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Monday 26 January 2004
Thanks to:
Architectural Press, for books to be reviewed/prizes
Elsevier, for access to Energy and Buildings journal
Craig Anders of Cole Thompson Associates, for details of the INTEGER classrooms project
Student visionaries - a review of the International Ecohouse Student Design Award and accompanying lecture series
Last week Ian Hayton and Chi Meng Tang, students at Glasgow School of Art, scooped the £500 first prize in this year’s International Ecohouse Student Design Competition, with their take on future urban living in Edinburgh.
Their design, for a modular ecohouse on a brownfield site took its inspiration from the vernacular tenement dwellings known locally as the “stair” or “close”. But not for them the gloomy entrances and draughty rooms of yesteryear; their design incorporated the full range of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly features we have come to expect of sustainable design.
The competition attracted 196 students from 30 countries who were asked to design an ecohouse for a family comprising two adults, two children and an elderly, disabled grandmother, to be built in the entrants’ home region. Entries needed to demonstrate a good understanding of local climate and local architecture, and had to result in a four-bedroom home of not more than 180 square metres in floor plan.
Runners up in the contest were Sertgio Marinucci and Marcelo Perez of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Hassan Abeida of the Department of Architecture, University of Garyounis, Benghazi, Libya. All 48 entries are on display at the RIBA until 30 January.
My personal favourite was a quirky and typically French entry entitled “Don Quichotte explores the F house”. The cartoon-like illustrations of this exhibit show a cylindrical house (to maximise thermal exchange) that could be “dressed” to suit the season: black in winter to absorb the Sun’s heat and white in summer to reflect it. The top of the building incorporates a water tower that can be used as a swimming pool and a windmill to catch the breeze off nearby Mont St Michel. The tower acts as a lighthouse too.
More radical still is a see-through globe house that “casts no shadows”. The building is on stilts to protect it from the local environment and has mirror-like walls that reflect heat.
The FREE exhibition is well worth a visit, and runs until 30 January (see below for details). A FREE lecture series is supporting the exhibit. The first lecture, on 13 January, featured a presentation from Andy Ford of Fulcrum Consulting (and Chair of the competition judges), who gave a personal view on sustainability that is worth noting if you’re thinking of entering the competition next year.
To Andy Ford, “whole life building” means that the building should last a lifetime; while ideally an eco-building should eliminate the need for “input” (of power, for example). He also acknowledged that, while the current focus in the UK is on insulation and air-tightness, there are other issues that will come to the fore, once the basics have been tackled. What is to be done about “other” heat demands such as cooking, bathing, drying clothes and (in northern climates) warming up when we come indoors? Cooking with gas, for example, is not a good idea in a well-sealed building! Another factor to consider is local thermal comfort. If the building contains warmer surfaces people are less likely to feel chilly draughts, and overall comfort can be at a slightly lower ambient temperature.
Other speakers included Rob Shaw, Policy Officer at the Town and Country Planning Association who described how he and his colleagues have been working to bring sustainability into the mainstream, and Professor Sue Roaf and Manuel Fuentes who discussed the opportunities for incorporating solar power in homes.
The second lecture in the series happens just as Get Sust! is “put to bed” and will discuss “future-proofing buildings against climate change”; while the third and final set of talks, “Closing the loop: making buildings affordable” is on Thursday 29 January.
Learn more:
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• | The 2003 International Student Ecohouse Design Competition was organised by the Architectural Press (http://www.architecturalpress.com) and the Teachers in Architecture organisation (E-mail: tia@brookes.ac.uk). The accompanying lecture series is sponsored by Circle 33 (www.circle33.org), one of the UK’s biggest housing associations, which manages more than 20,000 homes. Next year Circle 33 will donate £1000 to support the competition, and hopes to run a one-day conference in conjunction with the award ceremony. |
| • | The final lecture is on Thursday 29 January, 6.00-9.00 pm at the RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD. The short-listed entries can be viewed daily at the RIBA (Gallery 2) until 30 January. | |
| • | http://www.fulcrumfirst.com | |
| • | http://www.tcpa.org.uk |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 |  |
Environment wins in US court decision
The United States will save some 50 million tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of taking 34 million cars off the road for one year - following an Appeal Court decision to reinstate an air-conditioning standard that had been introduced by President Bush’s Administration.
