Thought for Christmas

Rev. Richard Randerson, in the most recent Listener (Dec. 16-22 2006), speaks about a thoughtful, intelligent, and non-literal reading of Genesis 1. Instead of a "pseudo scientific account of how the world came into being", he reads it as an allegorical "message of how we understand the world we live in. And for me, the key thing is that we live with a sense of interdependence. So all the parts of creation -the earth, the sea, the sky, the animals, the plants, the human species, live as a family and with a sense of mutuality and interdependence. The role of the human species is to act as stewards... it leads us to the concept of sustainability."

I think that is a really wonderful statement. It makes me profoundly proud to be an Atheist-Anglican who goes to the Holy Trinity Cathedral of Auckland every Christmas, the church where he is assistant Vicar. I'll think about Maui Dolphins and Kokako next time I listen to Berlioz's L'Adieu des Bergers sung by candlelight.

4-Seater Redux

I spent last night re-engineering the 4-seater vehicle. For a number of reasons, I have decided to return to four thinner wheels rather than three wider. Various countries classify any 3-wheeled vehicle as a motorcycle, and thus require helmets; there is a degree of stability inherent in extra wheels, both longitudinally and in terms of cornering grip; the perception of enhanced safety etc.

Total width will remain at circa 1 metre, to take advantage of lane splitting and aerodynamics, with seating for 4. Construction, weight, and various other functional details remain similar.

The drivetrain consists of two units, almost like locomotive boogies. At low speeds, the units twist as a whole, both front and rear, to give a very tight turning circle. Either unit can rotate 90 degrees to allow parallel parking to become very simple- a specialised control would be required to switch into this mode.

At higher speeds, the units would continue to rotate on the horizontal plane, however a degree of tilt would be progressively applied via hydraulics. The tilt ratio would be determined in relation to speed, braking etc. by computer. Note also that the correct turning track for each wheel is provided by the differential built into the tilting mechanism- almost like giant skateboard trucks. Each wheel would have an electric motor positioned near the hub. I have avoided true hub-mounted motors as I believe unsprung weight is a real problem here, and they are actually quite impractical. Rather, these motors and their casings would function as the tilting arm attachment points, as well as the mounting point for suspension.

The resulting vehicle would have aerodynamics vastly superior to conventional cars, be just as safe, much, much lighter, more practical in urban areas, and hopefully even more exciting to drive. Efficiency would be excellent if using Li-ion cells.

A quick collection of links

There have been some excellent papers published by the Parlimentary Commissioner for the Environment. 'Future currents sketches two scenarios of New Zealand in 2015, 2030 and 2050 depending on today's energy choices. These scenarios are presented through the eyes of two fictional characters.'

Sustainable Future is an excellent New Zealand-based resource library, covering a wide array of sustainable news and articles. Very concise, and a valuable source of current information, laid out in specific topic areas.

Sustainable Energy Forum has some interesting links and papers, but most valuable are the PDF EnergyWatch magazines.

Transport.Org.NZ is a website dealing with NZ transport futures, mainly through well-chosen links.

Design Led Futures

Design Led Futures is an undergrad programme over at Victoria University. Energising water was the 2005 theme, and a number of presentations are available for viewing. There are some very clever ideas, beautifully presented. Of particular note:

Group Tidal: Go Osaki designed a grey water system with 'bubble pumps' which naturally pump water betwen filters, using human movement. The most ingenious idea.

Group Pulse: Daniel Emery's Pixel sink adapts to various tasks to save water. Jason Wright StClair's Kott is a bathtub which also adapts volume to the user.

Group Ka'pil: Jo Lewis' shower is wonderfully elegant, water flow following the occupant around the bathroom by way of pressure sensitive floor tiles.

Group Miyaki: Karen Chang's Glow, a vanity/sink which creates a face-cleansing mist. Lovely semantics.

Fantastic resolution and aesthetics, as well as really innovative design thinking. Inspiring work.

Weekend Reading.

Research collated on water use within the Urbibana.

Huehuetortuga Ecovillage, Morelos, Mexico. An example of completely integrated water and wastewater collection, which allows year-round gardening and water supply in an area with an 8-month dry season. I love the use of artificial micro-wetlands to filter grey-water.

Also, Oasis Design, consultants on the above project, have an excellent Q&A.

Of particular interest is their comprehensive guide to grey-water systems.

Also, Greywater treatment and use.

Greywater Wiki.

Living Designs Group provides an overall idea of comparative architecture.

As does Earthship.

New Zealand has fantastic wetland biodiversity- a great native resource for the above processes. And the DOC has a site too.

Book notes

Following are some quotes from recently read books. They represent snippets of ideas that I hope to adopt and expand on.

The Architecture of Happiness – Alain de Botton

On the value of buildings: “We value certain buildings for their ability to rebalance our misshapen natures and encourage emotions which our predominantly commitments force us to sacrifice... Architecture can arrest transient and timid inclinations, amplify and solidify them, and thereby grant us more permanent access to a range of emotional textures which we might otherwise have experienced only accidentally and occasionally.”

On creating beautiful environments: “...beauty lies between the extremities of order and complexity. Just as we cannot appreciate the attractions of safety without a background impression of danger, so, too, it is only in a building which flirts with confusion that we can apprehend the scale of our debt to our ordering capacities.”

On City layout: “A city laid out on apparently rational grounds, where different specialised facilities are separated from one another across a vast terrain connected by motorways, deprives its inhabitants of the pleasures of incidental discoveries... The addition of shops and offices adds a degree of excitement to the otherwise inert, dormitory areas. Contact ... with commercial enterprises gives us a transfusion of an energy we are not always capable of producing ourselves.”

Cradel to Cradle – William McDonough & Michael Braungart

On environmental impact: “Individually we are much larger than ants, but collectively their biomass exceeds ours. ...They are a good example of a population whose density and productiveness are not a problem for the rest of the world, because everything they make and use returns to the cradle-to-cradle cycles of nature.”

On being less bad: “The "be less bad” environmental approaches to industry have been crucial in sending important messages of environmental concern... At the same time, they forward conclusions that are less useful. Instead of presenting and inspiring and exciting vision of change, conventional environmental approaches focus in what not to do. Such proscriptions can be seen as a kind of guilt management for our collective sins, a familiar placebo in Western culture.”

On connecting to natural energy flows: “[People] could override nature to accomplish their goals as never before. But in the process, a massive disconnection has taken place. ...It is easy to forget, in the gas-powered glare of a postindustrial age, that not only local materials and customs but energy flows have provenance. ...Connecting to natural flows allow us to rething everything under the sun: the very concept of power plants, of energy, habitation & transportation. It means merging ancient and new technologies for the most intelligent designs we have yet seen.”

“Ultimately, we want to be designing processes and products that not only return the biological and technical nutrients they use, but pay back with interest the energy they consume.”

Hunting and Gathering

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. There seems to be a neverending stream of talk about 'sustainability', thus diluting the term more and more. A lot of this rhetoric is also of a nature more palatable to the Business Roundtable et al, so of course must be taken suspiciously: eg. "They supported the government in closing down Timberlands on the West Coast, a lose-lose outcome on both economic and environmental grounds. " - I fail to understand how banning the logging of ancient stands of native forest is an envrionmental loss!?

The right-wing assumption is that technological solutions will be more effective than the ratification of emmisions controls, based on a fear that any climatic legislation will force an economic downturn, as other states are not handicapped in a similar sense. The argument is that the market will favour the most environentally apt product as it naturally becomes costlier to be un-environmentally friendly.

This is a nice idea, but of course true environmental costs are never included in the RRP, so market forces have been allowed to decimate the environment to the extent they have. The human, moral imperative is neglected by the right in favour of economics: sustainability rhetoric in this sense involves the rare occasions where environmentalism and the marketability thereof overlaps economic potential.

At our current point in human development, we really have our hands tied- however 'green' a given product may appear, in reality this will usually be a veneer of ecological respectability over a deeply un-ecological system of production and consumption. The hybrid car conspicuous-consumption craze is perhaps the most obvious example.

