Dancefloor generates electricity at London’s first eco-disco!

NEWS! I Totally scnaffled this from Cate Trotter's article in InHabitat :

"Sustainability got sexier last week as Coldcut and Jade Jagger hosted the opening of Surya in King’s Cross. The Club4Climate project is London’s first taste of eco-friendly clubbing, making clubbers happy in the knowledge that their organic beverage-induced booty shaking can generate 60% of the energy needed to run the club. The venue’s most exciting innovation is the piezoelectric dancefloor, which uses quartz crystals and ceramics to turn clubbers’ movement into electricity!

Previously seen in the Sustainable Dance Club in Rotterdam, this is Britain’s first exposure to such technology. The rest of the power needed will come from a wind turbine and solar energy system, with any surplus used to power private homes in the area. The club will also be installing the latest air flush, waterless urinals, low flush toilets and automatic taps to ensure maximum water saving plus less greedy air conditioning units.

The project is clearly trying to affect behavior on a much wider scale, too, requiring patrons to sign a 10-point manifesto on entry, giving free entry to anyone who can prove that they walked or cycled to the venue, and encouraging as many other clubs as possible to adopt his philosophy."

...........................

Well when will one start up in my area!? Here is a picture of my grandparents at the Sydney's Trocadero dance club ... I wonder what they would think of dancing to save the planet? PS. SO Hansome! but don't be inspired by Grandpa's cigarette in-hand. He died of emphysema :(

Sustainable House Day

A Date for the Diary: Sustainable Homes Day...
On the weekend of the 13th/14th September, houses which are sustainable will open their doors for the public to come in and have a look, and ask questions of the residents. ANZSES (Aust and NZ solar energy Society) are organising some of the tours. Their site has details of tours which may be in your area. http://www.solarhouseday.com.au/
Your local council may also be organising something.

Newcastle city council will be running something at the GAIA Sustainable living demonstration home, which is open every third Saturday of the month generally, and well worth a visit!

Community: A small group of thoughtful ....

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has" Margaret Mead

Permaculture Central Coast ran a wonderful day of workshops on Sunday mixed with yummy food, homemade cakes and teas, and music.
The workshops ranged in the areas of Garden, Home, Natural Health, Traditional crafts and Food.
I learned some new native food and medicine plants from Jake Cassar, updated my knowledge on Composting and Worm farming from Lisa Wriley of the Kariong Eco Garden, then I gave a short workshop on Passive Solar design.
After a delicious lunch and music from Jake Cassar, I attended a workshop by Teresa Rutherford on repelling insects naturally, and then Peter Meloy talked about making his existing home(pictured) into a sustainable house. In the picture you can see the photovoltaic cells on his roof. Peter showed us his last electricity bill.. for $8.00 CREDIT!

My overall impression of the day was HOORAY for Permaculture Central Coast. Such a well organised event only cost attendees about $30 for the day, and so much information and hands on knowledge was available. Sometimes I go to similar day-long events held in fancy hotels with gourmet catering , which cost hundreds of dollars to attend, and don't learn nearly enough. I really appreaciate community groups who spend their own time to help others. Good on you.

Some Onethousandyear Buildings

Bert asked me about what other creations I have done. Here is a little cross-sample of the different kinds of houses I have designed.



This house is close to the beach in Merewether. The long thin block has its north face up one long side. So we turned the house sideways and created little courtyard nooks to bring the sun in to warm up the thermal mass in winter and kep it out in summer.

This is a 3D computer model of a rammed earth house in a rural area in the Hunter Valley. You can see the rays of winter sunshine coming in through the clerestory windows. This small house is very spacious due to its high ceilings and also living areas are partitioned, allowing the temperature inside to be controlled and offering privacy for family members.







This house is in an old suburb of Newcastle, near Throsby Creek. This addition on the back of the old weatherboard cottage allows for plesant outdoor living. The bedroom at the back left is a great way to add to a building by keeping it separate- no need for corridors, no loss of natural light for the rest of the house.






