AR2A015 Delft Lectures on Architectural Sustainability

Reader Course year 2013-2014

AR2A015 Delft Lectures on Architectural Sustainability Reader Course year 2013-2014

Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology Chair of Climate Design and Sustainability Room 01+.West.170

Table of Contents Introduction

Peter Teeuw Architectural sustainability

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Principles of sustainability
Anke van Hal New ways of thinking, new ways of working Ulf Hackauf Beware of green washing! Machiel van Dorst Positions in sustainability Christoph Grafe A Dutch text will be made available on Blackboard.

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7 9 13 16

Methods17
Andy van den Dobbelsteen Smart & bioclimatic design Arjan van Timmeren Sustainable Architecture 27 17

New builds
Caro van Dijk Sustainability a building as a source of energy Rudy Uytenhaak Sustainability as design criterion Kas Oosterhuis Robustness Kees Kaan

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32 34 37 40

Architectural Sustainability: Rediscovering climate as a design factor. Michiel Riedijk A text will be published on Blackboard as soon as it is available. Pieter Weijnen Upfrnt, Pieter Weijnenthe cooperative for up-architecture
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Ruurd Roorda Architecture in crisis

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Reuse48
Job Roos Looking for balance The discovery of an integral approach Duzan Doepel HAKA recycle office, an alternative resource efficiency strategy Marten de Jong Context, beauty, meaning & the capacity to endure Dick van Gameren Villa 4.0 58 57 50 48

Introduction

Peter Teeuw Architectural sustainability

What is that? You may ask yourself that question. Lets put it this way, since it is really unwise to act un-sustainably (why should you want to do that?), it is logical to act sustainably as it is a natural way of doing things. So, if you are a competent architect, your buildings are by denition sustainable. It depends on your skills as an architect whether you are able to make it Architecture too! When we elaborate on sustainable architecture, we focus on these two words, Architecture and Sustainable. Architecture exposes beauty, it shows the right proportions. Its a kind of woooah. We acknowledge the fact that Sustainable development is dened as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, Our Common Future, 19871). Following this denition we may conclude that Sustainable Architecture is architecture that does not pass on environmental or social problems onto others. Neither in time to the next generations - nor in spatial dimensions to places elsewhere on the earth. The Dutch term for this is het voorkomen van afwenteling. During the introduction lecture of the Delft Lectures on Architectural Sustainability students gave their opinion whether on the buildings shown were deemed sustainable and/or whether they were in their opinion Architecture. In this they were free to interpret what the denitions of these terms are. Its amazing to nd that within half an hour many students completely changed their minds after some additional information about the buildings was given. For instance, given a very Architectural petrol station2 it was as a sort of logical result that it wasnt going to be very sustainable. Nevertheless knowing the petrol station is LEED certied3, and after a summary of the building characteristics was given, many students changed opinions.

Figure 1: Students response (n=184) on the rst sight and after a short explanation.4

Sustainable architecture clearly isnt related to any special kind of design. Looking at Architecture as a layman you cant tell if a building is sustainable. As a professional you should at least be able to make an educated guess.
1 2 3 4 Our Common Future is also known as the Brundtland Report. The United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) published the report in 1987. Helios House, Petrol Station in Los Angeles. Architect: Ofce dA. Source picture: Flickr.supergiball - Ofce dA Helios House 1. LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally-recognized green building certication system. Developed by the US Green Building Council. College with response cards on September 8, 2011. Number of students 184 (MSc2 faculty of Architecture Delft University of Technology).

At Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture we also refer to this as smart architecture. SMART Architecture is always sustainable, because it simply isnt smart to make architecture unsustainable. Nevertheless not all sustainable architecture is by denition smart. Smart in this concept equals innovative, inspiring, intelligent, optimistic and integral. With the implementation of the Delft Lectures on Architectural Sustainability we want to state that sustainable design has priority in architecture. We hope the seminars will contribute to the debate, show the fast developments in this broad eld and will be able to bring a focus on innovation. Students shouldnt only be taught intellectual knowledge, but they should be stimulated to develop their own vocabulary on sustainable architecture as well. Peter G. Teeuw MSc PDEng SMART Architecture TU Delft, September 2011

Principles of sustainability

Anke van Hal New ways of thinking, new ways of working

The construction industry is changing. Much of what until recently has been considered as normal, is under discussion. The increasing demand for sustainability is an integral part of this change. We are not talking about a temporarily sustainability hype but about a fundamental change of thinking and doing with profound implications, for all parties involved. Anke van Hal The context of the construction industry is changing dramatically. Old and traditional ways of work seem increasingly insufcient to reect the new questions that arise. For example; the rapidly increasing focus on existing buildings, -both ofces and houses-, a shift of focus to inll areas, shrinking city phenomena in the border areas and the scarcity of energy and materials,. The feeling of vulnerability is increasing. Everything seems to be related. And there are more changes; There is a new call for transparency and an increased need for cooperation, a changing role of the client, an increasing demand for a service instead of a product, new procurement forms such as DBFMO and sustainable procurement, Europes inuence and ambitions and the regulations of the countries around us,.. Those who agree with me that the context of the construction industry is changing radically and that an increasing demand for sustainability is part of this change, can only conclude that there is a strong need for new sustainable business models. Models that not only take into consideration the interests of people here and now but also those of people there and later and the interests of the environment in general. Sustainability is no longer only a case of feeling responsible (Corporate social responsibility - CSR), but also a case of taking care of business interests. We seem to move to a situation in which taking care of the environment can enhance the benets of businesses. Explicitly can, for bringing the win-win theory into practice is not easy. It requires a big change in the everyday way of working. The word sustainable is in the building practice often equated with expensive. This is obvious; adding sustainable measures to what you always did results in extra costs. However, if sustainable measures help to solve problems or reach personal goals, then the situation is different. Then these measures become something people want which creates a totally different dynamic. Striving for a merger of interests, I call this way of working. But as I said, this way of working is not easy. The procedure requires knowledge of human behaviour (what do people really want?). If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses., Henry Ford, the inventor of cars, once said. However, knowledge of human behaviour alone is not enough. There is much more knowledge needed on the quality of sustainability measures (what existing needs do these measures meet?). And more economic knowledge too (how can we make sustainability measures affordable?). Working from a merger of interests requires a lot of creativity. Finding other solutions than the standard ones is easier in cooperation with other people. Therefore, cooperation is also a crucial condition for who wants to work with this approach. There is also a lot of courage needed for bringing new ideas into practice. On paper there are many beautiful and creative plans. Bringing them into practice is a totally different story. But it happens. There are many parties active in the Netherlands who take up the challenge with nding creative solutions for complex problems and who are trying, in collaboration with others, to nd new (and sustainable) ways to respond to urgent questions. 7

The Wallis block in Rotterdam is a ne example of the merger of interests. The municipality gave away houses in an impoverished neighbourhood for free and also invested in the renovation of the foundation. The new residents, together with an architect, transformed these houses in a beautiful housing block that positively affects the whole neighbourhood and that also meet high-level sustainable requirements. This is the story of a true win-win situation, but on forehand of course nobody knew if the approach would be a success. And this is just one example. There are many more. As said, not everyone is suitable for this approach. You need creative people who are capable of far-reaching cooperation and who dare to do unusual things (with all the risks it involves). However, there is an urgent need for sustainable responses to the new questions that arise. Whoever nds an answer rst has a beautiful business model. This is a time of change. This is a summary and translation of the article Anders denken, anders doen, Building Business, by Anke van Hal, March 2011

Ulf Hackauf Beware of green washing!

Paris Hilton at the music magazine BPMs green party at the Los Angeles Avalon nightclub, quoted from Paris becomes a bunny-hugger (Tonight, 2007) We are all keen to participate, but we are not sure if we know what sustainability actually is. (Quote from a discussion on sustainability at the NAi) When the Bruntland commission presented their report in 1987, a general denition of the term sustainable was provided: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs 9

The concept is clear, but as soon as you start applying it, you may nd yourself in a engaging but confusing debate. The denition is broad and can be applied to purely ecological as well as social and economic aspects and of course these three can easily contradict each other.

As this gives space to a lot of different focuses, the discussion is often held with almost religious passion. Green actually seems to have all the key ingredients of religion. There are saints and evil sinners. There are believers and non-believers. There are crimes, confessions and absolution. And there are multiple streams, sects and movements. Eating beef is a green sin, as is driving an SUV or taking long haul ights. But the ancient system of buying absolution works here too: you can buy yourself out of your sins with carbon offsets. Green leaders like Al Gore attract large crowds with their speeches, not unlike religious conventions. This is disconcerting. We need an un-dogmatic debate, progressive innovation and rational politics. And instead of belief, we need evidence.

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n is s to evil mes ,

an ing ns row ds

s s ive d

Green is a complex topic and it seems difcult to determine what really matters in the green debate. G As a consequence, Green isand in danger of becoming pure marketing, Green-washing that reen is a complex topic it s eems difcult to deter mine w hat makes use of the current interest in Green for selling products. We see the results all around us: really matters in the green debate. A s a cons equence, G reen is in whatever you can there pure seems to be a greener way as of hing doing it. There are green skates, susdanger to do, become marketing, G reen-w that makes tainable us pizzas and environmentally friendly toothbrushes. You can even buy e of the cur rent interes t in G reen for s elling products . W e s ee eco friendly vodka and help saving planet one glassat a time. In 2006 The Times to reported that even British the the res ults all around us : w hatever you can do, Sunday there s eems arms manufacturer BAE systems saw the necessity to promote as Green by introducing be a greener w ay of doing it. T here are green s katesthemselves , s us tainable environmentally friendly weapons including reduced lead bullets and rockets with fewer toxins. pizzas and environmentally friendly toothbr us hes . Y ou can even This may not have been the brightest moment of company PR, but it shows that if Green remains buy eco friendly vodka and help s aving the planet one glas s vague, it isain danger of turning into a temporary hype, which arbitrary in the future. at time. In 2006 T he Sunday T imes repor ted that becomes even B ritis h arms manufacturer B A E s ys tems s aw the neces s ity to promote To escape this elves greenas vagueness and abuse, wemake a pleafor a more rational, quantiable and thems G reen by introducing environmentally friendly measurable approach to Green. As one step in that direction, we describe the w eapons including reduced lead bullets and rockets w ith few erconceptof the Green City Calculator, software toolhave that can be usedfor the and design of sustainable cities toxins . a T his may not been the brightes t evaluation moment of company or regions.The focus is less on newly built eco-cities but on extending and PR , but it s how s that if G reen remains vague, it is in danger of adjusting existing cities. Once installed, tool could evaluate the of a projected urban and compare turningthe into a temporar y hype, wimpact hich becomes arbitrar y in development the this to alternative future. designs. It could compare the environmental benetsof an investment in public transport to one in the insulation ofthe existing building stock and thus support decision making on an urban level. It would allow shifting the focus from sustainable building design to sustainable urban planning on a large scale. Teaming up with the engineering rms Arup and DGMR and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientic Research (TNO), The Why Factory recently started working on a pilot version of this software tool.

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This rational calculator approach could lead to new, different proposals and green designs. It could lead to less visible but effective strategies as energy networks and other ways to make use of synergetic effects in the city. It should leave space for experiments and support research in new technologies of energy generation, waste management and food production. It would result into a different scale in Green, away from an emphasis of reduction towards new, larger structures. And it could lead to a new aesthetic in Green design that goes beyond bio-mimicry and dares to compete with the beauty of nature. Ulf Hackauf The Why Factory October 2011

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Machiel van Dorst Positions in sustainability

Sustainable development is at the centre of research at the TU Delft. The urgency has been there for decades and the appeal came from all directions (society, the former rector of this university1 and from students). All support sustainable development (is there an alternative?), but it is not priority to all. My experience from planning Poptahof in 1998 up to the quality team of IJburg today: sustainability is the common ground in a multi-actor process, but at the end of the day it isnt perceived as urgent [Dorst & Duijvestein, 2004]. Our society isnt sustainable and there is a long way to go. My vision on what is going wrong starts with the by far most quoted citation for sustainable development: a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [Brundtland, 1987]. In itself societally so correct, but scientically insufcient. It is political denition that cannot be operationalized. Sustainable development is a wicked concept with a multi-dimensional complexity that cant be explained unambiguously [Du Plessis, 2009]. So the denition leads to the badly needed common ground in a multi actor process, but interpretations are diverse and are simplications of reality. As an example here is a quote from an alderman of Rotterdam: If you look at the denition of Bundtland, a lot of things can be translated into energy and raw materials, and you can translate energy into carbon dioxide emissions.2 This is a shocking simplication, and on the other hand it is the empirical way of deconstructing reality into comprehensible (measurable) bits and pieces. Another alderman may come up with another interpretation. So in fact: sustainable development as a concept involves different worldviews. This can be explained through the history of sustainable development in which different elds of science have added different elements over time. Therefore these different movements have developed a range of problematic statements that are all included in the goals of sustainable development. This is a logical development because of the fact that the combination of disciplines prevents negative side effects of any specic intervention that should bring us closer to a sustainable future. There are many relevant disciplines - for this paper I will name three important ones: The Ecological discipline According to Rousseau (his confessions at the end of the 18th century), unspoilt nature disappeared because man began to see himself as the owner of the land and its natural resources [Riley, 2001]. It would be another 150 years before this relationship between man and his habitat would be described as an ecological construct [Boardman, 1978]. And as long as 50 years ago, in 1962, a wider public realized that this impaired relationship would result in an environmental crisis [Carson, 1962]. According to this world view, the biggest threat is the rapid decline of biodiversity. This philosophy is included in the tradition of the section Urban Landscapes. Van Leeuwens relational theory was an inspiration for Prof De Jong, Prof Duijvestein and Prof Sijmons. The approach has a historical link (through cybernetics and systems thinking) with the work of todays visiting professor of the chair, Juval Portugali.

