City>Block>House by Ana Johns

Arch.MSc.2, 2013

Group 11 AD:MT

BIG BAD TITLE

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

MsC2 AAU 2013

TITLE SHEET Title City > Block > House Semester

Alexandra Graarup Vink

2.MSc. Project Sustainable Architecture

Ana Johns

Theme Zero energy and sustainability concepts Timespan

Daniela Siedler

Febuary 2013 - July 2013 Group # 11

Federico Gerhardinger

Main Supervisor Anne Bejder Technical Supervisor Jesper NĂ¸rgaard Pages 77

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE SHEET 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 ABSTRACT 6 FOREWORD 6 1.1 ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY 9

1.1.1 WHAT KIND OF SUSTAINABILITY? 1.1.2 SUSTAINABILITY, SUSTAINABILITIES 1.1.3 HIGH COST, HIGH TECH

9 9 10

1.2 ABOUT DWELLING 11

1.2.1 AT THE ROOTS OF ARCHITECTURE 1.2.2 FROM SCALE SLIDING TO SCALE

2.1 SITE INFORMATION 15

2.1.1 LOCATION 2.1.2 SURVEY

15 16

2.2 SCALE: CITY 18

2.2.1 URBAN FABRIC 2.2.2 ACTIVITIES - SERVICES 2.2.3 DYNAMICS 2.2.4 STRATEGY 2.2.5 RESIDENTIAL AREAS

18 19 20 21 22

2.3 SCALE: BLOCK 23

2.3.1 TYPOLOGIES 2.3.2 HIGH DENSITY - LOW DENSITY 2.3.3 ENTROPY 2.3.3 STRATEGY 2.4

SCALE: HOUSE

2.4.1 DETACHED DWELLING

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23 24 25 25 26

APARTMENT BLOCK 2.4.2 THE DANISH CULTURE OF DWELLING

2.4.2

2.5 USER GROUPS 29

2.5.1 THE AVERAGE MAN DOESN’T EXIST 2.5.2 USER PROFILES 2.5.3 TOTAL OR NEUTRAL DESIGN?

29 29 31

2.6 VISION AND TOOLS 32 3.1 CONCEPT 35 3.2 SCALE: CITY 36

3.2.1 MASTERPLAN

DEFINING ELEMENTS 3.2.3 PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC

38 40

3.2.2 3.2.5

DISTRIBUTION OF FUNCTIONS

3.3 SCALE: BLOCK 46

3.3.1 SHAPE AND SYMBOL 3.3.2 LIGHT AND HEAVY 3.3.2 ENERGY PROFILES 3.3.3 ABOVE AND BELOW

46 47 48 50

3.4 SCALE: HOUSE 53

3.4.1 THE DWELLINGS

5.1 KEY NUMBERS 68 5.2 VENTILATION 69 5.3 Be10 71 5.4 ENERGY PROFILE 72 5.5 Bsim 73

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

ABSTRACT This 2nd MSc project has the subject of “Sustainable Architecture”, and is concerned with the design proposal for a mixed-use zero-energy housing complex at the coast of Limfjorden in Aalborg. The main focus within the Sustainable Architecture is integrating the design of the project, considering at the same time the energy demand, the indoor quality of the apartments and the architectural aspects. Besides the building characteristics, the design also considers the urban and the suburban qualities and creates a complex in which these qualities are pointed out through one´s everyday experience.

FOREWORD This design book has been prepared by group 11, 2nd MSc Architecture 2013 at the department of Architecture, Design & Media Technology at Aalborg University. The Main title of the project is “Sustainable Architecture” and revolves around the design of a mixed-use zeroenergy housing complex at the coast of Limfjorden in Aalborg. The design is based on an integrated design approach to the theme. The book is divided into three main chapters: Method, Analysis and Project. These describe the progression from initial analysis to the final design. Attached is the drawing materials associated with the project.

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METHOD CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Sustainable dwelling is the theme of this project. Although the term is commonly used in everyday life and is widely publicized. However sustainable dwelling is a deeply complex concept. The two words lead to two wide fields of speculation and research. In this case, they are taken in consideration as keywords which define the approach to the design of a zero-energy housing complex on the outskirts of the city of Aalborg. Both during the analytic and the synthetic phase of the project, it has been applied a method which derives from the definition of a frame around the two mentioned concepts. This frame aims to set a common understanding of sustainability and dwelling, by answering to two questions: What elements are essential to define sustainability? What elements are essential to define dwelling?

MsC2 AAU 2013

1.1

ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY

1.1.1

WHAT KIND OF SUSTAINABILITY?

When referring to sustainability in architecture, the concept has to be considered in its wider meaning. Despite its common scientific-technical understanding, it is nowadays widely agreed that sustainability in architecture can be achieved only through the contribute of multifarious elements, some of which are related to the arts rather than to science. The wideness of the conceptual field on which the discussion around the essence of sustainability takes place allows a multitude of interpretations, from a vision which gives the greatest emphasis to the technical aspects, to a poetic vision in which “sustainability is about poetry, optimism and delight” as stated by Ellen Braae mentioning Adam Ritchie (Braae 2013).

1.1.2

Under the light of a process based on integrated design, both the two extremes should be taken in account. If the ultimate task of this project is to design a positive, healthy and delightful space, answering to Ritchie’s instances, the process will follow both the technical and the poetic route. Moreover, it is useful to recall the essential legacy which links the two extremes of art and technique, a concept that was widely agreed on in the classic Greece. As reminded by the Italian theoretician Vittorio Ugo, Aristotele conceived art as an interaction between katharsis (sublimation), mimesis (imitation) and tekhne (technique), and for the platonist Cassius Maximus Tyrius the artist needs to master the technique so to be able to reach the virtue through his art (Ugo 2008).

SUSTAINABILITY, SUSTAINABILITIES

Fig 1.1: the three streams of market, environment and society merging into sustainability.

As mentioned by Hanne Ring Hansen, researcher at the university of Aalborg, under the light of a holistic approach, sustainability has to merge three streams: environmental sustainability, social sustainability, economic sustainability (Hansen 2013). In fact, this plurality allows to speak of sustainabilities when referring to architecture. Environmental, social and economical sustainability are referred to as streams, as they involve a multitude of related concepts: the conceptual field covered by sustainability can then be represented in a diagram as a kind of tree (Fig 1.1).

Another form of representation is a Venn diagram where the intersection between the three sets of environmental, social and economic sustainability defines the holistic subset of sustainability (Fig 1.2). It is important to underline the constant interplay that takes place between the three sets. In an integrated design process, every action that run inside one of the three sets has an effect on all of them (Fig 1.3). Every decision made for the social purpose can have a negative impact by the environmental and economic points of view, and so forth. In a holistic approach, the perfect project is made by solutions that are positive in all the three fields.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Fig 1.2: Sustainability in an Euler-Venn type diagram.

1.1.3

Fig 1.3: A round vision of sustainability, underlining the dynamic between different elements.

