MIES - Contain It

Container architecture is really recycling at its best.  Napper Architects, based out of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, is highly innovative in this regard.  Using containers from shipping yards, they've found a resourceful way to design LEED accredited buildings.   Needless to say, they've earned many credits in the Innovation portion of LEED.

This 3 story building utilises 37 recycled shipping containers that are to be adapted and reconditioned to create an innovative building solution. The development will provide approximately 10,000 square feet of office space that will be unique to the region. Aimed at sustainable enterprise businesses the modular building itself is incredibly sustainable in that the majority of the structure is recycled, the re-used shipping containers having already transported goods around the world for 20 years.

As can be seen in the light model, the building will be transparent/open in places from above, allowing a natural passive heating and cooling system to take place.  Also of note is how sunscreens block out a majority of these spaces, where light enters.  The facilities designed by Napper are innovative but also resourceful.  LEED recognized Napper's willingness to counter the albedo affect by the placement of these brise soleils.  

All things considered, this may not win design of the year anytime soon, but it does show a willingness to be resourceful.  As driven as star designers may be to avoid this kind of utilization, it's impossible not to respond favorably to this kind of clever wit in architecture.  It really is a smart solution.

MIES - Function Follows Geography

The Opera House at Night

Busan, Korea has a specific geography: Mountains areas are connecting directly to the Pacific Ocean. With great nature, there is a high density of population and an urgent demand for public spaces to be used by the inhabitants.  The following is a design by Peter Ruge Architekten, a design firm based Berlin, Germany, which addresses the two new public spaces.  As represented in this concept, an opera house in Busan is what the local public demands and as a building/space, it could improve the surrounding context immeasurably:

The Grand Foyer

The two units of the opera house would perform different functions:

• One would face west to the mountain and city side of Busan; it would be reserved for public performances

• The other would face east to the ocean side to celebrate “New Years Sunrise Festival”

Sections of the Opera House (from both ends)

In general (according to Ruge), the reference is to the history of Madang, a traditional open urban used for gathering, happenings and performances is the base for the design of it.

As for materials, a thin skin, protecting from the sun and water connects the two buildings, leaving in between a pathway open for the public.  Symbolically, this supports Busan’s natural flow from mountain to the ocean, creating a good harmony between urban space and architecture.

Site Plan of the Opera House

The new landmark of Busan’s Opera House reflects the natural and urban energies and connects it to the performing arts spaces of “Madangnoli”, at the Mountain Plaza and the Sunrise Plaza, an urban harmony with a folk performance played by ordinary people.

The construction of this building is like a wave of sounds as an environmental friendly building reflecting Korea’s path to local sustainability.  It is a positive step forward in the development of Busan.

MIES - Wadi Rum Lodges

The following are 47 desert lodges designed by the Florida-based Oppenheim Architects.  Each of the lodges designed are carved directly into the sandstone cliff face and the building elements are made from rammed earth and cement mixed with local red sand.

Oppenheim’s winning proposal  reinterprets the way society deals with surrounding nature by taking full advantage of the mystical valley where desert sand meets desert stone.  The finished images suggest a desert paradise, where nature and design harmonize.

The interiors and exteriors are deliberately blurred establishing maximum impact with minimum effort. Oppenheim used his expertise in sustainable design to create passive means of cross ventilation, taking full advantage of the natural cooling effect of the rocks, and proper positioning allowing the project to minimize energy consumption and maximize comfortable healthy living.

Great care has been given to utilising local materials as well as various water conservation measures for both human and site irrigation to establish a relatively closed system of harvesting rain water in subterranean cisterns and re-harvesting grey/black water though a living machine of botanical and biological nature.

MIES - The Green School Goes Bamboo

Currently, I've been working on websites for Lehigh University.  In the meantime, I've been working with  a friend from Malaysia who introduced me to the exotic world of the Green School in Bali.  John and Cynthia Hardy wanted to motivate Malaysian communities to live sustainably, and did so through sustainable materials like bamboo. Below is a documentary on their works. Enjoy.

 Looking at their works, one can sense a little of Auburn University's Rural Studio in the Green School. There is an economical choice of renewable materials, load-bearing and non-load-bearing, and the interiors are designed with both context and function in mind. The photos below show an intriguing (and somewhat fanciful) attention to detail and structure.

PPP Notes - Some Quick Notes on Sustainability

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

 

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY

 

• The building shell should be a major part of the sustainable strategy.
• At a minimum, the shell should:
• Contribute to minimizing energy usage.
• Incorporate environmentally sensitive materials.
• Ensure good indoor air quality and occupant comfort.
• Be durable.
• For high-performance building projects, the enclosure could help generate energy, return nutrients to the environment, and filter pollutants.
• One area of special concern for the building shell is durability, even though it currently is not included in LEED evaluations in the United States.
• The building superstructure and enclosure are frequently portions of the building that should last the longest and are the most difficult to repair or replace. 
• Buildings that perform well for many years slow or reduce the consumption of resources and the wastestream.
• Failures of the enclosure can lead not only to water-damaged materials needing repair or replacement but also to unnecessary long-term energy consumption, toxic mold, and sick buildings.
• Buildings are major consumers of energy, so the enclosures should be part of a strategy to reduce energy consumption.
• In fact, creating a well-performing enclosure is considered to be the first step in reducing energy usage, ahead of other more sophisticated strategies, such as high-performance mechanical systems.
• A thorough understanding of the interior and exterior environments is paramount.
• For residential buildings in cold climates, heat loss through the enclosure may be the largest component of total energy consumption.
• For large commercial buildings in a moderate environment, daylighting schemes may save more energy, even as they may result in an enclosure with lower thermal resistance.
• Most jurisdictions require compliance with an energy conservation code.
• ASHRAE 90.1 and the International Energy Code (in various editions) are common model codes.
• These minimum standards should be exceeded by 20 to 50 percent, if possible.