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Building Types Typology Features Components Community Barter Trade Markets. If urban ‘huertas’ are small in scale in residential developments, commu- nity barter trade markets allow exchange of crops grown by households. This creates a community supported network of crop production, where a household ‘huerta’ can choose to focus on cultivating a particular type of crop. RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL TRANSPORT Shared crop production Community Urban Farms or ‘Safeway’ farm/market. Minimizes distance crops are sourced from and deliv- ered to, reducing cost of logistics. RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL AGRICULTURE Commuter-focused corridor as a building. Park and ride schemes encourage people to take public trans- port. If the ride component of this scheme can be further expanded to incorporate other modes of commuting such as jogging tracks, cycling paths or even swimming lanes, the buildings on either end would need to provide facilities for showering and changing. Commuting to work can also be a healthy lifestyle experience. Urban Farm Belt. Ignoring site boundaries and the site as specific, an ‘infrastructural belt’ of farms could weave through the city as attachments complementing the exist- ing buildings in the city. In this way, a new zone is intro- duced into the city. It starts first as individual programmes inserted alongside existing buildings, depending initially their infrastructure for circulation and servicing, but eventu- ally joining up with other similar units to form a self-sup- porting network infrastructure of farms in the city. Build underground. Instead of building upwards, we can take the building extrusion in the other direction. 1. This takes advantage of the earth’s geothermal proper- ties for natural insulation to maintain constant temperature throughout the year. 2. Higher urban density is achieved without much necessary expanding infrastructure laterally as in the case of building upwards. Existing infrastructure such as transport can remain on the ground plain as voids created from the downward extrusion opens up new architectural typologies. Energy production facilities can then take advantages of freed up space above the ground plane. T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T T R A T R A T R A T R A A N S P O R T A N S P O R T A N S P O R T A N S P O R T A A A A RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T PUBLIC SPACE Increase Building Envelope. Higher density from higher plot ratio can be achieved from increasing the maximum height allowed for buildings. High rise build- ings allow for more programme units. RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE T R A N S P O R T RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE T R A N S P O R T Repeating ground planes. Building on the concept of stacked landscapes, the ground plane should be re- activated on the upper levels, thus expanding circula- tion between buildings as well as creating multi-tiered landscape of public spaces such as gardens within or between buildings. RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE PUBLIC SPACE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE T R A N S P O R T T R A N S P O R T Manpower. Gym equipment such as treadmills, elliptical runners and rowing machines could be sources of dynamic en- ergy transformations that could contribute to the build- ing’s energy grid. Colour of buildings. The albedo of building facades could lead to substantial energy losses or gains required in maintaining inter- nal air conditions within the building. The colour of the building in relation to sun orientation should be taken into serious consideration. Education. Gallery space that encourages ideas of sustainability. These could be ideas-in-progress spaces can increase public awareness of the changing city, showing exam- ples from new farming techniques to a city without cars. Parking. Parking provisions for vehicles should be reduced to a minimum as people are encouraged to take public transport. Less parking spaces required frees up space for more programmatic functions in a building, such as to make provisions for public transport infrastructure. FULL Centralised Amenities. Centralised amenities around transport intersections. Encourages use of public transport where the building housing these amenities becomes an interchange serving different needs of users under one roof. Performative architecture. Morpho-ecologies deals with the differentiation of material systems, integrating ecological, topological and structural performance to determine the composition of a building. Methods of assessment and production include parametrics, generative components, scripting, etc. Shading Structure, Michael Hensel with AA, 2008 Renewable Energy - Biogas. Assuming that buildings of the future will increase in density and inevitably increase in size as well, the amount of human manure will also aub- stantially increase as a result of a larger dwelling popula- tion. Energy can be produced from biogas for heating and lighting. Storage silos can be incorporated into these build- ings for biogas production. After the gas has been taken out, the manure can also be distributed to crop production centres as fertilisers. Insulation. Appropriate application of glazing, double/triple glazing as well as thermal massing to mitigate heat loss/gain. New technologies include a Panelite IGU which has the adaptibility of tubular polycarbonate honeycomb core for use in glazing and curtain walls. These panels can also be used for sliding, pivoting and partition walls and ceilings. Brise Soleil. Sun shading systems are integral in complementing a building’s ori- entation to the sun’s path. They allow for low incidence of sunlight to penetrate the interior during winter and provide shade from the sun during summer. Sun orientation. Emphasis on sun orientation - determines the amount of radiation it re- ceives. This influences the programmatic layout of buildings. Interior lighting. Energy