HIGH COST, HIGH TECH

In this project, a focus was put on the themes of environmental and social sustainability, with an incidental concern for economic sustainability. Therefore, the architectural vision and technical solutions take the use of high quality materials and high level technologies into consideration; nevertheless, the project is conceived so to be feasible. Function and lifestyle of the inhabitants and the building regulations have a strong impact on how a project deals with economic sustainability. In order to meet the actual needs of the inhabitants in a residential complex in a developed country, it seems somehow inevitable to design high-cost buildings with the counterpart of the low expenses for maintenance and the achievement of the zero-energy level. Fig 1.4

Fig 1.4: Low-tech, low-cost. Hut to hut, designed by Rintala-Eggertsson Architects in India, is a brilliant example of a sustainable architecture where the use of basic technologies is allowed by climate and function. source: http://www.archilovers.com Fig 1.5: High-tech, high-cost. Home for life, is an active house built in Aarhus by AART. In this case, the higher energy demand and the qualities of the indoor environment are met by applying more expensive, higher level technoligies. source: http://www.openbuildings.com

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Fig 1.5

1.2

ABOUT DWELLING

1.2.1

AT THE ROOTS OF ARCHITECTURE

Dwelling has always been considered the first form of architecture. From the theory of Vitruvius, recovered in the Renaissance by Leon Battista Alberti, Filarete, Leonardo Da Vinci, to the Essai Sur l’Architecture by Marc Antoine Laugier, architecture is conceived as the answer to the basic human need for shelter (Fig 1.6).

Hence, dwelling has to be conceived both as the material need for a healthy, delightful and safe environment, and as the search for connections with the others and with nature. In other words, dwelling is a variety of actions by which the single person defines himself as a part of the society and as a part of the landscape (Fig 1.7).

Besides the pure material need, to dwell is the action which links the inhabitant with the place; in Martin Heidegger’s vision, dwelling eventually becomes the way in which humans reveal the divine in the physical world. The semantic connection pointed out by Vittorio Ugo is helpful for understanding the actual meaning of dwelling. The verb to inhabit comes from the latin inhabitare, whose meaning is again to dwell. But inhabitare shares the same root with the word habitus (habit), and the verb habere, to have. Under this light, to dwell gains the sense of taking possession of a place, “a way of being, settling, preserving, keeping in touch, relating with oneself and the World by knowing it and by taking care for it, rather than a mere possession” (Ugo 1991).

In architecture, the relation between the single and the others is expressed by the relation between the house and the city. The concept of dwelling has to be approached at different scales or levels; in this way it is possible to configure a transition from the private sphere, enclosed by the walls of the single house, and the public sphere spread along the streets. As for the elements which define sustainability, the different levels are related one to another. Another circular dynamic can be traced, between the level of single dwelling, the level of neighborhood, and the level of the city (Fig 1.8).

Fig 1.6: Drawing by Filarete. Adam runs, searching for a shelter from rain. The shape made by his arms protecting the head anticipates the shape of the primitive hut (Ugo 2008). fig.1.7: From Laugier’s Essai: allegory of the Architecture. On the left, the first and primal architecture: a shelter from nature, built in the nature, made with the nature. To be noted how the construction involves, perhaps unwittingly, a sustainable concept: the resources are preserved from depletion. The primitive hut is beared by the trees, rather than by the logs that could have been made with them.

Fig 1.7

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Fig 1.8: Method diagram. The chosen approach works simultaneously on three relevant levels, rather than through the usual vertical scale sliding.

Fig 1.9: In a rigid unidirectional scale sliding approach, the tendency to proceed straight from one scale to the other - whether starting from the big or the small scale - may bring the designer to loose control on the overall evolution of the project. In that way the results at the end of the process might not be able to solve the instances arisen on the first steps.

1.2.2

FROM SCALE SLIDING TO SCALE MERGING

The analysis of the site and the actual project will be presented starting from the urban scale, to the intermediate scale of the neighborhood or the block, to the scale of the single dwelling. Nevertheless, it is important to notice that this circular process doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t proceed step by step but by a constant comparison between the different levels, like the aforementioned approach to sustainability.

MsC2 AAU 2013

For this reason it is worth speaking of merging the different scales rather than sliding from one to the other (Fig 1.9). The chosen approach is furthermore suitable in this case, being requested at the same time the achievement of a dense complex with urban qualities, and the preservation of those qualities which are proper of a detached dwelling.

ANALYSIS

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

This chapter contains the analytical process. Following the mentioned method, the project site and the surrounding area were studied at the levels of urban dynamics, of the composition and structure of the different residential areas and of the single dwellings in their alternating characters. A further step in the analytic process was the definition of the potential users, characterized by different needs and wishes, and an estimation of the percentages of the different users in the complex.

MsC2 AAU 2013

2.1

SITE INFORMATION

2.1.1

LOCATION

Before proceeding with the analysis at the urban scale, it is helpful to remark some notes on the position of the site and its current conditions. Aalborg is the fourth city in Denmark for dimension, placed along the Limfjorden and close to the eastern coast of Jutland. The project site is currently a fallow area of 24,000 m2 in the outskirts west of the city. It is enclosed by low embankments to the east, south and west, while on top it shares a small portion of the coast. While the central area of the site is taken by a small football field in sand surrounded by low grass, the edges are covered by natural vegetation, from tall grass to bushes and low trees.

Fig 2.1: Aalborg, Denmark.

Fig 2.2: Position of the site compared to the city centre.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.1.2

SURVEY

Fig 2.3,2.4,2.8 and 2.9 show different views of the site. The character of the area is somehow intriguing. The site is located contentedly between the volume of the hangar which contains the museum of Danish Army, the more recent element of a modern housing complex, the little urban furniture and the spontaneous vegetation. Samples of spontaneous vegetation are shown in fig 2.5 (yarrow), 2.6 (wild rose) and 2.7 (reed). The monotony of a lawn can’t be compared with the variety of a fallow field, although spontaneous vegetation tends to be considered “bad” or inconvenient. The preservation of biodiversity is one of the challenges of environmental sustainability.

Fig 2.3

Fig 2.4

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Fig 2.5

Fig 2.6

Fig 2.7

Fig 2.8

Fig 2.9

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.2

SCALE: CITY

2.2.1

URBAN FABRIC

Fig 2.10: Analysis of functional areas around the site based on satellite and survey. Scale 1:12500. LEGEND: project site

The urban scale analysis starts with an understanding on the composition of the urban and suburban areas. Looking at the map it is possible to appreciate the favorable position of the site, which is almost surrounded by public or private green areas. It is possible to trace the tendency of the green areas and the development area close to the shore, while the inland is widely covered by residential areas. 18

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residential areas industrial areas tertiary/services green areas

ortation stop dock

ducation ergarten

ACTIVITIES - SERVICES

2.2.2

M C

S R

f B M

S K

B T P D L D

B S

F H B

Fig 2.11: Location of various activities and services around the site. Scale 1:12500.

B COMMERCIAL

LEGEND: DISTANCE FROM SITE 500 m

S B

pub/restaurant TOURISM

PUBLIC TRANSPORT bus stop

C B

ferry dock CULTURE/EDUCATION

K S M C H L V

bank foodstore

1500 m

By analyzing the distribution of services and commercial activities around the site, it appears that despite the distance from the center, the site is well served and close to points of interest in the city. Most of the activities are distributed along two stripes: one is the street leading to the city center, where the public transport runs as well, and the other is the waterfront. While along the first stripe the commercial activities meet public services, healthcare, education and cultural services, the latter is dedicated mostly to leisure time and sport activities. The two systems both end next to the site, one with a museum and the other with a public bath, turning the sport and leisure site into the perfect place for a connection between the C sport club inland system and the waterfront. T tennis club S sailing club R rowing club P swimming pool

store

camp site bed and breakfast SPORT/LEISURE

kindergarten

sport club

school

tennis club

C T museum S church R conference hall P library B volunteering centre f HEALTHCARE F commercial D doctor G store F foot clinic H

sailing club rowing club swimming pool bath football field football stadium mini golf hippodrome

B bank foodstore CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE pub/restauran

2.2.3

DYNAMICS

Fig 2.12: Representation of the systems to which the site is related. Scale 1:12500. LEGEND:

The site appears to be at the center of some positive dynamics in the urban structure. On one side, its peripheral position grants the proximity to the green areas and to the countryside; on the other, it is close enough to the city to be served by the public transport. The presence of particular activities, such as the small harbors, the museum, all the sport facilities related to the waterfront, are potentials for the social life in the area. At an urban scale, the site can be conceived as a missing link. 20

MsC2 AAU 2013

inland system waterfront system green areas system

2.2.4

STRATEGY

After tracing the mentioned dynamics and potentials concerning the site, it is possible to remark the essential points of a strategy concerning the urban scale. The project aims to reveal the identity of the site as a missing link between the inland functional system and the waterfront functional system (Fig 2.13). To solve the connection, a portion of the public space will be designed, as well as the semi-public and the private spaces. The connection determines a precise direction in the site, from land to water and vice-versa, a direction which furthermore matches the geometry of the site (Fig 2.14). The mentioned direction will influence and be influenced by the composition of the blocks and of the residential units, the technical aspects and the whole design concept.

