no more complex than insulating with spray foam, not to mention less expensive and less disruptive. And while the R-value of a cellulose-insulated wall is lower than the same wall insulated with closed-cell spray foam (unless the wall assembly is thickened), we believe this compromise is worth it. The reduced R-value has little impact on comfort and the carbon benefit more than makes up for it. Unlike spray foam, which emits a lot of carbon before, during, and immediately after installation ( especially true of closed-cell spray foam with high-embodied-carbon blowing agents), cellulose actually stores carbon.  

There are other cases, though, such as with rubble foundation walls, when we feel spray foam is the only viable choice, other than not insulating at all. While we have entertained this possibility, we aren’t willing to give up remediating dank, damp basements, although we have begun to think about these as emissions that should be offset with more aggressive carbon-storing measures elsewhere.

Roof Insulation Challenges

Much of the time, though, the choice to eliminate or retain spray foam isn’t clear-cut. We encounter many roofs and attics where existing conditions, code requirements, and broader project goals make it challenging but not impossible to avoid spray foam.

If the attic is unconditioned, then the easiest, most cost-effective strategy is to air seal any penetrations along the attic floor and then re-insulate (in most cases, we would first remove existing insulation).

But this only works if there’s no mechanical equipment (and ideally no storage). If the attic is used for anything other than insulation, best practice is to bring the attic space indoors, either by insulating the underside of the roof sheathing with spray foam or by removing the roofing, insulating the topside of the roof sheathing with rigid foam and then re-roofing.

If the roof needs to be replaced, “outsulation” might initially seem viable. But I can count on one hand the times we have actually done it. More often than not, it’s doomed by cost or adverse architectural consequences. This is why spray foam has long been our go-to approach for unconditioned attics with HVAC equipment.

New Approaches for Lower Carbon

At least it was until we realized just how carbon-intensive it is. We came to this realization by comparing the embodied emissions of spray foam against four alternatives. We based these comparisons on a simple gable-roof form. The four alternatives we looked at were: 

* A low-foam approach of building down the rafter bays, insulating with closed-cell foam for condensation control, followed by cellulose behind a smart membrane.

* A no-foam approach where the air and thermal boundary remains at the attic floor. We install the air handler in a conditioned “head house” and bury the ductwork in cellulose. 

* A common outsulation approach with cellulose in the rafter bays plus exterior polyisocyanurate board foam.

* A newer, no-foam outsulation approach with cellulose in the rafter bays plus exterior wood fiber board.                                                                                                                                                                                          All of these approaches, including exterior polyisocyanurate, are either carbon neutral or carbon storing from the outset. Only spray foam starts off in carbon debt.

This chart shows the embodied carbon of several options for insulating the attic floor or the roof. Chart courtesy Byggmeister.

What we call the “low foam” approach includes 3 inches of closed-cell spray foam on the underside of the roof deck plus 8 inches of cellulose and a membrane to control moisture. Illustration courtesy Byggmeister.

And this debt is not small. Our modeling suggests this particular measure would take 14 years of operational carbon savings to break even. Even if our model isn’t exact, it’s close enough to know that spray foam should not be our default approach if there are viable, lower emitting alternatives.

In Two Carbon Smart Ideas for the Attic, we walk through the no-foam, head house approach in detail. We also describe our efforts to develop a carbon-smart approach to another common attic/roof condition: poorly insulated, finished slopes. When such slopes are topped by a “micro attic,” we are experimenting with dense-packing the slopes, installing loose-fill cellulose along the floor of the micro-attic, and adding a ridge vent.

We Must Take Risks

Both of these approaches seemed impractical when we first took them on. Both present some level of risk. Because of code constraints, the second one may not be broadly replicable even if we can demonstrate that the risk is manageable. But if we are going to cut global carbon emissions in half by 2030 and get to zero by 2050, we’ll have to take some risks and pursue approaches that aren’t (yet) standard practice. By sharing our story, we hope to inspire more of our colleagues to join in this effort.

Rachel White is the CEO of Byggmeister, a design-build remodeling firm in Newton, Mass. This article was first published in Green Building Advisor.

 

 

 

 

Reference

Mold Tool
CategoriesArchitecture

Subtractive Manufacturing: The Quiet Machine Revolution that is Reshaping Architecture

By Zarkon Group,

Browse the Architizer Jobs Board and apply for architecture and design positions at some of the world’s best firms. Click here to sign up for our Jobs Newsletter.

Architecture is defined by materials and construction. In terms of building envelopes, structures, and systems, there are two primary manufacturing methods used. Additive manufacturing processes add material layer-by-layer, while subtractive manufacturing removes material to create building components or parts. Additive manufacturing, usually under the umbrella of 3D printing, is increasingly well-known, but subtractive methods have been used throughout history. In modern architecture, designers, fabricators, and manufacturers are reimagining the possibilities of subtractive manufacturing to create new forms and spaces for contemporary life.

