A NEW URBAN PARADIGM.
ANAEROBIC AIRSHIPS:
Site : St Pancras / Kings Cross, London Group : Emma Smith, Katie Hope, Pritpal Chana Tutor: Jack Dunne The University of Liverpool, 2013 Awards: Charles Reilly Medal, University of Liverpool RIBA Silver Presidents Medal nomination Global Architecture Graduate Award nomination Highlighted in the AJ’s Student Show 2013
This original and highly conceptual architectural intervention was developed by three Masters of Architecture students as part of their final year, six month Thesis Project. The students developed their own brief by identifying global problems which they felt as designers they could proposal a new architectural solution and work towards a more sustainable global future. This is a summary booklet which only contains a small proportion of the entire research and project.
ANAEROBIC AIRSHIPS: A NEW URBAN PARADIGM
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TURNING YESTERDAYS UNSOLD FOOD WASTE INTO TOMORROWS TRAVEL
Edited by Emma Smith
PROJECT SUMMARY In December 2012, the number of international tourists reached one billion for the first time in history. By 2050, this figure is set to reach 16 billion having profound effects on how, why and where we travel. With rapidly depleting resources and little proof of viable alternatives, the current budget airline culture dominating the aviation industry is not sustainable. Set amidst the current climate-change crisis, our thesis proposes a new urban intervention of city centre airship terminals, allowing low-carbon airships powered by unsold food waste to carry passengers and cargo into the heart of urban areas fully connected to existing public transport networks. We also challenge the experience of current air travel, fully integrating the sustainable industrial process as part of the overall visitor experience. Architecturally, the design is derived from the characteristics of airships. The form and orientation provide shelter for airships whilst they dock, whilst allowing them to take off into the wind. Mirroring the engineering of airships themselves, the buildings are vast in scale yet structurally lightweight and environmentally reactive. Our vision extends from the here and now: could this really be the future of air travel? Our vision suggests airship terminals could become an integrated part of urban centres, an extension of existing public transport networks and the gateway for future proof sustainable air travel.
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CO2 34 Billion tonnes of CO2 is globally produced by human.
675 Million tonnes of CO2 is globally produced by aeroplanes
Global Emissions From Fossil Fuels
TURNING YESTERDAYS UNSOLD FOOD INTO TOMORROWS TRAVEL
SO WHY AIR TRAVEL?
A NEW URBAN As the demand for air travel increases, so does its PARADIGM respective carbon footprint. Currently transporting
2.8 billion passengers a year, forecasts predict that by 2050, passenger numbers are set to increase to a staggering 16 billion passengers a year. This rapidly increasing carbon footprint associated with the aviation industry is a global concern. However remarkably there is currently no global agreement or policy in place to tackle or regulate CO2 emissions produced by the aviation industry as they were left out of the Kyoto Protocol due to the difficulties in assigning emissions to any specific country. As a result, astoundingly the aviation industry CO2 emissions are not accounted for in specific countries carbon footprints or quotas.
This left us intrigued to investigate the topic more as part of our thesis project where we began to explore its future, alternatives and possibilities. Transport is the largest man-made contributor of CO2 at 30%, of which 12% can be directly associated with the aviation industry. Globally, the aviation industry comprises of 1,715 airlines which operate 23,000 aircraft. This serves 3,750 airports via a route network of millions of kilometres that is managed by 160 air navigation service providers.
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HEATHROW RUNNING AT 98%, WHILE FORECASTS PREDICT ALL LONDON AIRPORTS WILL BE AT FULL CAPACITY BY 2020.
UK’S ISLAND ECONOMY DEPENDANT ON TRANSPORT NETWORKS As an island economy, the UK has owed its prosperity to the transport and trade routes linking it to the rest of the world. With the ever increasing globalisation of our economy and society, the future of the UK will continue to be shaped by the effectiveness of its international transport networks. Aviation is key to this connectivity and yet severe capacity constraints threaten to limit the number of places that can be served from the UK. As a matter of urgency, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, has launched a campaign to ensure that London has the aviation connectivity to meet its future economic needs. The issue is urgent. We need to respond, or London and the UK risk being side lined by those countries investing in their airport networks for future economic prosperity. Capacity constraints at Heathrow already mean that we are losing out on trade worth 1bn per year.
79% UK Visitors arrived by air in 2012.
URGENT ISSUE
LONDON’S QUEST FOR A NEW AIRPORT. 3
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION.
THE BIOCHEMICAL PROCESS IN DETAIL The industrial AD process involved in this project is based on two phase thermophilic Anaerobic Digestion to dual produce Hydrogen and Biogas. This technology already exists, however the two phase dual production technology is in the early development stages and is not yet currently commercially available. * All figures and calculations are approximate and have been obtained from a variety of sources. Further research is required which is beyond the scale and scope of this project.
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PROTOTYPE EUROPEAN STRATEGY.
1 | London Heathrow
69,983,142 passengers
EUROPEAN SUSTAINABLE AIR TRAVEL NETWORK.