SAILING - ROWING - SWIMMING RESTAURANT - ACTIVITY CENTRE

MUSEUM - FOOTBALL - HIPPODROME SHOPS - FOODSTORES - HEALTHCARE

Fig 2.13: The missing link. The distribution of functions and the structure of public, semi-public and private spaces aims to bound the incoming systems.

Fig 2.14: The structural axis of the site, which ends on one side on the shore, next to the public bath, and on the other next to the museum. The two extremes are also close to two car parks, thus facilitating the creation of two easily accessible focal points.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.2.5

RESIDENTIAL AREAS

Fig 2.15: Analysis of the distribution of deiiferent urban settlement typologies based on satellite and survey. Scale 1:12500 LEGEND:

Before moving to the level of the block and the surrounding space, it is worth considering one more aspect of the urban fabric, that is the distinction between different residential typologies. The areas marked on the map are defined by slightly different characters, that have a direct effect on the life of the inhabitants. An analysis of those characters allows to identify the elements that should or must be taken and reinterpreted to grant the quality of social and private life in the project. 22

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apartment blocks detached houses allotment gardens terraced houses

2.3

SCALE: BLOCK

2.3.1

TYPOLOGIES

The residential areas through which the city expands its boundaries witness the moment in History when they were built. From the qualities of a block it is possible to understand the culture of the people who lived in it, their social condition, census, civil rights, etc. This phase of the analysis takes in consideration the existing blocks in the surroundings of the site so to identify those elements who answer to the needs and wishes of the population, and to depict the frame in which the project takes place.

APARTMENT BLOCK:

Fig 2.16: Apartment block

This typology achieves the highest level of density, but usually lacks in private open space. While the blocks inspired by the projects of the early 20th century grant the presence of semi-public areas in their inner courts, the more recent sticks tend to delete the transition between public and private.

DETACHED HOUSE: As seen in Fig 2.15, large parts of the city are made by a multitude of single dwellings, where the low density allows large private gardens but weakens the effectiveness of public transportation and increases soil consumption. The zone around Hasseris, west of the city, is well known for its organic and suburban character.

Fig 2.17: Detached houses

ALLOTMENT GARDEN: Allotment gardens form a particular area with small buildings and wide private gardens, usually cultivated by the owners. The houses resemble small wooden cabins, conceived not for a permanent stay but rather for an occasional use, when the owners want to escape the hectic city life.

Fig 2.18: Allotment Garden

TERRACED HOUSE: Terraced houses mixes the uniformity of the stick typology with the focus on the private space of the single dwellings. The small private gardens donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t allow high vegetation to grow, but are usually lawns divided by fences or large hedges.

Fig 2.19: Terraced houses

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.3.2

HIGH DENSITY - LOW DENSITY

The four mentioned typologies can be analyzed from the point of the density, that can be seen as the space taken by one household in each typology, or the ratio between private areas and the common or public areas. Some notes have to be remarked about the residential areas with different density. The wide extension of residential areas characterized by the presence of detached houses signal how a large part of the population share the desire for a private space in a low density urban fabric. The ideal of owning a single house with its own garden, which carries as an inevitable consequence; the presence of one or two cars in the box nearby, is quite common in the developed countries (fig 2.20). By the environmental point of view, the low density of these residential areas cause a huge consumption of soil and has a great impact on CO2 emissions. Michael Lauring, professor at Aalborg University, underlines how the energy consumption for transportation has been increasing constantly in the period 1980-2010, while the energy consumption for dwelling has been constant (Lauring 2013). The new residential areas should then be designed in a way to reduce the use of private transportation and stimulate the public and green mobility. The residential areas with a low density tend to have a negative impact in social dynamics. In general, the development of these areas is not supported by an analogue development of the public spaces, but eventually leads to a devolution in the citizens’ attachment to the public sphere. This phenomenon should not be underestimated. In a short essay on public space, by Maria Cristina Gibelli, associate professor and researcher at the polytechnic university of Milan, notes that “the characters of the European city, freedom and heterogeneity, are visible in the public space: [...] which is characterized by being accessible to anyone, and is both the symbol and the physical configuration of the right of citizenship” (Bottini 2010). Gibelli recalls the motto adopted in the Middle Age by the first German cities which recessed their feudal bonds: stadtluft machts frei, “the air of the city makes you free” (Bottini 2010). However, the density of a settlement is not enough in order to grant social sustainability. Contrary to a dense residential area deprived of public spaces will generate greater problems than a low density area (fig 2.21, 2.22). Perhaps the difference lays in this: a dense residential complex can be provided with public spaces, thanks to the necessary presence of common areas, a neighborhood composed exclusively by detached houses and private gardens usually doesn’t share any common area.

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Fig 2.20: The city of Los Angeles is well known for its horizontal development, that lead to the growth of an anonimous anti-urban settlement with alarming social issues.

Fig 2.21: Scampia, close to Naples. Started in 1962, the project was a modern solution to social housing. Its current desperate conditions are due to the excessive density, combined with the poor management of the project, the omission of public spaces, the speculation and the extreme social conditions of the inhabitants.

Fig 2.22: St. Louis, 1972. The demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe complex designed by Minoru Yamasaki twenty years before. The image was taken as a symbol of the failure of a certain modernist current in social housing.

2.3.3

ENTROPY

Apart from the social aspect, psychological aspects need to be taken into account, due to the impact of the urban landscape has on the quality of life of the inhabitants. A research conducted by Pall J. Lindal and Terry Hartig indicates that a higher entropy in the landscape, for example the presence of multifarious architectural elements, creates a more pleasant image in the eyes of the observer (fig 2.23, 2.24). The same positive effect is observed in the landscape with lower buildings. Although the research is only at a beginning, the preliminary conclusion that can be drown is that a space with low buildings and a varied image benefits the mind of the inhabitants (Lindal, Hartig 2013).