This is the bath house for a similar-style house designed for a block near Seals Rocks. The owners are building themselves. And this is not yet complete!The base is local stone and the top is mud-rendered strawbale.

WORKSHOP: passive solar design

Last night's passive solar design workshop in Lake Maquarie was lots of fun. I am so happy to see the general understanding on passive solar design is so good! The main subjects we discussed were :
o The SUN : it's annual movement through the sky and the effect this has seasonally on our homes.
o VENTILLATION: encouraging natural air flow with a variety of passive (non- mechanical) methods.
o VEGETATION: How you can use trees and vines to cool the home in summer, but not in winter
o MATERIALS: Thermal Mass or no thermal mass, and the different types of insulation
o ORIENTATION: for sun and air flow
o SHADING: Different shading options, flexibility, and shading for different directions
o LIFESTYLE: How we might change our behaviour a little to improve the comfort of our home. For example by putting up heavy drapes for the beginning of winter, moving outdoor living areas seasonally, closing down the house against hot winds, opening the house up at night for cool breezes.

These are the ones I can think of now... if you were there and have anything to add to that list or have any questions arising from the night, click the "comments" link below and leave a message!

The Government (and the opposition) of Australia apologise to the Stolen Generations

It is not architecture, but it is the architecture of our nation.
The First Action of the new Parliament: To say SORRY to the people who have suffered as a result of deliberate policies of the previous and continuing Australian Governments with regard to taking indigenous children away from their families.
I used to feel embarrassed to be an Australian under the Howard Government.
After PM Kevin Rudd's first speech in Parliament House toady, I AM PROUD TO BE A CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY.
It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after watching the broadcast... currently located at http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/apology/
I would like to agree with our Prime Minister and add my energy to his open- hearted offering and hope it indeed can be received in good spirit.

meetings 18 and19 Feb : Sustainable Timber Accreditation

A bit of an emergency meeting ... this from James Felton-Taylor, from australian sustainable timbers

(one of the few truly sustainable new timber suppliers in Australia!)

.....

The Green Building Council Aust (GBCA) has a new Timber Credit (read procurement policy) out for review.

The current timber credit identifies recycled and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified timber and excludes the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS-the scheme which certified Gunns, Forestry Tasmania, state forests etc). This has had the Australian industry hopping mad and the GBCA under immense pressure to change the credit. The new credit consists of 4 dot points and as long as the timber complies with 3 of the 4 then its meets the GBCA credit.

Submissions are due by the 25^th of Feb, please read below as Genevieve Scarfe a Sustainable Development Consultant with Bovis Lend Lease is organising the following meetings in Melb and Syd.

If you could attend or forward this email to any of your fellow architectures or specifiers that would be great

Green Building Council of Australia

As you are aware the Green Building Council of Australia is calling for submissions by 25 February 2008, in response to the proposed changes to the timber credit.

You are invited to attend one of 2 forums to be held to discuss the credit, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne (details below).

It would be great to have 30 people at each meeting. Given the short notice, may I ask for your help in using your networks to invite other people who are involved in sustainable design.

Purpose:

To formulate a constructive response representing the views expressed at the forum.

The credit as proposed will be critiqued, with specific suggestions discussed for improvements.

However consensus is not required.

Each attendee will provide their details to be given to the GBCA.

Time:

5.30 to 7pm

Presentation:

Chris Taylor, an expert in the field of forest certifiction schemes and standards, will offer the presentation.

He is currently doing his PHD on forest certification and the uptake of timber products sourced from certified forests.

Agenda:

An agenda will be sent out shortly beforehand.

Invitees:

Please Note: The GBCA will be hosting a number of forums itself.

These two forums will focus primarily on the point of view of ESD consultants, designers, furniture suppliers.