On 14 January the US Appeals Court for the Second Circuit issued a ruling on the case of Natural Resources Defense Council v. Abraham. The ruling directed the US Department of Energy to reinstate the SEER 13 standard for central air-conditioners.
A spokesperson for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) said that the ruling will cut emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, and will save 250 billion kilowatt hours by 2030.
ACEEE says this is a particularly significant move, given the huge power blackout that affected millions in the US last August. The blackout was driven, in part, by peak air conditioning loads on the power grid. The SEER 13 standard will keep 20,000 MW of peak power demand off the grid; thus limiting the risk of future blackouts.
Learn more:
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• | http://www.aceee.org |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Renewables bring many benefits
The Energy Saving Trust (EST) is advising businesses to invest now in renewable energy technologies such as solar power to protect themselves against fuel price rises.
Wholesale gas prices are expected to rise by 21 percent in 2004, and this will affect electricity prices to consumers. In a bid to encourage more widespread use of photovoltaics (PVs), the EST is offering grants of 40 to 50 percent to help businesses meet installation costs. The PVs can be integrated into roof tiles, glazing, street furniture, office cladding and even flexible fabrics.
Businesses that invest in PVs can also benefit from tax breaks, trading certificates and, of course, energy savings.
Meanwhile, the government is estimating that by 2020 renewable energy could be the source of 17,000 to 35,000 jobs in the UK. This estimate comes from the “Renewables Supply Chain Gap Analysis” report, published by the Department of Trade and Industry on 16 January.
The report estimates that there are already 8000 jobs related to renewables in the UK, and more than 2300 companies are currently active in the industry.
Learn more:
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• | Visit the EST website at http://www.est.org.uk/solar/ |
| • | “Renewables Supply Chain Gap Analysis” is available on the DTI web site at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/renewables/renewables_uk/publications.shtml |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Latest views on climate change
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published its “Global Atmosphere Research Programme Annual Report 2002-2003”, which confirms that global temperatures have reached unprecedented levels in recent years. The report states that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are at the highest background levels ever recorded.
The report also says that it will be harder to stabilise carbon dioxide levels if positive feedback in the carbon cycle (from forests and vegetation) begins to accelerate warming. If evidence shows this starting to happen, we will need to make much larger cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Learn more:
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• | “Global Atmosphere Research Programme Annual Report 2002-2003” can be obtained at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/research/report03/index.htm |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Sustainability - more than just bricks and mortar
Creating sustainable communities where people want to live is not just a question of bricks and mortar. So said Keith Hill MP, Minister for London, when he launched the government’s plan for developing the Thames Gateway, in the east of London.
This area contains the largest collection of brownfield sites (3000 hectares) close to London, and includes large areas of derelict land, deprived neighbourhoods and, in many areas, poor quality urban environments. But the development plan sets out to change all this. The plan includes: nature reserves, woodlands, new roads and bridges to ensure that new housing developments are matched by environmental and transport improvements. And the strategy makes it clear that the green space must also be multi-functional, in order to contribute to healthy living, sustainable flood protection, air pollution filtration, environmental education and community participation.
Learn more:
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• | “Greening the Gateway” is available on the ODPM web site at http://www.odpm.gov.uk |
| • | “Creating Sustainable Communities - Making it Happen”, published in July 2003, is also available at http://www.odpm.gov.uk |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Green - it’s this season’s colour
If all goes according to plan, the first skyscraper at Ground Zero (the World Trade Center site), will feature 30 windmills, supplying 20 percent of the building’s electricity, writes Joshua Radoff in the Gotham Gazette, a daily digest of news about New York.
And it certainly seems as if green is this season’s colour in New York, where the City’s museum has been running a major exhibition entitled “Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century”.
