- Ecology
Sustainable buildings (Sofia)
PASSIVHAUS
A current example of a sustainable building that is becoming more and more fashionable, as well as the concern for the care of the environment, is the one that follows the passivhaus concept, which was born in Germany in the early 90s.
The main objective of passive houses is to obtain high levels of indoor comfort while maintaining very low energy consumption.
Passivhaus is based on design criteria that allow the use of energy and natural light during the winter and the minimisation of solar incidence during the summer. At the same time, the high technical and constructional requirements contribute to excellent thermal conditioning by retaining all the heat absorbed in winter and dissipating it in summer.
The concept of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) approved by the European Directive on the energy performance of buildings, makes the Passivhaus standard not the future, but the present for an environmentally friendly, healthy and sustainable building model.
Green spaces (Malak)
As one of the few places where one can safely retreat, green spaces have gained a new significance during the pandemic.
Much research has been conducted over the years that show how important green spaces are for both our physical and mental wellbeing, and they have gained especially a new significance during the pandemic.
And to ensure that cities can offer a reasonable quality of life in the not-so-distant future, the creation and preservation of green spaces has become a growing focus.
So how do we satisfy the drive for greenery in a way that’s beneficial for both ourselves and the environment?
On the heels of an ongoing trend for indoor greenery comes a renewed pull towards green in the home. This kind of local, small-scale greenery has multiple advantages, and it is something homeowners themselves can control and implement.
In Japan, for example, tsuboniwa – small and carefully curated domestic courtyard gardens – are a traditional architectural form for bringing greenery into small domestic spaces.
Other models of small-space urban greening include living walls, green or garden roofs and the incorporation of greenery or garden areas into the architecture of high-rise buildings.
these are more example of incorporating greening into terraces and roofs of high buildings.
When done right, these offer many advantages. Green roofs, for example can reduce a building’s carbon footprint by enhancing heat insulation, and can contribute to urban biodiversity.
Biodegradable materials (Vero)
Grasscrete: involves laying concrete in an open pattern so as to allow improved drainage while using less cement overall. This style of laying concrete helps to create more sustainable urban drainage which could prevent events like devastating floods
Mycelium: is a fungal structure of a root-like appearance, consisting of a mass of branched hyphae with a thread-like texture. Mycelium can be shaped into nearly anything, from bricks to walls and foundations and everything in between, and you’ll never have to worry about whether your building materials will be recyclable.
Wooden Shingles: are gaining popularity because they’re better for the environment, less susceptible to hail, high winds and other hazards, and can even reduce energy costs by up to 30 percent. Wooden shingles biodegrade since their primary ingredient is sustainably harvested wood.
Bamboo: Hardwood flooring can make your home look amazing, but it’s not sustainable. Its wood is harvested from old-growth trees that take decades or centuries to reach maturity. Additionally, if you later decide bamboo flooring doesn’t match your aesthetic, the material is biodegradable. You could theoretically pull up the bamboo panels and toss them into your compost pile, depending on what they’re treated with.
Bioplastics: Bioplastics, made from soybeans, break down much faster(about as quickly as paper). While it’s currently only being used in packaging, it won’t be long until we replace traditional petroleum-based plastics in our homes with biodegradable alternatives.
- Modern technology and new lifestyles
Less need to move thanks to technology (to work, to shop,) (Sara)
As a consequence of the latest pandemic with the virus COVID-19, and the confinement that almost everyone had to go through, more and more people are working at home. We have continued to work like this even after the confinement because we have found it has its pros. Like avoiding traffic and bad weather, being able to do house chores and having fewer cars on the road which reduces the amount of gas emissions that contribute to pollution and global warming.
This fact would affect the architecture because new dwellings would be designed with a room or an area thought for people to work in, maybe a bit isolated from the rest of the rooms, and with many power plugs.
The second thing we do from home is order things online. People nowadays don’t just use online shopping for clothes or Amazon items, we also buy groceries and other necessities, and it all gets delivered to our home.
This might also affect dwelling’s designs by adding lockers on the ground floor that are accessible to people who deliver the packages. Or even a system at the top of buildings where the packages get dropped off by drones.
More entertainment where socializing is the main goal. (Marta)
With the advance of technology and the rapid rise of online working, which aims to stay, people are becoming more and more isolated from society. 37% percent of adults with chronic conditions and physical or cognitive limitations feel socially isolated, compared with just 15% of adults who do not have these health issues. And, as we can see in this graph from a study made in the year 2020, loneliness is one of the biggest struggles of working remotely. Receiving social rewards is healthy because it activates regions of the brain associated with motivation. For this reason, in the future more buildings dedicated to entertainment and socializing will be much needed. That is why we think architecture will be leaning towards these types of buildings.
These projects are examples of leisure centers which are designed to meet the needs of the future society:
This one is described as a pocket park in the city that is capable of holding a diversity of performances and events.
This one is a sports stadium
This one offers a building of mixed use
This one is a mall