A Street Level Initiative. SCAD IDSU-325 Spring ‘14 Prof. Schaffeld Evan Knowles // Roque Silva // Blake Dorusche // Marc Sylvester
Sprout Team:
Blake Drousche
Evan Knowles
Roque Silva
Marc Sylvester
Design Engineer
Design Strategist
Design Lead
Technical Design
Project Break-Down:
Problem Statement: By 2030, 6 out of every 10 people will live in a city, and by 2050, this proportion will increase to 7 out of 10 people. By the middle of the 21st century, the urban population will almost double, increasing from approximately 3.4 billion in 2009 to 6.4 billion in 2050. Seriously causing strain on infrastructure and health, growing energy consumption in these areas, and impacting the over-all quality in experiencing urban life.
Air Quality “Only 12% of the people living in cities reporting on air quality reside in cities where this complies with WHO air quality guideline levels. About half of the urban population being monitored is exposed to air pollution that is at least 2.5 times higher than the levels WHO recommends - putting those people at additional risk of serious, long-term health problems.�- World Health Organization 7 May 2014 | GENEVA
Material Solution:
Titanium Dioxide
World’s first air-cleansing
Palazzo Italia in Milan
Located at the University of Sheffield The poem is printed on material coated with titanium dioxide, using sunlight and oxygen to react with nitrogen oxide pollutants and purify the air.
Designed by Nemesi & Partners, The entire outdoor surface and part of the interiors will consist of i.active Biodynamic cement panels.
“The air purifying concrete contains titanium dioxide, a photocatalytic material that removes the nitrogen oxides from the air and converts them with the aid of sunlight into harmless nitrate. The nitrate is then rinsed Jos Brouwers away by rain.”Professor of building materials Eindhoven University of Technology
Titanium Dioxide or TiO2 is self-cleaning in sunlight, hydrophilic, will degrade fabric and paint in the presence of sunlight. Acting like a photo-bleach, tio2 does not get consumed in its reactions. It keeps the concrete cleaner, and it reflects much of the sun’s heat and reduces heat gain because of its white color. When activated by UV lights TiO2 decomposes organic material particulates (such as components of dirt, soot, grime, and oil) and biological organisms (such as mold, algae, bacteria, and allergens like pollen). Airborne pollutants (VOC, tobacco smoke, NOx, and SOx) are also reduced along with many of the chemicals that cause odors. Tests have shown it to reduce the nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide by up to 65 percent, self-clean, and reduce NOx in the atmosphere. Applications of TiO2 are largely developed in Japan by Toto company and also in Europe with the product, TX Active, from Italcementi.
PURETi
Applied to manufactured building materials and fixtures in factories or to the interior or exterior of the built environment.
Tronox
The largest fully integrated producer of titanium ore and titanium dioxide.
TiO2 mixed into cement breaks down bacteria and VOCs into carbon dioxide and water molecules
Material Solution:
Olvine
Derbigum ® Olivine Membrane A bituminous membrane with a mineral upper layer that neutralizes CO2 in rainwater.
Xiriton ® With Olvine a very light concrete with CO2 storage in the Miscanthus fibers and a combination with olivine.
“During rainfall, the Olivine makes contact with CO2 present in the atmosphere resulting in a chemical reaction taking place which neutralizes the CO2.”- Peter B. Kelemen
Olivine is a minerals series in which iron and magnesium substitute for one another in the same crystal structure; there really is no single mineral called olivine. Usually occurring as part of a rock mass forming recognizable crystals, these are transparent to translucent olive-green crystals that typically have a granular shape. In the presents of water and CO2 olvine is unstable causing a reaction in which the greenhouse gas CO2 is converted into bicarbonate. This weathering process takes place on the surface of the rocks. The amount of CO2 which is removed from the atmosphere each year therefore depends on the available surface of the reactive minerals. By milling olivine rocks the enlarge their surface area and speed up the weathering process. Sprinkling olivine powder on places where it comes in contact with air and moisture accelerates the weathering process even more The weathering process takes place on the surface of the rocks. The amount of CO2 which is removed from the atmosphere each year therefore depends on the available surface of the reactive minerals.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Nov 11
Basalt with olivine
Peridot
Gem-quality olivine
Papakolea Beach Lactated in Hawaii The green color is due to the presence of olivine crystals.