1 An engineer should know the basic principles and implications of sustainable development and should be able to incorporate this in their work. It is a new element of the qualication prole of our graduates. - 2004 Prof. dr. ir. J.T.F. Fokkema, Rector Magnicus 2 According to Rik Grashoff (Alderman Participation, Culture and Environment and civil engeneer) 12 -1-2020, www. youtube.com/watch?v=iKdSI5SD3hs.

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The Environmental discipline Climate change due to human activity is a discovery from the 19th century1. Resource depletion has been a constraint for every city development in history. However the total impact of the (mis) behaviour of humankind became world news with the Club of Rome report The Limits to Growth [Meadows et al 1972]. The focus here is on the process (or ow) components of urbanisation such as energy, water, trafc, materials, and food.2 By taking climate change and one ow at a time, sustainable development becomes measurable and explainable (the Al Gore view). Clear goals make this a well-used philosophy for engineers and designers3. Here climate change is the biggest threat. Just as in the rst type of discipline this is an approach that has its history in our faculty starting with ecodevice (Van Wirdum and Van Leeuwen) and driestappenstrategie (Duijvestein e.a.) until REAP (van den Dobbelsteen e.a.). For this chair the urban metabolism will be one of the fundamental principles. The Anthropocentric discipline Within sustainable development the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro1992 shifted attention from technological issues to the well-being of people: Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature [UN, 1992]. This concept made man both a means and an end, since his commitment is crucial for achieving sustainable development. This approach is more subjective and qualitative than its predecessors. It presents us with problems that cannot be solved using engineering alone, as appears to be the case with efforts to reduce CO2 emissions by x per cent over y number of years. And only part of this idea is related to the built up environment. The primary goal here is health. In recent years this goal has been modied into happiness4. From the second half of the 19th century on, the welfare of people has been a driver of urbanism. Taeke de Jong emphasised health as the goal of environmental technology. Each of these worldviews is a way of looking at reality5 and can help us on the path to a sustainable built up environment. But if a researcher is trapped within one vision there may be a negative effect on others. High density as the sustainable city form is an example of this. Of course there are more approaches, like prosperity or permanence6. We should not disqualify any one discipline, because they all have different relations in time and space. An ecosystem based approach7 starts at a specic scale and looks for resilience (time based). And an environmental approach starts with the global problems of the future, and gives context to the present-day by extrapolating backwards. Social sustainability (the anthropocentric approach) starts in the here and now and looks for durable needs in relation to elsewhere and the future. Sustainable design is a combination of disciplines - a necessary package deal to prevent us from trade off effects8.

1 Svante Arrhenius discovered in 1896 the relation between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming [Masling, 2004]. 2 This goes back to Patrick Geddes (19 century) and Abel Wolman, 1965. 3 Winy Maas: I am a child of the Club of Rome (Indesem workshop 2007). 4 The 2nd of April this year there was a UN conference on Happiness and Well Being: Dening a New Economic Paradigm. This shift has a Dutch origin in the work of Prof. Veenhoven [1997]. 5 Foucault would relate the so called discourse to different realities, but I dont follow a post-modern line of reasoning and believe in a Platonic way in the existence of one reality. 6 Permanence or durability is an urbanism approach based on the historical layers of the city and the fact that intervention are long-lasting. 7 The ecosystem as an object becomes a designers concept. 8 In Dutch: afwenteling

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References: Boardman, P. (1978) The Worlds of Patrick Geddes: Biologist, Town Planner, Re-educator, Peace-warrior. London/Boston: Routledge. Brundtland, G.H. (1987). Our Common Future The world commission on Environment and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Carson, R. (1962) Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifin. Dorst, M.J. van & Duijvestein, C.A.J. (2004). Concepts of sustainable development - The 2004 International Sustainable Development research conference Conference proceedings 29-30 march University of Manchester, UK. Du Plessis, C (2009) Urban Sustainability science as a new paradigm for planning in Dobbelsteen, A. Van den, M.J. van Dorst, A. Van Timmeren (eds). Smart Building in a Changing Climate. Amsterdam: Techne Press. Maslin, M. (2004) Global Warming, a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Meadows, D.H. et al. (1972) The Limits to Growth. New York: Universe books. Riley, P.T. (ed. 2001) The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rittel, H.W.J. and Webber, M.M. (1973) Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning in Policy Sciences, 4, pp. 155-169. United Nations (1972) Report of the United Nations conference on environment and development, Rio de Janeiro. New York: United Nations department of Economic and Social Affairs. Veenhoven, R. (1997) Advances in understanding happiness in Revue Qu b coise Psychologie, vol 18, pp.29-74. dr.ir. Machiel van Dorst, 16th of April 2012

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Christoph Grafe A Dutch text will be made available on Blackboard.

This text will not be required reading for the exam.

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Methods

Andy van den Dobbelsteen Smart & bioclimatic design

A methodological approach to design So far, the solutions I presented apply for a large scale, from region to the neighbourhood. In this chapter I will return to the core focus of our Section of Climate Design buildings and show how the methods and approaches presented until now are also functional for the design process of buildings. Definitions - Smart: intelligent, related to natural intelligence (natural generic cognitive ability to reason processes) or artificial intelligence (perfect imitation of behaviour by a computer) [Timmeren 2001] - Smart architecture: sustainable design intelligently interacting with the environment [Hinte et al. 2003] - Bioclimatic design: the passive low-energy design approach that makes use of the ambient energies of the climate of locality (incl. the latitude and the ecosystem) to create conditions for comfort for the users of the building [Yeang 1999] - Smart & bioclimatic design: a design approach that deploys local characteristics intelligently into the sustainable design of buildings and urban plans [my own definition] A key term in the academic material of Climate Design & Sustainability, with the basis formed by Building Physics and the innovative technology of Building Services, is smart & bioclimatic design. This is a design approach taught to students of the Faculty of Architecture, which combines the common sense of bioclimatic design with the smart use of technology in architecture.

Veg.itecture, Ken Yeangs plan for an urban structure based on vegetation [Llewelyn Davies Yeang].

Bioclimatics is a traditional architectural stream from an era when people experienced the limits to materials, water and energy and acted accordingly, making full use of the available opportunities on site. Every region in the world used to design according to bioclimatics, for another approach would mean complete squandering of resources. Ken Yeang has personally reintroduced and popularised bioclimatic architecture, and he is still unsurpassed in his bioclimatic and ecological approach to skyscrapers in particular [e.g. Yeang 2006]. Backyard management or global stewardship Trade and globalism have detached human beings from any sense of constraints, which may have been acceptable in the past two hundred years of abundance. However, with the disappearance of rainforests, the depletion of fossil fuel and certain metals, as well as the uncontrolled production and shift of hazardous waste to developing countries or the environment, it is time to take control 17

again. This could be done in two ways. First way: solve as much as possible in our own backyard. Not that I oppose global trade, on the contrary, but thrown back to our own possibilities and limitations, we will learn better to become sustainable. Moreover, if we manage to resolve our own problems at home, we can help others who have little means to do so. Second way: take shared responsibility for all countries in the world where we draw resources from. This would come down to global stewardship. If we translated most of the ethics and social, economical and environmental quality regulations at home to these countries of resource origins, it would be a much better world already. That this is possible is demonstrated by the successful Fair Trade and Max Havelaar brands for food and Forest Stewardship Council for timber. Quintessential however is the uncompromised choice for these products only. Smart & bioclimatic design as we teach it not only I but also my valued colleague Arjan van Timmeren, for instance follows a clear line of reasoning: 1. Starting-points 2. Local characteristics 3. Boundary conditions 4. Smart design I will explain the steps below.

Adaptive thermal comfort: people accept higher temperatures indoors (Tbin) when outdoor temperatures are high (Te). The purple line follows the most energy-efcient climate settings [Linden et al. 2006].

Formulating starting-points Smart & bioclimatic design commences with desired conditions, quality requirements or (energy) performance scores. This comes down to the people element of sustainability essential needs of humans and added quality to their lives: safety, human health, comfort, convenience, happiness, beauty and fun. Specically for the area of climate design it relates to comfort (light, heat, humidity, acoustics and air quality) and the acknowledgement of individual control on it. An example of this is the model of adaptive thermal comfort by Linden et al. [2006], which gives the acceptance margins of a comfortable indoor climate in relationship with the outdoor temperature. This model is very suited for energy-saving when we design our climate systems close to the lower boundaries in 18

winter and higher boundaries in summer, instead of holding the middle, as a result of which still a lot of users feel too cold in summer and too warm in winter. Studying the local characteristics This step you have already encountered in the previous chapters, for instance as part of the method of energy potential mapping. In our eld, local characteristics relate to features that can inuence the climate design or energy use of a building: the local climate, seasonal and diurnal differences, weather conditions, the underground and surroundings, either natural or anthropogenic interventions: no building stands alone. Dening boundary conditions This step needs to lead to an underlayment plan or a set of boundaries for the design. These are based on the local characteristics studied in the previous step. They may be translated to rules of thumb for the orientation, rough shape of the building, roof type or faade detailing, to give a few examples. Smart design This is the creative and fun part of smart & bioclimatic design, using the preparative work as the toolbox and playing eld for the real stuff: architectural design and architectural engineering. Case study of the Dutch chancellery To demonstrate the approach of smart & bioclimatic design I will show some outcomes of a preparative study we did for the new Dutch chancellery in Canberra some years ago, about which we published an international paper [Dobbelsteen et al. 2008]. This was an interesting case for us, because it concerned a different climate zone and the ndings would be used by the architect who was to be selected to make the design. I will discuss a few issues. A rst issue we raised with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was about the starting-points of the building design, not just the brief yet also wishes related to the use of energy, water and material. It was here that we could discuss the adaptive thermal comfort idea to reduce the energy demand in summer and winter even before we started. Without the need to travel we proceeded with the analysis of local circumstances. For Australia Canberra has a relatively mild climate, almost continental and on average only 2 degrees warmer than the Netherlands, but with big differences between day and night as well as between summer and winter. So moderating the indoor temperature through deployment of building mass or the underground would be desirable. Located at a southern latitude relatively close to the Equator, in summer the sun reaches a height of approximately 82o (to the north!), so almost vertical. Therefore we studied all possible faade elevations and proposed rudimentary obstructive element positions to avoid irradiation, as well as a suspended tropical roof to keep the solar heat at bay and reect most of it.

Different solutions for different faade elevations.

Another interesting typical feature was the predominant wind from the north-west, bringing in hot air from the desert during daytime and freezing cold at night. This wind therefore had to be ob19

structed. The building site had no tree coverage in that direction, but the old chancellery building from the 1950s was exactly positioned against this wind direction. So we proposed to preserve the old building and use it as a windscreen and its cellar as rainwater storage. For, as you probably know, lack of water is Australias climate menace. All ndings from the analysis we translated into a crude underlayment plan, with sketches presenting alternative solutions to solve specic climate and energy problems.

old chancellery

Urban underlayment plan for the Dutch chancellery in Canberra.

From here on the architect, Rudy Uytenhaak, would have to nish the assignment, which he did, making a proper architectural expression a smart design of the local boundary condition sketches. His design of the new Dutch chancellery was round and therefore lacked the strictly different facades we had sketched, proposing a beautiful gradient in the solar obstructive elements. Uytenhaak also did something we had strongly discouraged: design an atrium. He however provided it with a rotating sloped roof, which could keep out all undesired sunshine, generate power and which gave the building a stark architectural expression.

Design for the new Dutch chancellery [Rudy Uytenhaak Architectenbureau].

