Alternative Path

Cars Of The Future

Reynaldo — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:52:32 +0000

http://www.yankodesign.com/images/design_news/2008/11/18/scarab.jpg car.

I was wathing a show late night before I went to bed about future cars and how high tech they are in sustainability. The first car is called the “Scarab” which runs on electricity and bio-diesel. The source of energy can be change to either one depending on the driver. The car is equiped with radar, sensors, gps and other technologies for convience. The coolest aspect of this car is that it folds when you park. Saving space is ideal with this car. The shape can also change to adap to high speeds and rough terrain. The only downside is that it’s only one passenger

http://www.yankodesign.com/images/design_news/2008/11/18/scarab3.jpg

The other car they showed was the Mazda Kaan, which will change professional racing. The wheels of the car is suppose to generate energy for the car. The tires runs along “a sub-level electro-conductive polymer” that creates enough energy for the car to run up to 250 mph with not harmful pollution. Again this is only a one seater car and built only for racing. One thing that I’m wondering is how the car starts with no kinetic energy in the beginning? If the car relies on the wheels to rotate and touch the road, where does it get it’s initial energy to start moving? Or does the car only need to touch the road to get it’s srouce of enery?

http://www.mazdausamedia.com/files/images/MAZDA_02.preview.jpghttp://devicedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/opel-siderium-concept-06.jpg

http://devicedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/opel-siderium-concept-06.jpg

The last car that deals with interesting design is the Opel Siderium. The car has the ability to change it’s seats to form to the people’s comforts. The seats are able to change shapes to whatever they want. To driving positions, more space for cargo and bags even sleeping and socializing. The designers wanted a beautiful interior that has many functions as well.

http://devicedaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/opel-siderium-concept-07.jpg

http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/videos/35311/Future_Cars.html

http://www.mazdausamedia.com/content/mazda-kaan

http://devicedaily.com/misc/cars-of-the-future-opel-siderium-concept.html

Become the Coolest Hippy on Earth

kristianmorse — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:12:02 +0000

Ok so ever since I was 10, when I began spending summers on hornby island (hippy capital of BC), I started to become obsessed with Volkswagon Vans. They’re compact multi-functional roadtrip dream machines. Every summer since my dad bought a 1969 VW Westfalia I’ve been taken them on roadtrips to Tofino beach, interior BC, and everywhere inbetween.

This is the main of my VW Van obsession (and a hippy’s wetdream):

The Verdier Solar Powered Camper is based upon a classic VW Westfalia that has been upgraded with many green elements, like a hybrid engine, solar panels and a lot of high-tech systems that makes this bus a hippy’s Pimp My Ride dream come true.

Alexandre Verdier, a French Canadian designer, is responsible for this redesign and is a philosopher and industrial designer. Verdier believes that the solution to environmental problems “resides in smart, simple design and employing technology to make better use of natural resources.”

The Verdier Camper comes in comes in five different models designed for your own unique personality. Check em out at this website:

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/11/17/eco-camper-by-verdier/#more-16348

A building that breathes

Rui Zhou — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:38:36 +0000

“

“Washington, DC, which consistently scores high in sustainability rankings for its excellent public transportation, walkability, and green space, has few accolades in the area of green building. While the majority of the nation’s biggest environmental organizations are headquartered here, some of them with LEED-certified buildings, the private sector has been slow to follow their lead. But Starwood, the hotel multinational, and its partner Perseus Realty, LLC, hope to change that with plans for the city’s “first green hotel” called 1 Hotel and Residences, scheduled for completion in 2010.

According to DCmud, a local real estate blog, the Miami architect Chad Oppenheim has conceived three “11-story volumes connected by glass enclosed vertical gardens.” That arrangement, with 177 rooms at 188,000 square feet, will serve as a “living machine” that will naturally purify the air and water in the building. The hotel will go for LEED certification and feature a spa and green roof.

The developers are also trying to curry favor with environmentalists by committing to donate one percent of the profits from the hotel to the Natural Resources Defense Council, a group that has in fact lobbied hard for green building. Apparently NRDC is also an advisor for all “1” hotel projects to set a new standard for environmental excellence and, over time, transform the entire hotel industry.
Starwood has similar 1 Hotel & Residences projects planned for Scottsdale, Arizona; New York; and Seattle. “”

-http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/one-hotel-dc.php

When we think of green design, we link it to words like saving, conservation, reduce ect. The example shown above attracted me beacuse it’s an aesthetically pleasing design which makes it stand out from other Eco-buildings. A environmental friendly building can be more stunning than we thought. It is a very good case for us to study how to extend the concept of sustainable development in a bigger range and a more visually pleasing way. ummm, make everthing natrual, including architectures.Why dont we just all design buildings that breathe like us?

Final Reflections

Greg — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:16:17 +0000

Well, now that we’re done this class a final post seemed in order.

This class has, at least for me, served its purpose wonderfully: we have been given early exposure to a myriad of relevant ideas, and now have something to look back on when we inevitably come across these ideas again. The lecturers covered a nice breadth of topics, and I feel that I’ve come out of this course with a better understanding of numerous facets of the industry. Given that it was the first time this course has been taught, there were obviously little things here and there that can be tweaked (my one recommendation: show next year’s students some finished metabolism journals from this year so that they have a strong idea of the format), but overall I’d say it was well done, and the format/assignments were perfect for a class that was meant to build on Studio, as opposed to take time away from it.

Class Reflections November 27th

Greg — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:13:48 +0000

Anna’s lecture on roof garden design was a nice complement to her husband’s lecture a few weeks back. Roofs seem like the perfect place to put gardens as they’re unused space most of the time now (with the exception of a few buildings systems sometimes being up there), and their location is perfect for quick easy access in an urban environment. Some of the other benefits mentioned were stormwater management, increased roof life, cooling, insulation, and energy efficiency, and good public relations (as a nice space is being provided). It was also interesting to hear that there are laws in Germany that require people to make up for any greenspace they build on, and building roof gardens and green roofs is much more popular now because of these laws.

