Risky play and treehouses

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

www.baumraum.de

Kids need the adventure of ‘risky’ play

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.

link> The Guardian

Electricity through my window

MIT opens new ‘window’ on solar energy

Cost effective devices expected on market soon

glass facades

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.

…

LINK

> http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/solarcells-0710.html

WIRED SCIENCE: See-Through Solar Hack Could Double Panel Efficiency:

LINK> blog.wired.com

Energy from waste and the bottom of the sea

Vaasa Housing Exhibition runs on waste

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.

(link) HBL continue>

(link) Pohjalainen

(link) Asuntomessut

The living housing block

La tour vivante - the vertical farm

Grow your own food!

Would you have ever thought it conceivable to grow vast amounts of produce in the heart of densely populated cities ?

The concept of eco-tower “Tour Vivante” aim is to associate agricultural hydroponic production, dwelling and activities in a single and vertical system.

A continuous agriculture, emancipated from seasons and climatic hazards (drought, flood, weather), which provides a production 5 to 6 time better than open fields cultures.

Tour Vivante allows a local production and to wipe out transportation needed for food supply and thus, the process of the very energy-consuming preservation.

The hydroponic agricultural production purifies the districts air by the provision of plants oxygen.
An efficient use of salvaged rainwater is transformed into drinking water by the evaporation/respiration of plants.
Tour Vivante generates a large amount of methane or electricity by the fermentation of food waste and vegetals.

Located at the top of the tower, two large windmill directed towards the dominant winds produce electricity facilitated by the height of the tower. The produced electric power is about 200 to 600 kWh per annum.

4 500 m of photovoltaic panels included into the facades generate electricity from solar energy.

This tower will have as well : Rainwater and Black water systems, Ecological or recycled materials and Thermal and hygrometrical regulation.

Vertical farming could revolutionize the way we produce food. This new model could replace, traditional farming methods. This is one idea where the sky is truly the limit.

www.livingtower.new.fr

atelier soA architectes

Barn architecture

Galpón Barn in Chile

Modern interpretation of the traditional barn in Chile by Cazú Zegers AIRA Arquitectos.

www.cazuzegers.cl

Rakentamisen Ruusu 2007

Rakentamisen Ruusu 2007
	Uusi asuntoarkkitehtuuri ja lähiympäristön suunnittelu sekä julkiset kaupunkitilat saivat tällä kertaa rakentamisen ruusuja Helsingissä. Tunnustuksen arkkitehti Jarmo Pulkkiselle luovutti rakennuslautakunnan puheenjohtaja Kauko Koskinen 5.2.2008 kaupungintalolla. Kunniamaininnan saivat professori, arkkitehti Vilhelm Helander ja arkkitehti Juha Ilonen. Arkkitehti Jarmo Pulkkinen Rohkeasta, peräänantamattomasta ja paikan olosuhteet ymmärtävästä asuntosuunnittelusta, jossa kaupunkimaiseen asumiseen ja korkeatasoiseen arkkitehtuuriin yhdistyvät pientaloasumisen parhaat piirteet. (link) Herttoniemenrannan pientalot /HS Professori, arkkitehti Vilhelm Helander Johdonmukaisesta ja ravistelevasta huomion kiinnittämisestä julkiseen kaupunkitilaan. Ylittämättömään rakennushistorian tuntemukseen yhdistyy luova opetustoiminta ja suunnittelu. “Katajanokalle toteutetaan parhaillaan salaiseksi luokiteltua valtakunnallista hätäkeskusta kalliosuojaan maan alle. Maanalaisetkin suojat tarvitsevat yhteyksiä maan päälle. Ensimmäiset versiot maan päälle tulevista rakennelmista olivat huonosti Katajanokan historiallisesti arvokkaaseen kaupunkirakenteeseen sovitettuja. Kaupunkikuvaneuvottelukunnankin aloitteesta rakennelmia suunnittelemaan kutsuttiin professori Vilhelm Helander. Helander onnistuikin sijoittamaan välttämättömät maanpäälliset rakenteet suurella taituruudella osaksi olemassa olevia rakenteita. Ne jopa täyttävät suojan salaisuusvaatimusta paremmin kuin alkuperäinen suunnitelma konsanaan. Tärkeintä on luonnollisesti se, että suoja ei turmele maailmanluokan mittakaavassa arvokasta Katajanokan julkista kaupunkitilaa.”   Arkkitehti Juha Ilonen: Olohuone Helsinki Innovatiivisista avauksista arkkitehtuurin marginaalissa, jossa vuosikymmeniä laiminlyödyt urbaanit tilat löytävät ennenäkemättömiä uusia ulottuvuuksia. (link) Juha Ilonen “Olohuone Helsinki

