A simple mission: “to generate design opportunities that will improve living standards for all” by providing an open-source platform through which ANYone can view, post, share, and adapt sustainable, humanitarian-based, scalable solutions. The idea that designs and all associated documents can and should be shared within the decidedly proprietary architectural industry is truly innovative, and could very well aid in the reshaping of the entire architectural profession into a more socially-focused and responsible vocation. Architecture for humanity; Cameron Sinclair on TED talks//aito
“Theo Jansen has been creating wind-walking examples of artificial life since 1990. What was at first a rudimentary breed has slowly evolved into a generation of machines that are able to react to their environment: “over time, these skeletons have become increasingly better at surviving the elements such as storms and water and eventually I want to put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so they will live their own lives.” From >Inhabitat
These sculptural ‘animals’ are amazing; like a combination of DaVinci and David Cronenberg. Jansen has hit upon a form that resonates with a sense of the future/past as present; fairy tales, dinosaurs and mythical beasts.
Artist Joshua Allen Harris´ plastic bag polar bear
Polar bears, polar bears. Those ubiquitous symbols of climate change. Cute and cuddly, ethereal and majestic, they’re popping up everywhere - including atop subway grates on the streets of New York City. Artist Joshua Allen Harris has created quite an online buzz with his puppy-like inflatable plastic bag polar bear: it inflates and deflates with the passing of subterranean subway trains, springing to life and then fading away in a vital commentary on global warming.
As architects we often get frustrated by building codes. Finnish building codes are strict, and cut in stone, there are no excuses made. A step higher than 40-50 cm; has to have a safety rail of 90 cm high. Apple trees in apartment building gardens; forbidden, raw apples can be toxic if consumed in huge quantities (and I mean HUGE). A staircase cannot be too narrow or too steep - ever. Etc, etc. By all these rules we think we make the world safer. But is safety first right? We are actually by eliminating risk, also eliminating part of life, and the process of learning. Learning gives you joy and confidence. And arent small risks so much more fun than someone telling you “play NOW!”.//aito
A major study says parents harm their children’s development if they ban tree-climbing
A major study by Play England, part of the National Children’s Bureau, found that half of all children have been stopped from playing; climbing trees, playing conkers or taking part in games of tag or chase. Some parents are going to such extreme lengths to protect their children from danger that they have even said no to hide-and-seek.
‘Children are not being allowed many of the freedoms that were taken for granted when we were children,’ said Adrian Voce, director of Play England. ‘They are not enjoying the opportunities to play outside that most people would have thought of as normal when they were growing up.’
Voce argued that it was becoming a ’social norm’ for younger children to be allowed out only when accompanied by an adult. ‘Logistically that is very difficult for parents to manage because of the time pressures on normal family life,’ he said. ‘If you don’t want your children to play out alone and you have not got the time to take them out then they will spend more time on the computer.’
Voce pointed out how irrational some of these decisions were. Last year, almost three times as many children were admitted to hospital after falling out of bed as those who had fallen from a tree.
The tendency to wrap children in cotton wool has transformed how they experience childhood. According to the research, 70 per cent of adults had their biggest childhood adventures in outdoor spaces among trees, rivers and woods, compared with only 29 per cent of children today. The majority of young people questioned said that their biggest adventures took place in playgrounds.
Voce said Play England was determined to spread the message that children ought to be taking risks and that it is ‘not the end of the world if a child has an accident’. The latest study will be launched on Wednesday to coincide with Play Day, when hundreds of events will take place across the country to celebrate children’s right to play. It will show that play providers also feel the opportunities for children to ‘test and challenge themselves in play involving a level of risk’ have reduced over the past decade. They blame overcautious health and safety officers and the fear of litigation if children have accidents.
Imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of. MIT engineers report a new approach to harnessing the sun’s energy that could allow just that.
The work, to be reported in the July 11 issue of Science, involves the creation of a novel “solar concentrator.” “Light is collected over a large area [like a window] and gathered, or concentrated, at the edges,” explains Marc A. Baldo, leader of the work and the Esther and Harold E. Edgerton Career Development Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering.