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Three types of roofs that should be compulsory from now on Dutch roofs are stupid: if they are sloped they do not produce energy nor function as a rainwater collector; if they are at they do neither and have black tar foil which heats up to 80oC in summer. As far as I am concerned, only three types of roofs are allowed from now on: The Green Roof: rainwater buffer, temperature moderator, micro-climate improver, passive cooler and moisturiser, park landscape for people The Energy Roof: power and/or heat generator, rainwater collector, solar reector, active cooler The Greenhouse Roof: power generator and heat collector, rainwater collector, passive cooler, CO2 sequesterer, urban agricultivator, winter garden and home restaurant Ill discuss the Greenhouse Roof further on. We do not stand alone Rudy Uytenhaak is not the only Dutch architect who successfully integrates sustainability into his designs. I am glad to notice that the market is lling up with architects who dare to take the step to design sustainably, without the obsolete perception that this accent would only diminish the architectural quality but rather seeing it as a necessity and extra challenge and potential for a new type of architecture. So, many follow this track now. I cannot mention all of these architects I regard, but I want to highlight a few of them who have always had sustainability on their banner.

Bjarne Mastenbroeks Villa Fals in Switzerland [SeARCH].

Last year SeARCH was elected Dutch architect of the year, and an important reason was the original vision of its main architect, Bjarne Mastenbroek, on sustainability and the passionate way he uses it 21

in excellent architecture. In that sense he has much in common with Hiltrud Ptz and Pierre Bleuz of opMAAT.

Design of the carbon-neutral Zuidkas building [Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter].

Two different architects with a ceaseless drive to design energy-neutral or even -delivering buildings are Thomas Rau and Paul de Ruiter. Paul de Ruiters architecture is far from what grumpy architects refer to as ecological buildings and he succeeds in combining a modern architectural expression with a top performance in sustainability.

The original design of Villa Flora [Kristinsson Architects & Engineers].

Among the older and wiser yet not less energetic architects is for me the godfather of sustainable architecture, Jn Kristinsson. Retired already nine years ago he is unstoppable in conceiving innovative techniques to be applied in holistic sustainable buildings. Jns design for the Villa Flora in Venlo would be I dare say the greenest modern building in the world, as it closes every cycle of energy, water and materials. Except for two things: Dutch law does not allow drinking water decentrally made from precipitation, and the waste water treatment produces somewhat too much nitrogen. I suggest to him he add a nettle farm to his building and this too will be solved The fun of exploring new directions for design The exemplary architects mentioned above hopefully convey the fun of working on sustainable building design, while taking into account fundamental or even enhanced quality levels and using local circumstances optimally. 22

At present I see several new areas for further development of urbanism and architecture into the direction of becoming fully sustainable. In the very rst chapter, I already presented the four themes of our research programme of Green Building Innovation. I hope that the need for three of these is obvious after having read the booklet up till here: closing cycles, carbon neutrality and climate adaptation. Here I will explain the fourth one, E-novation, as well as other challenging topics for the area of Climate Design. The greenhouse as an asset In Kristinssons Villa Flora the greenhouse is an essential asset. In an earlier study he had found that one hectare of modern, smart greenhouse (using ne-wire heat exchangers and heat and cold storage in the underground) is a solar collector that could provide heating for 7 to 8 ha of new ultra-low-temperature-heated houses. This area is based on average Dutch urban plans, the Vinex density. If we were to combine greenhouses with apartment blocks, I calculated that every 3 to 4 stories of apartments could be served by one layer of modern greenhouse (presumably on top).

Sketch for a building solving four problems at once: water storage, housing development, food production and energy-neutrality (idea for the Dutch Westland).

This simple ratio based on heat supply and demand has additional advantages: the greenhouse could be used for locally grown food (urban agriculture) and these plants could absorb the CO2-lled exhaust from the apartments. Furthermore, the greenhouse roof would simplify rainwater collection for use by the plants or in the apartments. As you know, buffering rainwater becomes more urgent in cities. Fossil-free developments The importance of greenhouses became perfectly clear when I had to work on a region free of fossil fuel, together with planners, architects and technologists. Groningen was again one example to be elaborated, and we found that, with assumed energy savings of 50%, we had to create 250 km2 of photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines together. The only spot where we could nd sufcient land for this was the ecologically and economically depleted area of the Veenkolonin (peat colonies). Planning 250 km2 of modern horticulture that uses excessive carbon dioxide and has a closed heat balance, with PV on the south side of the shed roof and wind turbines between the greenhouses, we could solve the biggest part of the assignment. In addition, the facility would produce high-quality food and organic material, making it very productive and viable.

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Groningen Fossil Free: the province as it provides its own energy by non-fossil sources. The yellow-green patches to the south-east consists of modern greenhouses providing most of the energy, in addition to food and material, whereas it also serves as a carbon sink [image by Kasper Klap].

Technologies unlimited As part of the Delft University of Technology of course I want to contribute to the development of new technology for the built environment. The SREX and REAP cases urge for new techniques of heat and cold exchange without excessive use of infrastructure. Also on the building level in the area of energy and climate, new technical improvements can still be made for the building envelope or building services. In that respect I think the tendency toward adaptive and responsive techniques is promising and should be enhanced towards intelligent interaction of building and surroundings, for which the gentle art of biomimetic architecture as taught by Leeds professor Greg Keeffe [e.g. Keeffe 2010] provides a thorough basis. Energy and comfort in buildings: theory, plan and reality Many plans are well-intended but turn out to perform worse than anticipated. Things go wrong during the design, construction and operation stage, which we need to understand in order to avoid: How correct are energy calculations? What goes wrong in practice (the design, construction or operation stage)? What can we do about this? Do people behave differently than anticipated? What are the behavioural mechanisms behind this? How can we design sustainable buildings that forgive mistakes or that t user behaviour?

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Sketch of the Breathing Window principle [Kristinsson Architects & Engineers] and folder page of its market introduction [Brink Climate Systems].

Forgive me for mentioning him again, but Jn Kristinsson is one of the very few architect-inventors who come up with new ideas and techniques every year. Among the latest are the Smart Skin and the Air Mover, an inventive passive ventilator he developed with his equally smart brother. The Breathing Window, which he invented in the late 1990s, is nally going to be launched on the market. The principle is simple: fresh air is let in through a ne-wire heat exchanger where exhaust air exchanges its waste heat by an efciency of 90%, thus providing ventilation and basic heating simultaneously. It is a perfect solution for buildings with limited oor heights, where suspended ceilings are undesired and for renovation projects, which brings me to E-novation. E-novation, the assignment of the coming decades Education at the Faculty of Architecture may predominantly concern new buildings and new urban developments but after the coming 15-20 years a decisive period for sustainable development 90% of the built environment will consist of exactly the same elements as we have now. So we may design brilliant sustainable buildings, which we can, but the real challenge lies in the improvement of the existing stock, where as discussed at least 50% of energy savings need to be accomplished. During my doctoral research I developed a model to compare decisions regarding renovation of an existing building versus demolition and reconstruction, taking into account the age of a building and its expected service life after intervention. For students I used the old faculty building of Architecture as a case. I had better not done that, because it turned out that the building should either be completely stripped and sustainably renovated, or demolished and replaced by a sustainable new one. Surprisingly for students, this case showed that preserving old poor-quality buildings not always is the best solution. As you probably know this very building burned down in 2008, the year of comparison reference in class

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I use the term of E-novation to describe energy renovation innovation. It is an assignment much more complicated than designing a new building, as not all measures are possible, requiring ingenuity to signicantly improve the energy performance. Close as close can be, we will work on the sustainable renovation of the present building of the Faculty of Architecture, BK City. It is a perfect example of the complexity of an old majestic building where unlimited intervention is not possible or allowed. Within the coming years the BK City Slim project will have to make BK City the paragon of E-novation, probably presenting a collection of strategies instead of just one solution: Standard solutions (post-insulation, replacing windows, upgrading building services) Technical approach (LTH/HTC floors and walls, heat recovery, heat pumps, heat and cold storage) Local approach (cabins in large spaces, local heating/cooling, wrap up internally) Innovations (Breathing Windows, heat-radiating furniture, greenhouse over the building) No savings sustainable generation (PV and wind turbines here or elsewhere, green power, geothermal heat) Relevant research for E-novation E-novation will bring a myriad of issues to be studied for optimal results: Comparing different types of renovation for different buildings Developing new solutions for roofs, facades and oors Developing new technology for climatisation Studying physical aspects of building renovation Measuring comfort before and after intervention Assessing energy performance before and after intervention Determining the sustainability performance achieved Surveying user behaviour and experience References Dobbelsteen A. van den, Gommans L. & Roggema R.; Smart Vernacular Planning - Sustainable regional design based on local potentials and optimal deployment of the energy chain, in: Proceedings SB08; Melbourne, 2008 Hinte E. van, Neelen M., Vink J. & Vollaard P.; Smart Architecture; 010 Publishers, Rotterdam, 2003 Keeffe G.P.; Means, Means, Means - Adventures in the Technoscape vol.1; MSA Press, Manchester, 2008 Timmeren A. van; High-tech, low-tech, no-tech - Architectonische interpretaties van duurzaam bouwen (versie 2.01) (in Dutch); Publikatieburo Bouwkunde, Delft, 1998 Yeang K.; Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design; John Wiley & Sons, 2006 Yeang K.; The Green Skyscraper - The Basis for Designing Sustainable Intensive Buildings; Prestel, Mnchen, Germany, 1999

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Arjan van Timmeren Sustainable Architecture

Increased necessity of an integrated approach of Building Envelope + Installations Strategies for Sustainable Architecture Buildings are like organisms, sucking in resources and emitting wastes. The larger and more complex they become, the greater the necessity of infrastructures and the greater their dependence on surrounding areas, and last but not least, the greater their vulnerability to change around them. With recent and coming perturbations of the weather as well as constantly increasing demand of energy, water and materials, this aspect of vulnerability and dependence is becoming essential for sustainability, as the world may be entering a period of scarcity. Therefore, a renewed look on the building metabolism is necessary. Within this metabolism several components are essential. As for sustainability and especially the potentials for climate integrated design, the building envelope, or better: the building skin is the most essential component.Critical to the implementation of a changed approach to the building skin in close coherence with integrated resource management in the urban living environment, are reciprocity between skin and surrounding inuences respectively indoor comfort and behaviour related inuences and climate change inuences. Besides of that inclusion of low exergy solutions together with strong feedback systems between the different physical scales, and introduction of regenerative systems will be directive. Strategy for sustainable architecture: focus on adaptive building envelopes The building envelope is a major building component: external forces meet internal ideals at this point. The building and its site are a landscape of possibilities, with the building skin as the mediator between in-ness and out-ness. It concerns itself with climate (or perception of climate) as a major contextual generator, and with benign environments using minimal energy and materials as its target. When speaking of climate adaptive building envelope (or skin), most people will understand the general idea behind it: a building envelope that changes its characteristics under inuence of the climate. A possible interpretation problem rises with the exact denition of adaptive: different people with differing backgrounds and perspectives have a different view of the term adaptive. In general adaptive is referred to as to become adjusted to new conditions. While adaptive means the ability to adjust and adapt to changing circumstances by itself, adjustable, similar to adaptable, means the ability to adjust by external interference, such as human hand. Shutters for example will therefore not be classied as adaptive, but as adjustable. Within this context responsive building elements, among which (parts of) faades are investigated as well. Responsive in this is addressed to as responding readily and positively while respond in this context means doing something as a reaction. Climate-responsive building elements are building construction elements in which building service functions (e.g. heating, ventilation, lighting) are integrated and which assist in providing a comfortable and healthy environment at low-energy use. With respect to faades, the difference between adaptive and responsive is that responsive does not actually mean the adjustment of specic characteristics to the environment, but merely responding to a change in climate by, for example, lowering blinds or opening windows. The result could be interpreted as a change in characteristics, but technically nothing has changed in the faade itself besides the orientation of certain building elements by a mechanical action. Before the research and design for a new building envelope concept starts, it is vital to realize what exactly the requirements for the building skin are. The term building skin to some extent already explains what it is about. A skin separates the inside from the outside, protecting its contents, which automatically implies that on the one hand there is a need for protection, meaning that inside the skin conditions are preferable above the outside conditions, i.e. inside is, or should be at least, more comfortable. On the other hand it implies interaction and a mediator of reciprocal relationships of inside and outside conditions. Originally a building envelope should perform all the tasks for which we seek shelter behind it. Today however, no longer the building envelope simply has to act as a shelter against rain, wind and cold only, but more and more it is expected to act as a skin the same way as a human skin acts: as a vital part of our body, responsible for keeping the temperature of the body itself within comfort27

