MArch.Projects
MArch Sustainable Environmental Design 2012-2014 MArch 2012-14 Adriana Briseno Campos Camila Della Bitta Alessandra Ghione Shanuli Gupta Javier Guzman Dominguez Sooseok Kim Juan Montoliu Sanyukta Pande Mileni Pamfili Shravan Pradeep Kartikeya Rajput Chandhana Ramesh Harshini Sampath Kumar Amedeo Scofone Danielle Severino Polina Vorobyeva Yiping Zhu MArch Phase II Tutors Klaus Bode Paula Cadima Jorge Rodriguez Simos Yannas Reviewers Gustavo Brunelli Joana Gonçalves Catherine Harrington Dean Hawkes Joy-Anne Mowbray Harald Røstvik
Produced by Simos Yannas and Byron Mardas © AA SED 2014
Architectural Association School of Architecture MArch Dissertations 2014 The conditions for a symbiotic relationship between buildings and the urban environments they form and occupy are the key concerns of the AA School’s masters programme in Sustainable Environmental Design (SED). The dynamic energy exchanges characterising this relationship foster distinct changes in the climates of cities, the environmental performance of buildings, and the resulting comfort and energy consumption of their inhabitants. Knowledge and understanding of the physical principles underlying these exchanges, along with the conceptual and computational tools to translate them into an ecological architecture and urbanism, form the core of the taught programme in sustainable environmental design. Design research within the programme engages with real-life problems aiming to provide alternatives to the global architecture and brute force engineering that are still the norm in most large cities. Key objectives of all SED projects are to improve environmental conditions in cities, achieve independence from non-renewable energy sources and develop an environmentally-sustainable architecture able to respond to diverse occupant requirements inside and the variable natural cycles and mundane activities outside. This publication marks the conclusion of the eighth cycle of the MArch in Sustainable Environmental Design. It features snapshots of 17 MArch dissertation projects that were started in the summer term 2013, with work initially organised in teams and focused thematically on predesign research, followed by individual field studies on location abroad and design development in the MArch studio from October 2013 with submission due 14 February 2014. With project sites in 17 cities and 10 different countries, this year’s schemes are spread between Chile’s Atacama Desert in the West and Seoul, South Korea in the East, and from Moscow in the North to Buenos Aires in the South, encompassing a wide range of climates and urban contexts to address fundamental questions about the where and the how of living and working in cities in the immediate future. The projects are introduced here in a thematic sequence. This starts with six schemes concerned with new residential development following critical changes respectively in Spain, Italy, Greece, Argentina and India. These are followed by three projects which address distinctly different issues of temporary accommodation. The other eight schemes address issues of the work environment ranging from that of primary school children in Mexico and China, to the fishermen along the southern coast of India, and office workers across India, Russia and South Korea. Project presentations will take place in the Lecture Hall on Tuesday 21 January and the MArch Studio on Wednesday 22 January 2014.
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Javier Guzman
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Amedeo Scofone
Reshaping Cities after Natural Disasters
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Mileni Pamfili
Redefi ni ng Urban L i v i ng
Seville, Spain : 37.39 o N 5.90 o W
L’Aquila, Italy : 42.35 o N.13.39 o E
Athens, Greece : 37.98 o N 23.73 o E
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Camila Della Bitta
Re t h i n g t h e m a r ke t- d r i v e n U r b a n B l o c k
Chandhana Ramesh
Residential Community o n Va s t u S h a s t r a
Kartikeya Rajput
S e l f - S u f f i c i e n t Housing in the desert
BuenosAires,Argentina : 34.59o S 58.37o W
Chennai, India : 13.09 o N 80.25 o E
Jaisalmer, India : 26.92 o N 70.90 o E
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Juan Montoliú
Crisis Architecture Castellón, Spain : 39.98 o N 0.04 o W
Alessandra Ghione
Ta k e - A w a y A r c h i t e c t u r e Venice, Italy : 45.45 o N 12.32 o E
Danielle Severino
Layering Microclimates Atacama, Chile : 22.96 o S 67.75 o W
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Harshini S.Kumar
Respite Architecture Pondicherry, India : 11.91o N 79.8o E
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Shravan Pradeep
T h e Work
2 4 - h o u r Environment
Bangalore,India : 12.98 o N 77.61 o E
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Po l i n a Vo ro b ye va