I do believe that there is a requirement for carefully designed solutions, principally because it is much easier to subvert the status quo with efficiency. The distributed microgeneration scheme I'm working on should be economically comparable to buying from the large providers, but foster an understanding of environmental realities concerning energy. Of course, the focus should be to question whether we really need so much energy in the first case- perhaps a renewed look at hunter-gatherer lifestyles is in order?

P.S. Can you possibly turn on visual validation in the comments? We've been innundated with spam lately....

Venice Biennale

Some fantastic work at the Venice Biennale. This is the closest I've seen to what I'd like for us as an end result.

It's almost vaguely depressing to see someone else resolve an idea I had earlier:

'With network and computational support, bus routes can become self-organizing systems in space and time much in the way of private automobiles and taxis, rather than structures with fixed routes and timetables. In the self-organizing bus system, bus operators would keep track of vehicle movements, electronically monitor demand from minute to minute, and responsively allocate service capacity to where it is needed most.'

Ideas like these are becoming more and more instilled in a lot of urban thinkers. Our challenge is to really look at how we can integrate them in unique ways, particularly as they relate to the local landscape. One thing I noticed here is that while the systems fostered public transport use and immediate environmental awareness, actual environmental practices at a fundamental level were only assumed or vaguely implied.

Oh dear. So patently ridiculous it's actually quite funny....

I know that's codswallop, and every time I see a rainbow I have it confirmed for me. It tells me that God is keeping the promise he made to Noah after the world-drowning flood thousands of years ago recorded in Genesis.

"I establish my covenant with you," God told Noah. "Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the Earth ... I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between me and all living creatures of every kind on the Earth."

So I'll keep on pumping gas into my four-litre Ford, the home fires will keep on burning, newspapers, magazines and books will remain my reading of choice ... and the doom merchants can prognosticate until the cows stop farting while I laugh in their faces.

Garth George on nature and the Christian ethic....

Resilience Metrics

Dr. Joseph Fiksel, co-director of the Center for Resilience at Ohio State University:

For utility, measure not only usability, usefulness, affordability, accuracy, quality, and reliability, but also versatility.

For life cycle, measure not only feasibility, testability, scalability, serviceability, and disassembly, but also renewability.

For environmental impact, measure not only waste and toxics avoidance, recyclability, and eco-efficiency, but also eco-intensity (the consumption of resources per dollar).

For continuity, measure not only safety, security, redundancy, flexibility, and recoverability, but also adaptability.

For social responsibility, measure not only equity, accessibility, sensitivity, integrity, dignity, but also diversity.

Worldchanging

Take the above with a grain of salt:

One of his side-points was that environmentalists' frequent denial of growth and advocation of steady-state systems is wrong. It's natural for organisms to need to grow.

Organisms grow to compete for resources in an ecological niche. They are competeing within nature. It's all very well to compare economic resilience to natural, but when it comes to growth, this notion of economic growth into perpetuity competes directly with natural ecology. You can't have both.

Solar/PV Hybrids in Microcredit Scemes.

I believe that a micro-grid network of small generators might have an excellent application within schemes such as this UNICEF one:

'Microcredit is the extension of small loans to groups of poor people, especially women, for the purpose of investing in self-employment programmes . It is a way of improving the earning capacity and therefore the standard of living of the poor. Nevertheless, a poor woman who generates income through microcredit but who does not have adequate access to health care for herself and her family, who lacks essential information about health and nutrition and who is unable to send her children to school is still living in poverty.

There is a greater reduction in poverty when microcredit programmes are combined with increased access to basic social services than when the programmes focus on credit alone.

When microcredit is linked with access to basic social services and key social development messages, the health and nutrition of borrowers' children -- particularly girls -- improves; school enrolment increases; safe water and sanitation use broadens. This combined approach, therefore, is an important strategy for achieving the year 2000 goals for children. Microcredit also empowers women, by enabling them to make economic decisions and become the source of increased household income. Experience shows that with the empowerment of women come significant improvements in children's survival rates, health, nutrition and development.'

The Grameen Bank operates a system similar to this in Bangladesh. Dr. Muhammed Yunus, founder of the micro-credit movement, won the 2006 Nobel peace prize as a result. His bank provides loans at an average of US$200 to people living in poverty, who don't qualify for bank loans. No collateral or credit history is required, instead an honour system comprises the standard to which individuals are held. There is a 99% repayment rate.

Approximately 94% of the bank is owned by its 6.6 million borrowers, six percent by the government of Bangladesh.

I always wanted to market the Turbine/PV hybrid as a piece of sculpture. Of course, some basic engineering principals must be adhered to first and foremost, but the profit-margin might be greatly increased simply through paying more attention to aesthetics than previously. This might classify as needless ornamentation, but in a world of ostentatious 'green' gestures would perhaps prove popular.

This (hopefully) higher profit margin would then be used to subsidise construction of turbines, which would be sold (or hopefully subsidised even further through grants) to situations like the above, at a reduced cost. If ornamentation could be further removed to allow a reduction in manufacture costs then this would be a factor. It is also worth remembering that the western world would consume so many more small turbines per capita, simply through relatively wasteful energy use. Every turbine sent to developing villages would go a lot further.

The UNICEF website above presents the wonderful example of a scheme in Andhra Pradesh:

In two districts of Andhra Pradesh, thousands of women come togeth er in small groups. They each save 1 rupee a day (currently $1 = 35.5 Indian rupees), pool their savings and rotate the sum among them selves for production and day-to-day needs and as a source of capital for micro-enterprises. The Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) scheme, supported by the Government and UNICEF, then extends further credit to the women once they have demonstrated their ability to form groups and save. Women are proud to display their passbooks and speak of their experiences.

In one village in Nellore District, for example, women have acquired land titles in their names and taken Rs180,000 as loans towards construction of their houses. They have said that they will not tolerate wife-beating and have forced their husbands to stop drinking alcohol. The longest-standing group in the village has rotated the revolving fund 25 times and also has a savings deposit of Rs30,000 in the bank. In another village, a group has saved Rs800,000. In total, the women of the district have mobilized savings of Rs60 million.

The women have used the revolving funds for productive activities, emergency consumption, health needs, marriages and children's education. The Total Literacy Campaign launched in the district in 1991 has brought education and information, with the savings groups becoming important centres for disseminating information on health, education, water and sanitation. There are visible changes in the health and nutrition of women and their children.

Thanks to Dina Mehta for her blog entry.

Suuuu perrrr buuuuuusssss !!

An interesting electric bus concept, developed by Delft University of Technology. Only 1.7m high, so passengers cannot stand up internally, but wind resistance is much reduced- it can attain 250 km/h. I imagine something this sleek may attract people currently uninterested in buses, but if special roads are required to reach the top speed, how much more efficient is it than a high-speed train?

It comes down to the idea that you can travel at high speed on special lanes, and then use conventional roads to traverse stops at your city of destination, thus reducing modal changes. The direct comparison would be high speed rail, changing to conventional buses- although of course building the rail lines is far lower impact, and if you change modes, it immediately frees up the high speed transport to operate in its element. I'm not convinced this engorged-looking bus is the answer to a genuine question.

Melbourne 2020 – Single Track Tram System

The use of single-rail, gyroscope-stabilised vehicles, combined with stations between the lines, rather than outside the lines, addresses the narrow confines of many roads and the resultant traffic delays and associated air pollution arising from the present two-rail system.
Benjamin Last and Jess Cameron-Wootten
Monash University

> Link

Metropolis Energy Competition

I have been meening to get post this a while back, so without further delay & before I loose it completly...

This is a very appropriate competition currently run by the metropolis magazine. I belive we should seriously consider entering here. It does requiring a rather comprehensive submission with detailed proposal including a business plan.


"The 2007 Next Generation® prize will finance the development of a bright idea that focuses on ENERGY, its uses, reduction, consumption, efficiencies, and alternatives. Intended to support designers whose entries reflect considerations of sustainability, distribution and manufacturing systems, economy, current technologies and materials, function, and provocative form and can speak to any one of the 6 sub-disciplines supported by the magazine"

I think this might be an interesting process to go through. Maybe we could look at putting together a submission around your micro solar/wind hybrid unit with an extension look at how this is integrated and interfaced with the home/user. This would give us a nice deadline to work towards aswell :-)

Link to website with details

Let me know what you think.

