courtesy of:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Rio-Grande-City-Texas.html
courtesy of:
http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-angle-calculator.html
Monday, 21 February 2011
Rio Grande City - data
courtesy of:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Rio-Grande-City-Texas.html
courtesy of:
http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/solar-angle-calculator.html
down-draft chimney/power station
The principle is to allow water to evaporate at the top of a tower, either by using evaporative cooling pads or by spraying water. Evaporation cools the incoming air, causing a downdraft of cool air that will bring down the temperature inside the building.[5] Airflow can be increased by using a solar chimney on the opposite side of the building to help in venting hot air to the outside.[6] This concept has been used for the Visitor Center of Zion National Park. The Visitor Center was designed by the High Performance Buildings Research of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The principle of the downdraft cooltower has been proposed for solar power generation as well. (See Energy tower for more information.)
An energy tower (also known as a downdraft energy tower because the air flows down the tower) is a tall (1,000 meters) wide (400 meters) hollow cylinder with a water spray system at the top. Pumps lift the water to the top of the tower and then spray the water inside the tower. Evaporation of water cools the hot, dry air hovering at the top. The cooled air, now denser than the outside warmer air, falls through the cylinder, spinning a turbine at the bottom. The turbine drives a generator which produces the electricity.
The greater the temperature difference between the air and water, the greater the energy efficiency. Therefore, downdraft energy towers should work best in a hot dry climate. Energy towers require large quantities of water. Salt water is acceptable, although care must be taken to prevent corrosion.
The energy that is extracted from the air is ultimately derived from the Sun, so this can be considered a form of solar power. Unusually, this form of solar power also works at night, because air retains some of the day's heat after dark. However, power generation by the Energy tower is affected by the weather: it slows down each time the ambient humidity increases (such as during a rainstorm), or the temperature falls.
A related approach is the solar updraft tower, which heats air in glass enclosures at ground level and sends the heated air up a tower to drive a turbine at the top. Updraft towers do not pump water, which increases their efficiency, but do require large amounts of land for the collectors. Land acquisition and collector construction costs for updraft towers must be compared to pumping infrastructure costs for downdraft collectors. Operationally, maintaining the collector structures for updraft towers must be compared to pumping costs and pump infrastructure maintenance.
courtesy of:
wikipedia
down-draft evaporative cooling
http://www.inive.org/members_area/medias/pdf/Inive/palenc/2005/Etzion.pdf
...
The tradition of cooling without air conditioning,
which incorporates a range of design responses to
climate apart from evaporative cooling, has its
origins in ancient Egypt; it subsequently spread
eastwards through the Middle East and Iran to north
India with the Moghul empire, and westwards across
north Africa to southern Spain.
...
cooling systems in Iran (incorporating
wind-catchers, porous water pots and salsabil
The intense dry heat and dust of the summer
in north India calls for the creation of an internal
refuge or haven from the extremes of the external
world. The diurnal swing in temperature is
dampened by the mass of stone and earth, and the
air is further cooled by the evaporation of water in
the ventilation air flow path. This is exemplified
perfectly in the beautifully atmospheric Rai Pravina
Mahal in Orchaa (Ford and Hewitt, 1996) [Figs. 3a
and b]
. A mid-
provides an experience of what can be achieved. A
central paved courtyard, searingly hot in the middle
of the day, is surrounded by narrow section
buildings that are linked by large openings to green
garden courts beyond. Heat rising from the paved
central court pulls cooler humidified air from the
shaded garden courts across the narrow rooms,
where the occupants appreciate both the lower
temperatures and the air movement.
Many aspects of the tradition outlined above were
reviewed by the designers of the Expo site in Seville
for the 1992 World Fair (Alvarez, 1991). This included
the 30m high cool towers of the Avenue of Europe,
which employed high-pressure water misting
nozzles (micronizers) to induce downdraught
cooling [Fig. 4b]. This technique of passive
downdraught evaporative cooling (PDEC) has only
recently been applied to buildings, but has
enormous potential to displace the need for
conventional air conditioning.
courtesy of:
downdraft cooling
...
The tradition of cooling without air conditioning,
which incorporates a range of design responses to
climate apart from evaporative cooling, has its
origins in ancient Egypt; it subsequently spread
eastwards through the Middle East and Iran to north
India with the Moghul empire, and westwards across
north Africa to southern Spain.