Adaptive Building Skins Moscow, Russia : 55.75 o N 37.62 o E
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Adriana Briseño
Community School San Luis Potosí, México : 22.60 o N 100.43 o W
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Sanyukta Pande
Corporate Environment
New Delhi, India : 28.64o N 77.22o E
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Sustainable Built Forms in High-density Urban Areas Seoul,South Korea : 37.57 o N 126.97 o E
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Extending Spaces and F a d i n g B o r d e r s Xiamen, China : 24.48 o N 118.09 o E
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Shanuli Gupta
D e s i g n o f O f f i c e buildings in Mumbai Mumbai, India : 18.55 o N 72.54 o E
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Seville, Spain : 37.39o N 5.90o W
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infrastracture Javier Guzman Dominguez
The unexpected economic crisis in Spain has left empty plots and unused infrastructures awaiting the recovery that will enable their progressive development, following a slow process which will require new architectural and urban design approaches. This project has taken as its site one of those abandoned urban infrastructures located in Seville, in the South of Spain. There is a unique opportunity to modify the landscape, residential plots and the nature of the future built form on the leftover urban infrastructure alleviating the environmental issues that have accompanied conventional urban development. The proposals will progressively generate a new ‘Rural-Urban’ fusion in which the urban microclimate will have had the time to develop assets cities are commonly deprived of. Over the next 15-30 years the existing infrastructure will be remodelled toward a zero carbon emission city that will also benefit the climatic design and performance of the residential buildings to be built on the site.
Reshaping Cities after Natural Disasters Amedeo Scofone
L’ Aquila, Italy : 42.35o N 13.39o E
In 2009 a massive earthquake destroyed the old town of L’Aquila, depriving the city of a historic residential and commercial centre. This project has explored the feasibility of residential neighbourhoods that take over the functions of the old town, but which can be integrated with the rest of the city when the historic centre is made operative again. Sited at altitude on a hill and surrounded by mountains the city enjoys a sunny climate with cold winters. The design proposals draw upon the traditional features of Italian hill towns, -their narrow streets, small squares, and mixed-use buildings-, aiming to provide good environments, indoors and outdoors, maintaining the high density of dwellings and activities.
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R e d e f i n i n g Athens, Greece : 37.98o N 23.73o E
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L i v i n g Mileni Pamfili
Feverish urbanization has left the city of Athens with a degraded urban environment depriving its inhabitants of quality outdoor spaces that are a cultural expectation as well as climatic assets. The aim of this project is to rediscover the lost quality of the city’s environment by exploring the interactions and transitions between indoor and outdoor environments taking account of the complexity of the present urban context and the significant climate change experienced in recent years. The proposals are for a residential site close to the centre that offers the opportunity to reinterpret the design of the urban block and the relationships of its constituents with each other and with the resulting private and public outdoor spaces.
Rethink the market-driven Urban Block Buenos Aires, Argentina : 34.59o S 58.37o W
Camila Della Bitta
The continuous growth of the city of Buenos Aires has led to the progressive eradication of its heritage houses, thus altering the identity of neighbourhoods, as well as eliminating outdoor public spaces which provided social encounter while helping to mitigate the city’s urban heat island effect. This project rethinks the design of a typical, high-rise dense residential block in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires. On the one hand, the proposals are concerned with improving overall environmental quality and minimizing energy consumption within developer’s capital cost limits. On the other, the project proposes improvements to existing heritage houses within the block in order to avoid their demolition thus preserving their interesting spatiality which creates a sense of the house in the middle of the city. Additionally, the scheme explores the potential of open spaces within the urban block as well as at roof level to provide well-tempered environments for communal activities.
