Where to begin.
This course had so many interesting lectures. The one that imprinted on me the most was the one about facades. That one was so insightful especially that case studies was used. That made the base of my term project format. I have heard and been through a lot of sustainable or "go green" sessions that they become rather boring and repetitive. Yet most of the ones here, because they are relevant to what I do as an architectural student and can be applied, are very informative.
Another very useful feature was the Green Star day course. It was only a bare minimal introduction but it was enough to give me the general picture of rating systems as well as how to apply them to projects. However it is the practical tips such as how to speak to clients to gain their trust are the knowledge that had the most impact. I believe they will be very useful for me in the future. These sessions by experienced professionals are simply the ones that cannot be obtained easily.
It was a shame that the classes are always after a long day at studio. I could never completely concentrate above the fatigue and sleepiness. Another thing is that the classes seem disjointed to each other. Every week or every topic there is always a different person speaking without anyone to connect them. The topics also went without any clear progression or order that I can figure out. On the other hand I could have been more active in the sessions as well. We were all given the opportunity and drive to do just that but hardly any of us did. This feels like an online course because most of the interaction is on Moodle site. It felt awkward especially that hardly anyone commented on other's comments. I actually know quite a few of my classmates decently well yet I am still not comfortable with posting a potentially controversial comment out in the open where everyone can see them at any time. I know that is sort of the point of online interaction, but I did not sign up for an online course.
That was why the group work is the absolute favourite of all the 3 assignments. The exchange of ideas (in-person conversation) was inspiring. It was a wonder how we agree on so many things and have similar ideas. Of course we had differences, yet after a moment of educated discussion we always smooth things over and end up with a stronger idea, one that was moulded from the strength of each person's initial concept.
All-in-all, I learned a lot. I made friends. I've seen different perspectives and ideas that I have never considered before. But I could have been more active and shed all the awkwardness I had in the beginning.
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
SUSD0003 Term project report reflection
When I had the presentation I only had my research and preparation. I did not actually have any part of the report written down.
In the end I used mostly what I have learned from High Performance Studio and various lectures, for this course and others such as the Utzon series, to make up the majority of the content. That is because those kind of knowledge are much more practical and easy to understand. I do not really need statistics and numbers as this report is not trying to convince anyone to act; instead it is intended to guide them how to.
Using my studio project, which is also a high performance office, as a worked example in parallel with the guide itself helped me to focus and to realise certain angles that I might not have considered before.
The downsides I have includes fields that I have not considered much such as office layout and community participation. If I have more time or another chance those would be interesting to research and might matter a lot in the design and operation of a sustainable building. My guide was also too much from an architectural point of view. I did not go into any detail at all with systems that do not connect much with the actually form of the building such as the water recycling system or co/tri-gen. I learned from my joint Architect-Engineer-Sustainable Developer studio last semester than I am not qualified whatsoever to make any detail about those things... but still I could perhaps dig up some more interesting ways to use them.
All in all, interesting project. I have learned much about sustainability in office design. And this was a chance to apply the lessons I took in from my time in uni.
In the end I used mostly what I have learned from High Performance Studio and various lectures, for this course and others such as the Utzon series, to make up the majority of the content. That is because those kind of knowledge are much more practical and easy to understand. I do not really need statistics and numbers as this report is not trying to convince anyone to act; instead it is intended to guide them how to.
Using my studio project, which is also a high performance office, as a worked example in parallel with the guide itself helped me to focus and to realise certain angles that I might not have considered before.
The downsides I have includes fields that I have not considered much such as office layout and community participation. If I have more time or another chance those would be interesting to research and might matter a lot in the design and operation of a sustainable building. My guide was also too much from an architectural point of view. I did not go into any detail at all with systems that do not connect much with the actually form of the building such as the water recycling system or co/tri-gen. I learned from my joint Architect-Engineer-Sustainable Developer studio last semester than I am not qualified whatsoever to make any detail about those things... but still I could perhaps dig up some more interesting ways to use them.
All in all, interesting project. I have learned much about sustainability in office design. And this was a chance to apply the lessons I took in from my time in uni.
SUSD0003 Week 13: Term project presentation
Interestingly in this session I learned more about the presentation format itself than the term project. I had fun playing around with the mix format of Pechakucha and 3MT (3 minute thesis). I can only use 3 minutes with very short slides to show off my projects, therefore I relied completely on graphics to show them off. I mostly did it spontaneously without a script too. I realised here that what I'm doing is a fun project. I learn more for myself than to whom I'm actually writing this for.
The feedback is generally good although mostly quiet. That is understandable as on that day most of the class has just finished a major studio submission and has little energy for attention and critique. It was also interesting looking at what others are doing. I have incorporated some of their own methodology and ideas into mine. Most notably incorporating a worked example for application of strategies using my own studio project to make my ideas clearer.