...
cooling systems in Iran (incorporating
wind-catchers, porous water pots and salsabil
The intense dry heat and dust of the summer
in north India calls for the creation of an internal
refuge or haven from the extremes of the external
world. The diurnal swing in temperature is
dampened by the mass of stone and earth, and the
air is further cooled by the evaporation of water in
the ventilation air flow path. This is exemplified
perfectly in the beautifully atmospheric Rai Pravina
Mahal in Orchaa (Ford and Hewitt, 1996) [Figs. 3a
and b]
. A mid-
summer visit to the Casa de Pilatos in Seville [Fig. 4a]
provides an experience of what can be achieved. A
central paved courtyard, searingly hot in the middle
of the day, is surrounded by narrow section
buildings that are linked by large openings to green
garden courts beyond. Heat rising from the paved
central court pulls cooler humidified air from the
shaded garden courts across the narrow rooms,
where the occupants appreciate both the lower
temperatures and the air movement.
Many aspects of the tradition outlined above were
reviewed by the designers of the Expo site in Seville
for the 1992 World Fair (Alvarez, 1991). This included
the 30m high cool towers of the Avenue of Europe,
which employed high-pressure water misting
nozzles (micronizers) to induce downdraught
cooling [Fig. 4b]. This technique of passive
downdraught evaporative cooling (PDEC) has only
recently been applied to buildings, but has
enormous potential to displace the need for
conventional air conditioning.
courtesy of:
downdraft cooling
Tuto with Peter Carl MON 21/02 - Catenary idea
large span building made of small pieces of engineered salt cedar
chain kind of loose, hung from water towers, people walk around with
spanners, fixing bolts, then the whole roof flips on its head. tadaaaaa - hall.
central
horizont logo
pre- prepared structure, DIY fixing, machine flipping
PC:
sort out the environmental factors first
you cant do anything before that
find out angles of sun - will be different to UK
find out wind directions, might be that we are so close to the coast that the winds are coming from there, rising up around our site , therefore all over the directions.
focus on ventilation, shading, orientation.
contact Zoe's boyfriend - re: natural ventilation
look at King's Cross - its all sorted out there for you - roof structure
talk to Luisa from LEARN - re: eco things
Structural decisions later, when you know what you are doing.
Talk to Jonas - re engineered wood
Peter Carl's sketch!
look at : Eladio Dieste
"Eladio Dieste (Artigas, December 10, 1917 - Montevideo, July 29, 2000) was a Uruguayan engineer and architect who made his reputation by building a range of structures from grain silos, factory sheds, markets and churches, all in Uruguay and all of exceptional elegance. A particular innovation was his Gaussian vault, a thin-shell structure for roofs in single-thickness brick, that derives its stiffness and strength from a double curvature catenary arch form that resists buckling failure.[1]"
source: wikipedia
source:
Tamarix - and other invasive species as wood plastic composites
Wood-plastic composites from invasive
species
The rapid growth of wood–plastic composites (WPCs) in the
United States, especially in large-volume exterior products,
provides an outlet for significant quantities of wood processing
residues and also has the potential to use invasive species.
These composites are becoming increasingly popular
with consumers because of their inherent durability and low
maintenance requirements. The greatest growth in WPCs
has been in exterior building products such as decking and
guardrails. Invasive species would be an excellent raw material
to manufacture panels using both injection molded and
extrusion methods.
Particles of salt cedar, one-seed juniper, and eastern redcedar
were used to manufacture WPC samples (Winandy et al.
2005). Raw material was hammer-milled using 13- and 0.8-
mm screens. The largest particles were removed by sifting
the wood flour using a screen with 0.4 mm openings. The
wood flours were dried for at least 4 h at 105ºC. Each wood
flour batch was blended with an injection-molding grade
of polypropylene (PP) in a 32-mm compounding extruder.
For comparison, commercial pine wood flour was also compounded
with PP. Each blend contained 40% wood flour
by weight. The compounded blends were then dried, and
test bars were molded using a reciprocating screw injection
molder. Flexural, tensile, and impact tests were conducted
based on ASTM standards (ASTM 2003a,b). Results of the
mechanical tests are summarized in Table 2. Figure 3 illustrates
profile extrusion of a salt cedar–HDPE (high-density
polyethylene) composite. Laboratory and field evaluations
are ongoing.
species
The rapid growth of wood–plastic composites (WPCs) in the
United States, especially in large-volume exterior products,
provides an outlet for significant quantities of wood processing
residues and also has the potential to use invasive species.
These composites are becoming increasingly popular
with consumers because of their inherent durability and low
maintenance requirements. The greatest growth in WPCs
has been in exterior building products such as decking and
guardrails. Invasive species would be an excellent raw material
to manufacture panels using both injection molded and
extrusion methods.
Particles of salt cedar, one-seed juniper, and eastern redcedar
were used to manufacture WPC samples (Winandy et al.