able limits, but also harvesting water, electricity, clean air and treating or emitting waste sustainably. Depending on the location, nature of the building, architect and client, additional requirements such as solar control or acoustic damping can become part of a faade. To provide optimal comfort to the user, it is not possible to cater for every physical aspect: requirements for acoustic quality are different from those for avoiding PM10 emissions to enter the building, bounding and/or emission of harmful CO2 and ozone produced in the building or for thermal insulation, which in turn is different from the requirements for visibility or natural light admittance. However, there are some basic functions of a building skin that every faade needs to encompass: waterproong; shelter from wind (not to be confused with ventilation); thermal insulation; and structural soundness. For determining or testing the possible solutions with respect to these basic needs as to the sustainability of the building skins, it is of importance to determine more precise the preconditions or assessment criteria for arranging and preserving systems. Elaborations of climate integrated design of building envelopes Our planet is changing, bringing new challenges to the way we live. Climate change already has a large impact on urban areas throughout the world. The effect will increase in the future, even if we would manage to keep emissions on todays level. The most recent developments and their requirements with respect to hard to be dened, continuous transformation are at the centre. It has turned out that the ability to incorporate continuous change, preferably through regenerative design, is necessary to tune the complex structures of society, the ows considered (energy, materials, air/ventilations, water and even nutrients) nature (and the natural processes) to each other. The inuence of the process of the transformation that was inspired by changes in the environment, its use, the technology applied, the market and the specic systems and technical infrastructure seems relevant. The issue is how building skins, integrated systems, infrastructure and most of all building inside conditions can be better prepared for the consequences of such changes. This could be addressed to by use of kinetic structures and building envelopes, or by treating the built environment more as a living system; although it will always be a controlled system. Living complex systems do not develop into one ideal nal state. An approach focused on design of processes is a good starting point: changes in the dynamic quality lead to techniques and systems, which may result in synergy effects. Present-day design principles particularly emphasize the extrinsic values. By changing these to intrinsic values, a better tuning to site-specic (ecological and comfort) conditions and regenerativeness may be achieved. Regenerative systems are coming into wider use. Often, the starting point is Lovelocks theory (1979) claiming that Gaia (the earth), as a single living organism, has some capacity of self-maintenance and self-repair, which should be the basis for all (living) systems. These principles are often used as target values for the systems based on natural components. Management is an important phase in these kind of regenerative systems: as they continue to evolve after taking their initial form, management is necessarily a creative activity as well and differs dramatically from the maintenance of industrial systems, the purpose of which is essentially to prevent change. In general this implies a need for decentralization of systems. This coincides with the fact that almost all sustainable energy sources have a low energy density. This, together with their variable character, will contribute to the obvious choice (at rst) for a decentralized implementation (Timmeren, 2008). Regarding the energy aspect of sustainable buildings, the limits of demand reduction can probably be found at the junction of maximising the use of available local resources in the built environment and tting it closely to user needs, complemented with conserving and controlling strategies like energy recycling, recovery and storage as close to users. The building skin and integrated decentralized systems will be essential for this second step. In any case, the present-day competitive advantage of sunk costs for conventional solutions within this context should be avoided. Strategic niche management can be of help here. The strategic approach should focus on the higher dynamic efciency of the decentralized systems: changed circumstances are easier to be anticipated with the help of decentralized systems. The general idea behind smaller systems is their relative simplicity and adaptability, and therefore their possibility to create extra (sustainable) capacities in situations where: In existing buildings where centralized systems have not been built yet, are out-dated, or are difcult to integrate, due to lack of space; In existing buildings systems have reached the limits of their capacity and new building parts, or higher user- or comfort related ows (ventilation, heat, cold, electricity, etc.) are 28

desired (temporary back-up provision); Bioclimatic, geological or circumstantial characteristics make interventions (e.g., in existing building structures or for instance subsoil) difcult or expensive; There is a desire for enhanced environmental performance, e.g., through interconnections with use related control (possibly combined with other infra systems); There are existing or new niches, as occasions for new technology (chameleon facades, cleaning facades); There is convergence of systems and belonging infrastructures, for the support of exible development and restructuring concepts (e.g. so-called dynamic ofces); Ideologically oriented considerations, possibly as an educational principle. Generally speaking, the two main problems in decentralized solutions are scepticism of the leading (often dominant) stakeholders involved and the larger inuence of individual behavioural changes (larger total capacities needed). The former is particularly caused by maintenance, responsibility (certainty) and liability. This scepticism however might decrease because of the necessary transition of the market or markets from a supply of products to a supply of services. The second aspect with respect to the different ow sizes (in fact, the basis for the technical economies of scale) can be met locally by modern techniques of planning and tuning, the so-called Real Time Control (RTC), and possibly by subdivision into parallel facilities. Thus, the remaining main points of interest for improving the competitiveness of decentralized systems and actually achieving the advantages for the environment and the users are the organization and implementation of maintenance, exploitation, provision of services and inspection of the various systems, together with the availability of back-up provisions if necessary.

Figure 1: From left to right: Mach des Halles, Patrick Blanc, Avignon (France); Muse Du Quai Branly, Patrick Blanc, Paris (France); Quantas Lounge, Sydney Int. Airport (Australia) and : Living wall, Tokyo (Japan).

One means of adaptation with respect to the building envelope is increased use of urban vegetation. In present-day (compact) towns and cities, there is a growing need for green areas that make use of the specic qualities of their locations, typical for them and possibly protected, for recreational and especially climate adaptive reasons (so called climate robustness). There are also processes that cause the actual public nature of green areas to become more and more restricted. Competition for urban space will make increased urban park areas unlikely, but cities can be greener by utilizing streets, rooftops, and walls. Large scale city greening, by e.g. greening rooftops, increasing the number of street trees and using climbing plants on walls (Figure 1), can signicantly cool the local climate by evapotranspiration. The urban heat island effect and heavy storms caused by large temperature differences between cities and their surroundings are therefore reduced. Climbing plants can cool buildings during the green season through shading. Green roofs can cool buildings with poor insulation during the warm season due to evapotranspiration. Urban vegetation will also reduce local ooding by its water uptake during the growing season. Using natures processes usually means using them on the site where they occur. Distribution routes are thus much shorter than those of most (conventional) industrial processes, which usually require transport of both energy and materials. Mostly for this reason an essential step is an inventory of on-site resources and processes. But it might also mean that we need to include more water based 29

systems inside faades, in stead of trying to ventilate water(vapour) as soon as possible. Including open water based ows inside facades will imply an entirely new approach of material use, methodology and structural layout of building skins. Besides solutions that are based on a strategy of adaptation handling impact(s) , like the previous mentioned, an approach based on mitigation tackling cause(s) is even preferable. An example of the latter are energy generating faades, water treatment facades, or energy and/or CO2 storing faades. A good example of the energy generating faades is the Redaktionsgebude by Axel Schlueter in Albstadt (Germany) in which sun-shading photovoltaic louvre-like elements are integrated in the faade (Figure 2). An interesting example of the energy storing faades is the Senior Citizens Apartment building by Dietrich Schwarz in Ebnat-Kappen (Switzerland), which uses prisms to reect sunlight and PCM material to store energy. The charge state of this latent heat storing glass faade can be observed directly from its optical appearance, which is determined by the different phases of the salt hydrate.

Figure 2: The Senior Citizens Apartment building by Dietrich Schwarz (top right: uncharged, and top middle charged state).

The faade of the planned EVA Centre by Atelier 2T in Culemborg (the Netherlands) is an example of the introduction of CO2 storage and water treatment inside a double layered faade (Figure 4). Here a sealed double skin faade contains the wastewater treatment of the EVA Centre and the heat recovery installations with seasonal storage in aquifer. Three of the installations within this system component (the faade, the solar-cavity spaces with hanging gardens and the agricultural glasshouses on top of the building) are fully integrated in the design of the EVA Centre. Besides this faade, a so-called Sustainable Implant contains installations for anaerobic treatment of organic waste and waste water of the residential district in which the building is situated (cf Figure 3). The double skin faade in this project in fact can better be dened as a vertical glasshouse (Timmeren, 2007).Cleaning faades are another innovation of the last decade. Mostly they address to the PM10 (and other related matter) problems sticking to faades at heights that are difcult to reach and thus costly to clean. There are two main applications: elements that keep themselves clean and elements that lter the air. Best-known product here is self-cleaning glass, but also similar other self-cleaning materials exist. Relevant examples for this are the SmartWrap building by AN_Architects in Vienna (Austria), which concerns a photo catalytic self-cleaning ceramic faade, and the Garden Chapel by the Obayashi Corporation in Osaka (Japan), a self-cleaning membrane skin. As to elements that lter the air, e.g. the Naturaire system by Air Quality Solutions is exemplary. It consists of a hybridization of two technologies that are quickly gaining in usage as means of remediating contaminated soils, water and air in outdoor, industrial setting.These technologies are bioltration, the use of biological systems of benecial 30

microbes to break organic pollutants down their benign constituents and phyto-remediation, the use of green plants to facilitate the remediation or reclamation of contaminated soils or water.

Figure 3: Impression of the sealed double skin faade of the hotel part within the EVA centre along with Sustainable Implant (SI).

References Kristinsson, J., Timmeren, A. van: Fine wire Heat Exchanger for heating and cooling Passive Houses, Proceedings International Conference Passin Haus, Nrenberg, Germany (2008). Linden, A.C. van den, Boerstra, A.C., Raue, A.K., Kurvers, S.R., De Dear, R.J.: Adaptive temperature limits: A new guideline in The Netherlands a new approach for the assessment of building performance with respect to thermal indoor climate. Energy and Buildings, vol. 38, (2006) 8-17. Lovelock, J.: A new look at life on Earth (1979), in Dutch translation (1980): Gaia, de natuur als organisme, Bruna, Utrecht. McDonough, W., Braungart, M. : Cradle to cradle. Remaking the way we make things, North Point Press, New York (2002). Spoel, W.H. van der, Phillippa, R.A., Swieten, P.M.J. van: Passive cooling using adaptable insulation, SenterNovem research BSE-2005 NEO 0268-05-04-02-012 (2008). Timmeren, A. van: Sustainable decentralized energy generation & sanitation: Case EVA Lanxmeer, Culemborg (the Netherlands), Journal of Green Building, Vol.2 nr. 4 (2007). Timmeren, A. van : Reciprocity of Autonomy & Heteronomy. Decentralization vs. Centralization of essential services in the built environment. Research in Urbanism Series, IOS Press, Amsterdam (expected 2012). Dr.ir. A. van Timmeren, TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture, Green Building Innovation & Product Development

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New builds

Caro van Dijk Sustainability a building as a source of energy

Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter In 1992 Paul de Ruiter started his PhD here in Delft at the department of Building Technology with his thesis The Chameleon Skin. In this thesis he rst acknowledged the ambition for buildings as a source of energy. In 1994 he founded Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter, and this notion has ever since been the guiding line in our work. Buildings can literally be energy sources, as they can be the carriers of sustainable energy production. Solar panels, fermentation and bio mass power plants, long term earth storage for heating and cooling, and to a lesser extent wind energy these are all building based systems. Buildings start to act as both energy users and producers, exchanging energy through the electricity grid with other buildings and sustainable power plants. The grid starts acting as the YouTube for energy users are also producers. But before we start thinking about alternative energy production, buildings are also the means to reduce the demand for energy signicantly through their skin. We design faades according to their orientation, the way they face the sun, to the weather outside and to whats going on inside this means we are designing along with the climate and not against it. This is what we call climate design. The energy a building uses is to a large extent the energy for cooling/heating and electricity. But also the materials that a building is made of cost a certain amount of energy when manufactured and assembled on site. The embodied energy of a building, as we could call it, has to be related to the buildings life cycle in terms of long-term exibility (for instance the structure) and short-term renewability or recyclability (nishes and interior). Finally, a building is made to enhance the quality of life. This means we should build healthy buildings, with great indoor air quality, lots of daylight, vegetation, and well-organized orientation and circulation. But a building is not a standalone object- it has its place in the complex social network of a city. Buildings should create opportunities, be inclusive without being unguarded, and they should be well connected with and have a positive inuence on their surroundings this is what we call human energy. How these different aspects of energy end up being represented in the building depends also on the client and the project organisation. If a building is designed for the market by a developer, there can be a sustainable ambition, but this ambition is often translated into something short term and nance based. But as proven sustainable real estate generates more return on investment, ambitions now get enhanced by sustainability certicates such as LEED and BREEAM. These labels demand a minimum level of sustainability on all aspects of a building, from energy to water to materials to indoor environment quality and health. If this is combined with the scenario where the developer will also be the owner of the building after completion, the ambition of sustainability rises with the prot to be made over energy saving. And nally, if the owner has also in mind to offer a full service sustainable experience to his guests, then all is in the right place for designing something special. We happened to be so lucky in this project: Hotel Amstelkwartier. Hotel Amstelkwartier Amsterdam: Sustainable luxury Hotel Amstelkwartier will be a highly sustainable four-star-plus hotel on the Amstel riverbanks near Amstel Station. A new residential and working area will be developed here in the coming years. It is 32

