This was a quick sketch while spinning around the London Eye on a beautiful afternoon. I added the color back at home.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Big Ben and Parliament
This was a quick sketch while spinning around the London Eye on a beautiful afternoon. I added the color back at home.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
HERNING DENMARK
Considering it’s population is less than 50,000 people and it’s a fairly rural location, one wouldn’t expect Herning to be at the forefront of energy innovation in Denmark. The Danish Ministry of Climate piqued my interest in Herning when they listed it as one of six “eco-cities” in the country. What I found on the “Climate Buildings” web site surprised me. http://www.climatebuildings.dk/herning.php
Not only is the city supporting hydrogen fuel cell research, they are implementing the technology and targeting more aggressive CO2 targets than mandated by code.
Herning has a vibrant tree-lined pedestrian promenade and a central plaza activated by cafes, farmers markets and the town hall. While there I visited a sustainable 48 unit residential development, the freshly opened DGI Herning Huset complex, Herning municipality and the H2 College student housing projects in nearby Birk.
48 UNIT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
This trip to Ydunsvej on the western outskirts of Herning bore little fruit. Armed only with the brief project summnary from one web site, I was prepared to observe only the surface features of the development. What this building illustrated to me was Denmark’s integration of sustainability into the process of all projects. The building design is unremarkable. The development was likely completed between 5-10 years ago. It faces a well-tended municipal green belt and the southern roof is adorned with an array of 30 or 40 PV panels. There are trash sorting facilities, a parking lot of porous paving and resident bike facilities (these appear to have been expanded to accommodate additional riders). Judging by the number of motorized chairs charging in the lobbies, the development has a large population of elderly residents.
By outward appearances, this building was successful. The developer and architect did not set out to save the world or reach dizzying heights of design excellence on this project. It was a building designed to meet the needs of the client and the municipality. What makes it remarkable is the relative simplicity and ease the team meets these requirements. The design is likely the US equivalent of a LEED Platinum building. Danish teams are doing this sustainability stuff in their sleep!
DGI HERNING HUSET
With a location right at the center of town, I literally just happened upon this complex of Fitness Center, Hotel and Apartments. I don’t know much about it so I’ll be quick. The design is playful, modern and open. The facility is open to the public. Like most things in Denmark it isn’t cheap (55 DKK/day or about $11 US for adults.) But the facilities are incredible. The pool area alone includes diving boards, lap lanes, trampolines and climbing walls – 3 out of 4 of these are a thing of the past in US pools thanks to our own pool of well-educated lawyers. This kind of mixed use development enriches the interior of a city and makes it more livable regardless of its sustainable credentials.
HERNING MUNICIPALITY
Herning prepares annual reviews of the total municipal carbon output. They monitor and publish the output of over 100 companies for the purpose of tracking municipal performance on the targeted CO2 reductions. They have built a district heating infrastructure using the reject heat from power production (see details in DENMARK POWER GRID page). More than 70% of homes are heated by this system. This contributed to reducing the municipality’s annual CO2 emissions per inhabitant to less than half the national average. By 2030 Herning has pledged to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions (including methane, N2O and CO2) 35% by 2030. They plan to hit 25% of the CO2 emissions as early as 2015.
H2 COLLEGE STUDENT HOUSING
The H2 College campus is part of a complex of gleaming white buildings that unites culture, business and education. Within the complex stands a prototype building by Utzon, several museums, an innovation center full of incubator start-up companies and the respected Aarhus University.
The slick 2-story student housing boxes of H2 College are oriented in a courtyard cluster with resident access from the courtyard side. There are three new buildings each with 22 units. They were designed to German passivhus standards so achieve 5 times the energy efficiency of a standard building (see facts below).
They were designed using hydrogen fuel cells as batteries for wind generated power . These cells power all electrical devices in the unit. With higher insulation values and air tightness the design requires space heating only on extremely cold days. What are other design features (heat pumps, heat exchangers, water conserve?)
Building façades are uniform from building to building so are not dependent on solar orientation. The stairs and balconies serving the second floor residents are steel grating providing shaded day light to the lower units. I’m curious about the performance of the buildings with south and west facing windows. The courtyard configuration takes advantage of the serene views surrounding the college farm lands (and the not so serene views of the DONG Energy power plant to the south).
The architecture firm Aarhus Arkitekterne designed and Boligselskabet Fruehøjgaard developed and built the student housing blocks.