2005). Raw material was hammer-milled using 13- and 0.8-
mm screens. The largest particles were removed by sifting
the wood flour using a screen with 0.4 mm openings. The
wood flours were dried for at least 4 h at 105ºC. Each wood
flour batch was blended with an injection-molding grade
of polypropylene (PP) in a 32-mm compounding extruder.
For comparison, commercial pine wood flour was also compounded
with PP. Each blend contained 40% wood flour
by weight. The compounded blends were then dried, and
test bars were molded using a reciprocating screw injection
molder. Flexural, tensile, and impact tests were conducted
based on ASTM standards (ASTM 2003a,b). Results of the
mechanical tests are summarized in Table 2. Figure 3 illustrates
profile extrusion of a salt cedar–HDPE (high-density
polyethylene) composite. Laboratory and field evaluations
are ongoing.
Tamarix - Salt Cedar
Tamarix ramosissima is a semi-deciduous, loosely branched shrub or small to medium-sized tree.
CONTROL WITH CUTTING
A single cutting of tamarix is ineffective, because tamarisks resprout vigorously. However,
cutting combined with herbicide treatment can be very effective at controlling tamarix, as noted
above. Cutting tamarisk can reduce consumption of ground water, through reduction of
transpiring leaves. Van Hylckama (1974) found that cutting tamarix back from 3 m to 0.5 m
reduced water consumption by 50%
courtesy of:
http://www.imapinvasives.org/GIST/ESA/esapages/documnts/tamaram.pdf
courtesy of:
Global invasive species database
good news about tamarix:
China - Southern Taklimakan Desert - Tamarix Trees
Villages in the Taklimakan are threatened by mobile dunes caused by overgrazing, salinized soil from irrigated farming (the area is flat and had poor drainage) and overexploitation of fuelwood. Natives of the targeted region - -four counties in Hotan Prefecture - -were chiefly farmers and herders.
Scientists at a nearby institute, noticing the worsening conditions and encroachment of sand dunes, speculated that propagation of the tamarix, a small tree or bush known as the "salt cedar" could reverse the deterioration of salinized areas by acting as a "biopump," keeping the groundwater well below the surface (as opposed to on or near the surface, where water would evaporate quickly and, combined with poor drainage, is the reason for salinization of soil).
Trees were planted in rows so that crops could be grown between them. Volunteer guards (who would be given a stipend from the profits gained from increased incomes) protected the nurseries. A rotational system was introduced for harvesting fuel. Results:
- Increases in wood and fodder for livestock from the tamarix bush.
- Increase in agricultural productivity, especially grain and cotton, and crops are now grown on rehabilitated land (60,000 hectares).
- Increased household incomes from agricultural improvement and from industries based on tamarix such as baskets, trolleys and earth carriers.
- Sand dunes are better controlled.
- The technology is being replicated elsewhere in China.
Services/benefits: Increased household income, food/fodder, fuel, erosion control
Colonias - politics explained
http://www.crg.org/images/photos/successnuestrabirth.pdf
In the 1980s and 1990s, more than 1,500 families bought close to 2,000 small lots in 16 colonias
in Starr County, Texas. These colonias, marketed to poor Hispanic families, were essentially lowend subdivisions in unincorporated areas. These areas lacked basic services including water, sewer,
drainage, and paved streets. Former Starr County Judge Blas Chapa and his partner, Elias Lopez,
developed these colonias.
Fortunately, Chapa and Lopez’s property development was brought to an end when the Texas Attorney General’s office initiated legal action against them. The state’s lawsuit began in September 1993
and concluded in January 1995 with Chapa and Lopez agreeing to divest themselves of any interest
in the colonias they had created. Due to the gross violations committed, the state won a $21.6 million judgment against them—a hollow victory, as there was no money to collect
in Starr County, Texas. These colonias, marketed to poor Hispanic families, were essentially lowend subdivisions in unincorporated areas. These areas lacked basic services including water, sewer,
drainage, and paved streets. Former Starr County Judge Blas Chapa and his partner, Elias Lopez,
developed these colonias.
Fortunately, Chapa and Lopez’s property development was brought to an end when the Texas Attorney General’s office initiated legal action against them. The state’s lawsuit began in September 1993
and concluded in January 1995 with Chapa and Lopez agreeing to divest themselves of any interest
in the colonias they had created. Due to the gross violations committed, the state won a $21.6 million judgment against them—a hollow victory, as there was no money to collect
Rio Grande city - soils
The Rio Grande series consists of deep, well-drained, nearly level to gently
sloping soils on the active part of the flood plain along the Rio Grande and on alluvial
fans along its major tributaries. These soils are infrequently flooded. They formed in
recently deposited, friable, stratified silty sediments that are high in content of lime.
