Thermal Behaviour of an Earth-Sheltered Autonomous Building- The Brighton Earthship- This article discusses the use of sustainable and renewable resources in housing units. The housing unit that was focused on was called the Brighton Earthship, this housing unit relies on only passive design strategies to support the inhabitants. The energy for the home comes from solar and wind power from outside, there is also a sewage water system that cleans the water for the toiletries and for water plants. The house is heated and cooled entirely with the heat from the earth and the sun that is captured. The housing unit is made of mostly recycled materials, mainly of tired and cans/bottles. The article discusses the first tests done on an Earthship and it showed that summers were quite hot within the house and fairly cool in the winter months. It also showed that these housing systems need time to charge and store heat for winter months, therefore will take some time before they are ready for living. The energy efficiency of the unit allows for the Earthship to be off the grid and it is its own, " Independent Vessel." (Ip et al. 2009, 2037). 1
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| 2) Brighton Earthship home |
Developing Green Housing- The main topic of discussion was passive design strategies and how these designs are applied to buildings. A passivehaus is a building that is entirely self sufficient and relies on very little or no energy sourcing. For this method of building, the designer studies the site and uses pre-existing conditions to their advantage within the building. Some ways are to create south facing windows to capture the winter sun to warm the house in the winter, but the windows have high eaves to block the hot summer sun, helping to cool the building. Also positioning trees and vegetation strategically can dramatically cool a building and block out unwanted sun. Also the article discusses passivehausing through prefab buildings. Prefab buildings are ones that are already made off site, just the pieces are quickly joined together onsite. Prefab homes are becoming more popular and are an affordable living space for lower income homes. Prefab homes use to be set to specific standards that were not site specific, however today they are extremely flexible and allow homeowners to easily adjust their home when the space is needed, etc. Prefab homes are being incorporated more with passivehausing and are great compact living spaces that are sustainable.3
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| 4) Passivehaus design proposal |
About Earthship, off the grid, passive housing
Would you ever live in one of these houses and why or why not?
-There needs to be a consideration with flooding the the areas and what the water table is like since the unit is inserted into the earth.
-These units are located in more remote locations and as education teaches you, it is more sustainable to live in densely packed urban settings, it feels against what education teaches
-Is there a size restriction based on heating the home? Yes, this impacts how many people may live in this dewling due to its smaller size.
-Some of the homes are decorated with non appealing materials, which some residents may not get passed, however some of the units are extremely well furnished and made, it is hardly noticeable that it is a passive housing unit.
-More research is needed to be done before the decision to live there is made.
If you were to commission a passive house, would you chose: Prefabricated passive housing, or site specific architecture?
-Site specific because it is made to utilize all the preexisting site conditions which would be pretty much impossible to get from something pre made.
-Could do site specific investigations then create a prefabricated home then bring it to the site.
-Passive housing systems that are made from prefab are much more defined today and flexible, they have a wide variety of choices for areas that can fit many sites. Still today accommodating everyones needs and wishes is impossible, but maybe it wont be in the future.
-The stigma with prefab homes is a horrible set back to the progress they have made and should not be diminished because of the stigma. '
Which of the passive design strategies would work best and worst in Winnipeg?
-Rain water/ Snow harvesting for water sources
-All of them could be incorporated
-Solar
-Can create a backup system for capturing sun during summer then using it in winter.
-Vegetation is least because there is very little growing season time. Only certain plants can thrive here.
Could Passive housing development work in Winnipeg? What if Waverley West was made of passive housing instead?
-This could increase the building popularity of it.
-There are building codes that need to be complied with, therefore these could limit the amount of passive design strategies.
Have you had any changes in your stance on design, or how you envision yourself designing in the future?
Personal Reflection- Yes I have had changes in where I stand because of this course. I never personally realized how many issues buildings caused until this year and I am sure not many other people know this when they first get into this career path. When I applied to the faculty of Architecture, I was envisioning on becoming a famous architect because I created some beautiful buildings, but now I realize this career is so much more. This is the time to help the world a make a difference and do it in a unique and designed way. Design does not need to be pulled from the subject just because you need to build a little greener, but the two studies, Ecology and Design can impact on another and work together. I have always been interested in microbiology and to this day I still debate switching into it for school, however this program from the way I see it now, will allow me to do both. Science and technology is coming together to work with living organisms in ways to create structures like the meat house or tree house discussed in previous blog posts. These two options and approaches can influence one another and create something the world has never seen before. The idea of passive design is great but I believe can be taken further. It should be taken to a completely new level that is not even thought possible because yes we as humans will find a way to make it happen somehow. Designing sustainably is great for now, but I encourage everyone to dig deeper and create something that is even better.
1) Ip, Kenneth, and Andrew Miller. "Thermal behaviour of an earth-sheltered autonomous building – The Brighton Earthship." Science Direct. 34. (2009): 2037-2043. www.elsevier.com/locate/renene (accessed April 4, 2013).
2) Unknown. WordPress.com, "Earthship Brighton Visit: September 2010." Last modified Unknown. Accessed April 4, 2013. http://landscapeisdonovan2.wordpress.com/earthship-brighton-visit/.
3) Unknown. "Building a Green Home. 147-202. www.worldchanging.com/shelter
4) Kain, Alexandra. Inhabitat.com, "Bird Island: Zero Energy Home in Kuala Lumpur Read more: Bird Island: Zero Energy Home in Kuala Lumpur | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building ." Last modified Unknown . Accessed April 4, 2013. http://inhabitat.com/bird-island-by-graft-lab/.
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