Design with efficiency and nature

[David Cayford]

How about a designs which take into consideration the sociology of humans in that we are a social animal,i think isolated single family homes are detrimental to the psyche and the social fabric

how about a building which houses 12-16 people with maximum energy efficiency and daylighting and using the sun and the rain and the waste products to provide for many plants for fresh clean air NASA is working on the proper mix of plants to clean indoor air"a mix of privacy and community in a package which can be customized.

By combining what we have learned from bucky fuller about efficiency and the aesthetic eye of frank lloyd wright and the more recent work of michael reynolds and the work of sociologists we can synthesize a style which takes into account the need for privacy and the needs of community in a sort of microclimate sensitive design which like nature is solar and earth powered,superinsulated passive solar,composting toilets and garbage,raincatching greywater reusing,solar, hotovoltaic,ecosystem enhancing rather than harmful to nature

EARTHLODGE/SOLAR SANGHA:..A tribe of earthlings living together in the monastery to the sun and earth.using their natural intelligence to integrate physics and biology,botany and engineering,psychology and sociology,history and logic to build a way of life which nurtures life and planet...evolving maturing..growing in knowledge and understanding to realize the many ways of creative expression.. nurturing the seeds of plant companions to nourish the human family and also planting the wisdom traditions into the DNA stream and TIME....

 

[Gregory Joseph Singletary]

I believe we must be very careful in designing multiple family housing. In this day when many families are being bombarded from outside their homes with reality, and inside their homes from television, computers, and radio, I must support the supremacy of privacy to maintain a certain level of sanity. I am a "country-boy", born and raised in the rural areas around Dallas, TX. Although I currently live and attend school in New York City, and love the conveniences the city offers, I long for the countryside.

I have made special mention of why city residents have very negative ways of interacting in one of my personal essays. Privacy, and the essential bond with the natural world, cannot be stressed enough when designing any structure occupied by humans. I believe that the severing of those bonds with nature by being trapped in "boxes" devoid of natural light and/or fresh air and open views does much to bring about a spiritual "illness". The lack of privacy, and the time in which one can be private, is also a believed cause to the psychological illnesses many "city-folk" suffer. Be very careful to maintain the optimum levels of both when designing multi-family housing. Yes, we are social animals, and cannot fully live without one another, but there is, as in all things, a balance that must be kept. A box is a box, and therefore a trap... privacy and intimacy cannot exist in a trapped animal. If you doubt my words, just make a visit to New York and watch the people. Watch what happens when the weather warms-- everyone basically deserts the city. The same is true of all large cities. We must, with our designs, at least attempt to maintain the balances of sociality and privacy, and built and natural.

 

[diogenes]

Yes but this kind of life would be far different than the shark infested streets of L.A.or N.Y. If a society set out to design cities which are stressful and alienating and uncivilized they could not do a better job than all the cities i have seen;these cities are monsters spawned from night mare economic systems,inhuman in scale,anti-nature
arrogant,self-centered and cruel.what i^m talkin is a way of life in nature for humans.respectful of quiet and sagacious and profound,a place of learning and culture and growing nature.

 

[prana]

I foresee a problem with this on a large scale because of the mobility of modern society, especially in the U.S. Families move more often, and longer distances than they ever have in the past. To create a place where individuals and groups or families need to help each other grow, would be very difficult unless everyone is permanent.

 

[Micholmes]

I would like to respond to this discussion's title rather than its contents.
Recently I have found an interesting site on Internet - www.smartarch.nl
Try and learn.

Micholmes

 

[archi_tekton]

As a natural-born architect, I, like so many of you, have ideas for a better (or at least I am looking for ideas) built environment. This includes the eradication of heaters and air-conditioners; one of the largest consumers of energy. Weather proof housing (including resisitance to strong winds and earth treamers)and sensible use of materials.

I have for over two years now felt almost alone on these and other issues and was suprised to find a website like 'cyburbia'.

I took some time to read your messages but I feel thy are lacking; lacking the visual conceptions that you all have, the facts, the figures, the assumptions, the causes and effects. Can you all post your ideas, visually on this site, for I am sure they will help everyone have a clearer picture, and an ultimate goal of a cleaner, smarter architecture will be closer than we think

 

[Richi]

Over the last six years, I've visited Hungary three times and spent the better part of 30 days in the City of Szeged (about 180,000 people). There are quite a few single family homes near the center city, but they have severalinteresting characteristics.