The slope range is 0 to 3 percent.
In a representative profile the surface layer is light brownish-gray silt loam about 7
inches thick. The underlying material, to a depth of 20 inches, is light brownish-gray,
friable silt loam. Below this, to a depth of about 63 inches, it is pale-brown, very
friable silt loam and thin strata of very fine sandy loam and silty clay loam.
Internal drainage is medium, permeability is moderate, and the available water
capacity is high.
Rio Grande soils are well suited to crops and are used mainly for irrigated crops.
A few areas are dryfarmed, but the low rainfall is a limitation to dryfarming in most
years. A small acreage remains in range.
Representative profile of Rio Grande silt loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, 1.25 miles
south, 43° east of La Grulla, 50 feet east of a private road from a point that is 1.0 mile
south of its intersection with the main east-west street in La Grulla.
courtesy of:
http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/TX427/0/Starr.pdf
sloping soils on the active part of the flood plain along the Rio Grande and on alluvial
fans along its major tributaries. These soils are infrequently flooded. They formed in
recently deposited, friable, stratified silty sediments that are high in content of lime.
The slope range is 0 to 3 percent.
In a representative profile the surface layer is light brownish-gray silt loam about 7
inches thick. The underlying material, to a depth of 20 inches, is light brownish-gray,
friable silt loam. Below this, to a depth of about 63 inches, it is pale-brown, very
friable silt loam and thin strata of very fine sandy loam and silty clay loam.
Internal drainage is medium, permeability is moderate, and the available water
capacity is high.
Rio Grande soils are well suited to crops and are used mainly for irrigated crops.
A few areas are dryfarmed, but the low rainfall is a limitation to dryfarming in most
years. A small acreage remains in range.
Representative profile of Rio Grande silt loam, 0 to 1 percent slopes, 1.25 miles
south, 43° east of La Grulla, 50 feet east of a private road from a point that is 1.0 mile
south of its intersection with the main east-west street in La Grulla.
courtesy of:
http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Manuscripts/TX427/0/Starr.pdf
Rio Grande City - climate
coutesy of:
US climate data
day - night variation in temperature: 3.8 Celsius!!!!!
Rio Grande City, TX climate is hot during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 80's and cool during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 50's.
The warmest month of the year is August with an average maximum temperature of 99.30 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 44.50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate during summer with a difference that can reach 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and moderate during winter with an average difference of 26 degrees Fahrenheit.
The annual average precipitation at Rio Grande City is 21.61 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The wettest month of the year is September with an average rainfall of 4.68 Inches.
http://www.idcide.com/weather/tx/rio-grande-city.htm
Sunday, 20 February 2011
TED talk - using nature as design tool
Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture
Sahara Forest Project
The Sahara Forest Project combines two proven technologies in a new way to create multiple benefits: producing large amounts of renewable energy, food and water as well as reversing desertification. A major element of the proposal is the Seawater Greenhouse - a brilliant invention that creates a cool growing environment in hot parts of the world and is a net producer of distilled water from seawater. The second technology, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) involves concentrating the sun's heat to create steam that drives conventional turbines, producing zero carbon electricity twice as efficiently as photovoltaics. The two technologies have very promising synergies
that make the economic case even more attractive
World Water Headquarters
text and images courtesy of:
http://www.exploration-architecture.com/
Sahara Forest Project
The Sahara Forest Project combines two proven technologies in a new way to create multiple benefits: producing large amounts of renewable energy, food and water as well as reversing desertification. A major element of the proposal is the Seawater Greenhouse - a brilliant invention that creates a cool growing environment in hot parts of the world and is a net producer of distilled water from seawater. The second technology, Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) involves concentrating the sun's heat to create steam that drives conventional turbines, producing zero carbon electricity twice as efficiently as photovoltaics. The two technologies have very promising synergies
that make the economic case even more attractive
World Water Headquarters
| WaterThis project was entered for the ‘World Water Headquarters’ competition, the brief for which required a building situated in the Namibian desert as an administrative centre for this organisation. This proposal was inspired by the Namibian fog-basking beetle (an insect that can harvest water from the air in the Namibian desert) and ancient Persian ice-making technology. The result is a completely self-contained building that generates its own energy, is self-cooling and is a nett producer of distilled water in a desert location. |
Wood Green Animal Shelter Education Building
|
text and images courtesy of:
http://www.exploration-architecture.com/
Saturday, 19 February 2011
scaffold, formwork, roofs, vaults
construction of brick vault with timber formwork
roof constructions
a study of medieval vault construction
Salisbury cathedral vault contstrucion
rural housing, mud construction
how to make a temporary structure useful as a shading AND form-work for future solid structure?
