18 minute read
Proposed programme
PROPOSED PROGRAMME
Research and questionnaire helped us establish the most appropriate programme for Generation Z. From the research it was found that in order to reach them, digital expectations should be met. Moreover, from the responses of the questionnaire it was understood that there is a lack of knowledge on circular economy. Although through their behaviour it can be inferred that they are interested in learning more about it.
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In order to capture their interest, the programme will concentrate on raising awareness through different activities:
Firstly, through digital information they could acquire deeper knowledge on problems related to the environment and possible solutions, such as circular economy and bioplastics.
Secondly, as they expressed their will on DIY activities it is suggested to implement a lab where they could make bioplastic by themselves.
Lastly, they could contribute by cladding one of the walls of the pavilion with their own unique bioplastic previously cooked in the lab.
Through those activities they may gain better understanding of the life cycle of the material and realise its potential.
SITE ANALYSIS
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SITE ANALYSIS
Members of the generation z were born between 1997 and 2012. Most of them are still during their educational stage with the oldest ones that are just entering the working force. Due to the high percentage that is still in schools or universtities we were looking into sites in Milan with a high concentration of students.
From the data collected in 2017 universitites with the highest number of students are: Statale 63 021, Politecnico di Milano 42 415, Cattolica 40 215 and Bocconi 13 192.
The area of Politecnico di Milano was picked for the final site as it is a concentration of students in wide age range. The district is called Città Studi and it hosts also several faculties of Statale university as well as several highschools and primary schools.
Another important aspect for us was to find an open green area, preferably close to the educational sites. The park near Piazza Leonado da Vinci consists of all of those elements. The park is the place of gathering along the week days, especially evenings and weekends. Additinally, it is well connected with a public transport, such as buses (line 90,91) , trams (19, 33) and adjacent to Piola metro stop.
SITE ANALYSIS - MILAN
Educational facilities
3 1
4
1 - Statale 2 - Politecnico di Milano 3 - Cattolica 4 - Bocconi
2
SITE ANALYSIS - CITTÀ STUDI
Educational Facilities
Politecnico di Milano
Universita degli Studi di Milano Schools
Green Areas
Public Green Areas
Botanical Gardens
SITE ANALYSIS - PIAZZA LEONARDO
Public Transport
Tram (19,33)
Metro Piola
Bus (90,91) Potential site
Politecnico di Milano
Circulation of People
Evening Afternoon
Morning
DESIGN
225
BIOPLASTIC IN PROJECT
For the purpose of the project we aimed to achieve gelatin bioplastic with different qualities according to the needs. The material will vary in terms of flexiblity, colour and translucency.
The roof will be protected with highly flexible sheet, that behaves like a textile and easily can follow the shape of the minimal surface. The pieces will be attached to the surface using clamps. The cover of the roof will contain two layer: gelatin bioplastic and alginate bioplastic, as the latter permit water resistance.
The walls of the pavilion will be covered with strong and less flexible bioplastics. It will vary in opacity and colour.
A display facade is aimed to be covered with a tile of smaller dimmensions and in its unique shape. The tile is planned to be prepared and put on the facade by visitors. For that reason the method to attach
Each bioplastic may be produced as a bigger sheet and cut with the laser cut into the smaller pieces.
ADAPTABILITY
FLEXIBILITY Through a modification of the proportions in the mix we were able to obtain variaty leveles of flexibility. The ingredient that is behind this variations is glycerine. The more glycerine the mix is composed of the more flexible product we obtain. Additionally, the glycerine strengthens the material. The samples that contain little glycerine may break easily.
The flexible sample is necessary for our project as it is composed of diverse organic shapes.
TRANSLUCENCY The translucency of the material changes in time. The ingredient responsible for this change is sugar. With appropriate propotions we aimed to obtain an opaque sample within two week after it reaches a dry state.
Sample presented on the photo on the following page contains photos from the first day after drying and after two weeks.
Transparent, blue sample visible on the page 242 did not contain any sugar any mix.For that reason it did not change its translucency.