a project with many and diverse conditions, such as a strictly dened building envelope, its slightly odd position on a former brown eld next to a railway track, the big ambition for energy-saving, sustainability and to obtain the LEED Platinum certicate (the highest possible LEED score), the demands of the hotel brand, and, especially, the high standard and unique experience that the hotel has to offer to its guests. Part of this unique experience is the beautiful view over Amsterdam ideally combined with a dramatic Dutch sky and light. So we decided to give all the hotel rooms big oor-to-ceiling windows. However, climate wise, hotels tend to overheat very easily on a sunny day, and at the same time they lose their warmth quickly overnight. In order to maintain the right indoor climate at all times, most hotels have their cooling or heating services running permanently, even if the hotel guest is out and the more glass in the faade, the more cooling and heating is required. We decided that we need the big windows and a precise climate system to be at the disposal of the hotel guest at any time, but that we dont need those when the hotel guest is out and most hotel guests are out during the larger part of the day. So ideally, we want to switch off the heating and cooling entirely when the guest is gone, and switch it back on just before he walks in again. Therefore we designed insulated sliding panels that move in front of the glass when the guest is out, so the indoor temperature of the room remains the same. The key card meanwhile keeps track of our guest, and when he gets into the elevator downstairs, his room wakes up from its hibernating state, and the sliding panels open up to present him with the view when he enters the room. This reduces the energy demand for heating with 65% and for cooling with 99%. So in fact the faade has not been designed as a whole it has been designed for one room, based on an indoor experience, comfort and the reduction of energy demand. But the total appearance of it is rather special: as the shutters open and close in response to the circumstances, the faade changes constantly as well. In addition, we made sure that the faade as a whole keeps a notion of abstraction and verticality, with the opening and closing panels as variables in a consistent rhythm. Apart from hotel room the hotel houses a number of public functions. The ground oor is entirely reserved for a restaurant/bar, the mezzanine houses the specialty restaurant and the hotel lobby, the rst oor is a combination of conference and meeting concepts and on the top oor there will be a large multifunctional club space. Especially the lower oors will also be articulated as very welcoming, transparent, lively areas that mark the hotels presence and attract people from the nearby housing areas as well as from the rest of Amsterdam. Altogether, the hotel with its 24h liveliness will appear to the city as a dynamic volume with an ever-changing variety of lighting, transparency and colour under an overlay of an abstract consistent faade structure. The fact that the building rst and foremost shows itself as a strongly shaped volume, and secondly reveals the activity inside through variations in the faade, enhances the experience of the approach of the hotel from the view from the high way all the way into the entrance hall. It will form a singular shape in the citys skyline, and a new pivoting point between the city centre, the river Amstel and the entrance of the city by car or railway. Sustainable design requires a certain level of integral thinking. The traditional building process phases of sketch design, preliminary design and technical engineering merge into each other, as detailed technical questions become relevant already at the beginning for instance here the faade and services concept are so much interrelated that we had to be certain of its performance in detail already in the very beginning, or the design would have to change altogether as well. This way of working requires close interaction with the technical and structural engineers, and a certain willingness in the whole team to try out new ideas and innovations. The architect has, apart from his specic expertise in conceptual thinking and aesthetics, to take up the role of the coordinator and initiator in this team as the architect is the particular person to have the overview of all the different aspects of the building as well as their correspondence with the architectural concept and ambition. Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter ir. Caro van Dijk Hotel Amstelkwartier August 2011 33

Rudy Uytenhaak Sustainability as design criterion

The term sustainability is liable to ination. The meaning must be renewed constantly. Most of the time sustainability is coupled with a low energy performance coefcient. This indeed is essential but the term should be reviewed more widely and include several components that cooperate integrally. Before the instructing party and the architect lay the task to nd a balance in the various aspects on which an integral sustainable design can arise. Components integral sustainability Social and psychological component (righteousness and lovable, satisfaction of all senses) Policy component (statement of requirement, basis for renewal) Energy component (Trias Energetica) Technical components and materialisation (industrial exible building, locally available material, with respect to the environment, CO 2 neutrally produced and transported, possibility of recycling, cradle to cradle) Economic component (payback period, maintenance, exibility, reuse) Integral design proces Sustainability = integrated quality and buildings without weakness The main starting point for the new chancellery in Canberra is the realisation of a maximally sustainable building. In order to realise this, a integrated design method (parallel) must be applied instead of the more traditional serial method. From the beginning the different consultants are involved at and have inuence on the design decisions. The installations advisor, structural advisor and architect search for the integrated optimum. When this method is applied, where every party pays attention to the sustainable aspects within its eld, the result will be a considered an integrated design. Within this integrated working method the architect must comply himself/herself in its role. Instead of the seemingly free role that he or she normally has at the beginning of the design process the design now is co designed with the consultants. This way the architect, beside his or her role as creative designer, acquires extra responsibility for managing the design group. Integral sustainable We build to achieve optimally durable environments, with a vision on the balance between investments in energy and material and their output in use, comfort and management concerning the aimed life cycles. We make spaces to provide appropriate (micro-) climate, where the sensual (physical) qualities of the space, with regard to air, acoustics, temperature and lighting are comfortable and therefore well measured and regulated. It is unfortunately still inevitable that building burdens the (macro)environment. But how can the architect ensure that the environmental tax of a design is restricted to a minimum or the building even helps the environment? Possibly integrated quality is a more precise term than sustainable building. Integration indicates a dynamic combination of the different aspects that inuences the complete design and construction process. An optimal cooperation of the situation, climate control and installation, with respect to the required raw materials in all its aspects (material, energy and the factor time/economy), and the value and sustainability over the short and long term. Situation The location and the shape of a building have a direct inuence on the mobility and accessibility for users and visitors. The construction mass is a vital fact when it comes to construction (costs), management and demolition of a building. Buildings with a favourable factor offer, beside functional immediacy, short course lines and a limited seizure on the ground an important thermal advantage. Per m3 build volume the building has a small facade surface. Location and building shape inuence 34

internal climate, the demands for heating and cooling and their mutual relation. Also the orientation of facade and roof towards the sun and wind directions and their open/dense proportion inuence the internal climate, the installations and on the eventual energy usage substantially. Climate control by design Integral architecture creates an optimal physical climate. To all requirements stated are answered, but above all it is a climate that optimises possibilities to cooperate, communicate and concentrate. This becomes visible in the quality of the lighting, audible in the quality of the acoustics of the spaces, tangibly in the control of the temperature and quality of air (humidity and air speed). We strive thereby for the maximum restriction of the energy usage and subsequently an installation low building, with maximum usage of the natural sources. Daylight Optimum use of daylight limits the use of electricity and will increase the comfort of the user. The variety in quality of daylight works stimulating. It is important to prevent heating as a result of insolation. Comfort, installations and building design must be coordinated optimally by applying for example presence detection in combination with daylight regulation. Acoustics The quantity and nature of sound strongly inuence the perception and the comfort of the space. Too much sound leads to stress by the users accompanied by fatigue and concentration loss. Sound absorption, reection and echo time are optimized by the space proportions and shape in consistency with the interior (furnishing and material choice). Temperature The comfortableness of a space can be inuenced positively by means of a good regulation of radiation. This can be realised by the primary use of natural heat, using the absorption and delivery of heat by the building. This can be extended by an articial system of thermal mass combined with thermal storage underground where heat or coolness can be retrieved. This ensures a constant comfort with low external energy use and therefore restriction of CO2 expel. Ventilation Comfort asks for a good regulation of air humidity, speed and the prevention of cold air downdraught nearby windows, preferably with natural, self-regulating ventilation and application of night ventilation. Where the climate and/or the occupancy demand mechanical ventilation it will be equipped with a heat recovery system. Raw materials and materialization Innovation and creativity, but also tradition are vital here. Natural, smart and self-evident materials are most appropriate. Assessments are for example if natural building materials are available and how much energy is used with production, transport and processing. Was by requiring or producing these materials the natural environment damaged and if so, was this damage repaired? On what period maintenance gets a role? Does the appearance of the materials change nicely in time? What is the lifespan of a material and what is its value after use. Can they still function in some way for something else (cradle to cradle)? Can the construction process be accelerated? Is it possible to apply the method of industrial, exible deconstruct able building (IFD building)? Can we work with prefabricated elements and dry assembly instead of the more traditional wet building methods? How do we create chances to anticipate on the dynamic demands of the users? The building could possibly be created and demolished by using the same assembly techniques. Time How much building, ground and raw materials (energy + material) are required and what life cycle is therefore the perspective? Sustainable building represents a way of constructing in which the negative consequences for the environment and health as a result of building and the built 35

surroundings are restricted to minimum. You can also wonder whether you should build or build temporary structures. The multi-purpose nature and intensity of use can also result in a lower performance of the building. It is possible to construct a building that is exible in use and after use remains exible, deconstructable en represents a residual value. With a capital-extensive investment it is reusable, or possible to renovate or adapt existing construction. Sustainable building assumes that unexpected weak links in the quality of the building dont occur so that the projected lifespan is ensured. ir. Rudy Uytenhaak

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Kas Oosterhuis Robustness

Self-analysing the works of ONL and Hyperbody there are a number of strategies that all are relevant in the context of the discussion on sustainable architecture. Most of these strategies are related to innovative design concepts, digital design methods, digital production methods, construction methods and new concepts for a continuous operation. Generally speaking all our innovations are based on swarm behaviour, based on simple rules leading to a pleasantly rich complexity that is by denition robust. The innovations cover the complete DBFMO [Design Build Finance Maintain Operate] spectrum. Design Multiple use of the earth. In the design concept all the most important gains are achieved. we start by combining different functions in one location, as opposed to modernist function division. The Cockpit is both acoustic barrier and a commercial building. The combination was proposed by the designer, not by the authorities. The authorities accepted the view of the architect. Building body. We consider buildings as integrated bodies with logic body plans. The body plan is by denition three dimensional, not evolved from plans and sections. Plans and section are derivatives from the 3d model. No modications may be made in the plans, only in the 3d BIM. Compact shapes. Our designs are usually very compact, that is maximizing the m3 proportional to their enveloping surface, therewith saving on operational energy costs, and leaving more budget to the facade structures. Compact shapes have rounded corners that streamline the climate, leading to less wind acceleration, and less cooling / heat losses. Networked structures. Our designs are based on robust structural concepts, where the structure and the cladding are synchronized in diagrid tessellations. Diagrid structures are more efcient in distributing gravity forces and use less kilos for the same performance. Diagrid structures are very rigid and stable in themselves. When one or more nodes of the structures fail the forces are led effectively around the problematic area, the structure does not collapse. No secondary structures. A typical ONL innovation is the merge of the primary structure and the cladding system. Structure and skin are fully synchronized, there is no such thing as a secondary structure. This innovative design concept features a denser structure combined with generally speaking larger cladding components. Leaving out the secondary structure has proven to be very cost-effective, less material, less details, less work on site. Local climates. Just like the structure and the skin are fully parameterized into one single design system, also the climatic conditions are ideally synchronized in the same ne-grained robust concept, meaning that the user can customize their local climates based on a mild generic climate. In essence this means that apart from the central devices also the skin is active in many ways, taking advantage from changing sun and wind conditions. Integration of experts. In the design process ONL has developed a method of linking the experts together in a actuating swarm of experts. They exchange data almost in real time as to inform the other party about their knowledge. The experts are linked in such way that they can contribute to the best of their knowledge. They use their own software, and exchange only those data that are strictly necessary to inform the other parties. protoBIM The protocols how to link the experts in the early design stage is described in the protoBIM strategy, which is further developed in fall 2011 in a BIR practice project. Basically it comes down to a distributed robust BIM, which is different from a standardized central BIM server a is promoted by Autodesk Revit for example or other proprietary software systems. The ideal set-up is to link all players inBIM evolves to an exact model as controlled by the architect from which exact data can 37

be extracted for the CNC production. This requires that the designer [ONL, Hyperbody] incorporates the le to factory strategy in the early design concept, it can not be added later without redesigning the complete design, leading to loss of energy and essential concepts getting lost in translation. Design embedded le to factory production is highly efcient, since no data get lost, all data are transmitted as integer correct data. File to factory design is not an illusion as traditional design methods are, nor a shadow reality, it is the building. Just there, then, that and thus. There must be an unbroken and evolving digital chain from early design concept to the usage phase of the built structure. In all phases the team effort must be directed towards the extended just in time paradigm. This can only be realized when the information transfer is maintained on its most elementary level, based on simple rules and minimal data exchange, and only true and integer data. No waste on building site. Having prepared the design into the parametric specications, in the assembly phase there will be no waste at the building site. A dry montage system guarantees that no waste material pollutes the built environment. No scaffolding. File to factory customization and dry montage systems are erected without scaffolding, the connected pieces form the stabile structure in all phases of the montage. Build only once. Design as to avoid building twice or three times to get to your result. Avoid moulds that are thrown away, moulds are only acceptable if they are programmable, and used many times. Design as to refrain from scaffolding. The structure must be designed such as to be strong and stabile in all phases of the building process. Finance Function overlap. Combining functions into one structure is a key factor for evolutionary success. Robustness builds on mixed, which is the converse of the monofunctionality. BIM. At the later part of the unbroken chain that builds up the evolving Building Information Model the integrity of the model must be maintained and used for living its life. The designer designs the rules of the game of life, the users and the building components play the game of life. By playing the game some rules may be ne-tuned and eventually adjusted. Maintain Minimize number of details. Maintenance of the built structure is much easier when the building system is coherent, and featuring as few details as possible. The problems with the maintenance always occur where two systems are crashing into each other. Building the complete building in one coherent system, leading in the extreme version to the One Building, One Detail strategy, is the basis for controlled maintenance. Tag all building components. In order to control the maintenance process each building component and each piece of furniture must be tagged, it must have an identity that can be addressed. The tagged components ideally contain miniature computers that communicate with each other as active agents in real time, informing each other about their actual state. Operate Streaming data informs the building body. Only when data is continuously streaming the Building Information Model is a Building In Motion as well. Only then the building can adapt itself via its various components that contain actuators to changing circumstances and thus use available energy in a] much more efcient way. Behaviour based on actual information. The building displays behaviour, it responds effectively to changing circumstances, both coming from the immediate environment as well as from the users. There is only a barrier when you need one. In the ultimate version of Buildings In Motion the behaviour is only displayed when there is a need for it. There is only a door when someone wants 38

to enter the building. There is only a canopy when there is rain or sun that must be blocked, or when one needs to be accompanied by a grand gesture when entering the building. There is only a window when someone wants to look out or when sun needs to be brought into the building, etc. You get the point, traditional buildings are static and do not respond in any way to changing needs and circumstances. Programmable buildings do, and therefore they are the best possible path to a robust technology for the built environment. Kas Oosterhuis, August 2011

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Kees Kaan Architectural Sustainability: Rediscovering climate as a design factor.