FACTS ABOUT PASSIVE HOUSES
Passive houses are characterized by good climate and good economy. First, you can build at prices that match the price of ordinary standard housing, and you achieve an economic benefit through the extremely low energy consumption. The requirements for passive houses are significantly stronger than for low energy houses - and the three main ones are:
· The heat demand for space heating purposes must not exceed 15 kWh/m2/year, which corresponds to approx. 20 percent of heat consumption in a normal housing
· The properties must be extra tight: Air density (infiltration by pressure test n50) must not exceed 0.6 h-1 (from 0.3 to 0.4 l / s / m ²)
· The total primary energy needs, incl. entire energy consumption of household and entertainment must not exceed 120 kWh/m2/year.
Partner links
Aarhus Architects
Consulting Engineer Nira |
Sponsor Danfoss |
Micro power plants Dantherm Power |
Electrolysis Plant GreenHydrogen.dk |
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
CITY OF AARHUS DENMARK
GELLERUPPARKEN
This 1100 unit complex is the stage of an urban renewal. With nearly 95% immigrant population, more than 20% unemployment, low income level and high crime rates, Gellerupparken meets Denmark's technical definition of a "Ghetto". The competition winning revitalization scheme by the Copenhagen firm EFFEKT, knits the development back into the city with through streets, commercial and retail uses at ground level and a diverse mix of unit types. The development will provide a 1/3 mix of social , co-operative and private housing as required by the national housing board Landsbyggefunden (LBF). This is similar to what I described in the Gyldenrisparken posting. This video illustrates the planning concepts. Audio is all Danish but you'll get the idea.Gellerupparken is just one of a number of world class master plans underway in the city of Aarhus.
In early August I met with Niels Peter Mohr at the Aarhus Planning Department to discuss these projects and Aarhus' other long range plans.The planning schedule for city projects is between 5-25 years. Planning is underway for projects to be completed by 2030. By this time an additional 70,000 new residents are anticipated. With an existing population of 310,000 of which 50,000 are students, the knowledge base of the University and a young population is a focus of the planning agenda. Aarhus University is a highly respected Danish school that feeds into the Aarhus business, engineering and healthcare sectors.
In addition to being a center of engineering and production of large scale wind turbines, Aarhus is a major Denmark port. The docklands are a vital aspect of the national economy that is driving major city planning projects including a new motorway tunnel and pier expansion into Aarhus Bay. These future projects will connect the docks to an international thoroughfare bypassing downtown traffic and mitigating congestion.
AARHUS DOCKLANDS
This plan currently under construction modifies three existing industrial piers into a mixed use waterfront development comprising room for 7,000 residents and 12,000 work places (http://www.debynaerehavnearealer.dk/da.aspx). The development competition has attracted international attention. The team of UN Studio, 3XN and Gehl Architects designed the Light House complex pictured here (image from the architect).
Knud Fladeland Nielsen's winning competition winning master plan adds 1/2 meter of sea level over code (2.5m), provides 4m high storm protection and the buildings on site are designed to the strictest energy standards required by code. The development focuses on saving land, connecting the waterfront to the city and both conserving and protecting water sources. The outer pier planning is carved into a series of development blocks by canals and bridges not unlike Slueseholmen in Copenhagen. It is being developed following principles used at Hamarby Sjostad docklands development near Stockholm, Sweden, which I will be visiting in October.
Included in the dockland development is a plan for the new Aarhus library community building MEDIAHUSET. It will house some 350,000 volumes and provide downtown area parking with an innovative automated parking system that increases safety and reduces the footprint required for parking. Additional information is available on the project web page. Site A on the image below is an existing pier to be replaced by the new Maritime Urban Plaza.
Docklands Images courtesy of Aarhus Municipality
GYLDENRISPARKEN - COPENHAGEN DENMARK
Copenhagen is a vibrant city with a progressive attitude open to innovative concepts. Modern buildings stand comfortably astride centuries old buildings. Renovating existing buildings is not new to the city's architects.
In their revamping of the development, the design team of Witraz and Vandkunsten respected the original design while recognizing some of its shortcomings. The design upgrades the energy performance of the existing buildings and incorporates new serpentine day care and nursing home facilities forming the heart of a cradle to grave community.
EXISTING BUILDINGS
Of the 11 existing buildings on site, 7 of the exterior renovations are completed. The remaining buildings are scheduled for completion at the end of 2011. Schedule delays will push that date into 2012. Interior renovations will include replacement kitchens, remarkably, while residents are living in the unit.
A focus of the renovation is on security and community building. Light boxes provide visibility in 180 degrees from the residences. The architect has incorporated these boxes into the short ends of the buildings. This successfully creates a 24-hr resident surveillance of the east-west pathway through the site. The existing dense shrubs between the buildings have been removed to increase visibility.