Radoff’s informative and accessible article about the greening of New York incorporates links to examples of other environmentally conscious buildings in the city, including The Solaire, a luxurious new residential high-rise block that features solar panels, grey water recycling and eco-friendly paints and adhesives, and an 8-storey block of “affordable homes” in East Harlem.
Learn more:
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• | Read the full article “Green Buildings” by Joshua Radoff, published on 5 January 2004, at http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/issueoftheweek/20040105/200/817 |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Shade with care
Blinds can reduce glare in an office, but if the building has a double-skin facade, they might make occupants hot under the collar.
While carrying out simulations on a naturally ventilated office building with a double-skin facade, researchers in Belgium have observed a link between the cooling “stack effect” and the use of integral blinds. Indeed, if the ventilation rate in the double-skin facade is low on a sunny day when the blinds are down to cut glare, the simulated offices became extremely hot .
This information is just one more step in scientists’ understanding of facade performance, but it is well worth noting. Double-skin facades are a neat way to introduce natural ventilation to new or refurbished office buildings, particularly in inner-cities, where noise from the streets makes openable windows a problem (see the Swiss Re case study, below). Blinds are often incorporated to minimise the sun’s glare and, as these results show, it is important for designers to understand how they will perform in use.
Elisabeth Gratia and Andre De Herde of The Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, used a standard building model and typical Belgian weather data to look at the performance of a south-facing double-skin facade on a sunny summer’s day. They used TAS software to test the effectiveness of natural ventilation by the “stack effect” under a range of wind speeds and directions.
They found that there are occasions where the wind and the stack effect oppose each other, in which case ventilation of the building could be minimal. In their model of a sunny day with no ventilation - an extreme case - the temperature in the south side of the building rose to 47 degrees Celsius; and if the blinds were down to protect the occupants from the sun’s glare, the temperature was even higher - a blistering 52 degrees Celsius.
Learn more:
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• | Their observations are reported in full in “Natural ventilation in a double-skin facade”, by E Gratia and A De Herde, Energy and Buildings, 36 (2004) pp137-146, published by Elsevier. (Available on-line to ScienceDirect subscribers at: http://www.sciencedirect.com) |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Design and technology should work in harmony
Researchers in France have published a paper that highlights the need for designers to ensure that architectural choices work in harmony with controls systems.
Christelle Franzetti of Electricite de France and her colleagues have been looking in detail at the complex interactions between lighting, lighting controls, heating and cooling systems, and building design. Their paper, published in the journal Energy and Buildings this month, reports the results of laboratory experiments and software simulations that were designed to explore the total energy consumption of a model office building.
As well as validating the performance of the CA-SIS and LIGHT software tools, they showed how design choices such as window area, floor area and light transmittance rate influence the office’s total energy consumption.
The researchers also demonstrated that choosing advanced lighting control devices (instead of simple presence detectors) can cut the total energy demand significantly. For instance, the heat generated by artificial lighting can trigger air-conditioning systems to switch on. Simple presence detectors switch lights on even if daylight is sufficient for the occupants, whereas advanced controls will minimise the amount of artificial light and thus reduce the need for air-conditioning.
Learn more:
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• | Read the full report: “Influence of the coupling between daylight and artificial lighting on thermal loads in office buildings”, by C Franzetti, G Fraisseb and G Achard in Energy and Buildings, 36 (2004) pp117-126, published by Elsevier. (Available on-line to ScienceDirect subscribers at: http://www.sciencedirect.com) |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Web-based energy analysis tool
A US-based software house is currently testing an on-line tool that analyses a building’s energy performance early in the design process. The company is calling for architects and building designers to join an on-line test of the tool, which is called Green Building Studio® (GBS).
Although the system is based on US data (e.g. it uses the DOE simulation engine and local/regional weather data and product libraries) it could be worth investigating, as it claims to be the World’s first web-based service.