'Everything we have been taught in contemporary times is that monocultures are necessary, to increase both production and growth. But this kind of thinking is really one-dimensional. It negates our true human and ecological state, which is diversity. And we destroy this at our peril'

Vandana Shiva

Dissertation Topic

I've been writing a research proposal detailing what I have planned for next year. Reviewing existing literature has really helped to provide a more realistic notion of what is possible with communal generation. The next stage is defining research goals and methods more concisely.

It looks like the bulk of my design work will surround the generator itself, most likely a micro solar/wind hybrid unit. However, I will also deal with the metering and wider system- with a view to working the whole arrangement into the Newer Zealand idea. In a really simple way, the generators are treated as revenue providing investments, the profits received then being used to pay off conventional power bills- the two processes effectively isolated. This means the turbines can be placed on off-site, optimal locations. It really becomes interesting when one imagines the repurcussions within an avant-garde urban dweller context, or metering which takes into account how much electricity (and profit) the investment is supplying, vs. how much electricity is being bought from the grid....

The University submission will be fairly technical, whilst the application within Newer Zealand will allow for a more conceptual interpretation. Leave a comment if you would like a copy of the research proposal sent to you.

Care to Change?

Hello, yes I'm still in existence.
I thought ill kick things off again a little by picking up a subject I had touched on in a previous post regarding societal commitment & change. The problem of grass root change & and acceptance for new processes.

Not a new problem, but very much worth taking into consideration in this context. No amount of planning, innovation & technology will succeed if the group asked to adopt these have no part in its conception & upkeep.
Sure you can say that in our current political & social model there are processes in place to involve the inhabitants in their environmental development. However I'm thinking more than merely voting on the new pattern of your local pavement in a council meeting. This would be more an intrinsic connection & feedback system with first, you direct environment such as your home (the personal phase[]space).

But coming back to the issue of the psychology of change. For all the innovation, technology & interactive feedback systems, it comes down to wether people can actually be bothered. You could take the approach of forced improvement, build the enhancements right into the product or system, so not using them is actually harder and more costly. A new car or office building is most likely more energy efficient without the user necessary having a desire for such properties. But this can only go so far and I believe that any considerable change requires more involvement. People have to care to change.

So how do you do that? How do you get Mr Bow Jones, driving his brand new red Holden SS, housed in an uninsulated oversize home to care about Co2 emissions, installing a wind generator and reducing his global footprint? The problem with the majority is not that they do not care, but that they probably just do not know any better. We are just too detached from our surroundings to realise the effect we are having on it. Being 'in tune with nature' is a key factor of environmental change for the better, be it through growing your own organic vegetables or being virtually synchronizing with the status of your surrounding. There needs to be some way to directly link inhabitants back into their surroundings. Our current societal model is built on the notion of having to 'conquer nature'. There is us, and then there is Nature which is intrinsically nasty, dangerous and out to get us.

I came across an interesting concept in 'Green Architecture' by James Wines. 'The system of totemic identity, as a condition of dualities where one's soul is shared by a self and an alter ego in nature, has intriguing implications for ecology'. The totemic identity was common in Aborginal culture, which has facinating human <> nature relationships (which in my mind are very much ahead of their time, so much so we still can't quite comprehend them). The Aboriginal totem acts as a conscience, guiding tribal and individual relationships with the natural environment. Quite how this can be applied yet I am not sure yet. However it relates well with my ideas of interactive phase[]spaces. It is about getting people to have a relationship with their surroundings, inviting involvement and direct improvement.
Totemic identiy could pose and excellent model of a societal monitoring system.

TBC

More Interactive Cocoons

Some brilliant interactive architecture, Liquid 2.0, by Daan Roosegaarde.

How about an actual functional exhibition space modelled on an urban conceptualisation like this.... Perhaps we should be less literal- imagine this sort of thinking across a whole Newer Zealand. The implications for transport and farming are fascinating. A living surface which reconfigures itself completely during the middle of the day, when occupants are out and plants can recieve more sunlight. Or adapts to funnel the most wind energy to integral turbines. Highways based on the human neural pathways etc. I still like the idea of migrating living spaces. I expect your 20+ hours in an aluminium tube to be spent wisely....

Philip Beesley Architect

Fantastic work by Philip Beesley Architect, Toronto. Geo-morphic membranes which interact with their human occupants.

I particularly love Gill Array, Orpheus Filter, Reflexive Membranes and Orgone Reef.

Similar to my nesting idea, but abstracted by an order of magnitude and utterly beautiful. Article on BLDGBLOG

Personal Rapid Transit

I haven't covered ULTra yet, as I have been quite undecided about the feasibility of the system. On the one hand, rapid transit would cut out the unused capacity of light rail, and fits into the concept of perfectly balanced units of energy expenditure. On the other, it appears over-complicated and not particularly versatile in real world operational conditions.

Part of my problem is the language of proponents of the system. The Wellingtonian, a local free paper, ran an article (June 8, 2006) where a backer states 'Wellintonians have a view that public transport is for 'losers' and that will not change by upgrading buses and trains.' There is a persisting capitalist assumption that personal rapid transit will succeed because the rest of society has an ego which precludes the use of 'loser' group public transport. However, this mindset appears to be akin to the idea that commuters currently have a god-given right to travel to work solo in giant SUVs. The key is to make public transport attractive, and I don't think anti-social, self-imposed isolationism is always the solution.


Further links:
Citizens for Personal Rapid Transit

PRT at Worldchanging - the comments section has some good debate.

Wiki -notice that 'The manufacturers of ULTra acknowledge that current forms of their system would provide insufficient capacity in high density areas such as central London, and that the investment costs for the tracks and stations are comparable to building new roads, making the current version of ULTra more suitable for suburbs and other moderate capacity applications'

The Wellington plan involves 6km of tracks, eventually spreading to the outer suburbs, so this follows the above.

The opponents of the scheme, however, do make a lot of sense. I particularly can see the likelihood of traffic jamming in the system. Rebuttal is here.

Overall, I can imagine PRT working in and around the various urban enclaves, in concert with high speed light rail to outlying urban areas, with the overall pax of the medium increasing as route length/demand does. Also, PRT gondolas need not look like a style-bereft fantasy of computer programmers, inspiration could be taken from Venice. The stations could be stunning, and the guiderails mounted on the ground anyway. Computer processing now exists to allow the system to flow where it previously failed, so I am fascinated to see how it works out in Cardiff. I would love to see this work, but remain sceptical.

Finally, a link to Charge. I have found this to be one of the most neutral, realistic websites out there debating future energy. The article follows my assesment of plug-in hybrids as the most suitable automotive energy source, and they see PRT as viable scheme.

Edit: Intruige!

A local has a blog with his own take on the situation. Great!

I am steering further into scepticism....

May 27 Listener

It is worth purchasing a copy of this weeks Listener. There is a reasonable article about the future of city planning in New Zealand, detailing the possibilities for our main urban centres.

'Auckland is run by a business class which favours development and employs a bureaucracy to further developers. They just let developers do whatever they wanted to do and couldn't see they'd made mistakes.'

Says Ian Athfeild, 'Now the country is looking around for a champion for their physical environment... If architects are going to rule, now's their chance.'

inflatable decentralised racing hydroplanes

From Greenpeace UK, a very detailed analysis of decentralised energy in the UK. (If only John Lydon was a greenie) It is crucial you download the full report on distributed energy, I wish I had seen this a year ago.

Mmmmm, inflatable buildings.

Imagine a series of canals, with solar racing hydroplanes shooting passengers through them. Very cool.

Ceramic Hanging Apartments?

The form of these is beautiful, I can almost imagine a cluster of little living compartments....

Everything He Knows

Everything I Know is an excellent site on design thinking, by a lecturer on Interaction Design at the RCA. There is a lot here worth reading, for our brief, as well as in general.

Essential.

links for land-lubbers

A rapid roundup of recent reading.