Another significant structural modification to the existing buildings was to add .5 m to the existing balcony width for additional functionality. Witraz replaced solid panel balcony railings with translucent glass and increased the height of exterior windows to accommodate for the reduced light penetration into the building. Residents also have the option to enclose the balcony (for additional cost) as pictured above. Kitchens will be replaced with new cabinets, fixtures and finishes. Renovations are underway. Remarkably, and as a testament to Lejerbo's successful communication with the residents, the existing buildings are being renovated while they are in-situ.
In accordance with the Denmark social housing funding requirements, the housing units are divided into thirds; one third social housing, one third co-operatively owned and one third privately owned. This is supported by changes to existing unit size. Southern buildings were revised from 1 and 2 room to 3 and 4 room units (75 m2 and 85 m2) to attract a greater variety of tenants.
The northeastern building is planned as a day use facility for children age 5-18. The residents from this building are now living in temporary housing at the west side of the site.
A small number of the existing 60’s era yellow 1-story buildings remain. Others have been demolished to the concrete slab.
An existing retail space of 5 or 6 units on the east side of the site is not currently part of the project. This is unfortunate. Due to its prominent location it can be viewed as a gateway to the development. The community has a need for a large cultural center and gathering space that this building could serve. Lejerbo currently rents one of the retail spaces for community events and meetings. At approximately 50 person capacity it is not adequate for whole community events.
DAYCARE AND NURSING HOME BUILDINGS
SUSTAINABILITY
Despite the elevated sustainability features incorporated into the new buildings, the design of the utilities infrastructure remain independent of the existing buildings. This seems a missed opportunity to knit them together into a broader water and energy savings concept. There is no treatment or storage of rain water on site.
Residents are slated to receive a “sustainability package" that includes aerators for faucets, CF light bulbs and a free information session to teach ways to save money on utility bills.
Waste: Plans for an underground waste Envac system for west side of the site only. Not sorted (trash only). Lejerbo has had difficulty explaining the benefits of sorting.
Energy:
Existing buildings exterior cladding increased the R-value of the building and provided a continuous air barrier. as a result, these buildings were retrofit with exhaust shafts to maintain the air quality and humidity levels within the unit. The Day care building was the first to be constructed under Copenhagen’s Passive House standard.
Client: Lejerbo, Gl Køge Road 26, 2500 Valby
Contact: Nina StokholmSchedule: 2005-2010
Design Team: WVW (Witraz, Vandkunsten, Wissenberg), EKJ, Dyrlund Sørensen A / Scontact: Per Zwinger, David Buelow, Kristian Rehder
Location: Gyldenrisparken, 2300 Copenhagen S
No of units 430
Pop density: 1000 people.
New nursing home facility (7,000 m2)
Day care facility (1,100 m2)
Design start: 2005
Construction start: 2009
Link to translated story in Politiken newspaper.
http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fibyen.dk%2Fgadeplan%2FECE1097994%2Fansigtsloeft-bringer-boligblokke-til-ny-aere-og-vaerdighed%2F
Link to Architects site
http://www.witraz.dk/
Social Housing Association information:
http://www.lbf.dk
About Landsbyggefonden
Landsbyggefonden is a private institution that was founded by social housing associations and established by law. The fund handles among other things, management of core capital to publicly subsidized housing, and administration of the public housing sector of mandatory contributions and collection of payments for land disposal fund, etc. will also manage the fund analysis tasks the special operating support for renovation, etc. and a guarantee, etc.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
SLUSEHOLMEN - COPENHAGEN DENMARK
One of a number of Copenhagen's new developments, Sluseholmen's identity lies in a solid concept overlaid with visual diversity. Sited on a converted car manufacturing facility, new canals carve eight new islands out of this once industrial site. Pedestrian bridges, shared roadways and waterfront boardwalks stitch 11 new building complexes together. Units have views and direct connections to lush courtyards, newly developed waterfront docklands and salt water canals.
Master planners Arkitema and the Dutch firm Soeters Van Eldonk Ponec architecten admit freely that Venice, Amsterdam and Copenhagen's own Christianshavn were sources of inspiration for the project concept. It is successful in creating a quiet residential waterfront environment. To create diversity within the development the client hired more than 20 separate firms to design the residential and commercial buildings. Constructed between 2005 and 2009, the 1,000 unit development embraces the water as if the canals had always been there.
Building complexes are 4 and 5 floors of residential units over one level of parking.
Illuminated bollards, paving patterns and changes in material identify the zones of usage for vehicles and pedestrians.
