Towards a Sustainable Architecture

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Towards a Sustainable Architecture KTH Archite cture and the Built Environment Towards a Sustainable Architecture. The raise of the smart grid network Ivan Cusini Degree Project SoM EX 2010-11 Stockholm 2010 KTH, Department of Urban Planning and Environment Division of Urban and Regional Studies Kungliga Tekniska högskolan 2 [ Ivan Cusini ] Table of Contents Table of Figures ............................................................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... 6 Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Aims and Objectives ..................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 9 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 11 The four era of Architecture development .................................................................................. 12 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 12 The sustainable primitive architectures ............................................................................................ 14 The dark age of the technology dependent architectures ................................................................ 17 The passive architectures .................................................................................................................. 20 Sustainable Cities in the black forest: the case of Freiburg in Germany. ...................................... 22 Sustainable district in Stockholm: the case of Hammarby Sjöstad ............................................... 24 Sustainable architectures in Australia: the case of Southern Queensland ................................... 27 The active architectures development .............................................................................................. 30 Smart grid development ................................................................................................................ 31 Governmental policies for Active Architectures: the Italian case of Conto Energia ................... 33 Household sewage and waste Biogas development ..................................................................... 35 Water scarcity and water reuse development in architecture ..................................................... 37 Study case: Active House in Aarhus, Denmark .............................................................................. 39 Study case: Active House in Malmö, Sweden ................................................................................ 41 Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 43 Governmental issues and tax revenues ............................................................................................ 47 Table of Figures | Towards a Sustainable Architecture 3 [ Ivan Cusini ] Energy corporation Lobbies .............................................................................................................. 48 Challenges for the future .................................................................................................................. 48 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 49 References ................................................................................................................................. 51 Table of Figures | Towards a Sustainable Architecture 4 [ Ivan Cusini ] Table of Figures Figure: 1 Modulor; Sketch of Ville Savoir, Le Corbusier ..................................................................... 12 Figure: 2 Sustainable architectures in Africa, Europe and Asia ........................................................... 14 Figure: 3 Passive design solutions for cool and warm climates in the Arctic and in Southeast Asia ... 15 Figure: 4 Passive design solutions in the Mediterranean and wind cooling towers in Persia............. 16 Figure: 5 The Glass House (1949) by Philip Johnson in New Canaan, Connecticut, USA. ................... 17 Figure: 6 The Glass and Steel development in New York City, USA. ................................................... 18 Figure: 7 Conditioners on a building facade and the Titanium ceiling of the Los Angeles Walt Disney concert hall. ........................................................................................................................................... 19 Figure: 8 Sustainable Architecture in Australia. Source: Royal Australian Institute of Architecture .. 20 Figure: 9 Vauban district in Freiburg, Germany .................................................................................. 22 Figure: 10 Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm Municipality. Development map and inside views ........ 24 Figure: 11 Passive Architectural details in Hammarby Sjöstad development ...................................... 26 Figure: 12 Aboriginal hut in southern Australia. Ivan Cusini courtesy. ............................................... 27 Figure: 13 Cross ventilation and outside living in sustainable Queensland architecture .................... 29 Figure: 14 Active architectures in Scandinavia ..................................................................................... 30 Figure: 15 Energy consumption in the four different architecture groups. ......................................... 31 Figure: 16 Examples of solar panel integration in Conto Energia program. ........................................ 33 Figure: 17 Examples of Energetic certification of the buildings in Italy; Energy demands for housing, 1990-2007. ............................................................................................................................................ 34 Figure: 18 Biogas digester in South Delhi, India; Scheme of functioning ............................................. 35 Figure: 19 The active house in Lystrup, Aarhus, Denmark ................................................................... 39 Figure: 20 Section and energy consumption in the active house ........................................................ 40 Figure: 21 The active house Villa Akarp, Malmö suburb, Sweden ....................................................... 41 Table of Figures | Towards a Sustainable Architecture 5 [ Ivan Cusini ] Figure: 22 Households net saving rates as a percentage of household disposable income. Source: OECD Factbook 2009 ............................................................................................................................ 43 Figure: 23 Crude oil spot prices (US $ per barrel) . Source: OECD Factbook 2009 ............................. 44 Figure: 24 Financial composition of the mortgage system in a common residential household and in a Active Architecture ............................................................................................................................. 46 | Towards a Sustainable Architecture 6 [ Ivan Cusini ] Acknowledgements I first would like to thank my beloved family, for their support, comprehension and encouragement at all times. I warmly thank my girlfriend Therese for the time we have spent together and for the infinite patience she has with me. I would like to thank my teachers from the EESI Master Course at KTH, in particular Prof. Tigran Haas and Prof. Malin Hansen, my supervisor for this final thesis, and a very inspiring teacher I have had the pleasure to work with. Finally, I would like to thank all the students that have taken part in the EESI Master Program, for making our time so interesting while sharing different point of view among the same issues in sustainable development. Acknowledgements | Towards a Sustainable Architecture 7 [ Ivan Cusini ] Abstract Housing has represented one of the most ancient aspects in the social life of humankind. The need of a shelter has developed through millennia from the basic forms of dolmen to the current deconstructivist and emotional architectures that contribute to the identification of cities, countries and cultures. Although the new architectural styles have deeply developed from their basic solutions, they still respond to the same needs of housing, social aggregator and icons. Nonetheless, the transformation the architecture has encountered in the centuries can be divided in four main groups, depending on features like architectural composition, material use and energy requirements. These groups can be defined as sustainable primitive solutions, technology dependent architectures, passive architectures and finally the active architectures that have arisen in the last years. The thesis research analyzes the development of these four groups through the investigation of those forces and principles that have contributed and enforced the development of the peculiarities of the built forms of the respective period. In particular, the research focuses on the development of active housing in regard to the current economical and energetic crises,
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