The feedback is generally good although mostly quiet. That is understandable as on that day most of the class has just finished a major studio submission and has little energy for attention and critique. It was also interesting looking at what others are doing. I have incorporated some of their own methodology and ideas into mine. Most notably incorporating a worked example for application of strategies using my own studio project to make my ideas clearer.
Tuesday, 1 November 2016
SUSD0003 Week 12: Personal lifestyle reflection
In response the reflection questions posted by our tutor:
Ponder upon following questions and write your reflections:
1. What are the energy/emission related impacts of your actions and lifestyle currently? What do they mean to you?
2. Which areas of your lifestyle are of particular concern to you? Why?
3. What have you already done in response to these energy/emission impacts and your concerns?
4. What are you currently working on or would like to do in the future in response to the remaining issues? What is preventing you? How will you overcome them?
5. What other positive impacts do you see yourself making beyond your immediate personal lifestyle? How?
6. Are you indirectly investing in or financing climate change and fossil fuel industry? Have you checked if your banks and your Super funds are funding climate catastrophe? Do you know you can switch, divest and go fossil free?
Ponder upon following questions and write your reflections:
1. What are the energy/emission related impacts of your actions and lifestyle currently? What do they mean to you?
2. Which areas of your lifestyle are of particular concern to you? Why?
3. What have you already done in response to these energy/emission impacts and your concerns?
4. What are you currently working on or would like to do in the future in response to the remaining issues? What is preventing you? How will you overcome them?
5. What other positive impacts do you see yourself making beyond your immediate personal lifestyle? How?
6. Are you indirectly investing in or financing climate change and fossil fuel industry? Have you checked if your banks and your Super funds are funding climate catastrophe? Do you know you can switch, divest and go fossil free?
I have answered:
1. Everything I do is somewhat related to carbon emission. The only part that’s minimal is transportation as I live on campus and close to shops. I mostly walk and do not own a car nor do I fly often. Other than that, I consume products and energy that contribute to a lot of carbon emission or environmental damage. Especially my waste, usage of paper for printing, owning a lot of electronics that contain hazardous waste when thrown away, high use of electricity for heating, carbon footprint from eating meats.
2. The one that concerns me the most is the fact that I eat meat for a large part of my diet. Specifically, red meat and seafood. I found out lately that red meat especially has very high carbon footprint to vegetarian diet. The reason why I eat a lot of meat is simply because I like them, even though I do not to eat that much.
3. In spirit of Lent I have reduced consumption of red meat especially. In Sydney, its beef that I avoid the most whenever I can. I have switched to more sustainable (and cultivatable) seafood for source of good protein; from salmon and tuna to flathead and prawn.
4. Another concerning thing is perhaps the fact that I live alone in a studio room. Living alone compared to living together has more impact as I do not share the load of my heating, cooling, lighting, etc. I consume/emit more per person than if I live in shared apartments. The reason I live alone is that I feel more comfortable as an architectural students to live this way. I have a lot of stuff lying everywhere including models. I also do not want to disturb other occupants when I have to do long hours for large projects. However I do try to consume less by not using the conditioning system as much as possible. In addition I intend to move with a friend after I am done with my Masters.
5. By studying architecture with the intention of professional practice and focusing on high performance I do hope I can contribute to efficient design of buildings. I do not have the delusion that I can change the world by myself or anything drastic like that but I am confident that simply buy making smart passive design that makes the building use less energy I can at least help with the effort of sustainability.
6. Unfortunately the bank I store my Australian funds does indeed invest in fossil fuels. Interestingly all other major/famous banks in Australia does it as well though. Although the amount in said bank is not significant ie only stores a few months’ worth of funds at any time that still means I indirectly contribute to fossil fuels. Most of my family asset is back home. Yet sadly they are not nearly as transparent as the banks in Australia so I do not know if they are investing or fossil fuels or not. I did not know that I can actually do fossil free. I shall keep that strongly in mind when going for financial independence.
Saturday, 29 October 2016
SUSD0003 Week 12: the problem with Net-Zero Buildings
https://www.buildinggreen.com/feature/problem-net-zero-buildings-and-case-net-zero-neighborhoods
All the usual talk about net-zero buildings almost never talk about the side effects or the big picture of said projects. The article discusses that individual and isolated net-zero energy buildings can be argued as meaningless, inefficient, or counter-productive. It is better to use the money effort to reduce energy in a larger site/community. That would actually save more energy.
Apart from that buildings that usually can reach net-zero energy as usually low storied ones. Thus creating a tendency to sprawl and spread the built environment which can create a problem with land use in addition to the need for fossil-powered transportation between those spread buildings.