LONDON - PARIS - MADRID - AMSTERDAM - FRANKFURT 2 | Paris Charles De Gaulle
61,611,934 passengers
Our concept seeks to connect the five busiest hub airports in Europe. Proposing prototype food-waste to power terminal building in the heart of each city centre. This wider strategy has potential to be replicated on a global scale to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from short haul air travel. The savings in time, cost and CO2 emissions are shown below from a single flight from London to Paris.
These large savings on merely one flight accumulate to dramatic savings over an entire airship network. Not to mention other benefits such an unique passenger experience that allows a truly city central to city central travel. Further cutting cost, time and CO2 emissions on transport from airports on the outskirts and benefiting from full integration with public transport networks.
3 | Frankfurt Hahn
57,520,001 passengers
4 | Amsterdam Schipol
51,035,590 passengers
5 | Barajas Madrid
45,195,014 passengers
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WIDER PHASING STRATEGY
2020
2015 ONTARIO
VANCOUVER
LONDON CHICAGO
PARIS
NEW YORK
MIN
AMSTERDAM FRANKFURT
MADRID SAN FRANCISCO
CAIRO
MEXICO CITY PANAMA
2030
DAKAR Abuja
CARACAS
NAIRO BRASILIA
RIO DE JANEIRO
STRATEGY CAN BE REPLICATED ON A GLOBAL SCALE. 865m
m3 Hydrogen
MONTEVIDEO
CAPE TOWN
MADRID SAN FRANCISCO
Y
SAN FRANCISCO
MEXICO CITY
KARACHI
WORLDWIDE AIRSHIP NETWORK DAKAR 2030 CONNECTING THE HEARTS OF CITIES. A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FORNAIROBI AIR TRAVEL? CAIRO
MEXICO CITY
NEW DEH 203
DUBAI
PANAMA
CARACAS
MUMBAI
PANAMA
Abuja
BRASILIA
CARACAS
BRASILIA
2025
KEY STATS: RIO DE JANEIRO
MOSCOW
NSK
CAPE TOWN
865m
m3 Hydrogen
82m
MONTEVIDEO
12m
tonnes food waste
1.8m
hours cargo
TOKYO
cargo
STATISTICS
KARACHI
865m
passengers
H2
BEIJING
NEW DUBAI m3 Hydrogen
RIO D
MONTEVID
SHANGHAI
DEHLI
82m
MUMBAI
passengers
H2
SAVES: 550,000
Inbound flights / year
12m
tonnes food waste
1.8m
550,000
tonnes of CO2
12 Million
tonnes food waste
3.6Million
tonnes landfill gas
Outbound flights / year
hours cargo
OBI
21 Billion
cargo
STATISTICS
No. FLIGHTS BRISBANE SYDNEY ADELAIDE
2050 21 Billion tonnes of CO2
5.6 Billion
CARS off the road
1 Million Homes
6.6 Billion m3 BIOFUEL
CHRISTCHURCH
3.7 Million
tonnes of fertiliser
SAVES
Key Stats and Savings based on our prototype network connecting the five busiest European hub cities, which include London, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. * All figures and calculations are approximate and have been obtained from a variety of sources. Further research is required which is beyond the scale and scope of this project.
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E
AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY THE ANNUAL CARBON SAVINGS AT THE LONDON SITE ALONE IS EQUIVALENT OF TAKING
1.7 MILLION CARS OFF THE ROAD EACH YEAR
LONDON TERMINAL ONE PROTOTYPE SPECIFICS. ASSUME 1/6TH OF THE CURRENT MARKET SHARE. This prototype network to begin with assumes 1/6th of the current market share to the four European destinations. The current market sees 176 outgoing flights per day with a full passenger capacity of 27,456 passengers per day.
Year 1 Terminal One Strategy
Proposes 36,500hrs of cargo flight per year and 21,900 flight per year (outbound + inbound) carrying 3,285,000 passenger in year one. The modest start to the terminal is designed to generate large demand due to the limited flight numbers and over the first year build the public confidence again in airship safety and the technology.
Terminal Maximum Capacities
Each terminal has a maximum capacity of 65,700 flights per year (inbound and outbound) and ability to carry 9,855,000 passengers per year. As the airship network expands the number of destinations from London will increase, utilising the terminals full capacity.
London’s Five Terminal Airship Capacity - 328,500 flights per year - 49,275,000 passengers per year - 182,500hrs of cargo flight
At maximum capacity the five terminal London site utilises 3.6 million tonnes of unsold supermarket food waste and replaces 328,500 aeroplane flights each year. According to our predicted CO2 savings this is the equivalent in carbon terms of taking 1,694,850 cars off the road each year. * All figures and calculations are approximate and have been obtained from a variety of sources. Further research is required which is beyond the scale and scope of this project.
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LARGEST TRANSPORT INTERCHANGE IN THE UK. ST PANCRAS, KINGS CROSS & NOW A SUSTAINABLE AIRSHIP TERMINAL.
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Aerodynamics Simulation Due to the shear height of the structure, the windward facade was designed to ‘confuse the wind’ and not allow vortexes to form. The remaining structure is lightweight and permeable further decreasing the associated wind loading.