Subtractive manufacturing is an umbrella term for different kinds of controlled machining and material removal processes. These are either performed manually or more commonly, driven by computer numerical control (CNC). Subtractive methods can start with solid blocks or material forms made from metals, plastics, wood, or other materials that are shaped through boring, cutting, drilling, and grinding. This machining process spans from CNC methods to electrical discharge machining in hard metals, as well as laser cutting (for thermoplastics, wood, acrylic, fabrics, metals) and water jet cutting for plastics, hard and soft metals, stone, glass and composites.

Mold Tool

A two-part mold tool from MDF being machined with a 1/16″ flat end mill. Courtesy Portland CNC

The key advantage to subtractive manufacturing is that it’s ideal for tight tolerances and geometries that are difficult to mold, cast, or produce with traditional machining. Larger, less complex objects also tend to lend themselves more to subtractive manufacturing. This machining process is also most often the choice for fabricating finished parts. Subtractive manufacturing processes can create parts for prototyping, manufacturing tooling, and end-use parts. The following projects showcase how subtractive manufacturing processes are leading innovations in design and construction, and what the future of these methods might hold.

By Bernard Tschumi Architects, Tianjin, China

 

The Binhai Science Museum was designed to showcase artifacts from Tianjin’s industrial past through large-scale contemporary technology, including spectacular rockets for space research. The project is part of the city’s Binhai Cultural Center and contains facilities for cultural events and exhibitions as well as galleries, offices, and restaurant and retail spaces. The project was made to relate to the rich industrial history of the area, the site of high-volume manufacturing and research. A series of large-scale cones create major rooms throughout the museum. The central cone, lit from above, connects all three levels of the building.

The exterior of the museum is covered with aluminum rain screen over a sealed aluminum surface, giving the building a unified presence despite its large size and the disparate elements of the structure. Approximately 3,600 copper-colored panels in two sizes (4×7 ft and 4×11.5 ft) make up the flat portions of the building’s façade. The perforated metal panels also help reduce heat gain. The design team developed 52 different sizes of panels with each row of the cones corresponding to a unique width. Each panel is backed by two aluminum U-channels located between the perforations.

By Acton Ostry Architects, Vancouver, Canada

Completed in 2017, Brock Commons Tallwood House is an 18-story, LEED Gold certified, 404-bed student residence building located at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC. It was the world’s tallest mass wood tower at the time of its completion. The timber structure and prefabricated facade also went up in only 66 days.

Key to receiving approvals and achieving economic viability was a “keep it simple” design approach that makes the building appear ordinary through encapsulation of the wood structure with gypsum board. The prefabricated facade, arranged in a pattern of vertical striations, features pre-installed windows and cladding consisting of 70% wood fibers.

A CLT canopy runs the length of a curtain wall base, which reveals the warm wood finishes of amenity spaces within. Elevator lobbies are clad with the same material as the exterior. Hallway finishes include natural wood doors and a palette of rich umber and ochre accent finishes. Living unit interiors are bright white, spare and simple.

CNC machines cut all the mass-timber components, including the penetrations in the CLT panels and the connection holes in both ends of the columns. A unique identifier was assigned to each mass-timber component for quality-assurance and quality-control tracking and on-site measurement of the structural system assembly heights.

By Morphosis Architects, New York, NY, United States

The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Center is the academic hub of the new Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. With the goal of becoming a net zero building, The Bloomberg Center forms the heart of the campus, bridging academia and industry while pioneering new standards in environmental sustainability through state-of-the-art design. T

he Bloomberg Center is a four-story building set beneath a photovoltaic canopy, with a low and narrow profile framing stunning views across the island. One of the building’s most distinctive features is its façade, optimized to balance transparency —maximizing daylighting and exterior views, and opacity — while ensuring sufficient insulation and reducing thermal bridging.

Designed as a rain screen system, the outermost layer of the façade is composed of aluminum panels surfaced in an iridescent, PPG polymer coating. Designed in collaboration with Zahner, an architectural metal fabricator, the façade utilizes Zahner’s Louvered ZIRA™ system to create the image patterning.

Each pixel of the image is translated into the specific turn-and-tilt of a two-inch circular tab punched into the aluminum paneling; the depth and rotation of each tab determines the amount of light reflected. This pixel map was fed into a repurposed welding robot, which processed the digital information into the mechanical turning-and-tilting of the façade’s 337,500 tabs.

By Partisans, Georgian Bay, Canada

Perched on an island’s edge in Georgian Bay, Ontario, the Grotto Sauna is a feat of old-world craftsmanship and new world sustainability made possible by cutting-edge software and fabrication technology. The selected concept for the Grotto prescribed a solid, simple presence on the exterior, while the interior followed dynamic air movements in curvature forms; requiring design solutions.

As a result, the team proceeded to experiment further with the materials, and selected wood as the primary medium. Importantly, the Grotto established a successful methodology for addressing the challenges of building ambitious architecture in remote and environmentally sensitive regions.