Helsingin rakennusvalvontavirasto press release (in Finnish) .pdf

The Squatted Office

The idea of `The Squatted Office´ touches me because of several issues; first, it continues my theme of Forbidden Places. It also comes close as to the personal experience I have on being offered (the now almost a rule) part-time work and work contracts of 3-6 months, and the problem of expensive housing costs in relation to wages. But the idea and the fact of working only part-time also describes the feeling of freedom you get from being able (albeit economically barely) to not dedicate your entire life to work controlled by somebody else, and the freedom of not being dictated by the mindless squirrel wheel.

Mind you, as this article shows, the time not working for your bread is not spent idle, this time gives one the opportunity to work and study something that really interest you without fear of not following the company agenda. One is free to concentrate on what one loves, and interests of love are seldom treated lightly. This kind of passionate work is much more productive than work done only for money.

Progressive working environments are starting to grasp the idea of “working for love” slowly. There are some books (that immediately became cult books) on the issue, for example “The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida” a book that keeps coming up on seminars time after time. One can hear the cry in the air for a solution from companies and government on what to do when educated people will not dance after the same steps employers have made them dance the past years. What will companies do, when money is not any more the primus motor of the creative class they need so badly?

`The squatted office´ is also close at heart because it brings to mind a friend of mine who as early as the 1970-80´s turned his government work place into something that I could now call a “creative nest” (…or borderline “anarchist nest”). Imagine one of those city bureaus of monotonous facades and people in cubicles (koppikonttori), and suddenly one cubicle with a grand piano in it, music, books not directly related to the work being studied, and an employee not following the 9-17 time scheme. Of course in those days in ultra-conservative small town Finland it was bound to create a lot of stir…well, in most of the Finnish governmental offices it would still do that, when even trying to get the time card coded not to call security after 20.00 is impossible. The rise of the creative class has not by far yet entered our governing institutions.

The issues brought forward by the article touch also on many flaming themes in our society. Not long ago, the press announced that manly because of high housing costs, to be able to live in Helsinki, a family needs to earn minimum 3000 euros/month. This exceeds the earnings of many. Could squatting your work place be part of a solution? If you feel at home on your work place, if you also could bring family and friends there, spend time and cook there, could it replace some of the costly space in your big home?

Employers should take a close look on the concept of work attached living (tulevaisuuden työsuhdeasunto). //aito

Romantic Stories from the Revolution in the Attic

This just in from our friends in Bulgaria. We thought it was worth sharing here as an Eastern European counterpoint to the article about squatting one’s workplace that appeared in the first issue of Rolling Thunder.

This story starts a little before the end of my last term in the university. I’d spent four really crazy years in the students’ hostels in the well known “Students’ Town” in Sofia. The end of the term was coming and my life in the students’ hostel was about to end, too. I had to find a new place for living very fast if I wanted to stay in Sofia. I thought over a lot of options for renting, but all the rents were very expensive for me. I was working for a web page at that time. The job was pretty nice—I used to write news and concert reports, prepare photos, and do kind of a primitive book-keeping at the office. The best thing was that I had one or two free weeks every month and I was able to travel all around the country during this time, but the bad thing was that my salary was very low. It appeared that if I wanted to rent a lodging I had to find more “serious” and well-paid job. For me this was like putting a chain around myself and working the whole month only to get enough money to pay my rent and food, and hopefully to save some money to enjoy the weekends. I didn’t like this idea at all, because I didn’t want to sell my leisure time for a wage.

