Category Archives: futures

Second Life – the space between real worlds?

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I (or my Avatar) took a look around the Second Life exhibition that illustrates what architects and designers are doing within second life.

Fascinating stuff.

The exhibition, called Portal The Space Between Real and the Other Real, opened within second life yesterday and runs until Nov 4th. Organised by Odyssey and introduced as:

In the past, architects and designers have used the virtual world as a workspace in which to experiment and develop prototypes for real world projects. In recent years we’ve seen the growth of networked 3D environments in which users socialise, play games, establish businesses and even fall in love. With millions of registered users of these environments worldwide, the Virtual World is no longer simply the sweatshop for the Real World; it’s fast becoming the Other Real World.

This exhibition is a portal to the virtual architectures of Second Life, a 3D online community where people can fly, and the laws of physics generally don’t apply. While a virtual building doesn’t provide much in the way of shelter, it still functions as a stage for interaction and an effective way to signify identity. As a consequence, there are plenty of fantasy palaces and Barbie mansions in Second Life, but there are also other sites where architects have been able to rethink the possibilities of human interaction with the built environment.”

This is a good opportunity for exploring design and the built environment within second life.

If you can handle SLurls (Second Life urls) the location is here

If you would like a guided tour to this event, and other areas in second life, contact my avatar Brand Woodin, who would be happy to meet you, within Second Life, and help with getting around and other aspects of this ‘other real world’

Tory green and carbon views …

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Following on from the Lib Dem green proposals (here) the Goldsmith – Gummer team have pusblished the Tories take on become green and crbon zero.

Among issues which affect the construction and fm sector are :

 a doubling of landfill tax for business

a planning presumption against the building of more out of town supermarkets in an attempt to revive and diversify town centres and local, family-run businesses.

The Tories in the run-up to the launch focused on measures to improve energy efficiency in the home including offering big cuts in stamp duty to home-owners who make their homes carbon efficient.

source – Guardian  

Lib Dems view on low carbon housing

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In what will most likely be the first of many reports, papers and manifestos as we approach conference season and elections, the Lib Dems have set out their vision of a zero-carbon Britain by 2050 when it published the most ambitious blueprint for climate change reform ever produced by a mainstream political party. (Guardian article here)

On housing the blueprint covers

Introducing ‘green mortgages’ to enable people to make their homes more energy efficient. (see previous isite post)

Cut carbon emissions from new buildings by 95 per cent compared with our existing housing stock by ensuring that all new homes have to  be built to the GreenHouse standard no later than 2011

Ensure that the housing stock is completely updated by the year 2050.

Ambitious maybe but the pattern has been set for the other political parties to follow or address.

Lib Dem Zero Carbon Britain from here

Construction work prices to soar 34% over next five years

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From today’s Building daily news :

Rise in PFI and Olympic works will see tender prices grow 2.5 times faster than inflation says report

The price of construction work is expected to surge ahead of inflation over the next five years.

Tender prices are forecast to rise 34% compared to an expected inflation rate of 13%, according to a report published by BCIS.

climate change? … dont worry we have a cunning plan … the moon

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If we carry on, business as usual, not making the carbon and environmental targets within the timespan  scientists tell us we must act withi, then all is not lost.  There is another nearby planet we can start all over again on according to the National Geographic Website

 ‘Lunar Ark’ Proposed  August 14, 2007

The moon should be developed as a sanctuary for civilization in case of a cataclysmic cosmic impact, according to an international team of experts.

NASA already has blueprints to create a permanent lunar outpost by the 2020s

Only local labour and material resources to be used?

Expressions of interest for the design, construction and facilities management are invited.

understanding renewables

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Interesting to watch the reposnse to yesterdays article (Revealed:cover up plan on energy target) in the Guardian  with  a flurry or posts to blogs, letters, responses from government and eidtorials.

This is being well covered by Phil Clarke over at Sustainability Blog,

Strong stuff in Monday’s Guardian, where economics correspondent Ashley Seager takes the Government to task for its encouragement (or lack of it) of renewable technologies. He offers a stark contrast between us and Germany, where renewables now makes up 13% of all energy compared to our 4.6%. Seagar reckons we are tinkering at the edges with our botched low carbon buildings programme and the renewables obligation (RO)system, which requires energy producers to use a growing propertion of renewable sources. “Britain’s climate change strategy, such as it is, is crumbling,” he concludes.

