UNIT-E
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
In times in which levels of pollution are constantly rising, we are forced to think about our future and the future of following generations. Sustainability has become an indispensable core of any project rather than just an option. We have to undertake actions for our planet to last as long as it can. This project aims to demonstrate how little effort is needed to bring about a radical change in the quality of our built environment.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
In times in which levels of pollution are constantly rising, we are forced to think about our future and the future of following generations. Sustainability has become an indispensable core of any project rather than just an option. We have to undertake actions for our planet to last as long as it can. What systems do we need in order to reduce pollution or save energy? Are these systems already present and how can they easily become an integral part of any building? Can we accomplish this integration without actually designing the appearance of the building itself, leaving its design to any author anywhere in the world?
This project aims to demonstrate how little effort is needed to bring about a radical change in the quality of our built environment.
Key objectives for sustainability
The starting point of this project was to determine which major issues are present and what caused them. The pace by which we are destroying our environment has taken up in the last few decades and global warming has become a priority issue. By using renewable resources and innovative materials in architecture we can significantly affect the current state of nature. Establishing the renewable resources we have available now - or will have in the near future - and how they can be used in a building was the following task. Our target was also to give something back to our planet - to reduce as many harmful effects as we can in one swipe.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
In order to provide a universal solution to this problem that could be used on a wide range of projects, we had to break the subject down to its core, down to the essentials, and create a modular prototype. As we all know, the human body has a series of essential organs without which it couldn't function. In each body, these fulfill the exact same functions, yet every human being has a different shape and appearance. Likewise, has a building. So could we program the building to breathe and live in a certain way without defining its appearance? This approach grants the utmost freedom to the designer in regards to the aesthetics of the project, while the end result remains sustainable.
Key objectives for inclusion
The unit combines our needs and actions in one place while saving both time and space. It is composed of different modules, such as rainwater collecting system, waste separation modules, heating, and cooling system, power module... Depending on the size of the building, its purpose, the number of people staying there on regular basis, etc. any unit can be easily assembled.
For example, a cafe produces more glass and plastic waste than an office building or a museum. On the other hand, an office building produces lots of paper waste; the shafts are dimensioned accordingly. Ventilation, heating, and cooling systems are dimensioned according to average values about the building's size and volume. The roof area defines the dimension of the rainwater collecting tube. This list goes on.
This unit can be personalized and incorporated into any building. It doesn't affect the building's exterior nor interior design. That can become helpful when implementing the unit into the existing buildings. Applying this unit in different buildings would change our everyday life habits and contribute to a more eco-friendly living environment.
Innovative character
While the rather rapid technological development of today has affected the arts just as much as the sciences, our planned and built environment has been no exception. Its traces are not yet recognizable in everyday practice, as they have first manifested themselves through scientific discoveries, new technological achievements, and emerging theoretical views on the subject. This development itself was a major cause of global warming, therefore the answer to the current situation shall lie within the same frame. Great emphasis has been put on a detailed inspection of the outcomes (new materials and progressive technologies) of the recent technological revolution of our age, therefore this project sums up recent technologies along with their practical application and its greatest value lies in all of its parts that have not been designed.