Timeless wisdom Already in the time of Vitruvius man was aware of the climate as a design factor in construction. Vitruvius wrote in his Ten Books about the importance of orientation, not only for buildings in various climate regions, but also at the urban development level as it concerns the relationship between the street patterns of a city and the wind direction. Also the so-called vernacular construction, which was developed by peoples from diverse regions of the world, has produced a vast amount of wisdom. Consider, for example, the various roof shapes (a low ridge in cold areas so that snow remains in place as insulation or a high ridge in temperate areas for the benet of efcient drainage). Climate consideration in design is, therefore, not a new invention or task. Memory Loss In Joseph Paxtons Crystal Palace of 1851 giant ventilators appear for the rst time in a building with the purpose of regulating the climate and increasing the pleasantness of the publics surroundings. For the entire duration of the 19th century, technical inventions lead to radical modernization in building; not only in the area of demand for new building types such as train stations, large theatres, congress centres, skyscrapers and the use of steel construction but particularly in installation technique. In 1839 the rst forms of uid heating appear, discovered by Angier March Perkins in the U.S. In 1845 the water tap is invented. In 1855 radiators are employed in Russia as heating for the rst time; in 1876 there is the telephone; in 1879 the electric light; in 1885 the rst coal heater for domestic use. In 1902 air conditioning is used for the rst time on a large scale by Willis Carrier in a printing ofce and from 1924 it breaks through into cinemas, theatres, public buildings and ofces. These discoveries mark the beginning of a period of memory loss concerning the climate as design factor in the work of urban developers and architects. The climate in the buildings that modern architecture creates is completely disconnected to the natural climate. The new techniques allow architects to create and maintain completely articial environments. Without these techniques cities such as Miami and Dubai could not exist on such scales as they do today. Climatic Autism In modern architecture a building is a sovereign object with an autonomous climate. For the past 150 years we have not given consideration to orientation, dominating wind direction or seasonal effects in our designs. The form of buildings, the type of faades, the use everything is permitted, everything is possible with the help of technical installations. When it gets dark or even during the day, electric lights are burning in the long ofce gardens; large glass surfaces pointing toward the sun are no problem; excessive heat is cooled off; ventilating is mechanically regulated. Of course, there are always architects in the periphery of the profession who have of extremely manifest views on the inuence of climate on design. Every now and again a futuristic experiment takes shape, but in the mainstream one could speak of a sort of climatic autism. New Consciousness The rst oil crisis and the report by the Club of Rome constitute a turning point. We realize that oil reserves are not limitless and that raw materials are ultimately scarce. 40

A new consciousness is forming. The discussion concerning sustainability is reluctantly coming up to speed. The obvious application of full-powered airco behind closed faades makes room for other approaches. In the 1970s consciousness gained stride. The emphasis lay on ecological aspects and environmental awareness. In the 1980s and 1990s energy efciency dominated the scene. We are trying to limit the damage and all the while knowing that it will be insufcient. It now has to be energy effective, C2C. There is growing awareness that sustainability is greatly determined by the design itself. Again, this is under discussion at all levels. Buildings and cities have to be designed intelligently with regard to climate and local circumstances. Sustainability is not only realized with smart technical novelties but it is an intrinsic quality. Unfortunately much traditional knowledge has been lost. Expanding Sustainability is not a characteristic. Besides energetic aspects, the value of a building is mostly determined by cultural, economic and social aspects. It is evident that the lifecycle of costs is strongly determining for the success of a building; however, the cultural worth, the way in which a building adjusts and behaves in the city and the social and ergonomic values determine its longevity. Our clients are gradually becoming more aware of all of this. Requirements regarding sustainability issues are more emphatically and precisely formulated in programmes. Attempts are being made to make sustainability measurable. Buildings can receive sustainability labels based on such certication systems as BREEAM, Greencalc, etc. Users will increasingly require an A-label or comparable quality. With larger projects the Dutch Governmental Building Agency contracts out services for design, construction, nancing and management. The DBFMO tender is becoming generally accepted. There is no longer a large rift between design, investing and exploitation, but now exploitation advantages such as energy savings and other sustainability interventions can make extra investment possible. It has become increasingly more common that clients formulate greater ambitions in their housing assignments with respect to sustainability. This sustainability does not limit itself to requirements with regard to energy consumption. One uses concepts such as circularity and alliance in relation to usage, building and region. Circularity concerns self-sustaining systems, recycling. The world is a circular system but no longer an inexhaustible source; long-term thinking is central. Alliance refers to social alliance and internal alliance in organisations as a source of innovation. Implementation The developments are moving very gradually. The building regulation is constantly adapting. The market is reacting sharply to sustainability. It is interesting to see how the gradual development is visible in executed work. Taking our own oeuvre from the past 15 years, we see the developments in the area of sustainability reected in those works. After all building practice teaches us that investing in sustainability will actually be fullled once it is demanded. Design and building processes are extremely slow and inexible. The actual implementation of new ideas and techniques advances very gradually. Acceptance Now that sustainability has such a broad public support, more freedom and support for logical design arguments from architects at the level of the design itself comes into practice. Even the simple folk may now and then share their two cents. Clients are interested in more than just pretty pictures. This is a good development. The proposals not only relate to installations or technical facilities, but to fundamental design choices such as orientation, typology, reuse, planning, excess, material 41

choices, etc. Nevertheless, in order to make intelligent proposals, we must recover our lost design knowledge and freshen up our memory of what is intrinsically sustainable. Ir. Kees Kaan September 2011

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Michiel Riedijk A text will be published on Blackboard as soon as it is available.

This text will not be required reading for the exam.

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Pieter Weijnen Upfrnt, Pieter Weijnenthe cooperative for up-architecture

The only way is up We cant continue to live our lives the way we currently do.We need to change our modus operandi. We are obliged to hand over our planet to the next generations in a better condition than we and our ancestors have caused it to be. Neutral is, in this respect, not even enough anymore.The objective of moving up will need to be embraced by many. Across many different disciplines. Without having to forsake on things we have grown accustomed to. We need to deliver new ways of thinking to create a new way of living, tting the 21st C whilst at the same time moving up in the way we make use of natures resources. In creating and driving this change, architecture is an important inspirer and facilitator. It can deliver the context and direction for new technology to be developed as well as ensure that the building itself and the way it is constructed leaves a positive footprint.We see it as our role to actively act as agents of change and drive the forefront of these developments. A cooperative or a movement ? The ambition is a big one and almost feels like a movement.Within FARO architects, I worked more and more on the theme of sustainability, but after the building of Steigereiland 2.0 we felt we had to organize it differently to be able to aim for the best. Therefore we created Upfrnt, But even Upfrnt will not be able to do it on their own. We need other disciplines, expertise and energy to create the acceleration our environment needs. Therefore, we have organized ourselves as cooperation. True to the original intention: Cooperation is how the components of a system work together to achieve the global properties. In other words, individual components that appear to be selsh and independent work together to create a highly complex, greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts system.To create awareness for Upfrnt and more importantly for our vision, we want to institutionalize our thinking by creating a platform for others to join and add their expertise. Only by connecting to a higher ambition, commercial and ideological institutions will be able to join forces.It wont be easy, we will have to practice, practice and practice. The up movement in architecture We want to show that we dont want to change things for the sake of changing things. We want to respect the past, use it in the present to better the future. Therefore, we encompassed our thinking in 5 principles that not only dene our work but also steer the input of others. We named it the up school of architecture. The principles which therefore dene our work and those of our associated partners: We create . 1 architecture with a positive effect on our environmental systems Neutral is not enough anymore. We need to have a distinct positive effect if we want to hand over our planet in a better shape to the next generations . 2 societal value with inspired, Up-sustainable beauty, healthy and diverse architecture . 3 buildings able to organically grow with their inhabitants and when their usefulness is over, re-used or returned to their original elements . 4 to deliver well-being to the world . 5 and build a building like it is our own

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House 2.0 Steigereiland

Campingsites Staatsbosbeheer

Sustainable supermarket

High-rise building Cascade Almere

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Ruurd Roorda Architecture in crisis

One To understand our attitude in the forces of today, the following is important to take into account. We have a strong conviction that the recent nancial crisis also reveals a major but until now hidden architectural crisis. In the two past decades international architecture has serviced a world that asked for architectural force and speed. In all possible ways this world has received what it asked for. For instance: take a look at the Internet search-results for images of buildings and projects in Dubai, where the bubble collapsed in spring 2009. This architectural world (we mean the pre-crisis architectural world) shows a culture of dancing on top of a volcano. In our view the architectural production of this culture can be less and less of an example that can offer the world of today any grip. The corresponding architecture is conceived from a tacit consensus about making ever increasing complexities and ever increasing craziness in building-shapes. Certainly if shown side by side, this production embodies a devaluation of architecture as we know it. Confronted with this ination, architects struggle like madmen, in order to stay ahead of their rivals, in order to obey the demand for distinction, for the new, for the experiment, for being unique and authentic. This struggle leads architects to a dead-end street. Does no one grasp, that this demand for distinction contributes to an omnipresent domination, to hollow gestures, to intimidation, to arrogance, to disdain for other artefacts? This architecture leads to cities with buildings that shout: Me, me, me, the rest may choke, which in itself is a conrmation of the stuck state of capitalism - the only ideology that is left. In this architecture the emphasis on shape conceals an absence of content. This is the architecture of speed, of greed. To us this architecture evokes a perception of boredom, of exchangeability, presumably because its polymorphousness doesnt relate to any vital meaning. This is the crux of the present-day crisis in architecture. And whats worse: Because of the obsession with the present day, with shape, with outward appearance, with image, with the surface, the essence of architecture has been hollowed out to a fraction of what it might eventually be: a mirror to, a motor of, a binding agent to society. An imagination of ideals. And what is maybe even worse: the short-term attitude of this architecture of speed is anti-sustainable. Just now, in a time when general votes arise to adjust the short-time perspective, responsible for the crisis and the bad prospects of the world, to strategies of sustainability, it is necessary as well to adjust the failing architectural tendencies of yesterday and to restore the integrity of the architectural discipline. Two Certainly some signs of an architectural shift are already discernable. To us it seems that this shift comes from below, i.e. not from the establishment. Without fully being able to claim that our ofce is part of this shift (indeed there still is no real movement of sorts, at the most one can speak about shared irritations and attempts for change), here we would like to state something more about ourselves. In all sincerity you must accept from us that up until today we have never felt that our working-method or our message could be of any real importance for the time in which we live. Recent developments have changed these feelings. 46