Partisans collaborated directly with their fabrication partner, MCM Inc., to develop new prototyping methods and with engineers and develop novel software patches for the toolpaths. The latter enabled the fabricators to override the automated limitations of the CNC machinery and ultimately use it as a sculpting tool to achieve the aesthetic vision, all the while maximizing the available wood and milling along the grain so that the pieces would match one another. The successful production of the panels also had to anticipate the method by which they would be sequentially assembled. This required the team to develop a sophisticated installation plan in tandem with the fabrication process.

By Bjarke Ingels Group and JDS Architects, København, Denmark

When Bjarke Ingels Group and JDS Architects set out to create The Mountain residential project, it was the 2nd generation of the VM Houses: same client, same size and same street. The program, however, is 2/3 parking and 1/3 living. What if the parking area became the base upon which to place terraced housing, like a concrete hillside covered by a thin layer of housing cascading from the 11th floor to the street edge? Rather than doing two separate buildings next to each other — a parking and a housing block — the team decided to merge the two functions into a symbiotic relationship.

The parking floors are covered with a continuous perforated aluminum surface, folding into four parts from the southern to the eastern facades. This controls sunlight and air circulation. The folded surface makes reference to the name of the project, displaying a realistic image of Mount Everest.

For its aluminum panel facade, each perforation plays a specific part in the composition of the image. In some parts, perforations are so large and dense that there is almost no visual restriction between inside and outside. During the day, the perforation in the aluminum plates appears black on the bright aluminum, and the mountain image resembles a roughly rasterized photo. At night time, the facade is lit from the inside and appears as a photo negative in different colors as each floor in the parking area has different colors.

Courtesy Portland CNC

Today, subtractive manufacturing is being radically reimagined. We are seeing projects where 4D self-transforming materials respond to changes in heat, sound, or moisture levels to change shape. Subtractive manufacturing also offers a variety of material and processing methods for diverse design applications. As the process of building evolves, the convergence of technologies opens new possibilities for architecture, design and machining.

Browse the Architizer Jobs Board and apply for architecture and design positions at some of the world’s best firms. Click here to sign up for our Jobs Newsletter.

Reference

CategoriesSustainable News

Just Add Water: 7 Hybrid Homes Innovating in Water Conservation and Treatment

By Zarkon Group,

Judging is now underway for the 10th Annual A+Awards Program! Want to earn global recognition for your projects? Sign up to be notified when the 11th Annual A+Awards program launches. 

Sustainability is an incredibly important consideration in the architecture and construction industry. More and more architects are trying to incorporate environmentally conscious materials, construction techniques and solar power sources in their proposals. In addition, algae reactors and biogas chambers also gaining traction in conceptual ideas. While methods focused on carbon capture and reducing energy consumption are crucial, there are many more ways that architectural design can structure more sustainable lifestyles.

For example, potable water is a limited resource that often goes to waste in western countries. Indeed, there is a growing consciousness about water conservation across all industries. Architecture is no exception and such considerations are on the rise there as well. A variety of methods can be employed to either capture rainwater and filter it for use, or treat the wastewater generated by the house and reuse it. The homes below show how water conservation and treatment strategies can be accommodated in home structures.

Sail House by David Hertz Architects, Studio of Environmental Architecture, Grenadines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Jury Winner, 2021 A+Awards, Residential – Private House XL (> 6,000 sq ft)

Capped with an iconic roof profile, The Sail House appears like a land yacht. The dappled array of structures are integrated into the tropical jungle and nod to local sailing culture. Considering the difficulty of construction in the Caribbean, the buildings are all prefabricated and flat-packed to the island in containers in a zero-waste system developed especially for this project; the construction cost worked out to be less than $250.00/sqft.

The swooping forms of the tensile roof membranes provide deep shade from the equatorial sun and collect rain, which funnels into structural aluminum masts and down to the concrete foundations that dually function as large cisterns that provide 100% of the water demands for use on the property.

ReYard House I Team Bosphorus by studio hcrbzkrt, Ben Guerir, Morocco

A combination of local materials, easy construction techniques and sustainable systems used in the modular home gained it multiple awards in the Solar Decathlon, an energy-efficient building competition. The home gets its name by combining the words ‘recycled’ and ‘courtyard.’

The house uses separator walls to allow circulation of air without compromising the privacy of its occupants, and rammed earth to reduce its carbon footprint. Other sustainable technologies employed include a membrane bioreactor to biologically treat wastewater from the house and retain the inorganic nutrients from the algae pond in the house to use it again. The algae pond also helps produce oxygen.

Ocoxal House by A-001 Taller de Arquitectura, Valle de Bravo, Mexico

The two-story home is set up as a sustainable microsystem in an area with a lot of vegetation. The lower floor houses the common spaces whereas the upper black sheet and concrete block includes the bedrooms. Large openings help the home connect with the landscape around and passive bioclimate control techniques help regulate temperature and humidity.

The design also includes solar panels to heat certain spaces as well as an earth chimney to create biomass. The home features a rainwater collection system that feeds into the several plumbing fixtures as well the pool and garden. To help conserve water, it is connected to the river where the excess water can flow.