timber start > brick afterwards
timber hollow columns?
vaults?
typology - factory-church hybrid
the look!
central?
around courtyard?
two back to back?
two facing each other?
enviro driven!
shading from south
allowing construction - routes
linear? along main road , for access
two ends school - church?
vaults - catenary - formwork to be useful for brick building v. super cheapo start
space
belly
with park
with 1 factory - edu building
roof constructions
a study of medieval vault construction
Salisbury cathedral vault contstrucion
rural housing, mud construction
how to make a temporary structure useful as a shading AND form-work for future solid structure?
timber start > brick afterwards
timber hollow columns?
vaults?
typology - factory-church hybrid
the look!
around courtyard?
two back to back?
two facing each other?
enviro driven!
shading from south
allowing construction - routes
belly
with park
with 1 factory - edu building
engineered wood
Engineered Wood
Scaffold Planks
The manufacturing process is a high-tech assembly line
that laminates thin sheets of wood
veneer into solid billets of lumber
that are uniform in moisture content, dimension and quality.
Veneer sheets peeled from sec
hemlock are ultrasonically dried and graded from strength. From there, the veneer sheets are treated with a waterproof adhesive; to meet standards.
The veneers are then run through a continuous press that bonds the wood fiber and adhesive under heat and pressure, resulting in a billet (or block of wood) measuring 3.5in thick by 48in wide by 80ft long.
The resulting billet is then cut to standard or custom specification.
....
the process to make laminated veneer lumber converts about 50% of small diameter, second growth logs.
..
The durable scaffold planks can be reused on future jobs, .. "when the planks get too old to use, we sell it as framing material" Chuck Nacos says.
Scaffold Planks
The manufacturing process is a high-tech assembly line
that laminates thin sheets of wood
veneer into solid billets of lumber
that are uniform in moisture content, dimension and quality.
Veneer sheets peeled from sec
ond-growth fir, pine, poplar and
hemlock are ultrasonically dried and graded from strength. From there, the veneer sheets are treated with a waterproof adhesive; to meet standards.
The veneers are then run through a continuous press that bonds the wood fiber and adhesive under heat and pressure, resulting in a billet (or block of wood) measuring 3.5in thick by 48in wide by 80ft long.
The resulting billet is then cut to standard or custom specification.
....
the process to make laminated veneer lumber converts about 50% of small diameter, second growth logs.
..
The durable scaffold planks can be reused on future jobs, .. "when the planks get too old to use, we sell it as framing material" Chuck Nacos says.
Scaffolding
Victirian Birdcage Scaffold
Note that the method of extending the Standards was known as Scarfing (from the Scarf Joint). This may explain why the height of the tube that you are Hemping onto (or Topping, if you are a Northener) is known as the Scarf.
Other ropes that were used were Manilla and Sisal, until eventually Wire Bonds were used.
The main lashings (knots) being the Square Lashing
(which is still used, as the preferred method of tying a ladder) and the Sheer Lashing which was used to join poles in parallel, particularly the uprights.
text and image courtesy of
Scaffolders' forum
Thursday, 17 February 2011
Tuto with Robert THU 17/02
BS:
Keeping apparent paths through the site
thinking about dividing the site in Las Lomas into two - one eudcational fab lab, second - closer to the rail - industrial, with bigger machinery, bulk production. v. in the north an educational/testing ground.
appearance on horizont - it is sooo flat . would like some vertical statement
pedestrian link to the existing school, with "educational" park
RM: social scaffolding
keep the temporary, diy, scruffy
let it move
let it be the form-work at Las Lomas, which then moves as a seed to the new one and then to a new one.
No Brunelleschi, axes , ..
agreed: water towers are the symbol, the logo, not the superstructure.
the temporary, moving, cheap, easy, timber scaffold is much more exciting to explore.
Dont forget this was Plinyville, its a ranch, its playful
draw bara
draw people
draw process
the Las Lomas Fab Lab has to be done quite quickly.
Do the new one now. simultaneously.
Keeping apparent paths through the site
RM: social scaffolding
keep the temporary, diy, scruffy
let it move
let it be the form-work at Las Lomas, which then moves as a seed to the new one and then to a new one.
No Brunelleschi, axes , ..
agreed: water towers are the symbol, the logo, not the superstructure.
the temporary, moving, cheap, easy, timber scaffold is much more exciting to explore.
Dont forget this was Plinyville, its a ranch, its playful
draw bara
draw people
draw process
the Las Lomas Fab Lab has to be done quite quickly.
Do the new one now. simultaneously.
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