Design4D Blog

Nik Hilton  //  www.design4d.co.uk
Young Architect of the Year Nominee 2009, 2010, 2011
Finalist in the British Homes Awards 2009
Finalist in the Design awards 2009

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Creekside Arcade

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Apr 11 / 9:08pm

Sustainable Growth?

Transition Towns is a grass roots movement looking to provide answers to the issues of peak oil. Its initial proposals have many things to commend including the focus on rebuilding community and localised food sources as proposed on our Creekside Arcade project. Although I agree with parts of the model, I'm not sure that the anti-growth idea as discussed in the video is realistic to the human psyche which is pre-programmed through curiosity to develop, grow and evolve. Maybe economic growth needs to be redefined around carbon reduction and not GDP? Quality over quantity?

The definition of Happiness is wanting what you've got, not getting what you want, but where is the balance to be struck between unsustainable growth and negative human inertia, as seen in the Dark Ages, in the quest for happiness and sustainability? Could growth and profit be encouraged but redistributed to benefit communities? And how does localism factor into the global network? Big ideas that will effect urban design and which I hope to develop at the RSA's Profit with Purpose working group this week.

 

Filed under  //  Creekside Arcade   Sustainability   communities   happiness   localism   transition towns  
 
Jan 4 / 9:11am

Combating UHI effect

UHI or Urban Heat Island effect will have growing significance in the design of our cities as populations rise and temperatures increase.

To reduce UHI we need planted roofs and balconies to help provide a thermal buffer during hot weather but to also act as natural air conditioning units for the external environment. Plants help filter the air and absorb heat energy through the process of evapo-transpiration which itself creates a cooling effect. Orientation of uses need to also be considered. Offices generate excess heat and generally need air conditioning which is very energy intensive and costly. Our mixed use Creekside Arcade project situated the office accommodation to the North storing excess heat in a flood control labyrinth for use at night in the South facing residential units.

Good design is generally just common sense which raises the question why are we still building sealed, air-conditioned vertical glass skyscrapers which are going to cost huge amounts of money and carbon to run in the future?

 

Image002

Thermal heat pump strategy using thermal mass of flood tank labyrinth

Filed under  //  Creekside Arcade   Design4D   Sustainability   UHI effect  
 
Oct 26 / 6:23pm

Carbon Nanotubes Could Create Buildings That Move

On our Creekside Arcade project we proposed solar controlled thermal shutters. With yet another example of nanotechnology and carbon nanotubes it might be possible to achieve this without using mechanical motors!

Inhabitat | 1 JANUARY 1970
http://pulsene.ws/crFS


Decker Yeadon is researching how carbon nanotubes might create building materials that move without motors.

Filed under  //  Architecture   Creekside Arcade   design   kinetic   nanotechnology