AT House by HRBT, Oaxtepec, Mexico

Large openings and an angled roof ensure that this concrete home is ventilation and receives plenty of natural light. Water and solar management are two main features of the home. Rainwater collected from the roof is filtered and directed to a 4,000-gallon rainwater tank, and then to a water cistern after purifying it. Water used in the house is recycled with biological secondary treatment and then used to irrigate low water plants and succulents on the property. The excess seeps into the ground, helping restore the water table of the area around. Furthermore, the home has 15 solar panels with an option of adding 30 more if the power requirements increase in the future. Passive heating and venting techniques also help regulate the temperature within and reduce energy consumption.

Off-Grid Guest House by Anacapa, Santa Barbara, California

Located on a wildlife preserve, this secluded home completely generates its own power using photovoltaic cells. The designers were selective in the materials used as well as its form to reduce the environmental impact on the surroundings. The finishes around the home mimic the landscape around and are designed to retain their aesthetic appeal even as they weather over time.

A green roof also helps it become one with its surroundings. In addition to its electric self-sufficiency, the home also has its own well and water treatment system. Wastewater from the home is directed to a septic tank for purification as well as a dry well.

Casa 01 by ES arquitetura, Criciúma, Brazil

Imaged as an architectural promenade, the home comprises several internal courtyards, spacious rooms and large openings. The studio also took great care to ensure that none of the trees on site were removed. The concrete used to build the house contains titanium dioxide that can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air around upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

All of the sewage and wastewater generated is treated on site. The integrated system eco-sewer helps use this wastewater for irrigation. Use of natural materials, solar power for heating and cooling and clever cross-ventilation mechanisms are other sustainable elements included in the design of the home.

Fish Creek House by Edition Office, Fish Creek, Australia

Given the strong winds faced by homes in the region, a textured brick wall envelops three black timber pavilions that make up the house. Gaps between these blocks allow sunlight to enter all spaces within, making it airier as well.

Water-based cooling mechanisms are added to the concrete floor to help heat the floors. This system is connected to the solar panels in the roof. The home has the ability to collect and store about 60,000 liters of rainwater and store. In addition to this, the waste generated within is also treated on site using worm farm composting treatment methods.

House for two couples | Casa dois casais by Cabana Arquitetos, Campos do Jordão, Brazil

Two small units are raised on eucalyptus pillars to reduce the damage done to the local vegetation and also help it camouflage within the forest around. Each unit has a sleeping area, kitchen and bathroom. The modules also have large windows for an immersive experience. Eucalyptus pillars, wooden shingles and salvaged pine are used for its construction, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80% and construction waste generated by 90%. Passive cooling techniques also eliminate the need for an air conditioner.

The retreat also features a blackwater treatment system that uses biodigestion processes to produce organic fertilizer that can nourish the plants around. The graywater is filtered by plants that thrive in wet areas and then restored to the environment through an evapotranspiration trench.

Judging is now underway for the 10th Annual A+Awards Program! Want to earn global recognition for your projects? Sign up to be notified when the 11th Annual A+Awards program launches. 

Reference

Countertop device creates purified water from air
CategoriesSustainable News

Countertop device creates purified water from air

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Designed explicitly for communities living in remote areas that lack a consistent source of clean drinking water, Chilean company Fresh Water Solutions’ Urban device captures tiny water particles suspended in the air. By gathering the particles together, the moisture becomes heavy enough to form a rain cloud. The device then pools the water in preparation for filtration.

The device is small enough to fit on a countertop or table and runs on electricity. The captured water is filtered, purified, and sterilised before being made available for drinking. Each system provides up to 15 litres of clean water a day – enough drinking water for a small- to medium-sized family. A digital display makes the device easy to run and maintain.

Filters need to be cleaned every two weeks to two months, and replaced every one to two years. Owners can buy filters from Fresh Water Solutions or elsewhere as the size and shape is generic and easy to find.

Fresh Water Solutions also provides emergency water solutions, including a modular pond for extreme weather conditions, and a flexible, pillow-like tank for particularly tricky locations. Organisations can use the systems too, as the company’s commercial and industrial devices have capacity to create up to 5,000 litres a day.

Sourcing clean water is an imperative for many communities around the world. Most of the solutions spotted by Springwise focus on affordability and local materials. Macadamia shells are used in South Africa, and a ceramic design provides portable filtration in Mexico.  

Written by: Keely Khoury

22nd April 2022

Email: contacto@freshwatersolutions.org

Website: freshwatersolutions.org/

Reference

Join the Movement, Make a Difference: Electrify Your Home
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Join the Movement, Make a Difference: Electrify Your Home

By Zarkon Group,

Most of Us Care About Climate Change

Most Americans believe climate change is a problem and are concerned. However, many feel hopeless and helpless to do anything that will make a difference when it comes to carbon emissions and climate change. It’s an understandable feeling but not based on reality – because we can take measures immediately to get our homes and lives on the path to zero carbon. 

