Scaling ‘metrogrids’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo
CategoriesSustainable News

Scaling ‘metrogrids’ in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Spotted: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has enormous energy potential, with large reserves of oil, natural gas, and uranium, as well as ample hydroelectric, biomass, solar, wind, and geothermal resources. However, less than 10 per cent of the population currently has access to electricity.

Solar energy company Nuru (Swahili for ‘light’) is working to change this with solar-based mini-grids that it hopes to use to help bridge the country’s energy gap. Nuru’s utility-scale solar ‘metrogrids’ are designed to provide the DRC’s urban communities with round-the-clock reliable and renewable energy.

Nuru has recently closed $40 million (€36.6 million) series B equity funding round, with participation from the International Finance Corporation, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and the Renewable Energy Performance Platform, among others. The company also anticipates the closing of an additional $28 million (around €25.6 million) in project finance very soon.

The funds will enable Nuru to begin construction on three projects, which will have a combined capacity of 13.7 megawatt-peaks. These will join Nuru’s 1.3-megawatt solar hybrid metrogrid site in Goma, currently the largest off-grid mini-grid in sub-Saharan Africa, and three other solar sites already in operation.

Speeding up the roll-out of solar power is the goal of a number of recent innovations spotted in the Springwise archive. These include a digital field factory for the on-site construction of solar farms and modular solar systems designed to bring power to remote areas.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

byró restores authenticity & infuses light into barn in czech republic
CategoriesArchitecture

byró restores authenticity & infuses light into barn in czech republic

BYRÓ restores blacksmith barn

 

A reconstruction of a reconstruction, Blacksmith Barn by BYRÓ revives a deteriorating cottage in the quiet valley in Pošumaví, Czech Republic, back to its original value. With a sustainable approach and respect for the site’s natural surroundings, the architectural office utilized local resources to uplift and connect the former blacksmith’s workshop and home. Further, the interior of the adjoining, relatively well-preserved wood and brick barn has been opened up and illuminated using only subtle interventions to maintain yet enhance the historical authenticity of the structure.

byró restores historic authenticity and infuses light into old barn in czech republic
view from the sawmill | all images courtesy of the author

 

 

minimal interventions using local resources

 

Located in an unspoilt area in a valley by the Blanice River, the building’s only neighbors are the ruins of a former mill, an active sawmill, and the silence of the surrounding pastures. As per the client’s requests, the architects at BYRÓ predominantly used materials that were available at the plot where possible to carry on the renovation, eliminating the inconsistent elements due to previous insensitive interventions.

 

The barn next to the cottage, which was found in an unaffected state though with an interior stacked all the way to the ridge, was opened up and infused with light. The architects removed the unfinished belt dormer installed in the 1990s and replaced it with lighting roof tiles that bring in a dynamic interplay of light and shade throughout the day. 

byró restores historic authenticity and infuses light into old barn in czech republic
BYRÓ restores Blacksmith Barn in Pošumaví, Czech Republic

blacksmith barn at the end of the world 5
the architects removed the unfinished belt dormer installed in the 1990s and replaced it with lighting roof tiles

byró restores historic authenticity and infuses light into old barn in czech republic
using local materials the structure is an interplay of wood, brick, and stone

Reference

Les Archinautes and 3AE create Lipno Lakeside Cabin in Czech Republic
CategoriesArchitecture

Les Archinautes and 3AE create Lipno Lakeside Cabin in Czech Republic

Timber interiors and larch cladding reference the surrounding Bohemian Forest at this pared-back cabin in the Czech Republic, designed by French practice Les Archinautes in collaboration with local practice 3AE.

Overlooking Lipno lake close to the Czech Republic’s border with Germany and Austria, the cross-laminated timber (CLT) cabin was designed to provide a rest stop for people who come to ski and hike in the nearby mountain ranges.

Exterior image of Lipno Lakeside Cabin surrounded by forest
Lipno Lakeside Cabin is a cabin in the Czech Republic

Informed by a wooden dwelling that once stood on the site, the cabin’s simple design drew from the architecture typical to the area, which Lyon-based Les Archinautes describes as “wooden, compact and cozy.”

“The morphology of the house stands on several principles of Bohemian Forest architecture: rectangular floor plan, compact shape, orientation along the contour line, creation of a covered porch and more pronounced articulation of the gable,” said the practice.

Exterior image of the facade of Lipno Lakeside Cabin with views of the interior
It has been clad in larch planks

Clad in thin larch planks, the cabin is raised on a low wooden platform, which extends to create a terrace along two sides of the home sheltered by the oversized eaves of the roof.

Seeking to bring the surrounding forest into the cabin as a “material, smell, and colour,” the CLT structure has been left exposed throughout the interiors, which are organised to capture views of the landscape.

The focal point of the cabin is the ground floor living and dining space, where a large table, kitchen counters and concrete fireplace sit underneath wooden beams and overlook the lake through a large square window.

Alongside this space, the main ground-floor bedroom and two smaller first-floor bedrooms tucked beneath the roof capture glimpses of the forest and mountains through skylights and small, round windows in each gable end.

Interior image of the timber-lined dining area at Lipno Lakeside Cabin and its lakeside views
The interior of the cabin was similarly clad in timber

“The view of Lipno lake, with two major peaks in the background, becomes the main point of the project, centred around the dominant gabled square window facing toward the lake,” said the practice.

“Wooden walls in the interior create a pleasant and warm atmosphere. The exposed wood is painted with hard wax oil, white pigment and a UV filter, ensuring the wood retains its fresh colour for decades to come,” it continued.

Interior image of the upper level of the wooden cabin
It was designed by Les Archinautes in collaboration with 3AE

Complementing the exposed CLT walls and ceilings, the minimal interiors are finished with oak flooring, simple light fittings and white tilework in the bathrooms.

Elsewhere in the Czech Republic, architecture studio Atelier SAD and interior designer Iveta Zachariášová recently completed a cork-clad home set in a rural landscape and local studio KLAR created a V-shaped timber house in the Czech countryside.

Photography is by Petr Polak.

Reference