What is evident is that a whole new environmental and energy economy is emerging that will have great importance for the built environment and its future energy usage strategies.

personal carbon allowance – government response

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 It was nice to receive an email from 10 Downing Street, in response to an e-petition I signed recently on the theme of personal carbon disclosure of ministers.  Whilst the response from Number 10 did not directly respond to the petition, the response is none the less very interesting:

Following an initial scoping study conducted by the Centre for Sustainable Energy, the Government is now undertaking a work programme designed to assess whether or not a personal carbon allowance is a realistic and workable policy option.

The work programme will address high-level questions such as public acceptability, technical feasibility, cost, and whether/how such a scheme could interact with other emissions reduction policy instruments. It is being designed to complement the work being undertaken by researchers and academics, such as The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change, the Environmental Change Institute and the Royal Society for Arts.

The Climate Change Bill contains enabling powers that would allow the government to set up trading schemes to either limit activities producing greenhouse gas emissions, or to encourage activities leading to the reduction/removal of greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere.

In theory it should be possible for government to introduce a personal carbon trading system using these powers. However this would be right on the edge of what these powers are designed for and, in practice, it is unlikely that government would do so. What is clear is that a personal carbon trading scheme could not, and should not, be introduced without a comprehensive period of public engagement and debate.

The Earth fights back

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A real life 70’s style disaster movie script…

Never mind higher temperatures, climate change has a few nastier surprises in store. Bill McGuire says we can also expect more earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and tsunamis.

Guardian Unlimited
Tuesday August 7 2007

at last … low cost solar power that works in the (Welsh) rain…

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Excellent article in today’s Guardian reports on the innovative approaches being taken by G24 Innovations in Cardiff to revolutionise solar power panels.

This is just the innovation that the drive towards green, self generated energy for the built environment needs.

… those behind the Welsh operation think they may have made a crucial breakthrough. Their solar cell works in a different way from most, and is not based on silicon – the expensive raw material for conventional solar cells. G24 Innovations (G24i), the company making the new cells, says it can produce and sell them for about a fifth of the price of silicon-based versions. At present, it makes only small-scale chargers for equipment such as mobile phones and MP3 players. But it says larger panels could follow – large enough to replace polluting fossil fuels by generating electricity for large buildings.

and the applications could be wide ranging, with many safety related uses on building sites…

Design students have also been involved with the development process. Earlier this year, the company ran a competition with 45 product design students at St Martin’s college of art and design in London, who were asked to think up new uses for the Cardiff solar cells. The winning entries include portable safety lights mounted on life buoys, and lamps to mark scaffolding and hoardings around roadworks and on building sites. They also featured solar-powered security lights, fire exit signs, and window blinds, which could cut electricity use.

and addresses the social, global need for energy

The first commercial uses are likely to be in the developing world, where access to electricity is difficult. The firm is working with mobile phone companies including Nokia and Motorola to test whether the G24i cells could charge handsets in rural Africa. For £6-£8, he says, the company can supply a flexible strip of solar cells that can produce 0.4 to 0.5W of power. It’s a relatively meagre output, but more than enough for at least 10 minutes of phone calls a day. And that, says Betzel, can make a big difference. “Over two billion people live without access to energy. This isn’t about providing expensive, Rolls Royce- quality solutions. It’s about improving their quality of life.” Similar solar chargers made of silicon cost about £30.

Affordable Zero Carbon Homes…

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The Cooperative Bank has teamed up with Living Space 21 to provide a new green solution to housing.  From the press release (7th August):

Co-operative Bank sponsors ground breaking green housing initiative

Tackling climate change and providing affordable housing for first time buyers are the biggest challenges facing the British housing market today. With this is mind; the Cooperative Bank has teamed up with Living Space 21, a new housing developer, to offer homes that are not only eco-friendly but, also within reach of those starting out on the property ladder.

This exciting new partnership directly addresses the Government’s promise to increase the UK’s house-building programme by 20%, which would provide an additional 3 million homes by 2020. Furthermore, with the Housing Green Paper 2007 setting targets to reduce property carbon emissions by 25% by 2010, these new homes, which have inbuilt eco features will be well placed to help meet this objective.

The eco benefits of these homes include timber frames, sourced from sustainable forests, rain water capture and recycling, plus sloped roofs which maximise solar efficiency. However, these features do not in any way comprise the quality or design of the build. The contemporary apartments have been designed by Living Space 21 and their pioneering building techniques enable them to be tailored to almost any location, leaving the lightest environmental footprint possible for the price.