From Caring to Taking Effective Action to Reduce Carbon 

If you care about the environment and are concerned about global warming, you can now take many practical measures. First, make a plan, on paper or mentally, and commit to it. Humans rarely accomplish what they want without a specific goal, strategy, and commitment. Next, you can create a timeline for replacing each fossil fuel-based technology in your home, as the existing ones are ready to be replaced due to age, safety, inefficiency, or malfunction. And you can do the same with your gas-guzzling vehicles.

Start Now Electrifying Everything in Your Home

Rewiring America’s Electrify Everything in Your Home, subtitled “A Guide to Healthy Comfy, Carbon-Free Living,” can help simplify your planning. It’s a complete guide to rewiring your life, whether you are a homeowner or a renter. The Rewiring America Guide offers many steps that you can begin implementing now. Here is a brief overview: 

  • Purchase Renewable Energy: Contact your utility to switch to a renewable power plan if they offer one, or search for local community solar or wind projects that provide renewable electricity. Renters can do the same. See Chapter 1 for more details.
  • Upgrade Your Electrical Service: Check your electrical panel to determine its size and configuration. Renters can do the same and discuss it with their landlord. See Chapter 2 for more details.
  • Consider a Home Energy Assessment: Get a “home energy audit” or “home energy assessment,” including a blower door test. And get quotes for air sealing and insulating your home. Energy conservation will make electrifying everything much more effective. Renters can use the back of their hands or incense to detect air leaks. Use an ordinary caulking gun and weather stripping to seal any areas with apparent drafts. If air leaks and drafts are significant, bring them to your landlord’s attention.
  • Prepare for Heat Pump Heating and Cooling: Get quotes from more than one HVAC contractor experienced with heat pump installation. Be sure he uses your energy assessment and the Manul J  to size the unit correctly. Renters can consider purchasing a window or portable heat pump for heating and cooling. See chapter 3 for more details.
  • Prepare for a Heat Pump Water Heater: Determine whether or not your current water heater is gas-powered and how old it is—plan to replace it with a heat pump water heater if it’s over ten years old. Renters show your landlord the EnergyGuide savings for replacing your old water heater with a heat pump and install water-saving faucet and shower fixtures. See chapter 4 for more details.
  • Check out Electric Cooking: If you hold a magnet to your pans and it sticks, they will work with an induction cooktop. If not, buy a few metal pans and a portable induction burner for about $50 to $150. Then plan to have a 240V appliance outlet installed before replacing your existing stove with an induction stove. Renters can buy a portable induction cooktop that can plug into standard outlets and use it as their primary cooking surface. See chapter 5 for more details.
  • Check out Clothes Drying Alternatives: Check if you have a gas dryer and if you already have a 240V appliance outlet behind your dryer. If you have both, consider purchasing a heat pump drier when your current drier needs replacing. In the meantime, use clothes drying racks or clotheslines. Renters use clothes drying racks or clotheslines and consider a combo washer and condensing dryer that runs on 120V. See chapter 6 for more details.
  • Install Solar Panels: Use a website to check your home’s solar potential, and use Energy Sage to get initial quotes. Renters can get quotes and financing options to send to their landlord. See chapter 9 for more details.
  • Add Battery Storage: If you already have rooftop solar, check whether your installer or competitors in your area offer battery storage. Renters can check out standalone backup batteries. See chapter 10 for more details.
  • Get Ready for an Electric Vehicle: Calculate how far you drive on average in a day to determine the range you need for an electric vehicle. Then, check online for nearby public charging stations to determine the feasibility of using public charging stations. Renters can do the same. See chapter 7 for details.
  • Prepare for EV Charging: If you have a garage, check if you have a 240V appliance outlet to which you can connect a fast “Level 2” charger. Renters can ask their landlord and employer to install a Level 2 charger. See chapter 8 for more details.

The Electrify Everything in Your Home guide provides many more details, including an Electrification Planning Chart and checklists for homeowners and for renters. It also includes a section on “How To Pay For It,” starting with items with little or no upfront cost, such as switching to renewable energy from your utility. To access the guide and these charts and checklists, go to the Rewiring America – Electrify Home guide and enter your email address.

The Path to Zero Carbon: Electrify Everything and Button Up Your Home

Electrifying everything will shift your life from depending on carbon-emitting technologies to clean, highly energy-efficient technologies, including home appliances, HVAC, water heating, and vehicles. Air sealing and insulating your home will further conserve energy, and sourcing renewable energy will wean you completely from carbon-emitting fossil fuels. Don’t forget the side effects:

  • Lower energy bills
  • Improved health
  • A more comfortable home
  • A vehicle with outstanding performance
  • No more trips to the gas station

So, take the Electrify Everything Pledge and start down the path to zero carbon today!

 

By Joe Emerson, Founder of the Zero Energy Project

With special thanks to Rewiring America.