Today we have been engaged in designing architecture for twenty years, with the utmost of concentration, of precision, one could say with a desire for slowness, necessary to make our work into what it is. Today, in our view, exactly this slowness as a basic attitude, as an intrinsic desire, as a requirement for a rich and lively architecture, is a necessary attitude in bringing forward intelligent work. We have stated the need for sustainability. In our ofce we speak of the third wave of sustainability (the 1st one being in the 1970s, the 2nd in the early 1990s, the 3rd is now). This issue leads to a confusion of tongues but the one clear thing is that everyone wishes to take part in it. Understandable... Only for architects, sustainability is a rather unexplored topic. What we mean with this is that sustainability for architects is synonymous with technique (reduction of CO2, saving of energy, water and material, avoiding mobility, the closing of life-cycles.). We dont want to deny the importance of these issues. Nevertheless, we would like to point in a different direction: in the direction of architecture itself. Strictly speaking two themes are important to us since our graduation (1986). Both themes are concerned with endurance: we are interested in long-term issues. In our view both urban and architectural durability ultimately enhance sustainability, by creating beloved spaces. The theme outside of time points to strive for rootedness. This strive ows into establishing relationships between place and project. It also implies certain humility towards the context. We do not always want to dominate other structures. We feel it is always a better goal to improve the context as well - by doing the project. In our view this is the only way to make intelligible urbanism, an urbanism that becomes more valuable, that one may wish to preserve. Outside of time is in fact the same as timelessness and in this case may as well be called urban sustainability. The theme around you points to our desire to make an afrmation of man in his universe by making a valuable counter form. This to us is a prerequisite for architecture. This means an interest in space rather than shape and image. In many of our projects this fascination leads to spatially weighed, warm and often colourful interiors, that may invite to action but also radiate calm in essential areas. Underlying thought: a great interior afrms greatness of being. This thought we investigated further in our study Great Spaces, which will be published in a book shortly. In the buildings we analysed, the great interior spaces work for centuries, even if ideologies change in the meantime. This phenomenon we call architectural sustainability. The enumeration above suggests, that in our ofce we speak about sustainability on a daily basis. That isnt exactly the case. This has got to do with vocabulary. And there are a lot of other topics that need attention. Our working method and our preference for phenomena that are effective through time, existed already before we started concentrating on the technical aspects of sustainability in 1994. Strangely enough we have only begun speaking about our architectural working method and fascinations in terms of sustainability since the start of the nancial crisis, in 2008. Because of a desire for slowness and in analogy to Slow Food and Citta Slow one may label the resulting architecture as slow architecture. This term however has a certain imperfection: just like in the Slow Food movement the goal here isnt slowness itself but taste. And this taste can be given by offering a wealth of experiences. This wealth is of great importance to us. We do not believe in neutral architecture. Nor do we believe in minimalism, in an architecture of thrift, as an answer to this crisis. To build less is a possibility, that is for certain. To build worse, thinner or more minimal is mankind unworthy. Kingma Roorda architecten BNA 2009/2010 47

Reuse

Job Roos Looking for balance The discovery of an integral approach

Introduction For me sustainability has to do with balance, in fact active balancing. I am not an expert on sustainability, I am a curious architect and associate-professor at TU-Delft faculty of architecture looking for interesting ways to search. Like the inspector that investigates: to nd out who committed the murder and, by bits and pieces, to lay down the complex puzzle. I am interested in use by people to be conversed in spatial planning, reuse even more for its complexity and the interesting time-layers of predecessors, a story of use in history, culture to be handled with care and understanding. Thus I feel not an autonomous author, I feel like a co-author with time, and I feel also the responsibility to bring further what is or was valuable and may be even place it into new perspectives. Thus, make visible what was forgotten, use its potential with the means of today and tomorrow. To make this into a success is a complex task that asks for a lot of knowledge one person can never have: time for team-work to nd the balance in design between past and future in a cultural-driven way. But not only! It should also be a balance for eco and societal drivers. Because building is about our future and the challenges we meet today are huge. The complex balancing could be compared to a sensitive neurolistic system which makes our body function: the result goes without saying. For a thorough re-use applied sciences are needed for an integral approach. Very recently we constituted a department (working title hyperBmit), which deals with technology driven design. Technology should be explained in terms of underpinning the design task. I would prefer to denition of technology to: the total of processes needed in knowledge and processes resulting in products and services for societal needs. So we should leave the one-sided and hard technical side and choose for the approach in which both alpha en beta processes are involved such as culture and ecology. Ecology for me has to do with balance, now still often neglected in the design process often disturbed over the various scales, like f.i. on the urban scale where inner cities just remain as tourists focus. Ecology is the science that cares about the balance between living organisms (people) and their environment or the mutual relationship between biological and a-biological elements on different levels of scale. This is a pretty subtle and even a nice metaphor for architecture, if you add at least social and cultural aspects. Main question: how can we be in control in the transformation processes, to weigh and balance the social, cultural and ecological needs What are the incentives and constraints, what are the opportunities? I did an attempt for a theoretical framework on methodology in my book Discovering the Assignment, which resulted in a model of thought. Looking for a rm methodology, this was the outcome. Particularly open for debate and further research. Case study: TPG-Building in the Hague, near Station Hollands Spoor. My story is about the necessity of a sustainable redevelopment of (recent) industrial heritage. The case study of today, The TPG-building, was designed in the late thirties, but not built before 1949 because of the Second World War. A modern and brutal building in the city of The Hague anno 1949 was realized, a huge and modern building, an icon in the city (De Haagse Van Nelle). With its smooth forms and curving lines a symbol of optimism and great dynamics synonym with its function: the heart of post-transport and distribution, a centre of communication. Started in 2007 the owner of the building is working on the redevelopment of the building, which in this case is not such an easy task. A substantial part of the building should be transformed into ofce-space, which is quite a challenge in these times of shrink. The complexity of the task is even bigger since in 2009 the building was listed as Rijksmonument / een jong monument (a new monument). This means that the approach from a design point of 48

view, is one of even greater care and understanding to link the past, present and future. And if we also add the urban plans of the municipality of The Hague, which means that the building could or should be doubled in height, complexity starts to transform into a challenging and interesting puzzle. My contribution today (6-10-2011): To understand and value the transformation of the DNA of the TPG-building and its Genius Loci today, we need to look at it from several points of view. This understanding and value-assessment is the condition for a sustainable redevelopment of the building in its future context. It may seem strange that at the beginning of this decade, a relatively big redevelopment into ofce-space can be done. I will explain to you why this is happening. How cultural-historic value will ride together with real estate value, if there is a real sustainable development-plan. And with sustainable I mean all the efforts that can be undertaken to do a t for purpose planning: social, economical, cultural and technical. This means a thorough approach in the assignment and the design by architect(s) and a good supportive team, to facilitate this building on its spot with good incentives for the next few decades. Abstract by associate professor Job Roos Technical University of Delft Faculty of Architecture, department r-MIT A short number of facts 1. 1949: a new icon (De Haagse Van Nelle) is built in the urban environment of Hollands Spoor (railway-station), The Haagse van Nelle. 2. 1989: a big transformation of the building itself, loss of cultural, spatial and material quality, and loss of value of use; lack of sustainable development. 3. Over the past decades: big transformation of area, the building almost vanishes in the urban vibe. 4. Today: an empty building, there is no prosperity in value of use without redevelopment. 5. 2007: Redevelopment starts. The Proposal is a mix in program of housing, high-end-ofces, restaurant(s), retail and parking.

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Duzan Doepel HAKA recycle office, an alternative resource efficiency strategy

Doepel Strijkers Architects in collaboration with Cor Luijten, Rotterdam Public Works & Otto Friebel, Van Gansewinkel Group Summary: Urban living lab In 2009, the HAKA building in the Merwe Vierhavens of Rotterdam was designated as a campus for clean-tech activity, a Urban Living Lab for companies, institutions and authorities in the eld of water and energy innovation. Doepel Strijkers Architects was asked to develop a concept for the ground oor that illustrates how the strategy of closing material cycles on a city scale can be translated into a concept for the interior of a building. The ambition was to go further than just reducing the CO2 footprint through the reuse of materials. An alternative development was set in place by introducing the social component. A team of ex-convicts in a reintegration program was used for the making of the objects. In so doing, the project is more than just an example of how one can make an interior from waste, it creates added value through empowerment and education. The project is cost neutral compared to an interior built from new materials, but the money is distributed differently. In the HAKA model, the use of cheaper second-hand materials means that money can be invested in the social component. The project demonstrates that the realization of an interior can have more environmental, social and economic impact than traditional interior projects. It is a plea to all designers to generate alternative models for development that give answer to the larger challenges that we face as a society. Design for Flexible Use The building was originally conceived as a machine, a physical translation of the production processes for which it was designed. A central street separated the ofces to the east from the factory spaces to the west. The logic of the original building formed the point of departure for the redevelopment. The rst phase is limited to the ground oor, with features that make the initial exploitation possible. The central street is once again activated as the main entrance by opening it up with large glass windows. Orange, vertical TL-lamps are visible from the road, clearly designating the point of entry. The public area in the original factory part offers space to work, as well as meeting and hospitality functions. A raised platform functions as a temporary ofce space for current tenants and will be used as a restaurant in the next phase of the development. Tables around the platforms double as ex working stations with Internet connection. The centrally located catering point functions as a pantry for the companies on the platforms and as a kitchen and bar during events. This pantry will be extended into a professional kitchen for a restaurant operator in the next phase of development. To the east, the original ofce area is converted into an auditorium and temporary exhibition space. A exible acoustic partition wall, constructed from 8 tons of clothing, ensures that the space can be adapted to changing needs. The auditorium and exhibition space can function as separate areas but mixed forms are also possible. Recycled Materials Both waste materials from demolition sites and waste products from production processes were harvested, transported and processed in the HAKA building to form the new interior elements. The design of the elements was dictated by a number of ecological criteria: sustainable demolition of the objects with the social component, harvest materials close to site, limit the amount of materials used, design the objects based on the intrinsic qualities of the materials, minimize the use of electric tools and design for easy disassembly for future re-use. In addition to these criteria, it was clear that the detailing of the objects should be kept simple considering that the workers were not professional carpenters. By designing simple repetitive elements, a new affordable craftsmanship was made possible resulting in a design that demonstrates qualities that are often too expensive in the conventional design process. 50

Sustainability Label In collaboration with Otto Friebel from the van Gansewinkel Group and Cor Luijten from the Rotterdam Public Works, a sustainability label per object was developed. Equity, Economy and Ecology form the basis for the label. The indicators for the label include the CO2 footprint, material and labour costs, and the number of man-hours spent per object. The conclusions show that this model is effective in terms of C02 reduction, and material and labour costs. The average number of manhours spent to make the elements was however 3.5 times higher than a proffesional team would have spent. It can be argued though, that the use of the social component is by denition sustainable, even if the consequence is an increased production time. A number of logistical aspects need to be improved before the concept can be implemented on a larger scale. Doepel Strijkers is rening this strategy and is currently futrther developing the toolbox of typical ofce elements for potential wide scale implementation.

HAKA Design Ambitions realize a mixed-use interior, exible enough to change in function in the future. cluster collective functions to facilitate informal incounters. involve end users in a co-creative process. design for build by unskilled labour the social component. reduce the co2 footprint through reuse of local waste materials and products. limit the number of kilometres travelled by harvesting materials close to site. create an alternative nancial and development model to generate added value. ensure that the project is cost neutral (compared to an interior built with new materials). Design criteria supply driven process available materials determine objects. design objects based on the intrinsic qualities of the materials. limit the amount of material used. limit the amount of waste produced. limit the use of technical handlings. limit the use of xatives. design simple details that can easliy be repeated by unskilled labour. dont erase the history of the material. design for disassembly in the future. 51

The building was originally conceived as a machine, a physical translation of the production processes for which it was designed. A central street separated the ofces to the east from the factory spaces to the west. The logic of the original design forms the point of departure for the redevelopment of the building. The rst phase is limited to the ground oor, with features that make the initial exploitation possible. The central street is once again activated as the main entrance by opening it up with large glass windows. Because the building stood vacant for nearly twenty years, it is important to make a strong gesture towards the street so that passers-by are engaged by the building and intrigued that something is happening. A mix of orange and white TL-lamps are hung vertically generating repetition of lines visible from the road. The entrance area is predominantly lled with orange lamps, clearly designating the point of entry. A single orange line of lamps follows the path from the entrance to the outer ends of both wings of the building. The reception counter in the entrance hall is composed out of two complementary volumes. The base is made out of roof slats (from Komu in Vlaardingen) in a modular form, with open elements at the front to more closed elements at the back. As the needs of the user change more of the open structure can be lled in to form additional shelf space for books, marketing material or merchandising in a later phase. Hovering above the base, in an almost surreal manner is a glass hood constructed from a second hand greenhouse from the village Monster in the Westland. The tensile strength of aluminium and glass are exploited to create this weightless structure. The original HAKA logo is brought back to life and is given a prominent position on the front of this element.