Cars share the tree-lined access roads with bikes and pedestrians.
My trusty steed navigated the wood bridges, canals roadways and boardwalk.
Lower level canal-side units have direct access to the water with clever floating docks and ladders - inflatable boats, kayaks and duck ramps abound.
The courtyard is a planted terrace over the parking level with ramp access
Ramp to garage and stairs to the courtyard. Each complex has a second ramp entrance up to the courtyard for bike and disabled access.
As of January 2011, a new bridge connects Sluseholmen to the Teglholmen development uniting some 3,500 residents and providing a more direct connection to Copenhagen city center. Photo from Politiken newspaper.
http://www.arkitema.com/Boliger+Living/Privat+boligbyggeri/Sluseholmen.aspx
| Address: Scope: Construction: Clients: Architects: - Master plan: - Residential and commercial buildings: Landscape: Engineers: Contractors: | Sydhavnen, Copenhagen, Denmark Residential: 85,000 m², Commercial: 50,000 m² – total 135,000 m² 2005-2009 Copenhagen Malmö Port, Copenhagen Municipality, JM Danmark A/S, Sjælsø Gruppen A/S, Nordicom Arkitema and Sjoerd Soeters Arkitema and other Danish architectural firms Arkitema NIRAS A/S (site development) and COWI A/S (residential islands) Skanska A/S, KPC-Byg A/S, Myhlenberg A/S, M.T. Højgaard A/S and Pihl A/S |
http://www.cphx.dk/index.php?id=29176#/29176/
Link to master planning firm's web site and description.
http://www.soetersvaneldonk.nl/eng/p-kopenhagen.html
Monday, August 8, 2011
BAGSVÆRD KIRKE
With repetitive geometries and solid concrete walls painted stark white, the church has a raw simplicity that isn't exactly inviting. That simplicity aroused a curiosity in me to understand the logic, but it would be easy to drive right by without ever noticing this wonderful building.
The church is a competition winning design by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon (famous for his design for the Sydney Opera House). The church was built in 1976 and it illustrates his mastery of the trade and his delicate and effective ability to sculpt the soft northern daylight. Though he learned under Wright this project reflects the rigor of Louis Kahn and the grace of Eero Saarinen.
The entry is from the west and it is the first chance you have to view the inside of the church. I arrived unannounced and found a casket centered in the church and a reluctant care taker willing to let me walk through the interior for 15 minutes before the grieving family started to arrive. He asked me to not take any pictures of the casket. This one photo of the full interior -sans casket- is from Flickr, the others are mine.
The first impression from the interior is love at first sight. The curves are sensual and soft. They are cast board formed concrete but the light flows over them like cream on a peach. Every space within the church is illuminated from above by clear glass canopies. Rain and gray skies do not impede the day lighting. The painted white walls, white oak doors and white floor allow the light to move freely.
Despite the lack of visible glazing to the exterior, every occupied space has a view that connects users to nature. The offices peer into lush planted courtyards. Vertical wood slats in the windows filter the direct light. Square openings in the slats provide views from specific areas.
The underlying richness in the design is the rigorous adherence to the module. When I discovered this I couldn't leave. The care taker found me still snooping around the place after the funeral and invited me back inside to finish what I had started.
The entire plan and elevation are confined within a 2.5 m3 module (I didn't have a tape on me so correct me if I'm wrong.) The complex fits within a 36x10 module grid. The structural grid, the mullion spacing, the floor patterns and even the pairs of doors are customized to fit precisely within the module. This adherence does not come easily. Everything here has a place and it belongs. This underlying order and simplicity provides an environment for contemplation and serenity.
I realize that Bagsvaerd Church is off the subject of sustainable urban developments. Within this building however, there is parallel to my research. Utzon harnesses light in a way that makes artificial lighting unnecessary on even gray days. Standing in the space and seeing the light cascading over the concrete surfaces made the excursion entirely worthwhile. Thank you Tony DeEulio for sharing your experiences here that inspired me to go.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
DENMARK POWER GRID
HISTORY OF DANISH POWER INFRASTRUCTURE
Denmark's current power grid was shaped by two significant political drivers. First, recognizing the inevitable end of north sea oil in the early ‘70’s and second, the discovery of large natural gas deposits in the north sea. Denmark decided to build a natural gas infrastructure throughout the country to wean Denmark’s power infrastructure from its dependence on coal and oil. This federal project was the largest investment ever in the history of Denmark. For this reason, municipal codes were rewritten to incorporate requirements to run power plants on natural gas. The existing power plants were coal and many still use coal and were modified to also run on gas.
http://www.ens.dk/en-US/supply/Gas_supply/Sider/Forside.aspx
http://www.ens.dk/en-US/supply/Gas_supply/Sider/Forside.aspx
In the years preceding these decisions the country experienced rapid growth in GDP and population. After years of heavy fertilization of farm lands, leaking land fills and inadequate industrial waste water treatment, the country was facing a significant water pollution problem. This led to a change in leadership. In the 80’s, Prime Minister Anker Henrik Jorgense was ousted and a conservative, Poul Schlüter, stepped in and took a strong stance on the environment. Under his leadership, Denmark subsidised development of the wind power infrastructure – another historical investment in Denmark that shaped the codes of the 90’s.