Energy Consumption “The lion’s share of global energy is supplied by coal, oil and gas - the ‘fossil fuels’ that formed long ago from the carbon-rich remains of dead plants and animals. However these are non-renewable sources that will
one day be exhausted.”-BBC
Material Solution:
Thin-Film Photo-voltaic
Thin film photovoltaic solar panels convert sunlight to electricity
by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors which create an electric current in a material upon exposure to light. The semiconductor layers on thin film solar panels are only a few millionths of a meter thick, although the name “thin film” comes from their production process and not from thickness. Flexible thin film solar cells boast the advantages Supercharging System By Tesla Motors, and designed and manufactured by Hanergy Solar Group. Hanergy thin-film flexible PV system was Tesla’s first choice for the first PV Supercharger station in China.
Solar Fabric FTL Solar has developed a method that integrates thin film solar panels into a lightweight tensile fabric.
of both increased flexibility, and a more cost-effective roll-toroll manufacturing process, when compared to more widespread crystalline silicon-based solar cells. They are typically considered relatively inefficient. However, the efficiency flexible polymer foilbased thin solar cells bests the record of 20.3 percent efficiency
“Photo-voltaic devices are one of best choices among the group of energy conversion devices, wherein direct conversion of solar to electrical energy at a low maintenance cost.”Suresh Kannan Balasingam Chem. Commun., 2013
for CIGS solar cells on glass substrates, and also equals that of the most efficient polycrystalline silicon wafer-based solar cells.
Solexel Utra-thin layers of photovoltaic material which have an efficiency that is comparable with the very best crystalline silicon cells
Avancis Minimal use of materials, high efficiency even under diffused light conditions
A world record efficiency of 20.4% was recently achieved.
Material Solution:
Bio-Luminescent Algae
Bio-luminescent Algae are living organisms that occur naturally
throughout the oceans of the world, starter cultures can be acquired from laboratories and then grown to the amount needed. Because these creatures are photosynthetic they can live up to three months on just sunlight. For upkeep of the alga, growth media must be added to the water periodically for them to stay alive. Dino Pet A bio-luminescent night light that teaches about life.
Bio-luminescent Night Designed to reduce the amount of CO2 in the air.
“They soak up sunlight, absorb carbon dioxide, and in return, breathe out oxygen while emitting a soft fluorescent glow. In essence, it’s nature’s all-in-one version of a solar panel, a carbon sink and a light bulb.”Tuan C. Nguyen smithsonian.com October 22, 2013
The algae only bio-luminesces at night, and they require a circadian
rhythm to stay alive. So a day/night cycle is imperative to their upkeep. The algae photosynthesize during the day and once the night falls they will glow when physically disturbed.
Pyrocystis Fusiformis:
Pyrocystis Noctiluca:
A large alga that you can actually see the individual cells of.
A Large alga, it is tricky to provide them with the proper growing conditions.
Is a Micro-alga that tends to stick to the side of its container and is more difficult to grow than other species.
Material Solution:
Transparent Concrete
The LitraCube lamp Made of four Litracon concrete blocks with a light-bulb in the middle. The strength of the concrete is unaffected, and the fibers pass light and color straight through the blocks.
The Italian Pavilion Italian company Essroc Italcementi Group unveiled their trademarked i.light concrete in 2010 at the Shanghai World Expo. The transparent effect is most evident when seen from the outside at night.
“Stunning features can be created from bars, reception desks, to sculptures or features incorporated in to walls or floors, street furniture like benches to entire facades of buildings, from art galleries to private housing�. -Glassblock tech
Transparent Concrete is created in multiple ways. One approach is to exchange the traditional ingredients with transparent or translucent alternatives. Pieces of plastic or glass can be used as aggregates, and the binding agent can be switched with a type of transparent glue. Fiber reinforcing can make translucent concrete even stronger than traditionally reinforced concrete. Engineers can also use chemical additives to significantly increase the strength of translucent concrete A company in Italy has also created their own secret recipe, using a combination of transparent resins as the binding agent Aggregates can be replaced with transparent alternatives, and the bonding material itself may be able to transmit light by incorporating clear resins in the mix. It is possible to create load-bearing structures out of translucent concrete; however it would also be very expensive. It could be about five times as much to build using translucent concrete as opposed to the traditional type
Litracon
Thousands of optical glass fibers form a matrix and run parallel to each other between the two main surfaces of each block.