The public area in the original factory part offers space to work, as well as meeting and hospitality functions. A raised platform functions as a temporary ofce space for current tenants and will be used as a restaurant in the next phase of the development. The initial plan was to make the platform from second hand doors but because these could not be extracted in time, due to squatters in the building. An alternative was found in the form of large wooden panels from an old kiln factory in Hengelo. At a distance of 187.4 km, these elements were by far the furthest of all materials used in the project. The platforms comprise of a number of large stair-like elements with storage space to the sides which doubles as a railing. Different ofces rent space on the platforms, the different levels demarcate where one ofce begins and the other ends. The wireless Internet connection makes exible working possible on the tables scattered around the platforms on the old concrete oor. The centrally located catering point functions as a pantry for the companies on the platforms and as a kitchen and bar during events. Like the hood of the reception counter, this is made from a second hand greenhouse. Besides the appliances, the stainless steel kitchen units and tables are all second hand. This pantry will be extended into a professional kitchen for a restaurant operator in the next phase of development. Beside the kitchen (behind the lift) is the meeting room, made out of 24 massive wooden doors from a social housing project. The doors are simply hung in a timber frame made from struts. Each door can be individually opened making it possible to enter or leave the space from any side.

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To the east, the original ofce area is converted into an auditorium and temporary exhibition space. A exible acoustic partition wall, constructed from 8 tons of clothing, ensures that the space can be adapted to changing needs. The wall is composed out of 9 elements 0.7m wide, 2.5m long and 2.3m high. A wooden frame with sixty centimetre deep shelves supports the clothes. The frame completely disappears from sight by allowing the clothes to protrude on all sides by ve centimetres. Wheels under each element make it possible to recongure the space with a minimum of effort. Because the clothes are organised in colour in a rainbow pattern, it is easy to recongure the elements in their original composition by connecting the colours. The entire structure is impregnated with a re retardant in order to comply with local re regulations.

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The auditorium itself is composed out of two timber elements, a stage and rows of benches. The stage has a rough timber frame and is clad in wooden roof slats. Two fold-up podiums are concealed in the stage making exible use possible. If both are concealed the stage can be used for a performance, with one folded up it is perfect for a lecture, and with two folded up it functions for a debate. The benches are made out of timber struts in a simple generic form. The simple repetition of the basic elements was easy for the unskilled labour to make and results in an intriguing image. All of the wood for these elements came from the Komu in Vlaardingen.

Finally, the temporary exhibition area is composed out of two repetitive elements, the show blocks and benches. Of all the elements realised in the HAKA, the show blocks are the simplest. By stacking aluminium greenhouse frames a block is formed with a large pane of glass in the top layer and one ten centimetres lower. In so doing, a display cabinet is created for exhibiting valuable items. Larger objects can simply be placed on top of the block for exhibition. A number of simple benches are scattered in the vicinity of the show blocks to allow people to linger as they take in the audio visual projections on the walls of this area. The benches are simply constructed by connecting old doors sawed through the middle. The exposed sawed edge is presented as a sitting surface and is a literal cross section of social housing doors from the last hundred years. HAKA label

The factor CO2, man-hours, material and labour costs are plotted per element. The dark line (factor 1.0) represents the neutral condition, where time, CO2 or costs in the HAKA pilot are equal to a comparable interior using new materials and professional contractors. The grey shaded area represents the actual condition. Nearly all the HAKA elements display the same pattern. This model of development is favourable in terms of CO2 reduction and costs. The number of man-hours spent on average is 3.5 times as high than a traditional production process. The effect of the extra time spent is not taken into account in the total cost. The longer building time results in a potential loss of income from rent, in the HAKA case this is however negligible. From a sustainability point of view, the additional man-hours deliver a positive contribution the reintegration process of the ex-detainees. 54

HAKA Average The acoustic wall from the auditorium is excluded in the average calculation as if this were to be made using new clothing; the CO2 reduction is so enormous that it misrepresents the whole. Lessons learnt: Aligning supply and demand The biggest obstacle in the process was aligning supply and demand. The materials from demolition objects did not always arrive to site on time, resulting in last minute changes in plans. In certain instances this involved buying second-hand materials from the KOMU in Vlaardingen and changing the design of the elements based on the substitute materials. Additionally, the materials that could be harvested from the demolition object were not always appropriate for simple construction into a new element. For example, a design was made for a meeting room based on double glazed elements (Thermopane). The ambition to make the walls using as little material in as pure form as possible resulted in a beautiful architectural solution that was too complex for the unskilled labour to make. An additional obstacle was that it is more expensive for the demolitionists to deliver the glass without the frame than to deliver it including frame. One solution could have been to make a design using the product (glass and frame) 1:1. This idea was however discarded as the pvc frame does not comply with the criteria of keeping pure (non-toxic) materials in the material life cycle. Logistical optimalisation A traditional design to build process is characterised by linear phases in which the program of uses is followed by a design phase, from sketch design to working drawings. This is directly followed by the tender process and selection of a builder. The HAKA process is different to this because obtaining materials from demolition sites implies a supply driven process as opposed to a demand driven one. This results in a design process in which the linear phasing is replaced by an overlapping one. Supply and demand are inter-connected and inuence each other. Material brokers From a design and process point of view, scouting for materials on demolition sites is ineffective. Buying second-hand products and materials from a material broker such as KOMU in Vlaardingen is an ideal solution. However, the origin and history of materials from the KOMU are not traceable. Should one want to evaluate projects using sustainability standards, a comprehensive database with this information would have to be developed. This has major implications for all actors in the chain and will only happen if policy in this regard were to be developed by national authorities. The social component The realization of projects with people who have a distance to the labour market has its consequences. Their lack of knowledge and carpentry skills impacts directly on their effectiveness. The design of the elements must be devised so that unskilled labour can build them without the presence of a professional. Simple, easy to reproduce elements with a high level of repetition and minimum of technical handlings is the best option. The making of the objects has an educative element. In a didactic manner knowledge of how to work with wood or other materials is transferred. Working with a social component can be professionalized. Low wages make it attractive to work with them, however, an organized form in which costs, planning and skills match the demand is lacking. By organizing the implementation process in complementary teams where both technical and social learning is central, some of the disadvantages this unskilled labour has compared to professionals can be overcome. This requires re-training courses for administrators and supervisors 55

with a focus on social and technical skills. Through evaluation and feedback between market and work providers with a social component, and training and reinforcement in the tendering process of sustainable demolition objects, one can accelerate the trial and error stage resulting in a professional socially sustainable alternative for future construction projects. Develop an economic model If the ambition is to keep materials in the life cycle for longer, then it is conceivable that a new economic model can be developed to achieve this for interior projects. Interiors have a relatively short life span, ranging from a couple of years to maximally ten. In order to ensure that the materials in a project nd their way back into the material chain, materials could be brought back to suppliers after use, just as we do with printer cartridges. Such a rental or deposit model would make this possible. The next step in this evolution could be manufacturer as opposed to industry related demolition. Design for disassembly By taking disassembly into consideration, interior elements and products can be designed so that they can easily be directly reused or dismantled into pure materials for a second (or third) life. In so doing, one could potentially recapture all materials, closing cycles so that waste does not exist. Conclusions: Overall Conclusions The use of demolition materials for new furniture in the HAKA building is in terms of CO2 and the social component has proven to be appealing. Here the direct product reuse and short transport distances are the big wins. By keeping the materials in the life cycle the use of primary resources is reduced. It should be taken into account that for this pilot project, there is an imbalance between man-hours, costs and CO2 for some elements. For a complete comparison a more detailed calculation should be made as part of the Life Cycle Analysis / Life Cycle Cost. This pilot however, unequivocally demonstrates that closing material cycles in this manner is a sustainable strategy. The HAKA case study has provided valuable insights into the potentials of coupling spatial development with a strong social component. By closing the material cycles and by re-thinking the organisational model, the economic ow is redirected for the benet of the direct environment. The HAKA model creates opportunities in terms of value creation on a building and district scale. The challenge now is to optimize the method and upscale it to the district scale. By testing the toolbox in other locations the strategy can be rened. In order to achieve this, the concept must be embracd by the market. Companies must be stimulated to adopt the strategy as part of their sustainability agenda, only in this manner will the promising HAKA approach evolve into a stratey that can be implemented on a large scale for other construction and renovation projects. References 1_WWF in their Living Planet Report of 2010 2_ Tillie N., Dobbelsteen A. van den, Doepel D., Jager W. de, Joubert M. & Mayenburg D.; Towards CO2 Neutral Urban Planning Introducing the Rotterdam Energy Approach & Planning (REAP); in Journal of Green Building, vol 4, No. 3, 2009 (103-112) 3_ Doepel D., Dobbelsteen A. van den, Tillie N.; Sustainable Urban Forms REAP+, 2010 4 _ McDonough, W. & Braungart, M.; Cradle to Cradle - Remaking the Way We Make Things; NorthPoint Press, 2002 Acknowledgement: The HAKA model forms part of a larger material concept, Recycle Campus, a collaboration between deURBANISTEN, BVR and DOEPEL STRIJKERS. 56

Marten de Jong Context, beauty, meaning & the capacity to endure

Today, the term sustainability seems to cover about all of human and economic activity. It is such a broad used and misused term, that Id like to reduce its meaning before talking about it. Sustainability is the capacity to endure1. As architects, we might ask ourselves what it takes for the built environment we design to endure. Trying to answer this question, Ive come to the conclusion that sustainability in architecture has a quantitative, technical aspect, and a qualitative, emotional aspect to research. The quantitative aspect is apologetic, it is about how much natural resources are to be used in the creation and use of our designs. We are trying, like everybody else, to reduce our use and mixing of raw materials. We try to reduce, because we cannot (re-)create. As we do not create them, we apologize for using them by demonstrating to our clients that we use less of them then anybody else, or at least, less then they expected. This is the quantitative aspect. This is the aspect that engineers are focused on, because one can calculate it. The qualitative aspect considers the appropriateness of our constructions. If it is no longer tting, or pleasing, or meaningful to anybody, it wont endure. No matter how sustainable a building is erected or operated, if no activity is housed in it, and if nobody has any emotional attachment to it, it will be destroyed, if not by men, in time by nature herself. Appropriateness is to be dealt with by the architect, for it cannot be solely calculated, but includes understanding of human nature. I will speak of this qualitative aspect of sustainability in architecture. To give our designs a better chance at survival, a better chance to endure, we focus on three themes that are pivotal in our design process, these are meaning, beauty and context. Buildings do not have intrinsic meaning, people give it this meaning. We understand that we cannot explain our structures to everybody visiting. So, we strive for designing such spatial environments that people need to and are able to discover for themselves. In this way each will do it in their personal way, guided by their own interests, habits or whatever unconscious mechanisms. Thus building a personal memory of the place, a unique map, which can be shared and compared with that of others. As I believe one develops a self image by projecting themselves on others, it is in the sharing and comparing that meaning is built. It is mandatory to actively engage the idea of beauty in your work as an architect. For it is intuitive, it is the irrational, the poetic: the personal. It is beauty that concludes a design decision, and it is beauty that enables people to get emotionally involved with a spatial environment. Beauty is only achieved when it addresses all the senses: sight, touch, smell, sound, taste. These are the shortcuts to our emotions, they allow no understanding, and therefore create very strong memories. Whatever they may tell you: it is beauty that saves buildings from destruction. Understanding context is the most important factor in designing architecture. As architects we make only prototypes. We design buildings to be built one time, for one purpose, in one place. Therefore architectural solutions cannot be universal. Universality springs from the idea that we are all equal, but we are not. However repetitive the program might be, no place is the same, and no moment is alike. Architecture is not autonomous, it is not art. We try very hard to make a design become part of its surroundings, to become the context itself. No building is a solitary object, and as stated earlier, buildings derive their meaning only from how they engage their environment. To me, sustainable architecture is not the result of an analysis, and it does not t in an excel sheet, at least not beforehand. Sustainable architecture is based on emotional choices and realised through thorough understanding of its immediate environment and users.
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Marten de Jong, Emma architects, October 10th 2013

according to Wikipedia

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Dick van Gameren Villa 4.0

A simple bungalow dating from 1967 on a hexagonal ground plan had been radically altered and modicated through the years. Although this had made the house bigger, it had also become increasingly inward-looking. The expanding wings were steadily enclosing the heart of the house with the hall and living quarters, and direct contact between the house and the magnicent surroundings was largely lost. The original detailing and material form were consistently adhered to du- ring all previous interventions but the result was now thoroughly outmoded and of a poor technical quality. The house has now been given its fourth look. The principle guiding this most recent intervention being to create a house that is much more sustainable and able to reinstate the lost relation- ship between it and the landscape. There has been kept as close as possible to preserving the existing house, which gave the rst step towards a sustainable end-result. Taking the existing structure as the basis, the outer walls and roofs were modernized by adding insulation and replacing all windows and larger areas of glazing. The walls in the central section of the house were removed to create a new living hall looking out onto the surroundings on four sides. In addition, the physical bond between house and landscape has been consolidated by an all-glass pavilion attached to the living hall that reaches out to the brook owing past the house. Dick van Gameren architecten

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