The manipulation of transparency is important for our project, as we gained various experiences inside designed spaces.
STRENGTH The strength of the sample relates to the quantity of gelatin in the mix. Materials with higher amount of gelatin are stronger and more resistent to tensile stress. We recognized that in order to achieve a resistent material other ingredients also have to be optimized. As it is mentioned previously, higher amount og glycerine allowed us to achieve stronger sample.
DISPLAY FACADE
STRUCTURAL MATERIALS
WOOD
BAMBOO
Working towards a zero-waste, low-carbon design we choose to use bamboo wood for most of the structural components.
As a building material it has great compressive strength and a high loadbearing capacity while it is lightweight, durable and sustainable. In terms of sustainability, it is one of the fastestgrowing plants and can be cultivated in different types of soil. Bamboo wood has a life cycle long enough for its resource to grow back, making it a renewable. It has high fire resistance, as it can withstand up to 4000 degree Celsius.
The vertical columns are solid, laminated bamboo strips that are impregnated for outdoor use. A special impregnation process provides the product the highest durability class possible following EU norm EN 350.
Lastly, it can be produced with various dimensions, which is relevant for the purpose of the design. HEMLOCK
Hemlock wood was chosen as it is a common material used for gridshell structures. It can cover large spans and being bent easily. Available in long lengths, normally straight grained, due to the tree growing up to 60 meters. Additionally, it has small cross section, which is required for the design of laths.
POLYCARBONATE
The material enables light transmission properties that are like glass. Additionally, it weights about half as much as glass, what results in lower transport costs. It is extremely durable and easy to cut and shape, it is commonly done in solid or multiwall sheets. The available sheets are from 4mm to 32 mm.The material can be bent at room temperature following the instructions of the manufacturer. Moreover, they are easy to assemble on site. In terms of UV, the material contains a coating on one or both sides, which protects the sheet from the direct sunlight. Lastly, the material can be fully recycled.
REPRESENTATION
277
PROJECT IN CONTEXT
PLAN PIAZZA LEONARDO
0 40m
NORTH ELEVATION PIAZZA LEONARDO 1:250
South elevation
0 2m 5,85 5,15
4,00
1,05
0,00
East elevation
North elevation
PROGRAMME AND CIRCULATION
3
2 1
1
2
3 THREE TYPES OF AWARENESS:
Info - Awareness on materiality
Making and designing bioplastic - Learning by doing
Display facade - Interaction and completion
1
BIO WALL
SCAN ME
PLASTIC POLLUTI
0 E C STI ALP F
THE MASS O GREAT PACIFIC GARBAG (GPGP)WAS ESTIMATED TO APP ROXIMATELY 80,000 TONNES. A TOTAL OF 1.8 TRILLION PLASTIC PIECES ESTIMATED TO BE THE PATCH – A PLASTIC THAT IS EQUIVALENT TO 25 PIECES OF DEBRIS FOR HUMAN IN THE WORLD. ENT? THE ENVIRONM HOW IMPORTANT ISFOR YOU CIRCULAR ECONOMY
RAW MATERIALS
DESIGN
RESIDUAL WASTE
G RE CY CL I N
COLLECTION
PRODUCTIONREMANUFACTURI NG
DI ST R IB UTI ON
CONSUMPTION REUSE/REPA IR
GELATINE RECIPE
2
3
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS
ROOFTOP PLAN 1:100
PLAN 1:100
PERSPECTIVE SECTION 1:50
VISUALIZATION
MATERIAL LIFE CYCLE
Nowadays we produce and build following the linear economic concept – take, make, waste. There is not enough emphasis on what happens with the product after its use. Mostly, products and buildings are designed without consideration on the importance of material choice. The material assessment should be implemented at the earliest design phase, as 80% of a product’s impact over its life is determined at that stage. (Mahmoudkelaye, et al, 2018)
The aim of the project was to choose processes and materials that do not have such a negative effect on the environment and follow the concept of circular economy. It was necessary to select materials, which can be easily reused and/or repurposed, leaving at the end of its life no or little discard.