Learn more:
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• | GBS is developed by GeoPraxis with R&D funding from the California Energy Commission and US utilities companies. Visit http://www.greenbuildingstudio.com |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Domestic lighting model helps planning for renewables
Renewable energy technologies (RETs) such as solar photovoltaic cells (PVs) need to be carefully sized to suit the installation, but it is also important to understand how they will affect the local power network. With this in mind, researchers at De Montfort University, Leicester, have developed a new model that can predict lighting usage in UK homes.
Although lighting accounts for only a fifth of domestic electricity use, it is the most difficult demand to predict. And while heating energy consumption can be reduced by, say, improving insulation, lighting and appliance demand is more complex and requires more intervention to control. So PVs powering domestic lighting are a good way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But system designers and installers need to know how much power is needed and when.
Writing in this month’s Energy and Buildings journal, Melody Stokes and her colleagues review the merits of existing electricity demand models, many of which are based on the demand of large groups. For RET applications, modelling needs to be at the level of individual consumers, or small groups.
The team then report on a new model for individual consumers which they have devised and tested. It takes account of occupant characteristics such as income, lifestyle and number of appliances owned. It also accounts for lighting demand on different days of the week, and includes various correction factors such as overshadowing in an urban setting.
The team will use their model as part of a larger study of domestic and non-domestic loading on a low-voltage electrical network, but it will also be useful to designers wishing to install RETs.
Learn more:
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• | Read “A simple model of domestic lighting demand” by M Stokes, M Rylatt and K Lomas in Energy and Buildings, Volume 36 (2) pp103-116, published by Elsevier. (Available on-line to ScienceDirect subscribers at: http://www.sciencedirect.com) |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Cork: seventies’ chic or the next big thing in flooring?
In the UK we tend to associate cork flooring with the garish colour schemes and flock wallpaper of the 1970s. But perhaps that is set to change? An article in this month’s Environmental Design & Construction magazine (published in the US)highlights the benefits of cork flooring, which is both hard-wearing and sustainable.
The article explains that cork flooring was chosen for “The Extreme Green House” exhibit at a nature museum in Chicago because it is a truly renewable resource. Derived from the bark of the cork oak tree, the material is harvested by hand every nine years without harming the tree (which can have a lifespan of up to 250 years). The particular brand used at the museum, Expanko XCR3, is a mixture of 70 percent cork and 30 percent synthetic rubber. The latter is derived from recycled post-production waste, and adds funky colours to the finished material. XCR3 is fully recyclable, but on top of that the manufacturers have even thought carefully about the embodied energy of their product - changing the factory production hours to minimise energy use!
Learn more
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• | Read the full article “Flooring for the Environment”, in Environmental Design & Construction magazine, 14 January 2004, available at http://www.edcmag.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,4120,116623,00.html |
| • | http://www.expanko.com |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Lime mortar with recycled glass aggregate
A new lime mortar that uses recycled glass as an aggregate instead of sand could use up 1400 tonnes of waste glass per year, reducing the amount sent to landfill and at the same time cutting the need for virgin aggregate extraction.
Produced by Ty-Mawr Lime Ltd, the material is currently being tested in order to gain BRE Certification before it appears on the commercial products market.
The new product could have the same applications as the company’s traditional lime mortar - mostly used for renovating old buildings - but there are other environmentally friendly uses for new buildings, such as internal plasters, external renders, and for building and pointing mortars. Its attractive appearance could even make it suitable for decorative applications such as flooring screed.
Learn more:
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• | http://www.lime.org.uk |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
INTEGER classrooms
Get Sust! no. 2 reported that the 2003 Building Sights Award went to two “intelligent and green” classrooms of the future, designed by Cole Thompson Associates, with i&i limited. This case study presents further details of their design and construction.
These classrooms, at Lord Silkin School and Wrockwardine Wood Junior School, Telford, are based on the INTEGER (intelligent and green) principles that have already been tested in several high-profile housing projects.
As with other INTEGER buildings, the design for these classrooms is site-specific and highly integrated, making the best use of passive ventilation strategies, while using solar gain, orientation, and topography to enhance energy efficiency.