Fig 2.23

Fig 2.23,2.24: Two images of row houses, both dating back to the early XX century. The difference couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be greater between the mechanical repetition visible in the first case - a postcard depicting Baltimore, which anticipates Pop Art by fifty years - and the playful adaptation of the same elements to the sphere of the individuals, with the result of a much more delightful environment along the streets of Albany. Fig 2.24

2.3.3

STRATEGY

For what has been pointed put, there seems to be a necessity of merging some qualities of the urban environment with some proper of the suburban areas, in order to achieve sustainability at an environmental, social and psychological level. - Residential areas with a low density are preferred by the individual inhabitant, but they imply a risky loss of the sense of citizenship, and a negative impact on the environment: - Residential areas with a high density are a solution to the environmental problem and, if carefully designed, they can became integrated with the urban dynamics. Still, the higher density can be harmful to the individuals mental health. Together with the height of buildings, their variety seems to be helpful in describing a pleasant urban landscape. Fig 2.25: The two extreme configurations of a dwelling complex. On one side the apartment block, where the single dwelling looses its singularity in favour of a monolithic system; on the other the neighbourhood composed by detached dwellings, with a strong individuality and limited chances for social life. The challenge is to merge the qualities of an individual and a common space in the same project.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.4

SCALE: HOUSE

As mentioned earlier the aim of this project to merge the qualities of the suburban, low-density residential areas with the qualities of the urban high-density environment. At the level of the single dwelling, those qualities can be pointed out in an informal way, through oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s everyday life experience. 2.4.1

DETACHED DWELLING

Fig 2.26: Detached dwelling. Common characters.

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2.4.2

APARTMENT BLOCK

Fig 2.27: Apartment block. Common characters.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.4.2

THE DANISH CULTURE OF DWELLING

The Danes have a strong connection with their homes: normally they spend a large part of their income on their homes and therefore they have good, large and expensive dwellings. In average the houses are occupied by two people and have an extension of 109 m².

Single Family house - Owner-occupied

One of reason for the Danish preoccupation with their home dates back to the post war period, when it was hard for young people to find houses, and the quality of dwellings was very low. Therefore the people who grew up in this period had a higher concern for their houses. Another important factor is climate, which in Denmark makes people spend long time indoors, hence increasing the need to have a good indoor environment.

Predominant household: couples, of which one third with children

In Denmark 63% of the population own their homes, a number which is slightly above the average of the EU-15 member countries. In comparison with this countries, the average number of rooms per person is also a little higher, and Denmark has the highest average number of square meters per resident. Regarding the age at which young people starts to leave by their owns, almost 60% of young people aged 18-24 have left their parent´s home, which is more than twice as many as the EU-15 average.

Average floor plan: 139 m² Average of people per unit: 2.5

Rented private-sector housing Average floor plan: of 87 m2 Average of people per unit: 1.6 Predominant household: 15% include children. 59% of the households are active on the labor market. Freehold flats Average floor plan: 79 m² Average of people per unit: 1.7 Predominant household: 62% are in employment 11% are students 19% have retired from the labor market. Single Family Hhousing ouses Cooperative Average floor plan: 81m² Social Housing Average of people per unit: 1.5 Rented private-‐sector housing (ﬂats) household: couples and single people Predominant Coopera=ve Housing 63% of residents are active on the labor market Freehold Flats Social housing Average floor plan: 77m²

Single Family Houses Social Housing

Predominant household: single people without children

Rented private-‐sector housing (ﬂats)

1/3 of couples - less than half with children

Coopera=ve Housing Freehold Flats

Average of people per unit: 1.9

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2.5

USER GROUPS

2.5.1

THE AVERAGE MAN DOESN’T EXIST

After the analysis of the house the user group were defined, where the main refference was personal experience in everyday life. A major issue in a project for a residential complex is the fact that the architects must meet the needs of a multitude of different users, in most cases only potential users. No communication is possible between the designer and the users with the result, in the words of Yona Friedman, that the architect “will invent an imaginary average man (half angel, half demon) and will work for him only, and surely the future actual users

2.5.2

won’t be satisfied, as the average man doesn’t exist” (Friedman 2006). If the vision of Friedman of an architecture based on the users’ self planning doesn’t fit the prerogatives of this project, yet his statement that “the average man doesn’t exist” must be taken in account. For this reason, rather than tracing an ideal profile which encompasses the common features of all the possible users, it seemed more appropriate to depict some possible users in their different, plausible characters.

USER PROFILES FAMILY WITH ONE OR TWO CHILDREN

NEEDS

WISHES

master bedroom 1/2 bedrooms dining room living room outdoor area laundry room bathroom kitchen

connection with the outside area play/activity area for children leisure area for parents possibility of having guests possibility of having a pet outside area to dry clothes office/ mixed use room safe environment privacy

EVERY DAY PRACTICES

$ INCOME $

on weekdays: parents go to work (08-15:30 approximately) children go to school/daycare (08 - 15:00 appoximately) on weekends: all the family stays at home most of the time

from government support to jobs with high income

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

YOUNG COUPLE

NEEDS

WISHES

master bedroom dining room living room outdoor area common laundry bathroom kitchen

possibility to expand their home connection with the outside area laundry area in the apartment outside area to dry clothes possibility to have a pet office/ mixed use room economic place privacy

EVERY DAY PRACTICES

$ INCOME $

on weekdays: go to work or study (08-15:30 approximately) on weekends: all the family stays at home most of the time

from government support to jobs with low income

SENIOR COUPLE or SINGLE SENIOR

NEEDS easy access bigger bathroom master bedroom 1 spare room living room dining room laundry room outdoor area kitchen 30

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WISHES connection with the outside area common area - meet people! outside area to dry clothes possibility of having a pet vegetable garden safe environment

EVERY DAY PRACTICES

$ INCOME $

spend almost all the day at home, on weekdays and weekends, although some activities are provided during the day; such as senior gym, social gatherings, et cetera

government support and private savings

SINGLE STUDENT

NEEDS

WISHES

bedroom place to study small kitchen outdoor area bathroom common laundry

common area - meet friends close to the centre public transport economic place

2.5.3

EVERY DAY PRACTICES

$ INCOME $

on weekdays: mostly at school (08-16:30 approximately) on weekends: partly at home, partly outside

government support

TOTAL OR NEUTRAL DESIGN?

As a consequence of the statement by Friedman, it is hard to realize a hypothetical “average dwelling” capable of adapting to all the possible users. Nevertheless, in order to realize a housing complex, it is necessary for the architect to implement a module, a common base that can be developed in different ways so to fit the various users. The repetition of a single apartment doesn’t seem to grant a sufficient degree of entropy, although it allows a certain variability in the design of the interiors. For this reason a smaller module will be used in this project, and the apartments will result from the addition of several modules. The same goes for the strategies outlined at the levels of the block and of the house, also in this case the project will try to combine two extremes. On one side the total design, in which the dwelling is built around the user until the smallest detail and the result is a carefully sized but extremely rigid environment. On the other hand, the neutral design, that conceives generic spaces which fit all the possible users by the means of lacking particularities and atmosphere. Fig 2.28: Interiors in one of the capsules of the Nagakin Tower by Kisho Kurokawa. A good example of “total” design of a rigid interior space.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

2.6

VISION AND TOOLS

To conclude the analysis, it is worth summing up the points emerged after each level. The ensemble of these considerations depict a wide project vision: At an urban scale, the project aims to develop the city of Aalborg, not to develop its suburban area. To do so, the project takes advantage of the potentials of the site, which is seen as a missing link between two functional systems: the waterfront and the inland. At the level of the neighborhood, the project aims to match the appeal and the positive psychological effect of the low-density residential areas with the environmental and social sustainability of a dense residential complex correctly integrated into the urban dynamics. At the level of the single dwelling, the project aims to meet the needs and expectations of different users through a flexible system, though developing a modular scheme. The apartments must grant the indoor quality required by regulations. The tools which allow the project to solve these instances are: The images conveyed by the architectural composition; The interplay of public, semi-public and private open spaces; The distribution of the non-residential functions; The identification and mixing of different users. The whole project is developed within the boundary condition of sustainability, following the interpretation mentioned above. Furthermore, for what concerns environmental sustainability, the achievement of the 2020 goals only by passive means is required, and the achievement of the zero-energy level through the active solutions. The tools by which the technical parts of the project is developed are: sketches; working models; calculation spreadsheets; indoor climate simulators; technical drawings; virtual models.