As a result, rather than covering a roof with expensive solar cells (the semiconductor devices that transform sunlight into electricity), the cells only need to be around the edges of a flat glass panel. In addition, the focused light increases the electrical power obtained from each solar cell “by a factor of over 40,” Baldo says.
Because the system is simple to manufacture, the team believes that it could be implemented within three years–even added onto existing solar-panel systems to increase their efficiency by 50 percent for minimal additional cost. That, in turn, would substantially reduce the cost of solar electricity.
Vaarallisia ajatuksia- Dangerous Thoughts - that is something the guys at Demos like. Imagine year 2050 they say: most of the worlds population will live in “slums”; self-built cities. `This is our salvation!´ the men state. Wait a moment?
Wikicity is the city of voice. It’s the place of opportunity superior to the gold paved streets of another utopia, it is where opportunity is something you create together. It’s the place where man (hopefully woman, too…) can create his own surroundings. It is organised anarchy - extremely alluring. Dangerous? Risky? Naive? Optimist? Innovative? Hopeful? Progressive? Unpredictable? Brilliant? YES!
Look at what we have as an option: people more and more disengaged in decisions on their own lives, more and more distrustful of neighbours, more and more alone, embedded into a blanket of that everything in life is -so well organized-.
Roope Mokka of Demos Helsinki wrote an article on “Thinking Cities” for the Monocle alongside Alain de Botton, Richard Florida, Jonathan Raban, Ricky Burdett and Richard Alston. //aito
The idea of self-built cities is the greatest promise for urban development. The idea is that we open up the creation of cities in the same way we have opened the compiling of encyclopedias and online-media to allow anyone to contribute. It’s the same principle that many industries are using to open up their R&D, design and marketing processes to their customers and which also inspires “open source” software development. Co-creating cities is one of the few positive developments in a problem-ridden tidal wave of urbanisation in the 21st century. And it’s one that could make us happier.
The core issue is that cities no longer enable us to live out our dreams. We have changed, but the cities haven’t. They remain the final bastions of modernistic design where users are seen as the masses and individuals are an obstacle. Even suburbia (on the surface a tasteless, mundane, hypermarket-bound high-carbon lifestyle) offers more potential for self-expression. That is why we fleeing cities. To lure us back we need cities that give us a voice. We need to take democracy to the next level, where it recognises our individual needs and dreams.
Demos NOW, an urban think tank, has created the concept of City 2.0 (PDF) - an urban ecosystem of social innovation, governance and social risk funding. We want to turn the Helsinki Metropolitan Area into a self-built city; a hi-tech low-carbon “slum” with an unforeseen and unpredictable quality of life. A Wikicity.
On the more conceptual side, this is FIRE! // aito
“The future belongs to a different kind of person,” Pink says. “Designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers — creative and empathetic right-brain thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn’t.” Pink claims we’re living in a different era, a different age. An age in which those who “Think different” may be valued even more than ever.
“…an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life — one that prizes aptitudes that I call ‘high concept’ and ‘high touch.’ High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative….High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction…”
WalkScore is developing colour coded walkability maps for cities. This is a great tool when buying an apartment, for tourists choosing hotels and for city and traffic planning. The basic score for Helsinki centre walkability is 74 out of maximum score 100 (Helsinki walkability).Hopefully we will soon have a full colour coded walkability map of Helsinki, too! //aito
Walkable communities tend to have the following characteristics:
A center: Walkable neighborhoods have a discernable center, whether it’s a shopping district, a main street, or a public space.
Density: The neighborhood is dense enough for local businesses to flourish and for public transportation to be cost effective.
Mixed income, mixed use: Housing is provided for everyone who works in the neighborhood: young and old, singles and families, rich and poor. Businesses and residences are located near each other.
Parks and public space: There are plenty of public places to gather and play.
Accessibility: The neighborhood is accessible to everyone and has wheelchair access, plenty of benches with shade, sidewalks on all streets, etc.
Well connected, speed controlled streets: Streets form a connected grid that improves traffic by providing many routes to any destination. Streets are narrow to control speed, and shaded by trees to protect pedestrians.
Pedestrian-centric design: Buildings are placed close to the street to cater to foot traffic, with parking lots relegated to the back.
Close schools and workplaces: Schools and workplaces are close enough that most residents can walk from their homes.
Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:
90 - 100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!
The houses at the Housing Exhibition 2008 in Vaasa will be heated by energy from the old abandoned waste dump and by energy from the bottom of the sea.
-”We realized that the temperature of the sea bottom a few metres deep will remain at +8-9 degrees celsius even in the coldest winter. Up on land at the same depth the temperature is only +3-4 degrees. “, one of the two innovators of the idea tells. “Even the experts were surprised”.
The housing exhibition area has its own energy station that transforms and moves out the energy into the city´s energy network. The methane gas taken to use from the old waste dump in Suvilahti will last for twenty years, but the sea is a huge energy reservoir. “There is potential for the future”, Mauri Lieskoski says.//aito
Från den nedlagda sopstationen i Sunnanvik transporteras metangas till en nybyggd energianläggning. Enheten, utrustad med bränslecell och mikroturbiner, producerar el och värme som sedan körs ut i Vasa Elektriskas nät. Totalt får över 40 småhus och tre höghus sin el- och värmeenergi via mässans kraftverk.
Juvelen i kronan är det lågtemperaturnät som suger upp jordvärme från ett 40 meter tjockt sedimentlager på havsbottnen. Nästan åtta kilometer rör är begravda under vattenytan i Stadsfjärden.
– Nätet ska vara i bruk året runt. På somrarna används det till att kyla ner husen, säger Mauri Lieskoski på företaget Mateve.
Det var Vasaborna Lieskoski och Pertti Reinikainen som gjorde den sensationella upptäckten. Deras mätningar visade att medeltemperaturen i jordlagret är 8–9 grader på 3–4 meters djup – vintertid. Uppe på landbacken, i torr mark, är motsvarande temperatur 3–4 grader.
– Haven och insjöarna är stora solpaneler. Det handlar om enorma energikällor och värmeförråd, säger Lieskoski.
– Den största utmaningen består i att fördela värmen på ett jämnt sätt. Det fungerar bra på ett avgränsat område men vi vet inte hur långt man kan transportera havsvärmen. Det krävs mera forskning.
Fyndet överraskade energispecialisten Jarmo Kallio på Geologiska forskningscentralen.
– Bottensedimentet lagrar solvärme effektivt under sommaren. Tack vare vattenmassorna avkyls det inte ens under kalla perioder. Här finns stor potential. Framtidens teknik
Bränslecellen har utvecklats av Wärtsilä. Kraftverket är det första i sitt slag som drivs med gas från en avstjälpningsplats. Mikroturbinerna och bränslecellen producerar en energimängd som motsvarar den årliga förbrukningen för 150 egnahem.
– Enheten tillverkar miljövänlig el- och värmeenergi med mycket hög verkningsgrad. Utsläppen ligger på en ultralåg nivå. Om några år kan man börja använda tekniken kommersiellt i hotell och butiker. Vi kommer till exempel att testa bränsleceller i fartygsmotorer, säger Juha Kytölä, vd på Wärtsilä Finland.
Sopstationen är ingen evig gasleverantör. Enligt Kytönen räcker metangasen i minst tjugo år, kanske längre.
– Fördelarna med decentraliserad energiproduktion är att kraftverken kan utnyttja lokala energikällor effektivare. Dessutom blir bränsletransporterna kortare. Stort intresse
Enligt Henrik Vehkaoja är lågtemperaturnätet en relativt billig affär för husbyggarna.
– Investeringskostnaderna är höga, men driften är billig. Intresset har varit stort. Merparten av husen kommer att vara anslutna till nätet.
Anslutningsavgiften för ett egnahem är 1 500 euro plus moms. Energiförbrukningen mäts inte men hushållen betalar en bruksrättsavgift på 2,50 euro plus moms per uppvärmd kvadratmeter och år.
Satsningen i Vasa har väckt uppmärksamhet också utomlands. I den senaste upplagan av State of the World, som ges ut av Worldwatch-institutet, används Vasaprojektet som exempel på att det går att producera energi ur biogas från avstjälpningsplatsen.
– Projektet kan tjäna som föredöme för hela energisektorn. Det här är hållbar utveckling och ekologiskt boende, säger projektchef Keijo Ullakko.