-Most houses are built directly adjacent to the sidewalk (yes every street has sidewalks)

-The house is also right on a side lot line. This allows a more useable area for a garden play area whatever. A smaller lot will then serve as well as a larger us lot with a large front yard that is rarely used for anything more than window dressing and is very expensive in time and chemicals to keep up.

to make uo for the loss of Privacy the following design elements are used.
1. The first floor elevation is high enough so that windows on the sidewalk are above eye level. Basements are below, but only dug 1-1.5 meters below street level.
2. All construction is masonary so outside noise is damped.
3. Windows on the side wall adjacent to the lot line are small or absent.
4. Vehicle traffic is not nearly as great. Although many families have autos, they are small and very few have more than one vehicle. Transit service is excellent. Therefor need for space to park several cars is much reduced over typical American practice of requireing at least two off-street parking spaces.

Multi-family generally have at least one balcony and many units (especially older buildings near downtown) have an interior courtyard that the entrances open onto. These courtyards often contain trees, kids play areas with swings sand box, etc and yes a few autos.

I must say that Szeged is more people friendly than any american town half its size I've been in. One rarely has to walk more than three blocks to find a groc. store, pub, newsstand, etc.

I have photos's if anyone wants to get them by e-mail. Mayby I can get them scanned and post them to this forum soon.

 

[bud]

Natural born architect

Dan,
How does one know from their birth that they are born to be an architect, i.e., that they are as you say you are?

Bud...
+++++

:l:

archi_tekton (203.166.20.211)
Monday, April 16, 2001 - 11:54 pm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a natural-born architect, I, like so many of you, have ideas for a better (or at least I am looking for ideas) built environment. This includes the eradication of heaters and air-conditioners; one of the largest consumers of energy. Weather proof housing (including resisitance to strong winds and earth treamers)and sensible use of materials.

I have for over two years now felt almost alone on these and other issues and was suprised to find a website like 'cyburbia'.

I took some time to read your messages but I feel thy are lacking; lacking the visual conceptions that you all have, the facts, the figures, the assumptions, the causes and effects. Can you all post your ideas, visually on this site, for I am sure they will help everyone have a clearer picture, and an ultimate goal of a cleaner, smarter architecture will be closer than we think

 

[CosmicMojo]

"Design with Nature," by Ian McHarg--a classic and still relevant today.

 

[NHPlanner]

Dan,
How does one know from their birth that they are born to be an architect, i.e., that they are as you say you are?

Bud...
+++++

:l:

Moderator note:

Dan did not post that originally....it was a repost from the "old" cyburbia in 2001.

 

[bud]

Natural born architect

NHPlanner,

I found that post and this site in a yahoo search for "natural born architect" after someone recently told me I was a “natural architect” which they describe as one who is an “intuitive organizer, …having a profound sense of responsibility”; and I would like to learn how to magnify my calling and also how to get paid for it, if possible. Anyway, this site is very pertinent to my interest in the cause of architecture and the problems of city planning. I hope to learn from it as well as to contribute to it as time allows. I am glad to meet you.

Bud…

Moderator note:

Dan did not post that originally....it was a repost from the "old" cyburbia in 2001.

 

[CosmicMojo]

NHPlanner,

I found that post and this site in a yahoo search for "natural born architect" after someone recently told me I was a “natural architect” which they describe as one who is an “intuitive organizer, …having a profound sense of responsibility”

That is interesting. Architects are creative and very good at visualizing things in 3 dimensions.

 

[bud]

Architects

Architects are responsible for coordinating the work of all design professionals in the building process and should relate to the entire built environment. Their training in three dimensional design would apply to building design or urban design but not necessarily to urban or city and regional planning which is two dimensional; but we can visualize how to build on sloping or wooded sites in sympathy with nature so that bulldozing is unnecessary and sometimes foolish. I am sad to say architects have been unable to maintain responsibility in the site selection process due to the complex problems of financing and politics and traditions of helter-skelter haphazard growth on a regional scale. That innate, inborn sense of responsibility I mentioned above may explain why I could not go along with the general abandonment as well as how I eventually and intuitively came to see a way to solve the problem.

bud...
:l:

That is interesting. Architects are creative and very good at visualizing things in 3 dimensions.