Luccon
Manufactured in large volume top layer concrete blocks with embedded webbed fiber optic cables, making the stone appear comparably massive.
Lucem
Used as facade-panel, wall cladding or counter. Combining the diversity of concrete with the attractiveness of shimmering lightness.
Mass Transit Experience Public transportation is a crucial part of the solution to energy, and environmental challenges - helping to bring a better quality of life. However, inconsistencies and poor user experience deter repeat usage.
Material Solution:
Transparent Display
Neoview Kolon
Samsung Smartwindow
Transparent OLED prototype; one of the promising uses of these displays is in the automotive industry
The device is really a transparent touch screen LCD that can be fitted to any window, s Resolution is 1366 x 768 pixels, reportedly. During the day, illumination is provided from outside. At night, built-in lights kick in.
Transparent displays have a variety of potential applications — such as the ability to see navigation or dashboard information while looking through the windshield of a car or plane, or to project video onto a window or a pair of eyeglasses. -
Transparent displays utilizing OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) are the most commonly produced forms of see-through displays currently the market or in development. Producing their own light, rather than relying on back lighting, allow OLED display screens to be extremely thin. Transparency is achieved by the narrow gap between the pixels of the screen as well as the clear cathodes within. These types of screen have been notoriously difficult and expensive to produce in the past, but are now becoming more common as the method of manufacturing them is advancing. Translucent LCD screens are widely available on the market and are a cheaper alternative to OLED’s. Translucent LCD displays vary in sizes in excess of 80 inches. However only achieving 15-50% transparency. The transparency in LCD screens is achieved by using natural light rather than a back light this also limits their use. Other less common and available transparent display options include TFEL’s (thin film Electroluminescent) Displays created by sandwiching a layer of electroluminescent between two layers of conductors. When current flows, the layer of material emits radiation in the form of visible light. Along with displays using nano-particles, this approach has attractive features including simplicity, wide viewing angle, scalability to large sizes and low cost. However both of these options only allow for single colors to be displayed
David L. Chandler
MIT News Office
Planar - LookThru®
Lumineq - TFEL
MIT - Nanoparticle
Rigid City Scape There is a present and observable lack of sensory variability and focus on the power of natural form and organic shape existing in the modern city scape. Making cities a draining place, aesthetically, to live in from the view of mental health.
Material Solution:
U.H.P.C
Jean Bouin Stadium Designed by Rudy Ricciotti to be light and airy. Constructed of a thin, lightweight envelope and waterproof roof from 3,600 self-supporting Ductal®/UHPC panels.
GrassHopper Designed by Makoto Fukuda consisting of a table and bench that stretch Slimconcrete technology to the limit.
“New UHPC concrete technology allows us to break through the limits of equations we used to take for granted. Concepts like thinness, strength, durability and sustainability are now shaping the vocabulary of street furniture in a more palpable era”Marcos López Antich
Director General Escofet 1886 S.A
Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) refers to a relatively new class of advanced cement composite materials. Initial material development research on UHPC began more than two decades ago. The mechanical and durability properties of UHPC far surpass those of conventional concrete. High strengths are made possible by reducing porosity, inhomogeneity, and microcracks in the hydrated cement paste. Aggregate (fine-grained sand, silica fume, small steel and organic fibers, and special blends of high-strength Portland cement) play an important role on the strength of concrete This class of concrete has been demonstrated to facilitate solutions in added strength and freedom to create more complex forms.
Lafarge® - Ductal
Escofet® - Slimconcrete
TAKTL® - VECTR
Metal fibers make i t d u c t i l e . H av i n g a structural strength 10 times higher than traditional concretes, it can resist bending, breakage, and t r a n s fo r m a t i o n .
High compression and flexural strength make this concrete extremely resistant to attack by pollutants and inclement weather. Its durability also reduces maintenance cost.
High strength in thin profiles, intrinsically beautiful finish, and durability in harsh conditions
Opportunity:
An innovative design approach and application of emerging materials to an urban touch point to aid in the solution of the greater issues of air quality, energy consumption, and over all quality of life enhancement of in urban areas.
SPROUT A street level initiative.