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PROJECT

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

This chapter will provide an overview of the final project. The overall analysis provide a frame in which the project has been developed, always following the same circular method. Like before, the project will be shown starting from the larger scale, then gradually reaching the scale of the single dwellings, at which two apartments will be studied in detail. In this chapter the various elements presented will also be supported by the relevant technical aspects. There will be few exceptions to the scale transition, in order to convey the interaction between the different scales. As a first step, a conceptual explanation of the project will follow.

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3.1

CONCEPT

This is a module. The module is a volume.

This is a platform. The platform is a surface.

DESTINATION Modules can be composed in complex volumes...

CONNECTION ...And platforms can be composed in complex surfaces.

... And they can be met in the same structure, generating complex spaces. Fig 3.1: Concept diagram.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.2

SCALE: CITY

3.2.1

MASTERPLAN

Fig 3.2: Masterplan.

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Fig 3.3: Masterplan, horizontal section on ground floor.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.2.2

DEFINING ELEMENTS

The masterplan was defined through the interaction of several elements: - first of all, to connect the two focal points mentioned at the urban scale analysis; - to provide both public and semi-public spaces, with peculiar characters; - to achieve a certain level of the mentioned entropy (ref); - to grant sufficient sunlight to the blocks; - to provide shield from the wind. By looking at the masterplan in its early stages, it is possible to notice how the progressive integration of the mentioned elements lead to a more and more precise and coherent system (fig 3.2). The decision to structure the masterplan along the south-north axis proved to be convenient in several aspects, besides the functional one. This solution allows to increase the density of buildings and still provide sunlight from the south washing the eastern and western walls. At the same time, being the glazed surfaces facing east and west have the risk of overheating during summer is sensibly reduced. Once provided a U-value low enough, the glazed surfaces can be enlarged with a better natural illumination inside the apartments.

Fig 3.4

Also by the point of view of wind, this configuration provides cover from the strong winds blowing from east and west (fig 3.10, 3.11).

Fig 3.4: First configuration. The hierarchy between public and semipublic spaces is preferred to the quality of illumination; the inspiration to the urban elements is direct, without reinterpretation. Fig 3.5: Second configuration. Direct sunlight and shelter from wind are evenly distibuted, but the specific qualities of public and semipublic spaces are lost.

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Fig 3.5

Fig 3.6: Preliminary study on model. At noon the apartments will receive diffused light, while direct light will be received in the morning and eveneing.

Fig 3.7: Preliminary study on model. The study points out that with an height between 12 and 15 meters, a distance between the blocks of at least 12 meters should be granted.

Fig 3.8: Final masterplan, shadows at the equinox in the afternoon. Despite the irregular configuration, direct sunlight reaches most of the apartments.

Fig 3.9: Final masterplan, shadows at the winter solstice at noon. During winter sunlight hits the facades, though at a sharp angle.

Fig 3.10: Masterplan in its second configuration, simulation with wind blowing from W-SW. The homogeneous configuration allows a better shelter from wind, but compromises the spatial qualities.

Fig 3.11: Final masterplan, simulation with wind blowing from W-SW. The heterogeneous configuration generates a wind corridor along the central public space, but the configuration actually allows to trace a distinction between public and semi/public space.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.2.3

PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC

The concepts of public and semi-public space have been used several times since the analysis of the site. The following notes are meant to explain how the two concepts are turned into physical spaces. The connection between the two ends of the site takes place trough an open, green public space. This space is conceived as a linear park, furnished with small playgrounds and flanked by two mixed-use paths (fig 3.12, 3.14). A public space like this can be brought back to the mall in St. James Park, in London, a long stripe inside the park that was originally dedicated to the game of pall-mall, and then evolved into a public walk (fig 3.16). The mixed-use paths are both for pedestrians, bicycles and cars, that can in this way reach the parking lots placed underneath the buildings. The character and function of the paths is underlined by a play of various materials, from pebbles to tiles to grass, which is used also for fragmenting the access path in front of the museum (fig 3.18) The possibility for cars to pass along the sides of this space must not be seen as a negative influence on the quality of space. There are two reasons for this:

Fig 3.12: Public space. The arrows indicate the car traffic.

- the traffic along these paths will be low, as the paths are reserved only for the cars of the inhabitants; besides, along the mixed use paths the cars will go slower than on a normal street. - the mixed use allows to integrate the spaces dedicated to cars, avoiding the presence of large parking areas, and avoiding the presence of streets only for car traffic, which would create a barrier through the site. The blocks are lifted over the car parks and part of the paths, creating a covered passage that is again an element proper of an urban environment, especially in the cities of the past. Light filters through the cladding on the other side of the block, giving to the people walking along the public space a glimpse of the semipublic spaces on the other side (fig 3.20). The remaining, more enclosed spaces are conceived as semi-public, although this character is not given by any sort of barrier, but only by their spatial qualities. They canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be considered strictly as courts due to their geometry and the relatively ample openings. The image taken as a reference is the square, especially in those cases where the irregular shape leads to particular perspectives (fig 3.17). This semi-public green squares are distinguished by a denser furniture and a more informal character, which will be further explained. 40

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Fig 3.13: Semi-public space. The arrows indicate the passages through the blocks, corresponding to the glasshouses which contain the stairs and elevators.

Fig 3.14: View of the public space.

Fig 3.15: View of the semi-public space.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Fig 3.16: The mall in St Jamesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Park, London, in a painting from the end of the XVIII century by Joseph Nickolls. London, Royal Collection.

Fig 3.17: Piazza San Marco, Venice. The irregular shape of the square causes the effect of a space shrinking or expanding depending on the point of view.

Fig 3.18: Structure of the public space: on the sides the car parks, then the passage for cars along the mixed-use path, which is partly covered by the building and the melts into the park. The lateral position of the tall vegetation allows to have a clear view along the public space, reinforcing the connection.

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Fig 3.18

Fig 3.19: Cross section through the site. To be noted the different heights of the blocks, and their effect on the spaces in between: homogeneity in the central public space, heterogeneity on the lateral semi-public ones.

Fig 3.20: Section of the public space.

Fig 3.21: Diagramatic section of the public space. On the left, the light coming directly from the open side and filtered through the cladding on the side towards the semi-public space. On the right, the transition from the zone reserved to cars and car parks, mainly paved, to the intermediate part dedicated to cyclists and pedestrians, where tiles are mixed with gravel and grass, to the grass of the park in the middle.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.2.5

DISTRIBUTION OF FUNCTIONS

The project has a built area of 19976 m2, of which 10955 are dedicated to dwellings. The building ratio is 83,23% (see appendix 5.1).

Despite the projects main focus being dwelling, some non-residential functions are integrated in the complex. They can’t be referred to as commercial activities, but rather public services for the people who live in and around the site. Following the strategy outlined in the urban scale analysis, these additional functions are placed to underline the connection between the museum and the waterfront. Close to the museum, an open bike workshop is placed, while on the other end of the site a mixed functional space is designed. This space is conceived as a common living room, with an open library, a small café and a bath in the water of the fjord (fig 3.24). More private common rooms, connected with the laundry rooms, are placed instead in the lateral blocks, with a connection to the semi-public spaces (fig 3.23). It is not sure whether the position of the site allows the presence of actual commercial activities or not. The urban scale analysis indicates a series of activities which can’t be found in the surroundings (such as a pharmacy, a bakery, a grocery store) but these activities usually need to serve a wider and denser area.