Development Sketch The initial form of the tower was investigated through a series of hand sketches in context.
A NEW CITY TRANSPORT HUB.
TALLEST AND LIGHTEST TOWER IN LONDON
A landmark to show London’s commitment to Sustainability
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PROJECT DEVELOPED THROUGH A SERIES OF SKETCHES & MODELS Throughout this project and design process we rigorously tested our ideas and different approaches in a range of mediums in search of the optimum solution. This is small sample.
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CENTRAL AIRSHIP TERMINAL
SITE CONTEXT THE MASTERPLAN
2015
Terminal 1 Viewing Gallery
2020 Sustainable monorail
2050 T2, T3 & T4 Reopen tube
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Activity Section through Viewing Gallery The public Viewing Gallery is used as the entrance point to the Airship terminals. Its purpose is to provide a meeting and destination point where the public can enjoy the views over the terminals and industrial process, watch the excitement of the airships and be educated and inspired.
VIEWING GALLERY
Viewing Gallery Plan The viewing gallery utilises the flat roof to the north of St Pancras it provides both an internal entrance/ connection from the station to the airship terminals and place to dwell. The structure also forms a ground level large bus station and holds the sustainable monorail system.
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TERMINAL ONE INTERNAL PLANNING
Level 0 Upper Arrivals Security
The internal planning of the terminal buildings had many considerations that made the planning logistically very difficult, as well as the large scale of the project. A number of the key design drivers were: safety, separation of arrivals and departures, airships landing, taking off and fuelling, means of escape, structure, views, passenger experience and environmental factors. As this project is a visionary scheme the plans are not as resolved as we would of liked and still at the schematic stages of the design process. The terminal buildings principal driving design factors include the conditions and dimensions required best for airships, environmental factors (in particular the wind), efficiency (both structural and occupational) and simplicity. The towers main purpose is to safely board and disembark passengers and cargo from the airships. The passenger experience was also heavily considered during the design process.
Level 0 Lower Departure check in / Security
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Level 8 Gate Departure waiting room
Level 7 Docking Platform
Selected Plans The internal planning of the terminal buildings had many considerations that made the planning logistically very difficult, as well as the large scale of the project. A number of the key design drivers were: safety, separation of arrivals and departures, airships landing, taking off and fuelling, means of escape, structure, views, passenger experience and environmental factors. As this project is a visionary scheme the plans are not resolved as we would of liked and still at the schematic stages of the design process.
Level 1 Departure Lounge Podium
PERSPECTIVE SECTION Scale 1:500
Terminal North Elevation Hybrid Airships can accurately maneuver and begin a controlled landing into the vertical terminal. The great progression of airship technology allows great accuracy and control, even in adverse weather conditions.
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Development Sketch The initial form of the tower was investigated through a series of hand sketches in context.
A NEW CITY TRANSPORT HUB.
TALLEST AND LIGHTEST TOWER IN LONDON
A landmark to show London’s commitment to Sustainability
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Cargo channel through podium Cargo can be lifted straight from Regents Canal upto a Cargo Bay for transportation by Airship and vice versa. The image also show the view up through the structural section of the tower.
24 HOURS IN USE. PASSENGERS 6am - 12am 24hr CARGO FACILITY
The passenger terminal is fully operational in line with public transport and tube networks opening and closing times. This is paramount as no car parking facilities are provided, in hope of encouraging the use of public transport furthering the sustainable outlook of the project. The cargo facility runs 24 hours both delivering cargo nationally and internationally. The cargo facility is directly linked to the Regents Canal on the site and the rail network allowing seamless transportation from air to rail and/or canal. The relatively quiet nature of the airships allows for this 24 hour operation, even in central London. Other benefits include that large cargo can be delivered to the specific site.
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Direct internal connection from St Pancras to Airship Terminals This provides passengers with a seamless connection from public transport to the Airship Terminals. The grande St Pancras Hall is a memorable approach to the scheme and views can also be enjoyed out of its historical glazed roof.
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Approach from KIngs Cross and St Pancras Anaerobic digestion tanks expressed as an integral part of the landscaping strategy to provide a visual waste to fuel process. It is important that the sustainable process is as transparent as possible to the passengers and the public.
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Looking out from viewing gallery The viewing gallery acts as the first public entrance point to the Airship Terminals. It sits upon the existing flat roof on the northern end of St Pancras Station and is internally connected. It boasts panoramic views over the Airship Terminals and anaerobic digestion process.
Internal view from departure lounge Three level departure podium contains all the amenities that passengers may desire. The space focuses on a central lifting channel allowing cargo to be lifted directly off the canal and up to the cargo airship bays.
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1:1250 Backlight Site Model This large site model (two A0’s) shows the overall site strategy expanding the already large transport interchange at the central London site. Materials: Perspex, Foamex , 3D Print, MDF & timber base
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COULD AIRSHIPS SOON BE PART OF CITY SKYLINES ALL OVER THE WORLD? A GLOBAL STEP TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY?
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PROJECT EXHIBITION
University of Liverpool Degree Show
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
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miss_elsmith@hotmail.co.uk