Flat-pack housing

Beautiful patina in design

Ahoy there me scurvies

Mazda bioplastic

This guy really does talk a lot. At least most of it is worth reading.

wow, This could be as ground breaking as the Vespa?. Or an evolutionary dead-end like the Sinclair C5. Not exactly pretty, sadly, but a very interesting idea.

Taxibus

a HA! another of my ideas is justified, in Taxibus.

Could this engage some real thinking about mechanics? Of course the cost of a new type of vehicle would be prohibitive for operators here, but what would the ideal vehicle for this role look like?

H2PIA

H2PIA is interesting as an indication of some similar approaches to our Urbibana.

Basically a self contained, self-sustaining community. The idea of generated storage is rather close to the energy use formulation I set out last year. I just hope that when the sun and wind ARE available, electricity is used as directly as possible.

“The renewable energy comes from solar or wind power and is used to split H2O – ordinary water – into H2 and O2 – hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is vented into the atmosphere, which already contains about 20 percent O2. The hydrogen is used in fuel cells that can produce energy, for instance in the form of electricity and heat. In the fuel cell, the energy is created by silent electrochemical processes with no pollution. The only product left over when the hydrogen is used up, is pure water. During periods with low energy demand, we can store the hydrogen. Then, when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining, we use the stored hydrogen.”

There are some aspects of the community I am dubious about, primarily the fact it is indicative of yet more suburban sprawl. Could it have been more centrally designed, with a minimal footprint? The actual aesthetics of the structures also leave a lot to be desired, nevertheless I think H2PIA encapsulates the relative scope of our own project.

In Reply

My greatest fear is if, as you say, sustainablility becomes a throwaway word. I mentioned earlier I don't particularly like the term, as to sustain doesn't particularly imply improvement per se, rather the ability to continue in a mode of life indefinitely. I want to see vast areas of lowland broadleaf-conifer native forest reclaimed, not what little we have left simply protected.

Another worry is the corporate idea that the current levels of consumption/production can be continued if they are made more 'sustainable'- Treehugger is full of examples of products which may very well be low-impact to operate, but still exist to fulfill a marketing niche which is not especially important. I don't really have faith in the idea that rapid economic growth and ecological sustainability can both be retained concurrently.

'Business can be a vehicle for change. Prosperity can help us build the kind of world we want. Scientific exploration, innovative design, and cultural evolution are the most powerful tools we have. Entrepreneurial zeal and market forces, guided by sustainable policies, can propel the world into a bright green future.'

- Business will only ever be guided by the most effective contemporary means to maximise profit margins. A bright green future will only exist where it can visibly improve market value. I am extremely cynical of the idea that 'Business can be a vehicle for change'. It is business that markets us products we don't need, manufactured via methods the earth can not support, and that constantly requires these products to be replaced through planned obsolescence so profitable production may continue.

'Today you can drive a Toyota Prius that burns far less gasoline than a conventional car. Tomorrow we might see vehicles that consume no fossil fuels and emit no greenhouse gases. Combine cars like that with smarter urban growth and we're well on our way to sustainable transportation.'

- Except that the total energy expenditure in manufacture is greater than that of conventional vehicles, the total expected life of the battery is 8 years, and when this time is up the car is vastly less environmentally sound when it is retired, due to the quantities of noxious heavy metals within the battery. Future cars may not emit greenhouse gases directly, but manufacturing needs to be completely reviewed, and the entire life cycle fully considered. And marketing personal vehicles with a built-in obsolescence of 8 years, while profitable, is ecologically reprehensible.

I don't see a solution to the current quagmire, without 'Asking people in the world's wealthiest, most advanced societies to turn their backs (so to speak) on the very forces that drove such abundance'.

I don't understand how you can publish a website named 'Worldchanging' but refuse to try. I am not being naive, I know this is borderline impossible- People need to fully understand the social and ecological implications of where this 'abundance' came from, but they will refuse to confront the answers. The USA consumes resources at a rate that would take 5 earths to support if the world population followed suit. I don't see how you can continue to consume products at the current rate while scaling back the associated resources by 500%.

'Quality is wealth. More is not better. Better is better. You don't need a bigger house; you need a different floor plan. You don't need more stuff; you need stuff you'll actually use.'

-This is spot on. Sorry for the depressing post, my 16 year old eco-Marxist self is talking to my conscience....

Vis the scooter, I am really happy the concept has been proven. However, my own particular take on such a concept has changed enough since last year that I don't feel too bad about the similarity.

Edit: This article was written by the same person, but is a marvellous call to arms. It is strange how different the tone is, it could almost be defined as 'Asking people in the world's wealthiest, most advanced societies to turn their backs on the very forces that drove such abundance'.

Green is the new black

The green swell really is starting to pick up momentum. ( Green revolution : Wired ) With 'world day' a few days ago, and the word 'sustainable' set to be the next El-nino, word of 06. Its quite nice to see but at the same time I am slighlty sceptical that it can simply become just another fad and eventually turn into pseudo-green; The old crap with nice new shiney, eco-green packaging. And a fair point "As we create a more sustainable civilization, we need people to actually understand the systems which make that civilization possible" (thats were we come in..)

But nice to see it hitting mainstream conciousnous, and before you know it treehugger will be a compliment.

And doesn't this look rather familiar? 'A tiny, three-wheeled car that could help solve city congestion'
It has a top speed of 100 km/h (60mph) and uses a novel tilting chassis to make it safe and manoeuvrable.
Another one of those, "man, I thought of that last year" things. But like we talked about, its kinda nice to know that your thoughts are on the right track and see your ideas getting a kind of stamp of approval.

edit: Some more images



Via Worldchanging

Guadalajara library

This is a fantastic idea: taking existing structures which are under-utilised but built to very high tolerances, and re-establishing them in a new role. There is a vague similarity to my nesting idea too.

Aerolibrary

Elements of Interaction – Part 2

In this post I am going to attempt to outline and summarise my current thoughts and intentions.
This is going to be somewhat a work in progress open to changes and edits as I progress my way through it.

As it might have come to light over the my (sparse) contribution-history, I seem to be revolving around the following key ideas:

Interactions – Interfaces between Inhabitants < > Inhabitants & Environments < > Inhabitants
Systems & their relationship to each other.
User driven environments (in contrast to environment driven users)

I plan to use your previous post on Elements of interactions as a base to build on.

Energy & Structure

Energy Input
Energy output
+ Current states & Projected performance

Transit

Physical interactions/material logistics
+ Organic, flexible networking

Biodiversity

Sustenance and health
+ Recycling & rejuvenation
+ Dynamic element – diversity pool


The following paragraph is an attempt to introduce some of my back theory. It is really more of a personal endeavor to try and clarify some thoughts. So read at your own risk.


Phase[ ]space
The phase space in a scientific/mathematical sense, is used as a theoretical 'space' where all states & variables of a system are represented and defined. Basically it maps the various states of a system onto a 'space' with multiple dimensions, which can include time for example. (It does get rather complex but this is my understanding of it.)

I am looking at applying this notion of phase[ ]space to social (dynamic) system, using it more as a metaphorical representation. The phase[ ]space would including the physical sub>urb/city/environment and its inhabitants, and the virtual, interactive spaces and networks between them.
I do not see the phase[ ]space as one finite, all enclosing system. It is very much fractal, with a phase[ ]space containing further phase[ ]spaces, and vica versa.
An example of how this works, a house can be considered a phase[ ]space with all its variables and elements. This is contained in the phase[ ]space of a community, which in further is enclosed in the phase[ ]space of a city.

So we basically have a simple concept of a 'cell' system forming a larger body. Whats the point of a phase[ ]space?

The phase[ ]space provides a construct in which the different variables of the space and their states can be mapped and understood, much like its scientific application. This should give an understanding of the elements involved and influencing the space.
Out of this can be interpreted the 'state' of the space and its level of complexity. i.e. Its phase. It is important that complexity here is not understood as how complicated, big or chaotic it is, but rather as its level of organisation. > Link – Complexity theory , Negentropy.

The key to a phase[ ]space is the interaction between the elements contained. Once the space is 'self aware' and know its own state it can begin to take itself to a new, higher level or organisation, or phase.
Hence a phase[ ]space that has the ability to know its current state and influence it, has the potential to self organise itself to a new, more complex phase. These phase}{transitions can occur independently at all levels of the fractal system, once at the level of the house/home, or the community/city as a whole.


