Sietch Nevada: Desert Oasis for a Drought-Stricken Future

by Bridgette Meinhold

Teaching architecture as a challenge

By HK Mokwete [Architect]

After finishing my MA early this year from Portsmouth University, I decided to relocate back home (Botswana) after being offered a teaching opportunity with a local university.  My move was both influenced by the then worsening recession situation in the UK and also positively, as a chance to challenge my self at something I had not done before.
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“Algae House” wins international design competition

We previously featured a post on the subject of algae as a source of energy here:

http://www.boidus.co.uk/?s=algae

Now it seems a Cambridge University research ground has impressed the judges at a prestigious international competition by their designs for an:

“Algae House”, which it is believed could provide a model for future energy-efficient living, would use the hydrogen and bio-mass created by the cultivation of algae as a renewable source.”

Unlike the Venice scheme which was  proposed at a larger scale, this winning entry is rather grounded and explores real possibilities of homes which would be energy self sustainable and produce energy by capturing the hydrogen produced by algae efficiently then converting the hydrogen into electricity through fuel cells. The AlgaeHouse as they put it in their website;

“…we aim to explore the potential for total integration of algae cultivation and architecture – people and algae cohabiting in a self-sustainable symbiotic system.”

Very novel statement indeed and this approach of providing energy for ‘the home’ could well be the way to solve energy crisis since the bigger solutions usually stall due to lack of support. Empowering people to truly live green, while saving money will be the only incentive for business to get involved in funding such projects.

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Architecture from other Blogs; My Picks of the week

Steven Holl Architects in China

Linked Hybrid,

a mixed-use complex of eight linked towers in Beijing, China:

By  Steven Holl Architects

The project, which was last week named Best Tall Building 2009 in the Asia and Australia category by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, comprises apartments, a hotel, cinema, kindergarten, school, underground car park, commercial zones and a public green space.

see whole project review here:

via: Dezeen

Grow your own bridge 

Competition entry by: Chetwoods

grow your own organic foodin the towers.

This competition winning entry by Chetwoods for RIBA international ideas competition to redesign London Bridge with a “living” crossing including space for allotments and a farmers’ market is a great morphing of ideas which will be intereting if actually implemeted.

see more images here.

 Ocean Societies the New Frontiers

by  Hirvesoo Arhitektibüroo

Ocean Societies

 Could the middle of the ocean offer sustainable dwelling places for mankind in the future? Estonian architect Marko Järvela of Hirvesoo Arhitektibüroo, winner of the aesthetics category in the first design competition for seasteading, believes that sustainable water-locked living could in fact become a wonderful reality. He saw designing “SESU Seastead” (short for SElf-SUstained seastead), as an opportunity to find the reality in ideas that are “balancing at the edge of utopian.” Järvela says that his winning design for a mini-society in the ocean is based on a self-sufficient lifestyle that requires a rearrangement of priorities. see full review here

via Inhabitat

Last week i featured this pick on the same idea of ocean living societies:

“The Swimming City” by Andras GyorfiSeastead’s

It seems the idea of ocean communities is catching on to more architects. We will follow all the ideas and see where they will lead to.

“The Swimming City” by Andras GyorfiSeastead’s

Much like a floating Club Med, “The Swimming City” by Andras Gyorfi could be the perfect solution for ocean-bound adventure seekers. As most of us have daydreamed about abandoning our complex land-ridden existence for the simple life at sea, Gyorfi – the winner of Seastead’s first design contest – has brought this idea to new heights.see images here

sustainable design, green design, seafaring city, seastead, andras gyorfi, swimming city, green building, sustainable architecture

via Inhabitat

The US Climate Bill; A good opportunity to the development of energy efficient buildings and building technologies

With the past few weeks’ big news events from the Iran politics, UK MP’s claims , Michael Jackson passing and the final of the Confederations Cup, something just equally big happened in the US Congress that rather received small news coverage but could potential have a huge impact on the world’s green energy agenda.

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The Unsustainable urban growth of Gaborone City, Botswana

Gaborone is a very young city, dating back as early as early as 1966 when it was first developed as a Capital city for the newly independent Botswana from the British Protectorate. Before this the administrative centre for the colony had been based from Mafikeng which is now part of South Africa.

The centre of the city was constructed in three years, including Assembly buildings, government offices, a power station, a hospital, schools, a radio station, a telephone exchange, police stations, a post office, and more than 1,000 houses. The basic infrastructure was in place for Independence Day on 30 September 1966.

The city is locked on all sides by different land usage (illustrated on the below zones) which renders it very difficult for further outward growth.
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Lord Rogers Accuses Prince of Wales of Meddling in Architecture Affairs

Chelsea Barracks by Lord Rogers

In what is not really new between Prince of Wales and the Architecture profession, the fight for style control by the Royal Prince is now truly taking shape as Lord Rogers accuses him of sabotaging his designs for the Chelsea Barracks scheme.
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Botswana and Southern Africa Architecture Blog (A short Introduction)

By Killion Mokwete

Date:  June 2009-06-15

I would like to welcome our readers to what will be a new dimension to Boidus blogs section focusing on topics and issues emanating from the built environment, Art and Design topics from Botswana and the surrounding regions.

The Three Kings who came to Britain

I have recently relocated from London back to my homeland, Botswana and therefore naturally a new extension to the Boidus Concept has emerged to give us a broader scope of focus at international level.
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Supertower: The Pearl River Tower

The promise of green towers, non-reliant on expensive air conditioning and expensive glazing systems is still a distance off but the rise of the Guangzhou’s Peril River Tower might just brings us closer to that. Dubbed the Supertower, engineers designing this impressive looking tower claim will “the tower could even be enhanced to create surplus electricity..”.

Designed by the american firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 2009, the tower will add to Shangai’s already high dense tower shemes completed or due to complete in the next few years.

Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China. Artist’s impression: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP 2009

The Pearl River Tower, now being erected in Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong province, is being billed as the most energy efficient superskyscraper ever built.

With wind turbines, solar panels, ­sun-shields, smart lighting, water-cooled ceilings and state-of-the-art insulation, the 310-metre tower is designed to use half the energy of most buildings of its size and set a new global benchmark for self-sufficiency among the planet’s high rises.

Engineers say the tower could even be enhanced to create surplus electricity if the local power firm relaxes its monopoly over energy generation. full review here