Residential Community on Vastu Shastra Chennai, India : 13.09o N 80.25o E
Chandhana Ramesh
With expanding cities, high density of population and dense traffic, employees have to travel hours to get to the office and back. “Work from Home� is now a business option for IT personnel in India to curtail costs, save time and retain talent. The project aims to create a residential environment that meets comfort requirements for the warm-humid climate of Chennai. Contemporary passive strategies are combined with the traditional principles of Vastu Shastra that are commonly applied in the region. Each residence provides workspaces that can be used flexibly at different times of the day and year. Manually operable features provide adaptive strategies for different seasonal conditions. Interaction with the outdoor is a cultural and psychological need and is addressed with both private and public spaces.
Self-sufficient Housing in the Desert Jaisalmer, India : 26.92o N 70.90o E
Kartikeya Rajput
Desert regions occupy over one-fifth of earth’s land and are inhabited by five percent of world population, of which 94% in developing countries. The Thar desert in Rajasthan, India has seen a large increase in the migration of unprivileged groups, as it provides land for expansion in an already overcrowded country. This housing project draws its inspiration from the planning and building principles of the traditional architecture of Jaisalmer to create a sustainable habitat. The scheme combines environmental strategies and social integration linking work, shelter and cultivation opportunities aiming at self-sufficiency.
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Castellón, Spain : 39.98o N 0.04o W
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Spain’s housing crisis has dramatically struck the country not just in economic terms, but also socially and environmentally. On the one hand, extremely high unemployment rate has led to hundreds of thousands of families being evicted and finding themselves unable to repay unaffordable mortgages. On the other, the country is steadily becoming a nation of ‘ghost towns’ filled with unfinished buildings and entirely empty housing estates that are left abandoned creating a housing surplus that is approaching one million dwellings. This proposal aims to provide an urgent and affordable housing alternative for crisis-affected people by colonizing unfinished buildings in a temporary manner, while at the same time reactivating the deserted new developments protecting them from informal occupancy.
T a k e - A w a y Venice, Italy : 45.45o N 12.32o E
A r c h i t e c t u r e Alessandra Ghione
In the municipality of Venice, demand by visitors for accommodation other than in hotels has been rising in the last ten years. This project offers a novel approach for meeting this demand. This takes the form of a take-away architecture that leaves no sign of its existence once its occupants have left. The building elements arrive flat-pack at a storage site where each unit is assembled to be fitted either on a floating platform or set-up on land. The structure of the units is light and modular, easy and fast to assemble. The building elements have adjustable environmental properties so as to provide adaptive responses over the daily and seasonal cycles. Seasonal and climate change adjustments are undertaken as part of unit assembly, with daily adaptations under the control of the occupants. The design proposals allow the units to be inhabitable comfortably throughout the year providing a dynamic design solution.
L a y e r i n g
M i c r o c l i m a t e s
Atacama, Chile : 22.96o S 67.75o W
Danielle Severino
“...the desert is the perfect place for fantasy: in a landscape where nothing officially exists, absolutely anything becomes thinkable, and may consequently happen.� (Banham 1982, p.44) Privileged climatic conditions have drawn the international astronomical community to the Atacama Desert where the ALMA observatory facilities are sited some 2900m above sea level. The high technological achievement of the observatory is in stark contrast to the poor environmental conditions and high energy use of the accommodation provided for the scientists. This project proposes new housing facilities for staff as well as visitors’ facilities for tourists. The design proposals draw from the vernacular architecture of the region relying on passive techniques and renewable energy sources.
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Pondicherry, India : 11.91o N 79.81o E
Harshini Sampath Kumar
The city of Pondicherry in the south-east of India has a strong coastline dotted with fishing communities that were badly affected by the recent tsunami. Government initiatives to develop beach tourism have led to uncontrolled dispersal of fishing activities leading to an inefficient system as well as exposure to uncomfortable working conditions under high temperatures and intense solar radiation. This project takes the issues encountered in Pondicherry as a base case for considering alternatives for improving the livelihood and working conditions of the fishermen and their families. The design objective is to provide the conditions for the creation of a sustainable community, environmentally as well as socially and economically.
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San Luis Potosí, México : 22.60o N 100.43o W
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State schools in the city of San Luis Potosi are poorly constructed on very low budget. Classrooms are very densely occupied and suffer from poor indoor air quality and high internal temperatures. Such environmental problems have a negative effect on the learning of school children. The climatic conditions of the region, characterised by large temperature differences between day and night, provide design potential for improving ventilation and excess heat dissipation. The design proposals can be realised at low cost using local materials, such as bamboo and recycled bottles, and optimising glazing ratios without compromising daylighting. The construction of the school will allow parents, teachers and children to get involved, creating a sense of community and belonging.