Mission: More than a bus shelter. Through design features Sprout seeks to provide benefits to stakeholders ranging from direct users to the world at large. Sprout is a ground level initiative to deliver a novel piece of a larger solution in providing quality of life enhancements in urban environments.
Stakeholder Identification: WORLD • Improved air quality • Reduction in non-renewable energy consumption
CITY • • • •
Proceeds from sales of excess solar energy Improved aesthetics of city Greater stream lining of Mass Transit Happier citizens
CITY RESIDENTS (NON-RIDERS) • Improved air quality • Less urban traffic • Improved urban aesthetics
TARGET USER (DAILY RIDER) • • • •
Reduced Carbon Footprint Improved Mass Transit Experience Improved air quality Improved urban aesthetics
User Persona: Cindy Logmire is a life long city dweller, although she owns a car she opts to use public transportation when she commutes to and from work. As a asthma suffer she can be seen using her inhaler during her travels. Cindy relies on her personal car to bring her two children, Jeff and Dwayne, to their appointments. This is due to their tightly scheduled extra curricular activities. Cindy feels a pressing need to get them to their destinations punctiliously and “doesn’t want to leave it to chance with the unpredictability of the bus”. Her own personal work schedule as a file clerk allows for flexibility in her schedule and she “can never seem to find parking any-ways” and “feels good doing her part for the environment.”
Concept Ideation:
Design Direction:
Design Direction:
Technical Development: Top
Front 127.00
283.04
1.00
6.00
Right
26.50
4. R2
50
R9 .00
76.02
.32
57
124.41
28.02
R 2 9. 50
145.37
R5.5
0
59.99
49.75
50.00 R12.00
62.00
49.75
36.00
6.00
Rear
82.51
40.42
73.86
102.62
9 degrees
Main Structure Made of cast UHPC coated with Ti02 the cantilevered canopy is inserted into the ground using the force of it’s weight to support the structure. While the Ti02 coating turns air pollutants into harmless nitrates which are washed away in the rain.
Bench Cantilevered Canopy
Brand Specification: LafargeÂŽ - Ducta PureTi
Algae Housing Filled with water and the hardiest bio-luminescence algae available, which emits light and converts C02 into oxygen. The Algae housing is made of a seamless extruded acrylic tube, chosen for it’s strength and clarity. A secondary air flow tube in the center brings C02 rich air to feed the algae.
Algae Housing
Air flow Tube
Brand Specification: Pyrosystis Fusiformis
Transparent Blocks Used in the rear of the shelter for visual interest and the flow of natural light; transparent concrete blocks keep a high structural integrity and low maintenance.
Transparent Concrete Blocks
Brand Specification: Litracon
Algae Housing Cap The cap of the algae hosing tube serves a user interface device. A strip of OLED’s are used as a progress bar to show which buses are approaching and when. It is also holds the air pump used to push C02 rich air to the algae. Progress Light
Air Intake
Thin-Cell Solar Panels Solar panels on the roof of the shelter provide the electricity to run the transparent display, air pump, and OLED progress bar and pushes excess energy out to the grid during the day. The thin cell solar panels chosen have one of the highest efficiency yield and the best aesthetic appeal on the market.
Thin-cell Solar Panels
Brand Specification: Avancis- Powermax stong
Transparent Display Adding value in digital interaction the large transparent display relays valuable information to users. Because of it’s size there are currently only LCD displays currently available on the market. However, an OLED display would be optimal and specified upon availability. Transparent Display
Brand Specification: Samsung
Rear Wall A series of interlocking blocks make up the rear wall of the structure. Along with the transparent concrete, Olivine aggregate blocks - neutralizes C02, and Ti02 aggregate blocks - breaks down bacteria and VOCs into carbon dioxide and water molecules.
Ti02 Aggregate
Olivine Aggregate
Brand Specification: TX Activate
Cost Estimate:* UHPC Material and Tooling: Acrylic Algea Housing and air flow tube: Avancis Solar Panels: Litracon Blocks: Transparent LCD: OLED Strip: Pyrosystis Fusiformis Culture: Air Pump:
12,000 9,000 5,000 4,000 2,500 300 200 150
Prepared Materials Cost: $55,650 +Assembly cost Hrly (Excess Electricity Sales)
*Estimate based on single unit using retail prices and/or comprabale product cost comparisions.
Digital Interface:
Bio-Luminescents:
SPROUT A street level inititive.