Industry also played a hand in shaping the face of power production in Denmark today. Kaldunborg is a port town northwest of Copenhagen on Zealand. Community and industry leaders there formed a partnership to take advantage of heat, water and other bi-products from municipal power production. The diagram below shows how the construction industry, bio-tech industry and shrimp farmers were able to create a circuit of shared resources to boost efficiency thereby saving energy and money.
DONG Energy runs the Kalundborg plant and most plants in Denmark. They boast much higher efficiencies at some of these plants by using strategies similar to those used in Kalundborg. The Avedøre plant in Copenhagen, for example, is capturing the fly ash from the coal power production and selling it to the construction industry for use in making concrete. Gypsum is also collected and sold to a local wall board manufacturer.
Other plants throughout the country are burning organic matter (municipal waste, wood waste, etc.) These plants are impacting the efficiency significantly by using the low pressure steam for district heating of homes surrounding the power plant.
DONG Energy Power Plant Video
Avedøre Power Plant video
WIND POWER IN DENMARK
The wind power now accounts for nearly 20% of the power required to run the country. The Horns Rev off shore farm pictured above is made up of 91 turbines and is capable of generating 209 MW of power. http://www.ens.dk/EN-US/SUPPLY/RENEWABLE-ENERGY/WINDPOWER/Sider/Forside.aspx
An interesting thing about power I didn’t realize is that you must use whatever you produce. Power demand over a 24 hour period fluctuates considerably. From a base load between 24:00 (midnight) and around 06:00 the demand climbs in the morning as industry warms up, people brew their coffee and dry their hair. By 09:00 the demand climbs to a daytime base load that is double the night time base. The end of work day shows a dip as industry slows then a climb in demand when individuals go home, flip on the TV and heat their frozen dinners. The demand falls through the evening returning to the base night time demand at midnight.
An interesting thing about power I didn’t realize is that you must use whatever you produce. Power demand over a 24 hour period fluctuates considerably. From a base load between 24:00 (midnight) and around 06:00 the demand climbs in the morning as industry warms up, people brew their coffee and dry their hair. By 09:00 the demand climbs to a daytime base load that is double the night time base. The end of work day shows a dip as industry slows then a climb in demand when individuals go home, flip on the TV and heat their frozen dinners. The demand falls through the evening returning to the base night time demand at midnight.
The infrastructure is designed to bring additional load online as it is required then shut it off again. Wind by its nature is unpredictable. It cannot be turned on and off to handle the peaks and valleys of daily or monthly demand. Wind is best utilized for managing one slice of the base load demand. This aspect of wind power generation is important to understand, because it means that the total power infrastructure can never be 100% wind. At 20% Denmark will look to other renewable sources to meet a total domestic renewable energy production target of 33% by 2020.
So what happens when you have a calm day? When the wind suddenly stops blowing you need another system to replace this load and it needs to start fast and replace all the power that wind turbines provided during the day.The power plants in Denmark are capable of generating between 50MW and 500MW of power. They are similar to the coal fired plants all over the US. They run on big turbines that take days to warm up and cool down so can't suddenly take on this new load. Wärtsilä is a company that makes smaller scale turbines (among numerous other things) that can be online much faster and run more efficiently than these large plants. These types of plants are necessary to balance the peaks and valleys of a wind farm. Page 9 at this link shows one such fluctuation at a Colorado wind farm. http://www.cleanenergycongress.com.ar/es/docs/pdf/6-%20Niklas%20Haga.pdf
The opposite scenario creates an interesting dilemma too. When the wind is turning the fan blades at their peak performance, wind farms sometimes produce more power than is needed. In Denmark, when this happens, they have to dump it to Germany and they pay them to take it. Wind power as a reliable renewable energy needs careful consideration. The cost for making the power is 10 times that of making a gas, coal or oil powered plant. CO2 and green house gases have to be a part of the conversation in order to make wind a viable solution.
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