GELATIN
The gelatin-based bioplastic is created with the use of only natural ingredients: gelatin, glycerin, sugar and water.
As it is made from renewable nutrients, it can be placed in the biological materials of the “butterfly” diagram. Its life cycle fulfils the idea of circular thinking, due to its ability to cascade within the consumer, be composted and regenerate into the biosphere that results in the growth of new plants. It can cascade through melting and remoulding of the material into a new product. At the end of its life is possible to be used as a fertilizer. Due to a high concentration of nitrogen in gelatin, is suitable for enriching the soil. Additionally, is safer and less expensive than common fertilizers. It also releases nitrogen slowly, what results in enriching plants for a longer period. (Apply These Secret Gelatin Tips in the Garden, 2021) It can be done by dissolving the material with water until it reaches a liquid state, after it is ready to be poured into the soil.
WOOD
For the pillars was chosen bamboo. It is considered as an endless resource due to its growing speed, which is up to 1 meter per day. Additionally, is CO2 neutral as it absorbs more CO2 than is released during its production. It is durable and hard, so it may cover large spans and transfer high loads. After being processed, it fulfils fire safety requirements (MOSO-bamboo, 2021). For the laths that cover the spaces would be used hemlock wood as as is easy to bent and can cover large spans.
Wood, as the gelatin-based bioplastic is within the biological materials of the ”butterfly” diagram. Through a design of straight laths, pillars with
square cross section and avoiding glue, the material can cascade, meaning that can be reused and repurposed multiple times after its initial function, depending on the applicability. It can finish its life by being burnt, for use as biomass energy. For the ring beam is used glulam, that after its use can be fully recycled.
POLYCARBONATE
In order to enclose the Bio Lab polycarbonate was picked, as it is considered a sustainable solution. The material has a long lifecycle and can be used many times, eventually it can be fully recycled.The material is considerably lighter than glass, which benefits in transport and supporting structures. (Bisphenol sustainability, 2021) Additionally, as the shape of the space is organic with continuous change of height the material is needed to be highly customized. Polycarbonate can be used as such with a reduced economical input.
In the “butterfly” diagram it can be placed in the technical materials. It should be properly maintained until it serves its purpose, subsequently, if possible reused, later on remanufactured and as last recycled. Polycarbonate can be fully recycled in order to produce another product with different applicability. The polycarbonate panels are modular regarding their width but differ in height and curvature in order to follow the shape of the design. Due to a customized shape as such, reusing the same material for other purposes may face problems. Through remanufacturing or recycling the product may come back to the user.
STEEL
For the connections are chosen common steel joints and magnets. Steel elements can be found in the technical materials of “butterfly” diagram. Those elements should be maintained accurately and reused for other structures or products.
In order to use the finite resources effectively and balance the use of renewable ones all elements should stay within the first phases for longer period (especially the cascade phase) and to avoid generation of waste by its quick disposal into the landfills directly after the use of the product. The materials should be adaptable and remain useful to keep them circulating in the economy. The design of the pavilion and material choice aims to fight the linear economic concept and
RENEWABLE FLOW MANAGEMENT
farming/collection
biological materials: BIOPLASTIC WOOD
regeneration
biogas
compost cascades
materials / parts manufacturer
product manufacturer
retail / service provider
consumer
collection
mining / materials manufactoring STOCK MANAGEMENT
materials / parts manufacturer
product manufacturer
retail / service provider
user
collection
technical materials POLYCARBONATE STEEL
recycle
refurbish / remanufacture
maintain reuse / redistribute
minimise systematic leakage and negative externalities
Conclusion
Apart from being a sustainable solution, bioplastic’s strength is its possibility to adapt from smaller scale to architectural scale. This ephemeral material can be especially applied to temporary architecture as it cascades and does not generate waste as on its last stage it can be donated to local botanical gardens as a fertilizer.
The aim of locating the pavilion in front of a university context, Politecnico di Milano, was to reach a younger audience that have the possibility to redefine the future approach towards design and their consumer habits.
Through the interaction with the pavilion the users will gain awareness on their role in the product’s and architecture life cycle.
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