The interactions of phase[ ]space and it Negentopic(?) transitions to higher levels of organisation.

• Feedback loops as a an integral part to user participation.
• Inhabitants and their relationship to the environment – The role of interfaces
• Setting up a systems to allow potential self organisation.

“ The city can be seen as the place designed to offer the widest facilities for significant conversation...one key to urban development should be plain: it lies in the widening of the circle of those participating in it, till in the end all men will take part in the conversation.”
- Lewis Mumford, 'The City in History'

“Most of (current) solutions tend to isolate the means from the mission. This 'mission' calls for a commitment by societies everywhere to unite in a common cause and connect to the natural environment on a more profound philosophical, psychological and cultural level. Otherwise, the basic incentives for survival may be defeated by a diversionary proliferation of remedial mechanisms that do not address the deeper social conflicts caused by a collective state of denial.”
- James Wines, 'Green Architecture'

“All the sacrifices that have helped bring the city into existence come to nothing if the life the city makes possible is not its own reward....a glimpse of beauty, a flash of joy, a quickening and sharing fellowship.”
- Aristotle.

Diversions

Some quick updates from various weblogs.

The new Bank of America Building by Cook + Fox attains the highest LEED acreditation possible, making it the most sustainable sky scraper ever built. I think it must be one of the most beautiful too. All rainwater and waste water is captured and reused, while most material will come from recycled and renewable sources within 500 miles of the construction site.

This is a truly beautiful article. Could natural acoustics play a part in our urban environment?

We need some sort of working title for this venture. I know you don't want to restrain thinking, but we are getting more specific now- it would be useful to have a point of contact with other parties in terms of collaboration, sponsorship etc. Perhaps 'FEcology Associates' is a bad idea? (Grin).... Just to make up a few cards, letterheads etc.

Furthermore, I will be up on Easter Sunday, can we meet for a working day on Easter Monday (17th of April)? It would be nice to really make some progress. I will be in AKL for a week or so.

Elbe Philharmonic tent

I realy like your concept of 'nesting' over and onto existing structures. I just found this new landmark building going up in Hamburg. An interesting approach of litterally building on the old; I like how it seems to grow out of the existing warehouse but still presents itself as a seperate entity seemlingly floating over it.
Very unlike the Auckland Imax which failed horribly trying to do this.



"The historic warehouse building is set to become Hamburg’s new cultural landmark
A tent-like superstructure, sheathed in glass, will house two concert auditoriums, apartments and a hotel with a wellness centre."

Hafencity Hamburg, via Core77

la Biennale di Venezia

The Architectural theme for la Biennale di Venezia has been announced- Interesting.

Nesting Spiders as Architecture

Thanks for the reply to the last post. This sketchbook page illustrates a moment of Eureka I had a few days ago in response to Baumraum.

My idea was one of architectural metaphor, inspired by the nests spiders build in rushes and long grass. A series of vertical steel ‘rushes’ would be installed in and around existing structures, within which greenhouses and living quarters would be positioned. Linkages between these structures could be interesting, especially with the apparent lack of defined borders. Wind turbine generation would be set into the highest steel beams.

New buildings could also be built as a sort of plinth for the steel rushes, as obviously rectangular-plan buildings are more space efficient, the rushes and spider nest structures breaking the monolithic form.

I am wary of using trees as a long-term support for structures. This is both in terms of damage to the tree itself, and stresses placed on the structure due to tree movement. There would still be a large area for planting of trees within and around the steel rushes, so the impression of a treehouse would be retained.

I saw this as a fairly chaotic system of evolving urban dwelling, set around a central core- interesting to know cognitive resonance is alive and well. I hope you can interpret the sketches; something more legible is to come.

By the way, I found the Baumraum link through an article on o2sustainability. However, I loved the poetry of Baumraum, for the simple expediment that they seem to answer a desire for childhood play in a residential structure, while still providing a serious means of dwelling. And the form of their treehouses was exquisite.

Baumraum

Absolutely stunning. Beautiful.

C2C House

The Cradle to Cradle house is a very good application of the water cycles I was theorising. I also particularly love the ventilation system, and it's use of passive aerodynamics- in fact most of the cyclical nature of the design is indeed passive, and self-stabilised.

The house is obviously designed for a context where space is not an overriding issue, and therefore the operational requirements differ somewhat from our challenge. However, it is encouraging to see a more concrete example of the general water systems I hope to look at, and one executed so beautifully.

Electricty from spinach extract? I don't know if photosynthesis works like that. Unless you convert the biomass to energy, although that would mean constantly replanting. Hmmmm....

Modular Housing

Here is a link to the Sybarite Modular House I mentioned yesterday, posted over at Inhabit. Modular buildings such as this present a very effective economy of scale to work with, but what really appeals to me is the ability to add/subtract structure with relative ease.

If a basic landscape could be established (or re-established) for a particular Sup>urb, then modular apartments could be progressively added as the landscape gains resilience. Being modular, the whole conglomeration would not require monolithic rectangular buildings so sunlight to the natural landscape could be retained more effectively. This also works in with ideas I had about migrating cities. The challenge would be to avoid the homogenised appearance of many 'plug-in' apartments. Fundamentally what I am steering towards is a modular system, but taking advantage of central vertical farming practices.

And so the in-head design laboratory powers up. There will be an angle to take with this, where all the elements work out- I think again it is best to look for natural inspiration. An idea I had last night was to look at how spiders build nurseries in long grass, for example....

Biodiversity, basic interface

Biodiversity.

I am presently fairly uncertain as to the particular details of this interaction- a lot would rely on the physical layout of the structure. I envisage that within the Sup>urb, each apartment will have its own small greenhouse area. As this will receive sunlight and water directly from the environment, as well as irrigation from the water supply if necessary, it should be mainly self-sustaining. Each apartment could possibly have a small tank to retrieve rainwater too, decentralising water in a similar manner to the decentralisation of electricity. The plants within the greenhouses would be food crops, not necessarily native.

Each apartment would have a composting system, to return nutrients back into the greenhouse growing areas. Any excess biomass could be sent to a section where it would be converted into energy again, to be used by the Sup>urb to complement the de-centralised generators.

For the shared public spaces within the Sup>urb, light native forest would be planted. This would further manage the water resource, acting as a filter while sustaining the flora. Sculptural water installations could be combined with the forest, embodying the theories of re-energised water as postulated by Steiner, for example. There would be a catchment area at the end of the process where water would be pumped back to apartments. Grey water would be recycled where possible, otherwise pumped into a separate lake where it could evaporate and rejoin the cycle. As the soil beneath the forested area matures, larger trees could be inserted, and native birds brought in to restore an ecosystem.

Therefore, there are two major cycles within the Sup>urb biodiversity system- Nutrients and Water.

I would be really interested to hear your thoughts on this, Nilut. I remember you had relatives who were devotees of the flowform principals, and of course there is a lot of Agrobiology here too. I need to really research some of the principals here further.

__

A brilliant quote attributed to Henry Ford

'It is better to use carbohydrates, rather than hydrocarbons'

Pyramids

These Solar Pyramids are interesting.

Furthermore:
I have a vested interest in creating a flourishing tropical zone within Sup>urbs. It is because I have always loved these beautiful creatures.

Elements of Interaction.

The Sup>urb network will consist of elements of personal interaction. I like the idea of having a connection to warmth and shelter (Energy and Structure), a connection to movement (Transit), and a connection to sustenance and health (Biodiversity).

The network will be provided with input from the perspective of an individual, forecasting overall population movement. Each of the three elements will also be in constant autonomous communication via data collection points, to ensure correlation of the overall network. Symbiotic relationships between elements will be explored subsequently.

Each element will provide users with an interface at practical points of contact, where variables and relevant system operational detail is displayed. These interfaces will be interactive on a personal level, augmented by publically viewable displays of the overall system stasis.

__

Energy and Structure.