Melbourne: Monday February 18

5.30pm

Haworth Showroom

Sydney: Tuesday February 19

5.30pm

Haworth Shrowroom

RSVP:

Please RSVP to me, by COB Friday 15 February.

genevieve.scarfe@lendlease.com.au

Regards

Genevieve

Catch the bus from your living room

And now for something I have been doing!

Local artist Victoria Lobregat and I formed a team to enter the Back To The City urban design competition. Along with 17 other architect/artist teams, our LIVING ROOM design was chosen out of around 50 entries. Our idea was to create a bus shelter that would provide an experience of using public transport which is more personally satisfying than driving.

This little creation enhances the experience of waiting for the bus at stop number 230036 on Hunter Street, Newcastle.
Until we built the living room, this exposed place beside the Clarendon Hotel did not offer a shelter or even a seat. All that a bus passenger found there was a carpark, footpath and small section of tile work which is the remnant of a previous age. Creating an
inviting space where people can pause, eat and drink while waiting for the bus, an intervention is created in the normal momentum of Hunter Street pedestrian traffic. The scale of the work make it a more intimate space than is usually encountered in a public area in the city.

Encouraging people onto the streets of Newcastle, the use of public transport revitalises our cities, reduces impact on climate change and improves heath and fitness.

To do this, we have designed and built an ecclectic Living Room, full of curios of a bygone era, where one can sit comfortably and wait for the bus, or a cappuccino.
As this site is adjacent to the Clarendon hotel, a waiter might come out and take your order.

The Living Room bus shelter is made from recycled timber, with art boxes for the side panels. These three dimensional art boxes are created from found objects by local artist Victoria Lobregat. The artist is inspired by Newcastle’s cultural and industrial heritage within an urban context.

After being installed for over a week, this shelter has not been damaged or vandalised in any way. The comfy cushions provided in the shelter still remain!!

We have received wonderful feedback from locals and tourists, and hear daily stories of people taking photos in the living room, having picnics there and generally breaking into spontaneous smiles in this otherwise empty part of town! Hooray Living Room, you are so CUTE!!

Boat house awaits the rising tide

Take a quick peek at this architecture/ art / nature section of this cute blog called Artwranglers !
Here is a little treehouse made out of an old boat. I suspect with climate change and the rising water levels it may soon find some water to carry it forth.

Grow your dinner on your Head.

Let us take a lesson form the wombats and creatures of the underground...how much more comfortable it is in summer and winter to live with soil above you. How much more space efficient to grow your dinner on your roofspace. How beautiful to look down from your apartment not onto the next buildings shiny hot roof but onto their wildflower garden.
This image is a building of offices and apartments by Emilio Ambasz & Associates (who have been designing amazing landscape=buildings for yonks) and is located in Fukuoka, Japan.
I found the image on the VERY good Green Roofs Australia website. If you want to know anything about eating off your headspace, this is the place to go.

There will be a series of talks coming up soon, One in Sydney on the 27th Feb, $100 for non-members. Check the website for other locations and details.

Flush your toilet with dirty water.

A previous post showed these toilets which you wash your hands in the basin , and that water is then used for the next toilet flush! How exciting they are now available in Australia through Caroma. Good on you Caroma, you HAVE been leading the way in Australia for reducing water use in the bathroom.

Have been quoted $500 aprox for a unit. More info here.

Largest Flowering plant on earth MAKES GREAT PAPER

This tree is a Eucalyptus Regnans The tallest hardwood tree and largest flowering plant on earth. I guess all that timber must make lots of paper, and Gunns must have thought the same, as they are unashamedly clearfelling masses of ancient Regnans in Tasmania.

To find out more, read at this very interesting article from The Monthly, May 2007, available online.

If Tasmania is to far to go and make protest, take some cyberaction at the Wilderness Society Cyberactivist Site.

May the trees be happy.