 

Reference

Global innovation spotlight: Chile - Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Global innovation spotlight: Chile – Springwise

By Zarkon Group,

Reflecting our global Springwise readership, we explore the innovation landscape and freshest thinking from a new country each week. This week, we’ve headed to South America…

Chile Innovation Facts

Global Innovation Index ranking: 53rd

Climate targets: Reduce black carbon emissions by at least 25 per cent by 2030 (from 2016 levels), carbon neutral by 2050.

Sustainability issues

Water scarcity – Underpinning many of the environmental challenges in Chile is the issue of water – or rather the lack of it. The country is currently suffering from a decade-long drought, which scientists believe is exacerbated by climate change. In total, around 1.4 million Chileans don’t have access to drinking water or sewerage – eight per cent of the population.

Deforestation and desertification – Chile suffered an 11 per cent decrease in tree cover between 2000 and 2020. And the country is similarly affected by desertification and land degradation – with two-thirds of the country’s territory affected or threatened by desertification and drought.

Impact of mining – Many of the raw materials driving technological progress—such as copper, lithium, and rare earth metals—are found in Chile. And their extraction has a significant environmental impact. For example, lithium—crucial for electric vehicle batteries—is found in abundance in the Atacama Desert region. The process for extracting lithium is extremely water intensive in a region that is one of the driest in the world.

Sector specialisms

Energy and environment

Foodtech

Fintech

Source: Startupblink

Three Exciting Innovations From Chile

Photo source Pixabay

COUNTERTOP DEVICE CREATES PURIFIED WATER FROM AIR

Designed explicitly for communities living in remote areas that lack a consistent source of clean drinking water, Chilean company Fresh Water Solutions’ Urban device captures tiny water particles suspended in the air. By gathering the particles together, the moisture becomes heavy enough to form a rain cloud. The device then pools the water in preparation for filtration. Read more.

Photo source Carlos Muñoz on Unsplash

TURNING WIND, WATER, AND AIR INTO GREEN FUEL

Chile’s largest and southernmost region has been chosen as the setting for an innovative, $55 million (€50.6 million) facility that is exploring the commercialisation of synthetic fuel. The project—called ‘Haru Oni’—is an initiative of startup Highly Innovative Fuels (HIF). The first-of-its-kind facility is designed to convert three ingredients,—wind, water, and air—into a green fuel that could play an important role in the energy revolution. Read more.

Photo source Protera

USING AI TO BUILD ANIMAL-FREE PROTEINS AND PRESERVATIVES

Lab-grown food is no longer science fiction. As alternatives to traditionally farmed ingredients, cultured meats can replace almost any animal product with a more sustainable version. Now, Chilean biotech startup Protera is using artificial intelligence (AI) to copy the amino acid structures of naturally occurring proteins – such as those in flowers. Once a complete protein is built, the company uses fermentation to produce the ingredient at scale. Read more.

Words: Matthew Hempstead

To keep up with the latest innovations in sustainable investment and beyond, sign up to our free newsletters or email info@springwise.com to get in touch.

21st April 2022

Reference

Stracker Solar - Going Beyond Rooftops
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Stracker Solar – Going Beyond Rooftops

By Zarkon Group,

Strackers are elevated dual-axis solar trackers that produce significantly more power than same-sized rooftop or fixed ground-mount systems while maintaining full use of the property below. As a result, Strackers are a perfect photovoltaic (PV) solution for homes and businesses with roofs that have no solar access; for parking lots of any kind; for industrial and agricultural operations; and for open fields and schoolyards. Keeping their powerful large PV arrays pointed directly at the sun throughout the day, Strackers are the most efficient solar energy harvesting systems available. 

These robust units, designed and manufactured by Stracker Solar in Ashland, Oregon, are currently the only UL-listed dual-axis PV trackers in the U.S. and are the only ones that qualify for Energy Trust of Oregon incentives. In addition, the all-steel Strackers are certified for 120 mph winds and come with 30-year production and structural warranties. Additional options like pole lighting and EV charging stations are available, and customers can choose from a wide variety of colors for their units.

Strackers Versus Rooftop Solar

A Stracker holds an array of 28 PV panels atop a 20-foot high single pole, making the system look like a giant mechanical sunflower. And just like young sunflowers, the array moves with the sun — something rooftop solar cannot do — assuring maximum energy collection at all times. As a result, Strackers produce up to 70% more solar power than an equivalent-sized fixed rooftop installation.

Strackers Versus Other Ground-Mount Solar Systems

Compared to traditional ground-mount solutions that sit low to the ground and require that the owner dedicate a specific area to solar power generation, often with fencing all around, Strackers’ 14-foot ground clearance allows the continued use of the grounds below. This clearance makes them ideal for farms, playgrounds, yards, and parking lot applications. Not just people and cars, but even tractors, semis, and firetrucks can pass easily under the Stracker array. Beyond the ground usage benefit, Strackers also provide up to 70% more solar power than same-sized fixed ground-mount systems and up to 30% more power than single-axis solar trackers. 

