Category: MicroArchitecture

We must swiftly transition to systems of renewable energy, recognising that the feasibility and affordability of this transition will demand that we consume significantly less energy than we have become accustomed to in the developed nations. Less energy means less producing and consuming.

An ecological footprint analysis was undertaken of this community. It was discovered that even the committed efforts of this ecovillage still left the Findhorn community consuming resources and emitting waste far in excess of what could be sustained if everyone lived in this way. (Part of the problem is that the community tends to fly as often as the ordinary Westerner, increasing their otherwise small footprint.)

Source: If Everyone Lived in an ‘Ecovillage’, the Earth Would Still Be in Trouble

Range and Power – Tesla convoy comes to Dunedin
Otago Polytechnic this Sunday 11th Jan at noon.  0-100km in 4 seconds.
See https://www.facebook.com/LeadingTheCharge for other locations around New Zealand.
A new kind of kiwi road trip is amp’ing up, as four kiwi blokes: Steve, Jay, Carl and Nick travel from Cape Reinga to the Bluff in a convoy of sustainable prowess.
The group #leadingthecharge are highlighting the practical and sustainable benefits of using electric cars. To drive home their message they’re cruising the length of the country in New Zealand’s first Tesla Model S car, and its only Telsa Roadster. Va va vroom!
According to the group New Zealand is ideally situated to benefit from the uptake of electric cars. “After the dairy industry, the next biggest source of emissions is our vehicle fleet, and since over 70 per cent of our electrical power is from renewable sources, there’re even bigger emissions savings with an electric fleet here than overseas.”
On their way South the foursome are stopping in to charge up at Otago Polytechnic’s workSpace. “We’re delighted to support the initiative and vision of these four kiwi men,” said workSpace spokesperson, Veronica Stevenson and “given our work in the sustainability and tech transformation space, workSpace is the ideal place for a meet, greet and test drive.”
The goals of #leadingthecharge are three fold

• Charging – We aim to encourage private and public entities to roll out charging infrastructure all through New Zealand.
• Driving – We want people to get into Electric Vehicles. Test-drives, car sharing, renting, owning. We don’t care how you do it; we just want people in these cars.
• Teaching – There are so many untruths circulating about EV (electric vehicle) technology. We want to share true, well-researched and transparent messages about EV and all the benefits of EV ownership for individuals and New Zealand as a whole

All members of the public are warmly invited to attend this unprecedented event. Bring a friend, or the whole family – it isn’t often an event comes along that appeals to car enthusiasts and greenies alike.
WHERE: workSpace – A Block, Otago Polytechnic (across the road and up the grassy bank from the hockey turf on Harbor Tce)
WHEN: 1130am Sunday the 11th January
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Veronica Stevenson: Story Strategist at workSpace, 027 4483036 veronica.stevenson@op.ac.nz
Tim Bishop
SHAC | The Sustainable Habitat Challenge
www.shac.org.nz
021 705 346

It would not be too factitious to suggest that many traffic engineering standards seem to presume that land is free. It’s as is if there are dutch pixies at the bottom of the garden who are manufacturing land from the sea.
One example of such a standard is the concept of the “design vehicle”, which I will focus on for the remainder of this post. Of course there are many other examples of traffic engineering standards, such as minimum parking requirements, which have been discussed before on this blog and that also have hugely negative consequences. The reason I want to focus on the “design vehicle” concept is because it does not receive much attention. And also because it has a fundamental impact on so many things.
For those who are not familiar with the “design vehicle” concept let me briefly explain. The “design vehicle” is a phrase that typically describes the largest, heaviest (per axle), and/or least maneuverable vehicle that is expected to use a particular part of the road network. Naturally, the physical footprint required to accommodate this design vehicle subsequently defines most aspects of the physical road geometry, such as turning radii and pavement design. For this reason, the shape of our road networks is very much defined by the design vehicle that is chosen.
You can read up on some of the design vehicle standards recommended by the NZTA here. The design vehicle for the standard street is typically some form of medium rigid truck, such as what is commonly used to move furniture. I’ve illustrated the physical dimensions of this vehicle below.

Read more at: How traffic engineering standards can break our cities « transportblog.co.nz.

Students win national design award for 10sqm building
The design brief was simple – create a breakout space that didn’t require consent and incorporated sustainability, and now four Otago Polytechnic Design students have won the national Sustainable Habitat Construction (SHAC) Pop-up Challenge for their design of an innovative and efficient ten square metre building.
Studio56 was conceived by third-year Design students, Dean Griffiths, Alice Perry, Nina Daniels and Charlotte McKirdy, and was developed to provide a unique learning and collaboration environment for both students and staff, within Otago Polytechnic’s Living Campus – a vibrant community garden and a sustainable model of urban agriculture.
via Students win national design award for 10sqm building | Scoop News.

So, you know you want a sustainable (healthy, efficient, affordable and desirable) home, but where do you start? I’ve covered the fundamentals  of what makes a good energy efficient home, but these are details. What’s the big picture? Where do you start a sustainable house?

Why…what?

Before getting too specific about your plan, here are some questions I recommend being able to answer:

• Why are you renovating/building/remodelling/looking for a new home?
• What are you most dissatisfied with at the moment?
• How many people are you building for?
• How much time are all these people actually going to spend in your home each day, each week, each month…?
• What do you want your weekends to look like?
• Describe your ‘perfect day’. Who are you with? Where are you? What are you doing?
• Does you perfect day involve any of the following:
  • Mowing the lawn
  • Fixing a fence
  • Painting a fence
  • Cleaning windows
  • Cleaning a pool
  • Walking a dog
  • Vacuuming
  • Cleaning three bathrooms
  • Painting the house
  • Cleaning the house
  • Going on adventures with your family
  • Oiling a deck
  • Blowing/sweeping leaves
  • Gardening
  • Relaxing by the pool
  • Working a second job
  • Being at the beach
  • Harvesting vegetables and fruit from your own garden
  • Watching someone else do any of the above

What’s all this got to do with the location and layout of your dream home? A lot. Creating a better, sustainable place to live is about lifestyle. This is where you need to start.

When Natalie and I moved to Auckland our criteria for a place to live included:

1. Walking distance to a primary school with a good reputation
2. Walking distance to a train station and a train commute of 30 minutes or less
3. At least three bedrooms, ideally four (Xavier, our third child had just been born, and we wanted to the option of a home office)

Money

The next big question is about budget. There are two big questions here:

1. How much do you want to pay each month to own and operate a healthy, safe home?
2. How much money do have to design, consent, building and finish your project?

They’re both related. The more you borrow, the more your monthly expenses are going to be. The more you invest on good design, insulation and solar power, the less your monthly running costs are going to be.

As painful, boring or frustrating as it might be, it’s worth spending some time here. Most of the designers I speak to say that a client’s true budget is one of the hardest things to pin down. Knowing exactly how much money you’re wanting to spend and being honest about this upfront will save time money and disappointment by avoiding uneasy scope changes when you do start talking to a designer.

Read more at the excellent “Where do you start a sustainable house?.”