I liked that a little part of the lecture was about the distinction between, and the construction of, green roofs and roof gardens; it gave us enough understanding of the topic to have a rough idea of our constraints, and (much like many other things in this course) a place to start if/when we look into it more deeply later in our education/careers.

I thought the projects Anna showed did a good job of highlighting. In particular I quite enjoyed the Park Village, as it was quite a unique project and definitely had an interesting roof plan. Different colours of foliage were used to provide different colours of roofs. I though this project, as well as the Five Courtyards in Munich, really highlighted that roof gardens and landscape in general don’t need to be “natural,” and can be comparable to much more “built” projects. In the Five Courtyards, the plants were chosen based on colour, and were organized perfectly, producing and incredibly ordered composition; really, how these things look is as much up to the designer as any other design, plant typologies just becomes another constraint that can be worked with or around.

Last Call For Planet Earth

Reynaldo — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:08:56 +0000

Surfing around youtube, I came across this preview on sustainable architecture. The title intrigued me, “The Last Call For Planet Earth”. The video consists of ten different architects from around the world showing some of their projects and their beliefs on what must be done for a better future. Some examples of famous architects being Kengo Kuma from Tokyo and Markku Komonen from Helsinki. Unfortunately this is only a preview, the movie has two versions, one for the common viewer while the other is more detailed for other architects and students. It would be interesting to see how each architect tackles a project with the circumstances of funds, materials and site. I believe that this type of exposure to people is not just for aspiring designers but for people to be aware that there is a change that needs to be made. And videos like this that is visually appealing and easyily accessible to people is a good way to send a message. It’s a way to convince people that awareness in how we live is important. Like the ending of the video says, we should ”all rise up and become architects for a better world.” To get the “green revolution” moving forward a colloboration is needed with everyone. This video shows each architect as an individual in their own environment. But, imagine if they worked together to design not just for their cities but the world.

Green Guitars

Reynaldo — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:45:43 +0000

There are many musicians and consumers that buy the most popular instrument which is the guitar. However, most of the materials for a good tonal guitar are made up of rainforest trees. Examples like rosewood and maghony. The only way to harvest these trees is to clear paths for roads or clear an entire area since these trees grow independently with other trees. Musicians could set an example for fans and inspiring musicians to be aware of the depleting rainforest by using a sustainable guitar. Modulus Guitars in Novato, California are attempting to create electrical guitars and basses with other types of wood. Examples like granadillo, chechen, red cedar, chakte kok and soma which interests me on what tonal difference there is compared to traditional tropical woods. Although the alternative materials isn’t the best for construction, it helps to slow down deforestation. The comapny is also working with SoundWood to educate students on awareness on construction material. Some musicians have been using some Modulus products from Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and even The Rolling stones. The key to being a great musician is not entirely based on one’s equipment but the way he or she plays.

http://www.acfnewsource.org/environment/green_guitar.html

more skeptical earth savers

kristianmorse — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:54:24 +0000

ok so maybe im being a little pessimistic by calling this technology “skeptical”. After all, this technology has been around for 40 years. Im talking about plasma plants that vaporize trash. Plasma Gasification was invented by Nasa 40 years ago to recreate re-entry temperatures for spacecraft. The process uses an electrical arc to heat up gas to form Plasma, which in turn breaks down waste. The intense heat of the plasma gasifies municipal waste, converting it into “syngas”, which is then cleaned to remove volatile elements.

St. Lucie County Florida is home to the first Gasification plant in the US. The plant uses super-hot 10,000 degree fahrenheit plasma to effectively vaporize 1,500 tons of trash each day, which in turn spins turbines to generate 60MW of electricity – enough to power 50,000 homes! Pretty sweet. Cutting down on landfill waste while generating energy is a pretty win-win situation, and the plant will also be able to melt down inorganic materials to be reused for other applications, such as in roadbed and heavy construction.

Like any other self-proposed earth savers, this technology comes with some doubts. One must think about how much energy it takes to create the plasma arc. Also, we cant just send ALL our trash to be vaporized. It is more beneficial to recycle and reclaim metals first.

To learn more, check out:

http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/11/12/plasma-plants-vaporize-trash-to-generate-energy/

Music and Architecture

Rui Zhou — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:19:54 +0000

“Architecture is frozen music.”-Johann Wolfgang van Goeth

It is amazing to see the relation between music and architecture, and how these two have impacts on each other. As a achitect who designs a space for musiｃ，　Ｉguess, he/she needs to visualize it then just listen to it. Or maybe that is something architects do in general- visualize everything they can sense and put their feels in form so that more people are able to access those thoughts and spirits.

Final wood house

Wenyan — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:40:41 +0000

Final Wood House by Sou Fujimoto Architects

This wood house located in Kumamoto, Japan is a mainly wood constructed environment friendly ultimate wood constructure, because wood is the most ordinary and tranditional material and it’s so versatile, so the designers decided to builde a final wood structured house.

“There are no separations of floor, wall, and ceiling here. A place that one thought was a floor becomes a chair, a ceiling, a wall from various positions.” This main unique feature makes the wood house much more interesting than other similar structures. the infinite methods of using the house makes people excited by it and want to live there. The crossover form also make it attractive and aesthetic.

An ordinary way of making a wood house is just use them as the structural layout. This final wood house maximized the usage and value of wood and use them as the floor, ceiling, wall, and furniture. All interior is made by big wood blocks, it’s a combination of simple and complex, ordinary and modern.

http://www.archdaily.com/7638/final-wooden-house-sou-fujimoto/