Video of the week: Solar gain

What architecture! Such a beauty of a house.

from the video description "The term ‘Solar Home’ was coined in Chicago in the 1940s. Despite the recent declaration of the term, good practices around orientation and window placement have been around centuries. But, coming off the Great Depression, coupled with the proliferation of glazing and emerging technology such as air-conditioning, architects and the public felt the benefits of passive solar design more acutely. This video visits the Schweikher House, built during the 1930s, to explore its passive solar techniques. It is not a ‘Solar Home,’ per se, but the architect worked closely with George Keck, prior to its construction and it incorporates many of principles that would get codified later on. George Keck pioneered solar research in architecture and created the first ‘Solar Home,’ a project the video explores at the ‘Houses of Tomorrow’ exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum. "

Rethinking the design of goods

"There's a world of opportunity to re-think and re-design the way we make stuff. 'Re-Thinking Progress' explores how through a change in perspective we can re-design the way our economy works - designing products that can be 'made to be made again' and powering the system with renewable energy. It questions whether with creativity and innovation we can build a restorative economy."

"Innovation, quality and good design Cradle to Cradle® is a design concept that was developed in the 1990s by Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, William McDonough and the scientists of EPEA in Hamburg. It stands for innovation, quality as well as good design and describes the safe and potentially infinite use of materials in cycles."



from:
https://epea-hamburg.com/cradle-to-cradle/

Mapping the solar potential

"Google has long stated its ambitions to run its global operations solely on renewable energy, and now it wants to lead by example. The company has updated its interactive Sunroof map that helps people estimate whether it makes sense to install a solar panel on their roof." 

from: https://thenextweb.com/google/2017/03/16/google-sun-map-solar-panel/

and:

https://blog.google/products/maps/shedding-light-solar-potential-all-50-us-states/

Future planning

"Cities are resurgent. Increasingly they’re where new jobs, economic growth, and people are all thriving. From Miami to Munich and São Paulo to Shanghai, the world’s cities are multiplying in number and growing in size."



"Already, more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By midcentury, that share will grow to two-thirds, the U.N. predicts. This urbanization comes at a cost, though. Infrastructure is strained. Cars are multiplying but roads are not, so congestion is worsening. And the supply of vital resources — energy, clean air and fresh water — is imperiled."
from: https://nyti.ms/2jW2b8W

Clean green jobs

“The basic facts are simple. When we invest, say, $1 million in building the green economy, this creates about 17 jobs within the United States. By comparison, if we continue to spend as we do on fossil fuels and nuclear energy, you create only about 5 jobs per $1 million in spending. That is, we create about 12 more jobs for every $1 million in spending — 300 percent more jobs — every time we spend on building the green economy as opposed to maintaining our dependence on dirty and dangerous oil, coal, natural gas, and nuclear power.”

from: https://cleantechnica.com/2013/03/20/over-3-times-more-green-jobs-per-million-than-fossil-fuel-or-nuclear-jobs/

The farm of the future?

"We need a new way to feed our planet."



"As urban populations continue to rise, innovators are looking beyond traditional farming as a way to feed everyone while having less impact on our land and water resources. Vertical farming is one solution that's been implemented around the world. Vertical farms produce crops in stacked layers, often in controlled environments such as those built by AeroFarms in Newark, New Jersey. AeroFarms grows a variety of leafy salad greens using a process called "aeroponics," which relies on air and mist. AeroFarms' crops are grown entirely indoors using a reusable cloth medium made from recycled plastics. In the absence of sun exposure, the company uses LED lights that expose plants to only certain types of spectrum. AeroFarms claims it uses 95% less water than a traditional farm thanks to its specially designed root misting system. And it is now building out a new 70,000 square foot facility in a former steel mill. Once completed, it's expected to grow 2 million pounds of greens per year, making it the largest indoor vertical farm in the world."

Predicting weather

A new tool for BIM? A new "stunning interactive website, that allows you to see global wind and weather patterns."

from: https://www.windyty.com/?rain,43.936,-127.250,4



and: http://brilliantmaps.com/wind-map/

P.S. Want to know what BIM means? Check this out:
http://www.curbed.com/2016/7/11/12149096/architecture-glossary-architect-terms

Sustainable energy generation

"Stranded from mainland British Columbia’s main electricity grid by some 100 kilometres off the Hecate Strait, Haida Gwaii relies mostly on diesel generators to keep the lights on, which is something B.C. Hydro and island communities would like to change — and a local company wants to help."

“The main objective is to get us off (burning) 10 million litres per year of diesel (to generate electricity) for 2,500 people,” said Clyde Greenough, Yourbrook’s business manager and a partner in the venture. Yourbrook, which is spearheaded by a group of local entrepreneurs, is pitching a concept for harnessing the powerful tides in Masset Inlet to drive a separate hydroelectric system."

from: http://vancouversun.com/business/energy/haida-gwaii-company-looks-to-tap-tides-as-source-of-island-power

and: "On May 8—a particularly sunny and windy day—Germany’s renewable energy mix of solar, wind, hydropower and biomass generated so much power that it met 88 percent of the country’s total electricity demand, or 55 GW out of 63 GW being consumed."

from: http://myscienceacademy.org/2016/05/19/germany-generated-so-much-renewable-energy-it-paid-people-to-use-it/

Lighting the way

"Light pollution hides views of the cosmos and causes a host of environmental problems. But architectural and landscape lighting can be designed so that it is sensitive to the night sky and ecosystems yet still responds to clients’ requirements."

"What is light pollution? Mark Major, principal of London-based lighting design firm Speirs + Major, explains simply that since illumination is a byproduct of energy, if you are using more than is required, or you are putting it where it isn’t desired or necessary, “by definition, that is pollution.”

"The outdoor lighting strategies recommended by IDA include luminaires that are shielded to direct light downward rather than up into the sky, are only as bright as necessary, and shut off or dim after hours. Strasser sums up the basics of outdoor lighting as “light where you need it, when you need it, and no more. Everything else is just waste.”



from: http://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/11814-designing-for-the-dark

Green districts

"Our definition of a green district is a densely populated and geographically cohesive area that is located within a city and employs technologies and design elements to reduce resource use and pollution. In general, green districts deploy design principles that lead to dense, transit-oriented, mixed-use developments; they also consider using renewable energy sources."

from: http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability-and-resource-productivity/our-insights/building-the-cities-of-the-future-with-green-districts

Peak oil

"Call it peak fossil fuels, a turnabout that's happening not because we're running out of coal and gas, but because we're finding cheaper alternatives."

from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-13/we-ve-almost-reached-peak-fossil-fuels-for-electricity