Then a great idea dawned on me. I thought of squatting my workplace. My boss was living abroad and he was staying in Bulgaria only for some periods of time. I had nothing to lose, so I decided to try it. The office was an attic with two rooms and an anteroom. I had little baggage in Sofia at that time, because my future was unclear and after I left the students’ hostel I was sleeping at the homes of my friends. With my backpack, I was like a snail with my home on my back. So I quietly moved in my office and hid my stuff in a cardboard box. >continue

MAO - Program for Land Use and Housing

För ett mera urbant Helsingfors

Var finns byggherrarna som är villiga att till dagens kostnader bygga bostäder till morgondagens prisnivå?

Vad har de skyhöga bostadspriserna i huvudstadsregionen gemensamt med klimatförändringen?

Jo, programmet för markanvändning och boende i Helsingfors 2008-2017 avviker radikalt från tidigare bostadspolitiska program. Den här gången är programmet både mera långsiktigt och mera mångsidigt än tidigare, och det syftar konsekvent till att utveckla huvudstaden i hållbar riktning.

När stadsfullmäktige i kväll behandlar dokumentet tar de ställning för - eller emot - en utveckling mot tätare och högre bebyggelse, mindre beroende av personbilar, mera hyresbostäder, bättre energieffektivitet med mera sådant.

Motiveringarna handlar om bostadsbrist men också om växthusgaser och arbetskraftsbrist.

Den kollektiva bastun gör comeback, hyresbostäder får vara mindre än 75 kvadratmeter, stadsstrukturen förtätas överallt inom räckhåll för spårbunden kollektivtrafik, elvärme tillåts inte som huvudsaklig värmekälla i nybyggen, de som lever utan bil ska inte betala för bilplatserna de inte behöver, normer införs för antalet cykelplatser …

Helhetsgreppet på stadsplaneringen är mer än välkommet, likaså den kvantitativa ambitionen: att under de närmaste tio åren få sammanlagt 50 000 nya bostäder byggda i Helsingfors, i medeltal 5 000 per år.

För att bostadspolitiken ska uppfylla klimatpolitiska kriterier måste också den existerande bebyggelsen förtätas så att befolkningsunderlaget för både kollektivtrafik och annan service stärks. Bland metoderna som kan komma i fråga finns ökad byggrätt, ändrad användning och vindsbyggande.
Ska intentionerna kunna fullföljas krävs det nya finansieringsmodeller men också att beslutsfattarna får invånarna med sig, mobiliserade för ett mera urbant Helsingfors än hittills.

Valårets tema är givet. Väljarna i Helsingfors måste förmås att sluta vakta sina “egna” bakgårdar.

HBL , Johanna Westman

Green roof cityscape

Cityscape of flowers

The answer to lost urban wildlife habitats could be found right above our heads thanks to Lindum Wildflower, a ready-made wildflower meadow perfect for ‘green roofs’, which is being developed and tested by Lindum in association with the Landscape Department at the University of Sheffield.

Lindum Wildflower contains a range of wildflower species growing in a biodegradable felt. Using patented Grassfelt technology, it is easy to install, as it can simply be rolled out onto a rooftop like a carpet. >continue

MAKSARUOHOMATON EDUT

- Lisätty vedenvarastointikyky 70-90 % sademäärästä varastoituu Tämä tarkoittaa minimaalista päivittäisveden kuormitusta, samoin vedenkulutusta, jotta maksaruohomaton kasvu saadaan parhaiten onnistumaan. - sitoo pölyä ja haitallisia aineita - äänieristyskyky, niin sisällä kuin ulkona - voidaan käyttää pienillä ja suurilla kattopinnoilla - parantaa ilmastoa kasvipeitekerroksensa avulla * ei lämmitä kattopintaa ja täten ei aiheuta heijastavaa sätelyä * hidas haihtumaan, johtuen vesikylläisyydestä, joka puolestaan vaikuttaa sisätilojen viilenemisenä kesäkautena - pidentää kattopeitteiden elinikää * vähentää lämpötilan muutoksia 80:stä jopa 25 asteeseen saakka * antaa UV-suojan kattopeittelille - varastoi lämpöä, vähentää sisätilojen viilenemistä talvikautena ja täten vähentää lämmityskustannuksia - luo elinolosuhteita eläimille ja kasveille - parantaa ekologista tasapainoa - vähentää kustannuksia * pienemmät lämmityskustannukset * alla olevan eristyksen elinikä pitenee - parantaa ekologista tasapainoa

www.turf.co.uk

Housing project