On the south side of each stand-alone classroom unit is a conservatory space that acts as additional insulation and has large opening doors that allow “tempered” air to enter the main building fabric. The classrooms have north-facing windows, which are relatively small to avoid heat losses. The classrooms have Monodraught® automatic fresh air ventilators in the ceiling. These provide a temperature control system which allows fresh air to be drawn into the building when required to assist in cooling, as well as providing fresh air.
Anticipating heat gains from an intensive use of IT, the designers placed more emphasis on achieving maximum natural cooling than on very high insulation values. However, they added external cladding (forming shading to the external panels and an air void) to the standard Yorkon® modules, and around 20 percent extra insulation in the floor and roof.
The conservatories have adjustable louvre blinds inside the sloping glass roofs to avoid glare, plus low- and high-level ventilation to create a stack effect that dumps heat when required in summer.
A sedum (grass) roof has several advantages: it helps to oxygenate the atmosphere; encourages wildlife; avoids creating a thermal hotspot (which a metal or single-ply flat roof would); and is attractive when viewed from neighbouring buildings. In wet weather the sedum blanket absorbs rain and slowly discharges it; this can help to avoid surcharge of drains during flash floods.
The buildings also incorporate photovoltaic panels which were sized to produce enough electricity for the base load of the buildings, but not enough to cope with the IT installation. During low occupancy periods excess power is sold to the Grid, and power can also be drawn as a top-up during the winter and at times of peak usage. The solar panels also provide hot water for the kitchenette and wash-basins.
The team modelled the building’s performance during design and it compared favourably with DfES guidance for school buildings, despite the heavy use of computing equipment. Now an Eco-Warrior® management system monitors energy use, energy generation, water usage and so on. Results can be displayed on any computer screen as part of the teaching process, and the system will be running on the National Grid for Learning network. Results are expected in the near future.
Learn more:
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• | Architects Cole Thompson Associates are lead consultants for INTEGER (the intelligent and green action research network). Since its formation in 1996, INTEGER has been very active in the development of innovation in housing, including creating the INTEGER House, which featured in a BBC TV series. Visit: http://www.integerproject.co.uk |
| • | http://www.buildingsights.org.uk/news.htm |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Swiss Re - securing solar access in a restricted urban site
The 40-storey Swiss Re headquarters building at 30 St Mary Axe in the City of London may have its critics, but the designers’ unusual approach to daylighting is certainly one to watch, as Matthew Kitson reported to the CIBSE/ASHRAE conference last September.
The most notable feature of this building (also know as “The Gherkin”) is, of course, its shape. Matthew Kitson, Divisional Director of Environmental Modelling for Hilson Moran Partnership UK, explained that this is a direct response to the site. The tower is squeeze into a bustling area of densely packed buildings, and there were height restrictions imposed so that the building did not unduly restrict the view of its existing neighbours. Indeed, the building tapers at the top to ensure that views are retained. Meanwhile, the tapering at the bottom of the building is designed to maximise daylight to the public plaza below.
An appreciation of aerodynamics and the desire for mixed-mode ventilation contributed to the circular plan and the light-wells that spiral up the exterior.
Each office overlooks a balcony onto a light well, which is a segment cut into the plan, rather like a slice taken from a cake. The “segments” are off-set on each floor, resulting in the spiral-effect that can be seen from a distance. This system is designed to maximise daylight into the building.
Air-conditioning is available but it is controlled independently on each floor. In general, cooling and ventilation is supplied via an active facade which has double-glazed cladding in front of an air gap for gaseous transfer.
Back in September 2003, when he gave this presentation, Matthew Kitson explained that there was still work to be done on internal solar shading. In particular, a moving shade that follows the sun was planned for the top-most floor.
The first occupants are due to move in shortly, so it will be some time before we have feedback on this innovative building, but simulations have predicted that it will use less energy than “good practice” prestige or naturally ventilated office buildings.