The residential system interface must comprise information, with facility for function adjustment where necessary, in three basic areas- energy input, energy use, and energy output. Each of these areas will have both primary, visual information, and secondary, adjustable information. Note that in the case of Sup>urb residents, the allotted stream is allocated after all energy requirements of the overall structure have been met first, including that of internal Transit and Biodiversity systems.

Energy Input

Primary Information:

-Actual electricity stream received from generators one, two and three, and if applicable the grid, and biogas production.

Secondary Information:

-Current performance of individual generators with technical specifications, and if applicable, current location.
-Projected performance of generators, taking into account climate condition forecasts, and migratory patterns of generators.
-Sup>urb specific, but possibly applicable to other situations: production details of biogas from organic waste. (Link: Biodiversity).
-Next half yearly fee, breakdown of costing thus far, projected additions to costing, date due. If this is within a Sup>urb, then this is referred to the body corporate payments, with KwH bought and sold from the grid also taken into account.
-Current dynamic price to buy KwH from the grid with market projections.
-KwH bought from grid, accounting for dynamic price when bought, added to half-yearly fee.
-Information on generation shares held, contact details to discuss addition/subtraction of shares, or data on percentage of Sup>urb energy percentage held.

Energy Use

Primary Information:

-Total electricity use of residence.
-Power cell level.

Secondary Information:

-Breakdown of use, with recognition of the loads required by various devices. This would include the operation of the resident’s own internal hydroponics (Link: Biodiversity). The greater food production capacity of the Sup>urb will have electricity distributed to it before streams are allocated.
-Possibility of controlling individual devices through above overview.
-Scheduling of high-load tasks, in particular charging a vehicle (Link: Transit).
-Proportion of electricity stream deposited directly into power cell.

Energy Output

Primary Information:

-Electricity returned to grid.

Secondary Information:

-Current dynamic selling price of KwH to grid, with market projections.
-KwH sold to the grid, to be rebated from half-yearly fee according to dynamic price when bought.


All the categories of primary information are directly related, and would suit representation through the sculptural concept of abstracted form. This would be more logical to read at a glance, and provide a beautiful sculpture as interface.

Major Relationship, Primary Information.

Overall electricity consumption <–-> Overall generated stream (supported by individual generator performance).

Secondary Relationship, Primary Information.

Electricity returned to grid <-–> Power cell level.

Of course, both these relationships are themselves related.

The secondary elements of information would require a more complex interface, and one which allowed a degree of interaction. Some form of touch screen would perhaps be the most useful solution. There are many interrelationships between various items of secondary information. For example, the proportion of electricity sold back to the grid would relate to the dynamic selling price of KwH to grid, and the market projections would allow a decision to be made as to whether to keep charging the power cell, or begin diverting surplus energy into the grid to take advantage of greater returns. These interrelationships must be identified and added into the user process.

__

Transit

The transit interface will mainly deal with interaction through public modes, and where other contact with infrastructure occurs, such as in public car parks. The interface will be similar in operation to a GPS based navigation system, where a starting location and destination are both entered to determine a route. The output will then follow with both public and private alternatives or a combination thereof, showing associated costs. Billing to an account will be centralised across all public modes and car parks to a council department. Routes will also be predicted according to real-time demand and forecasting based on historical use, these statistics presented in context on a map display.

The fundamental idea is that the user will be responsible for the actual energy cost of the trip. When a route requirement is entered, the variety of alternatives will of course show public route schedules that can be used, with their associated billing, but where a private vehicle is to be used, the system will work out the actual cost in terms of recharging/ refuelling to be recouped (Link: Energy and Structure) and parking fees (which differ according to whether one parks in their own urban node or a further one).

The system will take into account adjustable bus stops, so that the best compromise can be found for a bus with regard to meeting the needs of the greatest number of passengers. If a bus is required to divert further, then the ticket price will be increased proportionately. This will mean either waiting for an alternative route which brings a bus slightly closer, or walking to a more practical stop. The actual deviation will be confined to levels which do not cause significant inconvenience, but the result should be fewer buses carrying well under capacity. The system could be rigged with a number of varying bus sizes for further efficiency, a hybrid of shuttle buses and conventional buses tied to route areas.

Ticketing would be processed on the conclusion of each modal leg, and because the whole system would be digitally automated through the interface, actual costs would be more easily represented through fairly small increments of currency. The account would be paid according to the user’s preference: daily, weekly, monthly etc.

The Interface would guide the user to stops via a moving map display, also showing real-time wider population movement on request, as well as the locations of related public transport vehicles. When private vehicles are being used, the moving map would be transferable to a Head Up Display unit, giving directions to the driver. Route alternatives involving parking private vehicles in car parks would take into consideration car park capacity, actually allocating the vehicle a park to which it would be guided. The parking cost would relate to the size of the vehicle (flexible parking spaces) and preference would first be given to the forecasted requirements of vehicles in the same urban area as the node, which would not endure parking costs, as the assumption would be that the users had parked to take advantage of the light TGV at the node.

Routes specified for private vehicles will of course be adjusted to allow for traffic flow. When public transport routes are altered as above, it is of course the user requesting the diversion that covers the cost. The ticket for each user will always remain at the initial price quoted under the alternative route suggestions.

__

The Loblolly House

A modular home, pre fabricated to prevent construction work on-site that would damage the immediate environment. It has a certain beauty reminiscent of Toyo Ito, too.

Hmmmm....

I'm slightly dubious about overtly-automated private vehicles. I would definitely like to see a greater connectedness to the wider transit system for personal transport, so one may see just what an effect this mode has on the movements of the popuation. I also think electronic intervention will be important to assist in enhancing already extant driver abilities, for instance with proximity control, and to actively warn of impending trouble.

However, I think we need to be wary of gimmicky devices that detract from the idea that every unit of effort be as simple as possible for a given operational requirement. Such interventionary measures should be as passive as possible, dealing with prevention many steps ahead rather than flooding the driving experience with information overload. This would mainly involve placing focus on the driving environment outside the car.

I also think that commuter vehicles should be made as spartan as possible, simply because they are so focused. Their very beauty is in the intrinsic simplicity with which they operate- the Fiat 500 will always be an ideally adapted city transportation medium.

Interestingly, this example of built-in resilience might possibly remind you of your childhood, Nilut.

(P.S. X-Ray-ing people via their seats would be excellent for the environment, insofar as it would turn the human population sterile after repeat use....)

Automobile Tech

Quick info dump on cars that drive themselves and how your car may someday respond to your mood.

Ambi-tainment Focused on making time behind the wheel more visually and aurally enjoyable, innovations like transparent A-frames (the outside structure of the vehicle) that alter space perception, create appealing alternatives to actual larger vehicles such as multi-problematic SUVs. Differing from infotainment, Woodgate's looking to windows that darken at the press of a button, modular systems, OLEDs to change where lights are put in the car, "drive by wire" digital driving that creates space by eliminating steering columns, and zonal controls, like acoustic baffling, to control sounds and even odors.

Immersive Technologies These ambient benefits are the result of what Woodgate terms "immersive technologies"—features that involve drivers and passengers in the driving experience, and thus the technologies themselves, in new ways.

Innovative FamiliarityImmersive technologies require design that takes the entire driving experience (namely how drivers interact with existing designs) into consideration, meaning that existing spaces (like mirrors and dashboards) will provide different types of imagery. Colored guide lines or dots that are integrated into mirrors are one example of ways convergent technologies may show up in future models.

Driving Utopias X-ray based seat technologies that adapt to driver stress levels and physical forms or automatic adjustments according to weather and traffic conditions, mean that commuters faced with increasingly complex driving conditions will at least find the overall experience more rewarding, if not vastly safer, more convenient, and more comfortable.

Via Coolhuntings

Vertical Farming

Vertical Farms is an utterly fascinating concept.

It is conceptually very, very similar to the self-supporting Superurban pockets (Supurbs) I mentioned to you -my concept would involve basic horticultural practices as part of a wider holistic living area, involving human waste (both biological, and that resulting from general activity) in the renewable nutrient cycle, but I plan an attempt to divert from the general 'apartment block' layout. Even the integrated wind-turbines here are similar to my intended route.

