Architectural Design V-IX: What Counts? – Metabolism II (A.Gigon)

Abstract

Ecological issues have been current since the 1970s, but, despite all attempts to counter the trend, worldwide energy consumption has continued to increase unabatedly since then, The main problem is the associated greenhouse-gas emissions, a large proportion of which are caused by buildings, i.e. their construction and operation.

Objective

Ability to develop a draft from an idea, from a concept to a mature project, to constantly self-critically question intermediate stages and to find an individual design methodology and design stance.

Content

This semester we will tackle various questions: How good do different building materials – such as concrete, wood, steel, glass, brick, clay, natural stone – perform in terms of grey energy, grey CO2 and longevity? And in that case: What about thermal insulation, also with a view to the expected energy savings? This means: How can we find a critical balance between useable energy and grey energy in buildings in relation to their life cycles? What are the requirements that enable zero-energy or even zero-emission houses? What contribution can photovoltaic elements make, and under what conditions? And how can buildings be designed when incorporating them? And last but not least: What approach should we take to the mass of existing buildings with high energy and cooling requirements but equally with durable structures? When should we remodel, when should we rebuild? Therefore: What should be done, what should be left as it is? Based on a highly topical building assignment – the conversion and vertical extension of multi-storey office buildings to residential and commercial uses – we test if and how high ecological standards can be met in urban buildings. The interplay between existing buildings and new architectural elements interests us in terms in terms of design, occupancy, constructional, and also ecological conceptualisation. The skilful balance is an art. Construction and detailing are fundamental to this process (integrated discipline). Along with the application of classic planning tools (sketches, plans, details, models), this semester we also practice with other/new instruments. Calculation tools are intended to allow us to produce initial gray energy estimates and assess the corresponding greenhouse gases, as well as the future useable energy, including CO2 emissions. The tools are introduced and discussed in tutorials. Parallel to this, the architectural appearances of the projects are to be tested and refined, for which several tutorials will be held mid-semester onwards. In addition, the experienced civil engineers Gregorij Meleshko, Christof Aerni and Markus Aerni will provide expert advice on the specific projects in an early “question time” session. The semester will be co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Arno Schlüter and Dr. Illias Hischier from the Chair of Architecture and Building Systems. Inputs from an artistic perspective are provided by Prof. Karin Sander, who will also take part in the evaluations. The semester starts with a joint seminar day, giving an initial overview of the breadth and challenges of the topics involved. Various guests have been invited for lectures, discussions or evaluations, including: Prof. Dr. Karen Scrivener, STI, EPFL; and Prof. Dr. Guillaume Habert, D-BAUG, ETHZ Katrin Pfäffli, architect, co-author of, amongst others, SIA 2040, lecturer at the ZHAW; and Dr. Rolf Frischknecht, founder of treeze Ltd. life-cycle assessments, lecturer ETHZ Axel Simon, architectural critic and editor at Hochparterre; Philipp Noger, Competence Centre for Sustainable Building, City of Zurich. Prof. Dr. Harald Welzer, sociology, social psychology, author and publicist; Prof. Karin Sander, D-ARCH, ETHZ, artist; Daniel Binswanger, journalist and editor at Republik Ingemar Vollenweider (jessenvollenweider architektur, Basel) Dr. Gianluca Ambrosetti, co-founder and CEO of Synhelion Louisa Hutton and Matthias Sauerbruch (Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten, Berlin); Erika Fries (Huggenbergerfries Architekten); Astrid Staufer (Staufer Hasler Architekten) Markus Joachim and Dr. Katja will provide us with the opportunity to hold an exhibition in the Architecture and Civil Engineering Library on materials and their energetic and CO2 footprints.

Resources