Learn more:
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• | http://www.hilsonmoran.co.uk |
| • | See also “Swiss Re Headquarters Inside & Out” by Matthew Kitson, at http://www.fluent.com |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Urban Design: Street and Square
by Cliff Moughtin, third edition, published by Architectural Press
Another in Cliff Moughtin’s series on Urban Design (see Get Sust! no. 2 for a review of “Method and Techniques”), this is the third edition of a book first published in 1992. It has four main additions, including a new chapter on sustainable development.
Although this new chapter focuses on transport issues, it actually covers a lot more ground. Asking “why is sustainable development important?” the author embarks on a discussion of the current debate on climate change, issues surrounding demographics (including migration) and the “embodied energy” of cities. He puts forward the general view that sustainable cities need to be compact and flexible, and lists four fundamental principles that will help to achieve this. But he does not neglect the underlying imperative - to create sustainable communities. Vibrant streets and squares play an essential role here, and throughout the book there are numerous historical examples of successful strategies.
Transport is, of course, a major consideration, and a new case study of the Nottingham Express Transit System is a useful addition to the book. The concluding chapter, however, is pessimistic in tone. He points out that the British political system does not support the development of compact cities, which demand good public transport systems - that can take 20 years to put in place. With political parties keeping their eyes on the parliamentary cycle instead of the long-term, Moughtin predicts that things may get considerably worse before public opinion is strong enough to demand the changes necessary to create truly sustainable cities.
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• | See also “Urban design: Green Dimensions” in the same series. |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Architecture: Design Notebook
by A. Peter Fawcett, second edition, published by Architectural Press
The author is an experienced architect, critic and teacher. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the University of Nottingham and holds professorial posts at other universities in the UK. This work, first published in 1998, is aimed at undergraduates, and includes over 100 sketches. The book will give readers a thorough grasp of the fundamentals of design, although sometimes the text is a little ponderous for a book that claims to eschew theory. However, the new additions to this edition are lighter in tone and extremely informative. Fawcett links environmental design with comfort, and neatly summarises the principles of sustainability and the way they influence design decisions. In particular he highlights the need for an holistic approach to design, combined with a view to the whole life of the building. Overall, a valuable addition to a student’s bookshelf.
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Closing the Loop: Benchmarks for Sustainable Buildings
by Professor Susan Roaf, with Andrew Horsley and Rajat Gupta
Although still “in press” as we reach end third “trial” issue of Get Sust!, I can’t sign off without drawing your attention to this significant publication.
This doorstep of a book is destined to become a “bible” for the sustainable construction community. Featuring extended essays from academics and practitioners, this book attempts to draw together in one volume a wealth of current knowledge on sustainability - from a back-to-basics explanation of the science of climate change to the latest thinking on post-occupancy studies of “green” buildings.
The “indicators” chapters define and summarise the latest international, European, UK and local requirements for 16 core sustainability principles; while “solutions” and “tools and techniques” chapters suggest ways to put these into practice and measure the impact of projects.
Of course, it’s not possible to include everything in one book, and that was never the author’s intention. Instead each chapter includes a host of links and references for further investigation.
Don’t start a project without it!
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• | “Closing the Loop: Benchmarks for Sustainable Buildings” will be published by RIBA Enterprises in the Spring. |
| © Melanie Thompson 2004 | |
Dates for your diary
The following events have been flagging in Get Sust! nos 1 & 2... but just in case you missed them:
Closing the Loop - Post Occupancy Evaluation: The Next Steps
A number of subsidised student places are available for this international conference, which runs from 29 April to 2 May 2004, at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor.
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• | Students who wish to attend should send a letter to: Tia@brookes.ac.uk to apply for a student place on the conference. |
| • | For more information, contact Susan Roaf, Oxford Centre for Sustainable Development, Oxford Brookes University. E-Mail: windsor@brookes.ac.uk |
Resource04 - renewables and energy efficiency exhibition
A four-day exhibition of renewable and innovative energy efficiency technologies for buildings, plus daily seminars, will be held at BRE, Watford on 7-10 June 2004.
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• | Contact the event organiser for further information. E-mail: resource04@bre.co.uk |
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