Fundamentally within a given structure, my idea is for a more centralised food production area, staggered to acheive sufficient density but receiving greater natural sunlight (see page of sketched out ideas, more to be scanned). This would figuratively be a hidden valley, with living space comprising the surrounding ring of cliffs (Think scaled up habitat version of the Colosseum). I like the idea of returning to native plants, and looking at the possibilty of nutrition- although crops can be terraced for convenience, and layering as in the vertical farm concept would not be an issue for various species.

Aeolus

Here is a facinating aviation concept I mentioned earlier. Although, it is probably not quite within the scope of our current project; but relevent from a New Zealand <> Rest-of-World perspective.

"Frank Heyl's project ‘Aeolus’ is a second-generation supersonic airliner with an Oblique Flying Wing configuration that enables it to sweep the entire wing to reduce drag to one tenth of that of a delta wing. The interchangeable cabins will improve the turnaround time: While the arriving cabins are being unloaded from the aircraft the departing ones are already waiting, fully boarded. From the reduced flight time through optimised turnaround and 'supersonic over dry land capabilities' to the savings in fuel and operation cost Aeolus represents a true revolution in civil aviation."







Via Car design news & Via Spiegel (warning: german overload)

Glider Update

A quick digital mock-up, describing the basic layout for a three-seat powered glider.

The rear two passengers would be on the centre of gravity, so any pax combination could be taken. The propeller would be aimed backwards towards the rear wing, supplying lift but avoiding fuselage drag, and folding/retracting while in glider mode to save drag.

The fuselage is comparable in size to that of a conventional glider, which gives an idea of the scale I am intending here.

Hmmmm....

If 'suburban' describes urban sprawl, and is abbreviated to 'the suburbs', would a project dealing with restricting urban spaces unto themselves define a type of 'superurban' landscape? would this be the 'supurbs'?

Changex

From an exhibition perspective, Changex looks interesting- There is a vaguely similar intent here, and it is a good exercise in looking at the logistical and financial contortions we will face.

'CHANGEX is an annual exhibition of student art + design works that address issues of sustainability, environmental responsibility, social equity and community. Now in its third year, the exhibition will be complemented by an expanded series of events of interest to young designers, professionals, and community members alike.'

It is nice to see such an initiative in our general socio/geographic area too.

Interaction

Hello, once again great work on all the posts! Appologies for not keeping up at the moment, but having to do some heavy time management. Did manage to get some thoughts down which I thought ill post. It's basically a start to the direction/approach I am thinking of taking on this project. (will be adding/editing here when I get a quieter moment..)



Funny how you had some thoughts on air travel. A couple of days ago I came accross quite an interesting concept that I have been meaning to post. Maybe not quite related to what we are doing, but cool nonetheless. Will dig it out, have it archived somewhere.

Glider Prototype

Proof of concept glider with a 560mm wingspan.

I quickly mocked up the basic layout of the joined-wing configuration I played around with at a young age. The new glider flies well, especially considering the airfoil section is rectangular! Haven't had a chance to fly it outside yet due to 80kmh gusting wind, but it displays good performance inside. The most effective centre of gravity is marked by a cross on the fuselage- it is quite far back, so it should allow more efficient interior packaging, as well as enable a more effective hull design on amphibious versions.

Another thought occured to me while making this. Could a series of full-size aircaft be built that mainly glide to their destination, making use of small electric engines to constantly adjust back to altitude? They would be slow but very efficient, and could even be lifted up to a starting altitude by helium 'tugs', if light enough.

Ground Effect

Related to the issues of aviation, is a flying hybrid of aircraft and boats. Ground effect craft are designed to fly close enough to the water surface that a natural air cushion forms under their wings- thus enhancing lift, reducing drag, and allowing for significant gains in efficiency.

Longitudinal stability has been a problem in the past, but various modellers have gone some way to solving the problem by locating the centre of thrust along the aerodynamic centreline- I have my own take on how this could be achieved.

The major issue in small ground effect craft is the drag induced by the water surface just before take-off. Locating thrust so it is directed beneath the wings, enhancing the air cushion at slow speeds, is a solution that helps force the hull up out of the water.

In Charge

Charge, a weblog on the future of energy. Entries are written by Daniel C. Sweeney Ph.D, and appear to be the most realistic and informative overall studies I have yet found. The writer is in fact completing a report on the feasibility of the much lauded hydrogen economy (or lack thereof, as it appears) so is very well versed in energy technology. Many topics of interest are investigated with a faintly sardonic vigour, including all the transport options available. My choice of Li-ion and electric/electric hybrid vehicles over fuell cell power is vindicated by much of the writing.

Air Travel?

At Worldchanging, an interesting overview of some new battery technologies on the horizon. Fascinating reading.

I have been in infatuated with aircraft since before I could talk- My grandfather navigated De Havilland Mosquitos in WWII, and I have grown up surrounded by all things aviatory. I even made a flying model glider at the age of 10 with joined wings, before I knew such an idea was being tested. However, current air transport is absolutely horrendous, and could get worse.

A possibilty within this collaboration would be to look at air travel. Domestic flights really don't appear to have a future within current thinking- TGVs are far more effective, can be electrified, and don't inject harmful emissions directly where they hurt the biosphere the most.

International travel, however, will also need to undergo a total revolution. Teleconferencing and enhanced communications will help avoid business related travel, but what of holiday travellers?

The idea I love most is to re-establish overseas holidays as a massively anticipated, once every decade event, with the journey an amazing experience in itself. While large ships, possibly propelled in part by wind, would be ideal, there will always be a market for air travel. Aircraft will need to fly at lower altitude more slowly, using more efficient propulsion and aerodynamics, so journey times would be longer. There is potential for airlines to turn the flight itself into a package holiday with stop-overs en route, a la the golden age of flying boats. (This also avoids turning over land area to airport runways)

Interestingly, the thinking of my 10 year old self inventing the glider has importance here. The idea of joined wings came to me when I read that a wing is ultimately efficient if it has no tip. That is, a wing inside a wind tunnel, with both tips joined to the walls, has miniscule amounts of aerodynamic drag with respect to lift. The joined wing glider was highly stable, and had a low wing loading, but at the same time had significantly reduced drag- perfect for a slow speed, long range transport.

Ecocycle Layout

A quick CAD mock-up to sort out the packaging and dimensions of the 2-seater. It will have a long wheelbase of around 2600mm, but this should give high stability at speed and capacity for two 99th percentile sized males. The vehicle will be low however at around a metre high, and in the vicinity of 600mm wide- I have plans involving parking where low and narrow may conceivably be more beneficial than short.... There is ample space for a Li-ion battery, mounted low to keep the centre of gravity down.

Living Skins - Architecture as Interface

Some more on interactive Architecture over at Adobe Think Tank.

"What if a sign did not simply tout new movies, sodas, and celebrity babies in one-way feeds, but instead revealed something unique about the building, its occupants, or its environment? What if the building could respond, in real time, to the movement of people, the weather, or the whims of bystanders or behind-the-scenes artists? Digital designers and architects have begun working together to move beyond the facade and give buildings a living skin."



I plan to explore this route a little further, looking at the whole urban environment and taking it a little further than just a building facade.
For people to improve, care and evolve their environment there is a need for them to be intrinsically aware of its state and their effect on it. How about an environment (i'm thinking a buildinf/city) that is alive in a way. It shows us how it feels, what its doing and what effect we as inhabitants are having on it.

This would mean more than just a video skins and light installations. One example was the building covered in tiny colour changing LEDs dependinng on its sun exposure. > See Habitat Hotel. (also more info here: http://www.interactivearchitecture.org :: also some other great posts on there)

One issue with large format video/light skins seems to be their general usage at the moment, and the danger of them turning into just another billboard. "one of the common problems of giant screens recast as building surfaces is that their content is utterly disconnected from the architecture and the function of the building"

Via Core 77
PDF of article

Another look at Lithium-ion

There are already products on the market which prove the viability of this energy source. While the initial prices are high enough to effectively rule these out to the wider population (US$9500-12000 over the base Prius), with further investment and R&D the cost should fall. It is worthwhile instead to view these products as working 'proof of concepts'. The two major contenders are Hymotion and EDrive. What these systems do is add a Li-ion energy source which allows the vehicle to be plugged in, enabling the vehicle to run purely on electricity within a commuting envelope, with the IC engine as capacity back-up after battery range is up.