Happy 2008 and a nice website to start it off!

yet another great WEBSITE: Inhabitat
These guys have a great motto:

GREEN DESIGN IS GOOD DESIGN
GOOD DESIGN IS GREEN DESIGN

This is a blog-like site, with tasty snipppets of all the latest funky green designs they can find. Including treehouse architecture! Plenty of images and video clips. This site has made it to my RSS feeder so congratulations Inhabitat!!

NEWS: Good News!

I was so happy listening to the news yesterday! What a good change!
I do try to be peaceful and loving in my life but sometimes I do shout grumpily at the radio when I hear the crazy things the governments get up to...
but yesterday was full of hopeful cheer
Kevin Rudd, the Prime minister of Australia ( already a quiet smile)
goes to Bali to sign Kyoto Protocol (HOORAY!!)
leaving Julia Gillard behind as the first female acting as Prime Minister (Yay for the ladies! )
(althoug of course we await Julia's realisation of the importance of ending nuclear and unsustainable logging practices.)
The next item in the news was the Nobel peace prize being shared between Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (YIPEEEEEEEE)

DIAL BEFORE YOU DIG

If you are Designing your new home or an extension, contact these guys before you start, they will send you out maps of your site and any services on there. Its a great way to start your site analysis! Their new website is : http://www.dialbeforeyoudig.com.au

Study architectue and forestry simultaneously!

The 4th August broadcast of By Design (ABC RN) featured the design of buildings which create less waste in their construction process.
It is available for mp3download or perusal .
Peter Graham, from the University of New South Wales Environment and Sustainability Research Group, spoke.
One of the most interesting notions was a joint project the UNSW is doing with a university in Japan. This university runs a course in architecture and forestry. So both professions become more knowledgeable in each field.. What a GREAT idea!

Meanwhile I have found 2 more good websites on sustainable materials choices,
one which is from the US, and slightly outdated, but the theory in there is helpful, and a nice idea for a website...
AIA Sustainable Design Resource Guide

The other is Eco-Find : based in Victoria but useful for all Australia, it allows one to search for particular products by category and area. It is not as credible as the Ecospecifier, however on first use it seems quite sound.

Peoples lives controlled by design! WEBSITE REVIEW

Here is what the blog Architectures of Control says about itself:

"Increasingly, many products are being designed with features that intentionally restrict the way the user can behave, or enforce certain modes of behaviour. The same intentions are also evident in the design of many systems and environments.

This site aims—with readers’ input—to examine and analyse the ideas and techniques of these architectures of control in design, through examples and anecdotes, and by keeping up-to-date with relevant developments.."

Interesting stuff! Thanks for the link Leigh!

Photo of tree reveals secret

I hope you get the chance to see the exhibition currently traveling the world :
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year
There are many beautiful and touching pictures in the exhibition. The one which struck me the most is this one. It is better to see this photo up close. A hurricane flattened an area of plantation timber in this shape, and the roads made by the trucks retrieving the timber have left this pattern of a tree. Perfect. This exhibition is on at the Lovett Gallery, Newcastle until the 11 August.

WORKSHOP: Solar Passive Design (at Swansea)

Hello to all the lovely people who attended this workshop! If you have any comments or questions please click the "comments" link below, and let me know. Thank you for attending, it was a very good workshop! Jo

WEBSITE REVIEW: Good Wood Guide

Greenpeace have just launched their Good Wood Guide.
It is not quite finished, but will give you some ideas about where to start looking for sustainable timber. It's a really difficult project, as truly knowing if wood is good means knowing the entire process from the tree to the piece of timber. This was the idea behind FSC timber. However FSC timber producers are only just starting up in Australia, so generally any FSC timber you would be purchasing would be imported from overseas.
The Rainforest Information Centre's NSW Good Wood Guide was really awesome but sadly it is now out of date, and no funds to update it. However it has great background information to help you understand the real issues of purchasing sustainable timber.
My answer is to use secondhand wherever possible! Flooring, windows and doors especially are easy, and so much cheaper, if not free!!