C D

D B

Fig 3.22: Distribution of the common functions through the complex: (A) open library, café, bath (B) bike workshop (C) electric car sharing (D) common rooms.

It is to be noted that the modular system of the complex allows a change of use in the future, in case the area will offer more opportunities.

Fig 3.23: Plan of one of the common rooms. These spaces are conceived for the inhabitants of the surrounding blocks unlike the open library on the water, which is seen more as public service. The common rooms are connected directly with the gardens and with the stairs that lead to the common platforms.

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Fig 3.25: Public space on the waterfront 1.floor/accesslevel

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Fig 3.24: Public space on the waterfront. Scale 1:500

Fig 3.26: Public space on the waterfront Groundlevel/waterlevel

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.3

SCALE: BLOCK

3.3.1

SHAPE AND SYMBOL

As a result of the analytical phase, the block must merge the qualities of a low-density suburban area with the qualities of a dense urban one. The roof is an essential element in the accomplishment of this purpose. The repetition of this shape on top of the dwellings convey the basic image of the house. While an apartment block with a flat roof is perceived as a shape, the timeless silhouette of a house is a symbol. The pitched roof, made optional by the introduction of concrete slabs, canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be substituted in the mind of the inhabitants. Even tough the apartments inside the blocks donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow the rhythm of the roof, these roofs declare that these buildings are for dwelling. What happens is a dynamic typical of the city centres, where the distribution of the dwellings differs from the shape and number of the roofs (fig 3.28, 3.30). As technical devices, the roofs are designed so to grant the best performances of PV cells (fig 3.27) and they provide optional space for the apartments underneath.

Fig 3.27: Diagram showing the portion of the roof hit by direct sunlight at winter solstice and exuinox at noon.

Fig 3.28: Working model. During the process, the contrast between the regular repetition of the roof and the irregular position of the windows, caused by the apartments, tended to increase.

Fig 3.29: Elevation seen from the street.

Fig 3.30: Elevation showing the sequence of roofs and windows, the dwellings and the glazed envelopes of the stairs and elevators along the whole site and in detail.

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3.3.2

LIGHT AND HEAVY

Despite their variety, the apartments are all structured from the same module, related to a constant structure. By the point of view of construction, the block is composed by the heavy, durable component of pillars, slabs and shafts, and by the light, replaceable building envelope. The choice of the materials follow this distinction. The heavy part is made in concrete, thus granting a sufficient amount of thermal mass in the apartments, and the light part is made mainly in wood. Lark was chosen for the outer envelope, due to its excellent resistance to decay (fig 3.33), while the insulation layer can be structured as a box made in OSB. After a relatively short time, the lark wood will loose its warm brown color and turn into a grey, shiny cladding. For what concerns the roof, welsh slate was chosen so to emphasize the shape and integrate the solar panels (fig 3.32). The building is conceived in a way to allow a complete or partial substitution of the building envelope, made by prefabricated elements, without compromising the structure (fig 3.31).

Fig 3.32: An example of PV cells integrated in a welsh slate roof.

The technical parts, pipes for water and heating, water drainage, ventilation ducts, are put together inside a series of shafts which cut through the blocks (fig 3.35 to 3.38); their position is related to the design of the interiors of the apartments, where bathrooms and kitchens are placed close to them.

Fig 3.31: Diagram showing the different construction components: the conctere structure (red) supports the prefabricated insulating blocks (orange), and the additional insulation against thermal bridges (green). The external envelope (blue) is hung to the OSB envelope of the insulation blocks.

Fig 3.33: Aarhus, dwelling complex by Herzog and De Meuron. The resistance of lark wood allows to eventually leave uncovered the ends of the beams.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.3.2

ENERGY PROFILES

The building is conceived in a way to reach the Energy Frame Buildings 2020 with only passive solutions. These solutions start in the orientation of the buildings, as explained in the master plan, whit the facades facing west and east. At the scale of blocks, the size of the windows allows heat gains while the tightness of the facades prevents heat loss. Another important element for reaching this frame is the ventilation, natural in summer, whit the use of cross ventilation, and mechanical during winter. The use of natural ventilation during winter was studied as well, with a system composed by a chimney and a heat recover, as visible in the BedZed complex in London. Although the system could be applied without compromising the energy profile, a traditional solution with mechanical ventilation was preferred: -due to the negative visual impact of the chimneys; -in order to increase the surface of PV cells and avoid the shadow thrown by the chimneys on the cells. In order to understand how these solutions are working, one block was chosen to be studied (fig 3.44), in its configuration and energetic solutions. The energy profile was analyzed with a Be10 model; this simulation, together with the BSim studies and the design criteria, made possible to reach the best integrated solution. It is possible to have a more detailed explanation on the Be10 simulation in the appendix 5.3. To reach the Net Zero Energy level, the project employs PV cells. The buildings are, in this way, not only consuming energy but eventually producing a surplus. The panels are integrated in the project design, using the south part of the roofs and the flat roofs of the glass houses. The calculation of the energy production was made considering high efficiency, monocrystaline cells. Considering the shadow thrown by the roofs, the panels should be divided in horizontal sections, of which the lowest will achieve the best performances only during summer. The calculation of the yearly energy demands and production shows that the study block is producing every year 11kWh/mÂ˛ more. Meaning that through the year, even with different production rates, the users are being supplied with energy from the sun, and the common areas can be supported as well.

Fig 3.34: The apartments derive from different compositions of the same module. The blocks derive from different compositions of the apartments.

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Fig 3.35: Diagram showing the distribution of fresh water and the disposal of waste water.

Fig 3.36: Diagram showing the distribution of hot water for heating. The complex is supposed to be connected to the district heating system.

Fig 3.37: Diagram showing the draining system for rainwater. Part of the rainwater can be collected in an underground tank and used for irrigation.

Fig 3.38: Diagram showing the mechanical ventilation of the apartments.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

3.3.3

ABOVE AND BELOW

While the blocks represent the private, close spaces in the project, the open areas and the distribution system consist of a light structure flowing from one block to the other, creating common balconies, enveloping the stairs and elevators, providing cover from rain for the pedestrians and the bicycles (fig 3.39). As visible in plan and section, they have a great influence on the quality of the semi-public spaces (fig 3.40, 3.41). The surface of the platforms compensates the apartments where the surface of the balconies is 10 m2 instead of 20. In the first plans, these platforms were seen as a wide connection system (fig); they were reduced and reshaped step by step, to achieve a final solution where the shape answers to the functions, the amount of people, the shadows and the views on the complex. This structure is projected onto the ground level, turning the courts or squares into denser places. Cutting through the green areas, filtering the passage and the view

Fig 3.39: View from above one of the common platforms.

MsC2 AAU 2013

across them, this surfaces give to the semi-public spaces a radically different aspect than the central public space, where the view is free. They change the proportions of the semi-public spaces, where the horizontal dimension get compensated by a vertical object. The height of the platforms corelate with the height of the trees, the distance from the ground invites to look at the sky. Underneath the platforms, light is allowed through the planks; in some parts the platforms cover the paths and the racks for the bikes. The thin columns in white painted steel stipple the gardens. When the system of the platforms meets the blocks, the horizontal surface tilts and the platforms become transparent envelopes for the stairs and elevators which lead to the apartments; this glazed structures are conceived as unheated spaces, which allow a transition between the indoor climate of the apartments and the outdoor environment.

Fig 3.40: Section of the semi-public space. Doubling the levels allows to play with the height of the trees and with the views. In this way, to a dense closed space a dense open one is provided.

Fig 3.41: Plans showing the common platforms and the space below them. By comparing the plans it is possible to appreciate the interplay between the two levels.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Fig 3.42: The interaction between the blocks and the platforms in a study model.