Extending Spaces and Fading Borders P
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Xiamen, China : 24.48o N 118.09o E
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Pedagogic research reveals that school activities are becoming increasingly diversified and flexible, and many are better carried out in protected outdoor spaces. Climate analysis and fieldwork on location in Xiamen led to the conclusion that most parts of the school building can be open to the outdoor environment most of the year. This option provides a mechanism for alleviating the problem of the very high occupation density common in China. The proposed design incorporates various transitional spaces that serve as extensions of the traditional classroom spaces on each floor providing flexible learning spaces within a dense urban context. Detailed studies were undertaken to assess thermal and daylight performance including glare control and solar protection. Permeable and movable building elements feature extensively and are carefully designed to achieve good environmental conditions for occupants in different seasons and situations. The architectural language of the building blurs conventional spatial boundaries providing a dynamic expression of diverse visual and thermal experiences that respond to occupant requirements.
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Bangalore, India : 12.98o N 77.61o E
E n v i r o n m e n t Shravan Pradeep
Bangalore is one of the world’s IT capitals, catering to global service industries around the clock. It’s office buildings are typically of the “glass box” type, fully dependent on mechanical airconditioning day and night, all year. Occupants are squeezed in tight, monotonous spaces with little connection to the outside and no control over individual environmental conditions. The design proposals provide a shift toward more open spaces that allow work to spill into outdoor areas which in this climate provide desirable environmental conditions day and night for much of the year. The built form has been designed around a central atrium with social spaces forming the spine of the building. These act as buffer ‘boxes’ between the outside and the central working zones, separated with movable screens creating areas with varied daylight levels inside and a dynamic façade on the outside.
C o r p o r a t e New Delhi, India : 28.64o N 77.22o E
E n v i r o n m e n t s Sanyukta Pande
Office buildings in Delhi follow developers’ interest to maximise floor spacew with little consideration to employee comfort, work patterns, climate or site conditions. Delhi has a complex climate which varies significantly between the seasons and reaches periods of extreme heat. A key environmental challenge is to design buildings with the capacity to adjust to these variations. The design concept for the proposed building is an inward-looking courtyard, surrounded by interlocking blocks. The courtyard along with open spaces at every level serve as extensions of the functional workspace at times when the weather permits and use of these spaces is agreeable to the building’s occupants. The willingness of occupants to work in different parts of the building rather than at a fixed desk is a starting point for a diverse work environment.
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Mumbai, India : 18.55o N 72.54o E
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M u m b a i Shanuli Gupta
Office buildings designed with little attention to the external environment rely entirely on mechanical air-conditioning. The climate of Mumbai is not extreme, but it has a prolonged humid period lasting up to five month. The design is based on a simple plan which maximises the benefits of daylight and ventilation, while providing protection from direct sun and rain. Large protected balconies encourage working outside when temperatures are within comfort range. Adjustable louvers keep out unwanted noise and heat. The layout of work areas is adjastable and can be adapted to needs.
A d a p t i v e Moscow, Russia : 55.75o N 37.62o E
B u i l d i n g
S k i n Polina Vorobyeva
Despite the continuous growth of the Russian office building sector, current designs are still behind the environmental standards that contemporary architecture should aim to. The climate of Moscow is in the continental zone, characterized by extremely cold winters and warm summers. In aiming to find a balance between winter and summer, the form and detailing of the building envelope are key aspects of the proposed design.
Sustainable Built Forms in High-density Urban Areas Seoul, South Korea : 37.57o N 126.97o E
Sooseok Kim
The project explored built forms and adaptive architectural devices, such as movable skins and roofs, in response to the fluctuating microclimates of the dense urban environment of Seoul. The design process made use of parametric studies to help control solar radiation and airflow. The final design aims at providing flexibility with a dynamic form which integrates existing buildings with new office and commercial spaces while securing outdoor activities to citizens throughout the year.