While Strackers do require a minimum of maintenance, such as annual greasing, it can be done by the owner or through Strackers’ maintenance services; and snow removal is not an issue. Snow does not remain on Strackers as it does on fixed systems since the tracking movement of the array naturally sheds snow in its most vertical position, which occurs twice a day. If additional snow shedding is needed, a press of a button brings the array into a full-tilt position at any time.

Where Strackers Excel 

Strackers excel where rooftop solar is not feasible or wouldn’t provide the desired amount of electricity and do so without compromising the usage of the property.  Commercial, industrial, governmental, and residential customers, as well as community solar developers, who have sites where land use and maximum solar generation are important, will find Strackers the most suitable solution. 

Even when a home or building has an excellent solar orientation, Strackers may still be a good choice if:

  1. Net zero is the goal, but the customer doesn’t have enough roof area to achieve that.
  2. The customer prefers not to deal with any needed upfront roof preparation and has concerns about future leaks or having to remove the system for future re-roofing. 
  3. The condition of the roof doesn’t allow solar installation, or roof replacement would be due during the lifetime of the solar installation.
  4. The customer prefers not to have electric equipment installed on their roof with its potential fire hazard, even though the risk is slight.

Parking Lots

Parking lots are a natural fit for Strackers. Traditionally carport systems have been the chosen PV solution for parking areas, but due to their fixed nature, they lack harvest efficiency, one of Strackers’ key benefits. Instead of closing in parking lots with stationary carport systems, several stand-alone Strackers can meet customers’ energy needs while minimally affecting property use and aesthetics. In addition, Strackers come fully ready for Level 1, 2, or 3 EV charging stations. As a result, auto dealerships can power their operations and charge their electric vehicles without hiding their cars on display under carport solar installations. 

That’s why Ashland’s TC Chevrolet chose Strackers as their solar power generating system, which they will install later this spring. The elegant lot display lighting the units provide with their state-of-the-art LED lights will be a bonus. 

Agricultural Applications

For farms with crops or livestock, Strackers can be installed without interfering with agricultural operations. Strackers offer customers the opportunity to either produce solar power for their facilities without compromising the use of their land or generate additional income by participating in a community solar program and selling the electricity to participating members.

Cost-Effectiveness 

Strackers’ patent-pending drive core, all-steel structure, fail-safe control system, accurate GPS validated 220-degree tracking range, and optimal bifacial capability make them one of the highest quality products available.  They combine the best of solar with high-quality state-of-the-art engineering. 

Yet the cost difference per installed kWh between a Stracker solar installation and a rooftop solar one is usually minimal. For example, in recent competitively bid Southern Oregon projects, Strackers came out as the solar solution with the lowest cost per kWh compared with local residential rooftop systems. However, every project is site-specific, and it’s often difficult to define the cost difference between installations in different markets. For example, in Ashland, Oregon, residential rooftop solar prices might be much higher than residential or commercial prices in Austin, Texas. So Stracker Solar develops site-specific cost and energy production analyses for each project that allows customers to compare the cost-effectiveness of Strackers with other PV solutions. 

Net Zero with Strackers

Homeowners and businesses with poor solar orientation or lack of sufficient roof space often have difficulty achieving net zero energy. This is where Strackers come in. Their sales team discusses the option of net zero energy with every potential customer, and those who haven’t originally identified it as their goal are usually very receptive to choosing that path. As a result, Stracker Solar has helped many customers successfully meet their net zero energy goals while competitive solutions fell short for both power production and cost-efficiency. Of the Stracker installations to date, there are seven net zero residences, a net zero dental facility, and an off-grid ranch fully powered by Strackers. Also, seven vacation rental cottages and an office have become net zero thanks to a 6-Stracker community solar installation. 

The Stracker Vision

Stracker Solar is a growing start-up on a mission: to provide the most efficient solar solutions that allow homes and businesses to get on the net zero path and enable communities to maximize their solar production via land-use preserving community solar installations. To make Strackers available beyond their current service area, they are planning a targeted national expansion in the second half of 2022 through licensing of prequalified welding facilities in several promising markets, combined with a certification program for area PV installers. The expansion plan will be supported by targeted marketing campaigns and direct partner outreach. 

Strackers Solar has an excellent opportunity to make a difference for many homeowners, businesses, and communities looking to go solar who have inadequate roofs or no land to give up. Working with local solar installers, Stracker Solar can provide efficient solar solutions that best utilize available spaces and resources and make solar available to those for whom it otherwise would not be feasible.

By Joe Emerson, Founder of the Zero Energy Project. 

Based on an interview with Jeff Sharpe, Founder of Stracker Solar, who welcomes inquiries from solar installers interested in becoming Strackers resellers.

 

Reference

Breathing New Life into The Procuratie Vecchie in Venice
CategoriesArchitecture

Breathing New Life into The Procuratie Vecchie in Venice

By Zarkon Group,

Browse the Architizer Jobs Board and apply for architecture and design positions at some of the world’s best firms. Click here to sign up for our Jobs Newsletter. 

Few cities in the world have been for so many centuries a melting pot of different languages, religions and lifestyles as Venice: here, the salty air of the lagoon not only gave rise to the city’s trade relationships, but also continues to create an intoxicating atmosphere that lays fertile ground for cultural exchange and dialogue.