Fig 3.43: The same interaction at a further step.

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3.4

SCALE: HOUSE

3.4.1

THE DWELLINGS

A big concern was to create flexibility and variety and thereby achieve an identity. As already mentioned in the analysis, there isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a specific apartment for one particular kind of user, but more a variety of forthcoming apartments for multifarious users. Therefore there will be shown six alternate accommodations, which are a proposal related to specific user groups. In general all apartments consist of a composition of one module, which has a dimension of 5.3 x 5.3 m. So in response of the different user groups, flexible shape able modules create varied apartments and spaces (fig 3.46), which in the end are composed to a block. As a result the outer envelope will be flexible as well, so it can be changed when new materials are available. The living room, including the kitchen and dining room is a very open and friendly space, due to their double exposure to the sun; all apartment living rooms are double exposed except the one and two module apartments. This exposure enables good ventilation, light and atmosphere in the apartments. The apartments for the disabled are located on the ground floor and kept barrier free in one level, which are therefore easily accessible. Thus, all these apartments are handicapped accessible and provide enough space in the bathrooms, even for a washing machine. Fig 3.44: Position of the study block in the masterplan.

To give some consideration to Denmarkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PRODUCED BY AN diverse AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT weather, a large wardrobe and storage areas are provided as furnitectural elements integrated in the apartments to ensure the required storage for the users. These storage elements also separate the interior into smaller areas without adding walls that would compromise the daylight and atmosphere.

Fig 3.45: Section of the study block.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Fig 3.46: Plans of the study block, from ground floor to the third floor.

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Modules: 1 Module + Roof

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUC

ONE MODULE

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Users: Student / Single Person

Fig 3.47

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL Gross Area: 45m² Quantity: 40 apartments

TWO MODULES

Y AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Fig 3.48

Modules: 2 Modules + Balcony

Gross Area: 45m²

Users: Couple / Senior Couple / Single Person

Quantity: 59 apartments

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

TREE MODULES - DUPLEX

Fig 3.49

Modules: 3 Modules + 2 Balconies

Gross Area: 108m²

Users: Couple

Quantity: 29 apartments

DUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

TREE MODULES

Fig 3.50

Modules: 3 Modules + 1 Balcony

Gross Area: 98,5m²

Users: Senior Couple / Family with one child

Quantity: 15 apartment

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CED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PROD

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

FOUR MODULES - DUPLEX

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRO

Fig 3.51

Modules: 4 Modules + 2 Balconies

Gross Area: 137m²

Users: Family with one child / Couple

Quantity: 13 apartments

FOUR MODULES

DUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Fig 3.52

Modules: 4 Modules + 2 Balconies

Gross Area: 137m²

Users: Family with two children

Quantity: 12 apartments

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

ED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Due to the quantity of the apartments two were chosen to be detailed. The first is the 4 module apartment and the 3 module apartment with 2 levels. The detailing involved studies about the ventilation, indoor climate and energy consumption. As mentioned earlier the functions in the all the apartments were distributed in order to locate the rooms that require piping and technical features close to the technical shafts. This allowed the other rooms to be organized so there are no barrier between the living,kitchen and dinning area. The ventilation strategy for these apartments is hybrid ventilation; this implies mechanical ventilation during winter and natural ventilation during summer. In order to achieve natural ventilation with a sufficient air

exchange the functions had to be distributed in order to grant cross ventilation. Cross ventilation was an obvious choice due to the windows orientation towards east and west, where the prevailing winds in Denmark, which are primarily from west, have enough pressure and velocity to grant natural ventilation. Due to the distribution of the functions in the apartments it is possible to have light running through the length of the living room and can with the help of the sliding doors in the bedrooms also give light to the hall between the master bedroom and the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bedrooms. The same goes for the living room of the 3 module apartment were the windows at each end of the room illuminate the entire length of the flat.

Fig 3.53: Study model. The apartments were designed so to avoid the presence of corridors and dark spaces.

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Fig 3.54

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Fig 3.54: Plan of the three modules apartment. Fig 3.55

Fig 3.55: Distinction between day-zone (orange), night-zone (blue) and bathroom, kitchen and technical parts (red).

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Fig 3.56: Daylight study. The minimum value is five in the living room and two in the bedroom.

Fig 3.57: Interior view of the bedroom.

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Fig 3.58: Cross section through the apartment.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Fig 3.59: Interior view of the living room. Most of the furniture is designed as an integrated part of the apartment.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT

Fig 3.60

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT Fig 3.60: Plan of the four modules apartment. Fig 3.61

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Fig 3.61: Distinction between day-zone (orange), night-zone (blue) and bathroom, kitchen and technical parts (red).

Fig 3.62: View from above one of the common platforms.

Fig 3.63: Interior view of the kitchen.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

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CONCLUSION

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

In conclusion this project has been both challenging and enlightening at the same time. Due to the integrated design process, which is a holistic design approach where all aspects of architecture and engineering must be taken into consideration at the same time. This has been achieved in the final design, where not only the aesthetics of the blocks and the apartment have been important but also how these relate to the technical requirements. It has been a goal from the very beginning of the project to incorporate the two in the roofs where the PV cells merge with the welsh slate and are treated as a material rather than an add-on used solely for energy production. This incorporation has also happened at the scale the apartment, in order to waste as little space as possible the piping for the bathrooms, kitchens and the ventilation system have been gathered in shafts connecting two apartments. All this could only be achieved by taking them into consideration from the very beginning of the project and thereby be part of the design process to finally achieve the zero energy demand. As mentioned there have been many challenges along the way, the first challenge of sustainable architecture, second the challenge of the integrated design process, and the fact of creating Danish housing, without deep background knowledge of the Danish households.

MsC2 AAU 2013

This has lead to a very detailed analysis phase, which helped a lot with the following designing process. To reach the zero energy status and create sustainable architecture, we worked with different scale models, in order to prove every little step of designing. Thus, nothing happened without any reason, all along the technical and architectural advantages in mind. Hence it was finally possible to reach the zero energy demand. The interaction between urban and suburban environment in this project lead to a flexible and verified result, where habitants have the possibility to self-actualize concerning the apartments, which grants identity. Since our group consists of four different nationalities, and therefore very different ideas, habits and education in architecture, in was especially in the designing process and fulfilment of the requirements very difficult to come to an agreement. Lots of discussion lead finally to a very Danish housing result, which may be frowned upon in the Danish architectural scene, but is quite unusual for non-Scandinavian people. It was also great to find out about the Absence of Isolation in Brazil, or the different using of a bidet in Italy. In Comparison, Danish architecture needs a lot of consideration about wind, weather protection and at last about the zero energy, which is more common in Denmark.

APPENDIX CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

5.1

KEY NUMBERS

Site surface:

24.000 m2

Built surface:

19.975,93 m2

of which:

10.955,10 m2

apartments

3.651,70 m2

garretts

2.303,38 m2

car parks

1.645,80 m2

distribution

915,53 m2

common platforms

Building ratio:

83,23%

Number of modules:

390

divided in*:

1 module apartments:

(40 modules)

2 modules apartments:

(118 modules)

3 modules apartments:

(132 modules)

4 modules apartments:

(100 modules)

Number of households:

168 households

Maximum amount of inhabitants:

390 people

Minimum amount of inhabitants:

262 people

Average amount of inhabitants:

326 people

*the division of the modules into the different apartments was determined refering to the composition of the population of Aalborg (www.statbank.dk)

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5.2

VENTILATION

From fig 5.1 to fig 5.3 are screenshots og the spreadsheets that were used to calculate the ventilation rate for CO2, odour and temperature. These values have been calculated according to the danish standard CR 1752. These values were used in both Be10 and Bsim as guidelines for the values used in the ventilation system. Fig 5.4 is a spreadsheet of the natural ventilation to validate the wish of using hybrid ventilation so there will be no mechanical ventilation during summer.