saving measures might also include light-emitting diodes (LED) technol- ogy as they save on unit space, have longer lifespan and provide a higher luminance to en- ergy ratio. Lighting. Abundant use of natural lighting in buildings. Reduction in energy used to illuminate interiors of buildings. Skybridges. Link buildings to one another. Activates new planes for circulation, thus creating a more po- rous urban space. Skybridges act like spatial layers creating loops so that users do not not need to pro- ceed to the ground floor to get to another building. This way, human density and traffic flow can be man- aged in zones. Example shown is the Linked Hybrid project by Ste- ven Holl, 2003-09. Integrating recycling chutes alongside existing rub- bish chutes. With dedicated chutes for rubbish and recyclable mate- rials in high rise buildings, users will find an increased convenience accessing and depositing unwanted household material. Currently, only rubbish chutes are a standard feature in high rise residential developments, while recyclable materials can be brought to central areas for collection. Perhaps this feature can further promote habits of reusing, reducing, and recycling. Ventilation. Emphasis on stack and cross ventilation as passive cooling measures to reduce electricity consumption for air conditioning. Photovoltaic facade. Exisitng skin of building could be utilised to generate electricity for consumption within. Large surface area of facade sufficient to achieve an off-the-grid building. Ventiform. The shape of a post-oil building that depends on wind power as its main source of energy will have to be able to channel maximum air flow through the building as well as be aerodynamically adapting to changes in wind direction. Foster and partner’s project attempting to integrate an electricity generating wind turbine into a mixed-use, high-rise building. Ventifacts - rocks carved into aerodynamic forms by windblown sand. (eg. Ener- con E66 wind turbine to power 1500 suburban homes.) Kit of Parts. Buildings could also be composed entirely of off-site fabricated, ready-made com- ponents which can assembled quickly on-site. This minimises disruption/inconveneince to activ- ity in the site surroundings. Lengthy on-site con- struction and fabrication of materials contribute a fair deal to air and noise pollution in the area. The idea of the building as a kit of ready-made parts also mean that these parts can be disas- sembled with minimal decomposed debris and can be relocated and reassembled elsewhere. Loblolly House, Kieran Timberlake & Associates, 2007 Flexible Facades. Building facades that are customisable to respond to changes in the weather. Examples include motorised screens that move in response to the changing direction of the sun’s rays, or glass that change in opacity in response to the intensity of light/interior temperatures. Users should also be given opportunities to choose from a selection of ‘facade options’ to suit their needs. Loblolly House, Kieran Timberlake & Associates, 2007 Recycled + Sustainable Materials. We don’t necessarily have to look at manufacturing new construction materials all the time. Many materials around us can be reused and recycled. Unique properties of some natural products used to influ- ence the design of our buildings. Ideas_Post-Oil Building Kenneth Wong | Plexus Plan Ex2 | Design 7 SCALE S M L XL Energy Stations III. Offshore Stations generating their own power from hy- droelectricity act as new ‘fuel’ stations, recharging sea vessels that don’t need to rely on oil for fuel. Energy Stations II. Stations generating their own power (eg solar energy) featured at each train station to recharge the electric trains sufficiently for it to arrive at the next station. Energy Stations I. Stations generating their own power (eg solar energy) will provide energy for vehicles to ‘plug-in’ and charge their battery cells. Institute/Museum of Urban Agriculture. Along in- troduction of new building types, an institute/museum of urban agriculture acts as a research and develop- ment facility that builds upon the examples seen in the ‘huertas’ of Cuba. This building will promote a culture of sustainable living and educate the public through a detailed documentation of the evolution of agriculture. Inland fish farms. Do fish necessarily have to be har- vested from open seas or fish farms just off the coast? If fish can be cultivated inland, then the carbon trail can be reduced through less dependence on ships and overland transport. DISTRIBUTION TIilapia Murray Cod Blue Grenadier Trouts Salmon Pig City, MVRDV, 2000-01 Urban Farm Towers 1: Urban farm modules - an assemblage of farming compo- nents creating a farm city-like building. Urban Farm Towers 2. Concept can also be applied to crop production. High rise crop production minimises land area needed as newer technologies such as hydropnics and aeroponics can en- sure efficient, organic production of crop for people’s daily needs. Under a more climatically controlled environment, we can better control crop disease and ensure that the crops receive an optimum amount of nutrients. Farms as nodal points that influence development. Reconsidering agriculture centres as determinants of a sustainable city instead of agriculture sectors as support- ive components of a business financial centre can improve the self-sufficiency of the city. If we rethink our ideas of a farm from a laterally spread out, high land area compo- nent, to an integrated facility that takes up smaller building footprints and incorporated in the city centre, we might achieve a more self-sufficient and sustainable urban fabric. Farms located on main transport intersections. New ‘urban farms’ should be located on main intersections of transport networks to facilitate efficient distribution of crops. The distribution of crops should be mainly via rail in- stead of via road, where trains have larger load capacity and are not affected by traffic congestions. With farms located within cities, distribution could be via more environmentally friendly light rail systems.