Procuratie Vecchie is an iconic building that occupies the north side of St. Mark’s Square: completed in the first half of the 16th century, the complex — once the seat of the Procurators of St. Mark’s, high officials with offices inferior only to those of the Doge and responsible for assisting the poor — since the 19th century has housed Generali, one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers.

Introduction tunnel. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

“The Human Safety Net”. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

After the completion of the restoration, commissioned by Generali and designed by David Chipperfield Architects Milan, a large portion of the complex has finally opened to the public. The restoration, which involved the renovation of the first and second floors, the reorganization of the accessibility of the building through the insertion of new stairs, and a renewed central entrance on the third floor, has not only brought back to its original splendor one of the most fascinating places in Venice but it is also re-established the building’s link to the original social dimensions of the larger Renaissance complex.

In addition to being a place of work, the building’s third floor houses the 32 291 square foot (3000 sq m) home of the Generali Group Foundation, “The Human Safety Net,” which works to improve the living conditions of people in vulnerable situations around the world. To convey the spirit of the Foundation, the third floor hosts the interactive exhibition “A World of Potential” curated by Orna Cohen and Andreas Heinecke, founders of Dialogue Social Enterprise and designed for the interior, exhibition, graphics & multimedia design by the Milan-based studio Migliore+Servetto under the artistic direction of Davide Rampello.

Sketch by Ico Migliore

Exhibition itinerary. Sketch by Ico Migliore

In addition to the exhibition, the Migliore+Servetto studio developed the design of the reception and commercial areas on the ground floor and the spaces for interaction on the third floor: a café, a coworking area, event rooms and an auditorium.

Achille Castiglioni used to say that “we don’t design objects or spaces but behaviors”: and this statement can only be more apt in relation to this exhibition. In fact, the exhibition offers visitors a cognitive experience to recognize the potential in themselves and in others, according to the “learning by doing” method by John Dewey and on the basis of the ” values in action” outlined by the positive psychology of Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson, and selected by the curators (creativity, kindness, perseverance, gratitude, curiosity, hope, social intelligence, teamwork): the result is a project halfway between a science and technology museum and an anthropological experience.

The café. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

The coworking. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

The entire itinerary is characterized by three recurring symbols: the table, the nest and the mirror. The table is an emblem of meeting and dialogue, and is present throughout the interactive installations and in the convivial spaces. Meanwhile, the nest symbolizes welcome and bonds, and recalled in the structures of the bookshops. Finally, the mirror, which in Venice boasts a centuries-old tradition, recurs in the furnishings of the café and in various installations as an allegory of reflection and of the comparison with oneself.

The café with optical chamber. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

The Venetian theatre. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

The entire narrative space, suspended between craftsmanship and refined technologies, tells of a strong bond with the city. Venice’s pulsating life is filtered uninterrupted through the “oculi” — the openings on the façade of the third floor. Some of these openings create a system of visual enlargement that recalls the optical machines of Canaletto.

At the beginning of the exhibition, the wooden puppets of Harlequin, Pantalone and Columbine — masks of Venetian theater — animated by sophisticated technology interact with visitors by answering questions about the history of the city in several languages. The installation “Window on Venice” allows visitors to take a leap back in time, exploring in 3D what some places in the city looked like in the 16th century.

Team work. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

Team work. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

The partitions of the spaces and the furnishings, all designed by Migliore+Servetto, enter into conversation with the existing structures. This dialogue enhances the presence of local materials such as glass, copper, wood, mirrors. The characteristic Venetian “bricole” constitute the supporting structure of the installation of the exhibition route dedicated to team working; the benches of the café, in natural wood, recall those of the historical Venetian cafés; the patterns of the carpets rework traditional motifs, such as the ornate arches of the Doge’s Palace or the “millefiori murine”; the chandeliers made by local master glassmakers create an evocative dialogue between natural and artificial light.

The studio also contributed to the selection of the contents of the Art Studio, the space dedicated to temporary exhibitions that hosts “CHUTZPAH. A tent that is not a tent, animals that are not animals”, curated by Gabi Scardi, is a project created by the collective “Atelier dell’Errore BIG” that gives voice through art to a community of young people marked by neurodiversity.

Image by Migliore + Servetto architects

Social intelligence. Photo by Andrea Martiradonna

The temporary installation, also by the studio, of 100 external tapestries on the façade of the Procuratie Vecchie facing St. Mark’s Square and 22 tapestries on the internal façade of Corte Maruzzi tells about the actions and the identity of the Foundation.

An intervention under the banner of a holistic approach that, through the culture of inclusion, social innovation and sustainability, and through an effective design language, opens new possibilities for self-awareness and awareness of others, in the perspective of transforming more and more the concept of “me” into that of “us”.

Browse the Architizer Jobs Board and apply for architecture and design positions at some of the world’s best firms. Click here to sign up for our Jobs Newsletter. 

Reference