Therefore it can be argued that instead of expensive isolated net-zero buildings it is better to concentrate our attention in whole energy-efficient communities. Of course that's not without its own problems; such as the difficulty to coordinate all the stakeholders and land owners in any given designated community. The success of such large projects also depend significantly on the participation of the occupants.
It does make sense that to truly make a difference on this planet we have to focus in building sustainable communities, not just greenwashed or glorified designer buildings. It relies more on the teamwork of the masses to make this happen, but that is the point of true change. It must be done by everyone, not just specialists and rich businessmen.
All the usual talk about net-zero buildings almost never talk about the side effects or the big picture of said projects. The article discusses that individual and isolated net-zero energy buildings can be argued as meaningless, inefficient, or counter-productive. It is better to use the money effort to reduce energy in a larger site/community. That would actually save more energy.
Apart from that buildings that usually can reach net-zero energy as usually low storied ones. Thus creating a tendency to sprawl and spread the built environment which can create a problem with land use in addition to the need for fossil-powered transportation between those spread buildings.
Therefore it can be argued that instead of expensive isolated net-zero buildings it is better to concentrate our attention in whole energy-efficient communities. Of course that's not without its own problems; such as the difficulty to coordinate all the stakeholders and land owners in any given designated community. The success of such large projects also depend significantly on the participation of the occupants.
It does make sense that to truly make a difference on this planet we have to focus in building sustainable communities, not just greenwashed or glorified designer buildings. It relies more on the teamwork of the masses to make this happen, but that is the point of true change. It must be done by everyone, not just specialists and rich businessmen.
SUSD0003 Week 11: Josh's House
https://vimeo.com/102548268
In this video on a sustainable housing project we learned that a high-performing building doesn't have to be expensive, complicated, or uncomfortable. It is hard perhaps to plan all the strategies, but once enacted these smart designs can me a significant difference in terms of energy, water, and therefore spending and carbon footprint.
For example by using a combination of passive solar, appropriately high thermal mass, and natural ventilation Josh can manage to not use artificial heaters and coolers while keeping his entire house at a comfortable thermal comfort. The savings from his water collecting and recycling schemes also reduce his bill by about 90%.
And all at at the same cost of a typical house of the same size and type. What we can take away from his is that sustainability is not about expensive gadgets, but about smart planning.
In this video on a sustainable housing project we learned that a high-performing building doesn't have to be expensive, complicated, or uncomfortable. It is hard perhaps to plan all the strategies, but once enacted these smart designs can me a significant difference in terms of energy, water, and therefore spending and carbon footprint.
For example by using a combination of passive solar, appropriately high thermal mass, and natural ventilation Josh can manage to not use artificial heaters and coolers while keeping his entire house at a comfortable thermal comfort. The savings from his water collecting and recycling schemes also reduce his bill by about 90%.
And all at at the same cost of a typical house of the same size and type. What we can take away from his is that sustainability is not about expensive gadgets, but about smart planning.
SUSD0003 Week 11: No (full) glass!
https://sourceable.net/all-glass-facades-wont-exist-in-sustainable-cities/
This is an interesting look at the facades of most modern buildings ie all glass. They look sleek and clean (dare I say "cool") but they have several huge problems:
- In most climates require a significant amount of energy to cool/heat to a comfortable level
- Lets in solar radiation that even if the room temperature is at normal levels, occupants would still be bugged bu the radiant heat streaming in from the glass
- If designed to have high reflectivity to combat radiation it will instead create discomfort for the residents around the building
Baggs proposed a simple solution to the radiant heat problem: incorporate external shading to the facade. Sure it might look ugly and ruin the smoothness of the face but really who should care about that if external shading both reduces operational energy and discomfort from radiant heat. Or just not use an all-glass facade at all.
The major challenge is to get rid of the mindset of this all-glass facade that has been prevalent since early 20th-century Modernism/International style. Its time to move on with future... perhaps a future with no or little glass in our towers.
This is an interesting look at the facades of most modern buildings ie all glass. They look sleek and clean (dare I say "cool") but they have several huge problems:
- In most climates require a significant amount of energy to cool/heat to a comfortable level
- Lets in solar radiation that even if the room temperature is at normal levels, occupants would still be bugged bu the radiant heat streaming in from the glass
- If designed to have high reflectivity to combat radiation it will instead create discomfort for the residents around the building
Baggs proposed a simple solution to the radiant heat problem: incorporate external shading to the facade. Sure it might look ugly and ruin the smoothness of the face but really who should care about that if external shading both reduces operational energy and discomfort from radiant heat. Or just not use an all-glass facade at all.
The major challenge is to get rid of the mindset of this all-glass facade that has been prevalent since early 20th-century Modernism/International style. Its time to move on with future... perhaps a future with no or little glass in our towers.
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