Fig 5.1: Spreadsheet of CO2 and odur calculation.

Fig 5.2: Spreadsheet of temperature and internal heatload calculation.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Fig 5.3: Results of the overall spreadsheet.

Fig 5.4: Natural ventilation spreadsheet show the possibility of applying the natural ventilation.

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5.3

Be10

Values of the walls: U-value:

0.1 W/m2K

b: 1.00 Values of the floor: U-value:

0.1 W/m2K

b: 0.78 Values of the roof: U-value:

0.1 W/m2K

b: 1.00 Values of the windows: U-value:

0.6 W/m2K

g-value:

0.5

Ff :

0.8

Fc:

-0.5

Ventilation: Winter: qm (l/s m2):

0.3

qn (l/s m2):

0.056

SEL (kJ/m3):

0.8

n vgv:

0.85

Ti (oC):

Fig 5.5: Screenshot of the result page from Be10, this page contains information about the energy consumption for the analyzed block.

Summer: qm (l/s m2):

0.0

qn (l/s m2):

1.8

SEL (kJ/m3):

0.8

n vgv:

0.85

Ti (oC):

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

5.4

ENERGY PROFILE

PV CELLS PRODUCTION ON THE STUDY BLOCK:

ESTIMATED YEARLY ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION:

horizontal sufaces:

340 kWh + Area * 11 kWh + people *350 kWh

surface: 165 m2

4 Modules apartments:

efficiency factor:

340 kWh + 122 m2 * 11kWh + 4 * 350 kWh = 1682 + 1400 = 3082 kWh/year * 25 flats =

reduction factor:

0,65

77.050 kWh

solar radiation:

999 kWh/m2

3 Modules apartments:

yearly production:

20.357,12 kWh

340kWh + 93.22 m2 * 11 kWh + 3 * 350 kWh = 1365.42 + 1050 = 2415.42 kWh/year * 44 flats

production per surface unit:

12,26 kWh/m2

106278.48 kWh

45째 angled surfaces:

2 Modules apartments:

surface: 332 m2

340 kWh + 64.4 m2 * 11 kWh + 2 * 350 kWh = 1048.4 + 700 = 1748.4 kWh/year * 59 flats =

efficiency factor:

103155.6 kWh

reduction factor:

0,65 (average)

1 Module apartments:

solar radiation:

1163 kWh/m2

340 kWh + 42.56 m2 * 11 kWh + 1 * 350 kWh = 1158.16 kWh/year * 40 flats =

yearly production:

47.685,33 kWh

46326.4 kWh

production per surface unit:

28,72 kWh/m2

total: 332810.48 kWh

estimated production:

40,98 kWh/m2

estimated consumption:

Fig 5.6: Graph showing the distribution of the energy demands.

MsC2 AAU 2013

26.30 kWh/m2

Delivery energy consumption Primary factor Primary energy kWh/mÂ˛ year kWh/mÂ˛ year 19,60 0,6 11,76 Heating 2,00 1,8 3,60 Energy 26,30 1,8 47,34 Appliencies 62,7 Total energy consumption 40,98 1,8 73,76 Sollar cells Total energy production 73,76 -11,06 Total energy production Fig 5.7: Final energy profile with the equivalent amount of produced energy.

5.5

Bsim

In order to validate our thoughts on the indoor environment Bsim was used to simulate the thermal and atmospheric comfort in the apartment with 4 Modules and in the apartment with 3 Modules. For both apartments the same systems and materials have been used. The walls consist of a light wooden structure with mineral wool as insulation. The same materials and key numbers have also been used in BE10. The livingroom is the most critical room with big windows facing west and east and will therefore have the highest exposure to the sunlight. The systems set up for both livingrooms are as follows: -Equipment -Heating

Fig 5.8: System setup in Bsim

-People load -Infiltration -Venting -Ventilation CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

On the right are depicted the two apartments that have been chosen to be analyzed in Bsim. Fig 5.9 is the 3 module apartment and fig 5.10 is the 4 module apartment. The two models have a different appearance due to the fact that the faces in the 3 module apartment have been set to face a thermal zone whilst the 4 module apartment have heated rooms around it. The results from the building simulation is shown on fig 5.11 and fig 5.12. The results show that the indoor climate in both apartment livingrooms are within the EN 15251:2007 standards of the indoor environment, with a maximum of 500 ppm CO2 over the outdoor concentration and 100 hours < 26o and 25 hours < 27o. In order to achieve this there had to be applied a shutter system to the windows, this system was set to work during the summer months of June, July and August with an R-value of 0.1m2K/W. The Infiltration and venting system were used to simulate natural ventilation during summer, where the mechanical ventilation is off.

Fig 5.9: Screenshot of 3 module model in Bsim view

Fig 5.10: Screenshot of 4 module model in Bsim view

MsC2 AAU 2013

Fig 5.11: 3 Module apartment. Key numbers.

Fig 5.12: 4 Module apartment. Key numbers.

CITY > BLOCK > HOUSE

Picture reference

Bibliography

Fig 1.1: Own illustration

Fig 1.2: Own illustration

Fig 1.4: source: http://www.archilovers.com

Fig 1.5: source: http://www.openbuildings.com

Fig 1.3: Own illustration

Fig 1.6: Ugo, Vittorio: I luoghi di Dedalo – elementi teorici dell’architettura, Dedalo Editore, Bari 1991 11 fig.1.7: Wikipedea.org

Fig 1.8 - 2.15: Own illustration 23

12-

Fig 2.16 - 2.19: google maps 24

23-

Fig 2.20: Fotopedia 24 Fig 2.21: wikimediacommons.org

Fig 2.22: Bethlyonbarnett.com

Fig 2.23 - 2.24: wikimedia.org

Fig 2.25 - 2.27: Own illustration -31

Fig. 2.28: wikimediacommons.org

Fig 3.1 - 3.15: Own illustration - 41

Fig 3.16: wikimedia.org

Fig 3.17:

google.com

Fig 3.18 - 3.31: Own illustration - 47

MsC2 AAU 2013

Clément, Gilles: Il giardiniere planetario, 22publishing, Milan 2008 Friedman, Yona: L’architecture de survie. Une philosophie de la pauvreté, Editions de l’éclat, Paris 2006 Ugo, Vittorio: Mimesis, Maggioli Editore, Milan 2008 Ugo, Vittorio: I luoghi di Dedalo – elementi teorici dell’architettura, Dedalo Editore, Bari 1991

LECTURES:

Braae, Ellen, Landscaping sustainable residential places, lecture at 2MsC in Architectural Design at AAU, 06-03-2013.

Ring Hansen, Hanne Tine, Methodological Approaches to Sustainable Architecture in theory, lecture at 2MsC in Architectural Design at AAU, 26-02-2013.

Lauring, Michael, Architecture and sustainability, lecture at 2MsC in Architectural Design at AAU, 09-03-2013.

regulations:

Fig 3.32: Googl.com 47 Fig 3.33 - 5.12: Own illustration 75

Bottini, Fabrizio: Spazio pubblico – declino, difesa, riconquista, Ediesse, Rome 2010

47-

Danish building regulations 2010 (the Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs; Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority) Copenhagen 2010 Ventilation for buildings – Design criteria for the indoor environment (European Committee for Standardization) Brussels 1998.