The exciting fact is that, with the EDrive system, at speeds of under 55kph a range of about 56km is possible. The Hymotion Li-ion polymer pack, which simply fits into the boot and is only 10cm high, allows 50km of driving at under 55kph. A good article with a comparison chart is available on Green Car Congress. Li-ion polymer batteries are up to 20% as powerful as equivalent weight Li-ion batteries. They involve adding gelled polymer electrolytes in the Lithium metallic Oxide cathode, enhancing conductivity.

It is worth noting that these specifications are for a 5 seat vehicle, with an IC engine, built in a conventional contemporary manner. As the Hymotion pack only weighs 72.5kg, the unit could easily be fitted solo into a small dedicated commuter vehicle. The cost would be significantly higher than conventional scooters, even after foreseen falls, so the vehicle would need to have a perception of quality and benefit in line with excellent small cars like the Fiat Panda or Honda Jazz- note that running costs would be far lower due to a more effcient conversion of the energy source and less mechanical complexity. Range and top speed could be increased significantly over a plug-in Prius, as weight and drag would be drastically reduced.

Li-ion batteries contain metals which can all be either recycled, or have safe disposal systems already in place. 12-15% will be Nickel, although safe production practices have been established in Japan and the USA, and it is worth recycling from used batteries. Cobalt (12-20%) is also economic to recycle, and Manganese (10-15%) and Iron (4.7-25%) are safe to dispose of. Overall, Li-ion batteries have less environmental impact than the materials required in fuel cells.

Loremo LS

This is along the lines of what I intend my 4-6 seater to be. Ultra light, compact, devoid of needless accesories or gadgets, excellent aerodynamically, of high build quality and abjectly beautiful.

The base Loremo LS weighs only 450kg, seats 2+2 and cruises at up to 160kph- all while consuming a maximum 1.5l of diesel per 100km. It is powered by a 2 cylinder turbodiesel rated at 15kW. This gives fairly sluggish acceleration, at 20 seconds to 100kph, but the benefits far outweigh anything as crass as straightline speed. It is also worth remembering it is mid-engined, and extremely light, so should handle like a Lotus. Safety meets all European standards. The drag coefficient is very low, at 0.20

A faster GT version will make 100kph in 9 seconds, go on to 220kph and still use only 2.7 litres per 100kph.

This car has enourmous potential, and thankfully the styling lives up to all the promise- sleek, modern, and really very attractive. I really hope it works.

From here....

Further refinement of my plan of action- every time I go out for coffee I add a few more ideas. I have fundamentally decided where I am going, looking at a variety of vehicles at different levels (evolutionary adaptation to environmental niches), the levels of transit infrastructure they operate on (environment itself), the energy infrastructure that provides for both the vehicles, their infrastructure and the city as a whole (food chain, cycle of materials), and how this infrastructure enhances and relates to the natural envrionment, particularly in the inner city.

I have also decided that it would be interesting to look at the idea of forested and naturally enhanced areas as 'transit routes', with a flow of biodiversity through the city relating to the natural environment as it changes- ie. from in-land areas to coastal. This would have to be protected from human activity- hardier birdlife already in the city such as Tui, Kereru etc. would flourish quite happliy, but vulnerable wildlife with particular requirements, especially nocturnal animals such as Kiwi, Ruru etc., would be given sanctuaries and aviaries isolated from already reduced city light and noise pollution. There could also be a chance to engage in rehabilitation of rare and endangered species like Kokako, Takahe, Black Robins etc, as well as other fauna like Tuatara. This would be publically visible, thus enhancing conservation awareness.

Treehouse

This is EXACTLY what I was planning on exploring....

I postulated planting native trees in an inner-city site, and letting infrastructure then adapt to this new environment. I really do have to start believing in mass population conciousness now, this always happens to me.

Also interesting, the Digital Earth symposium coming up.

Otherwise, I have found some very good links at the IDSA site, as well as an indispensable PDF

The approach here is very much allied to how I see the introduction of our work, although the ecological context is obviously slightly different.

What this really made me realise is that we need to set up a framework of tangible results to show we are serious, and then really go out and talk to people about how this can be acheived- Parliament, DOC staff, Professors, local Iwi, corporate figures etc. This will mean together sorting out any Auckland rendevous' before I can be there over Easter, possibly organising some talks in Wellington as well. I think at this stage the context of the project is of primary importance, with a basic outline of our own intentions with regard to it- in effect, we need to develop a presentation outlining a self-set brief. I think this could be an initiative that would be eligible for community grants too, which is an interesting idea. The sooner we build up a network, the greater the resources we will have at our disposal.

Electric/Electric

Interesting work on ultra-capacitors, and electric/electric hybrids. This essential PDF file details how the system works.

A zinc-air battery, with high specific energy density, is used as the primary power source- perfect for cruising to a destination, lots of stored energy in a small space. A conventional battery with energy density being no issue, for example of Ni-Cad cells, is used for rapid power requirements, ie. stop/start traffic, and urban driving. This can be rapidly regenerated through braking, and topped up from the zinc-air battery if required. With this system, space is not lost entirely to Ni-Cads, as zinc-air batteries are much smaller for equivalent energy. The low energy density Ni-Cads can therefore be employed in lesser amounts, to fulfill only rapid power requirements that zinc-air cannot meet. This system gives performance comparable to the fossil fuel based system in the vehicle it replaces.

Where it gets interesting, is the idea of ultra-capacitors being perfectly attuned to the rapid energy demands, and zinc-air being perfect for the distance requirements- the two would be amazing as a hybrid system. I really want to put one in a Delorean. It is of course worth remembering that the recharging of zinc-air batteries is a complex process.

Note that there is a proposal for scooters in the PDF, very interesting as far as my own personal transport concepts are concerned.

Edit: I have been running this idea through my head since the above post. Economies of scale appear to support this application in large formats, especially public transport. For a very light commuter vehicle, the purchase costs would be prohibitive when dealing with both zinc-air and ultra-capacitors. A secondary factor is the idea that the very light vehicles with conventional batteries can recharge to replace the energy used in the commute as described below- this would not be possible with a zinc-air cartridge requiring seperate infrastructure.

One compromise would be an electric/electric domestic vehicle closer to a car, seating 5 people. The conventional battery could be big enough to practically last for an entire commute in to work, and thus be recharging over the day for the return, but not have an excess- the actual capacity would require some experimentation. To make up capacity and act as a high-density resevoir while commuting, a small zinc-air battery would be installed with the whole system working in series, the zinc-air batteries topping up energy in the conventional batteries, in concert with regenerative braking. For longer journeys, the system would operate in parallel with the zinc-air running the car directly for extended periods at a constant speed, the conventional batteries supplying rapid energy. Both batteries would be modular, so different combinations would be easily installed depending on the intended nature of the trip, and intended mode (series or parallel). The zinc-air cartridge would then be sent off for recharging when desired. Variables in this idea:

Series: Short trips, a lot of installed conventional battery space is taken up, but less luggage capacity is needed on commute anyway. Most energy can be recharged during parking period, so no complex external infrastructure is required daily. Because overall speeds are slow, external luggage panniers can be fitted without affecting energy consumption adversely.

Parallel: Long trips, less conventional batteries are installed so more luggage space available. Not parking for long periods so no chance to recharge these batteries anyway, apart from regenerative braking and topping up from zinc-air batteries- they are used only for rapid energy requirements. High specific energy storage in a number of zinc-air batteries for long range, but complex external refuelling facilities will be needed at some point in the journey.


2-3 person enclosed vehicles, dedicated commuters - conventional batteries.

4-6 person vehicles - conventional batteries or electric/electric hybrid or fuel cells.

Public transport - electric/electic hybrid or system distributed electricity.

Edit 2: A Norweigian start-up company, ReVolt, has established technology to directly recharge zinc-air cells. So far only small scale applications such as mobile phones are being commerically concentrated on, but could this technology change the above thinking? we need to formulate a system to contact some of these parties, Nilut.