Search

Are the controversial ideas of Wilhelm Reich a topic worth discussing in contemporary architecture? There is no better way of trying to answer this question than by testing it. This is what happened at the University of Lincoln in 2017. The Centre for Experimental Ontology offered support and the initial concept while authors of this article, as architectural educators from Lincoln School of Architecture and the Built Environment (LSABE), incorporated it into students’ brief.

This work investigates the fluid flow in a cylindrical millilitre vial stirred by a magnetic stirred bar using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD). Stirred millilitre vials are used to study nucleation phenomena and crystallization as an outline of literature study of nucleation and crystallization phenomena and the role of stirring in this process. The baffle free vial was meshed with around 500,000 cells. To simulate the stirring a rotary frame and moving walls were used. Stirring speeds were between 100 and 1000 rpm where considered, correspondently to a stirrer Reynolds number between 260 and 2600. For stirring speeds bellow 500 rpm, simulations by both the both laminar flow model and the k-ε model where run, while above 500 rpm only k-ε was used. Results of the two models were very similar indicative the adequacy of k-ε to simulate the flow even at low Reynolds. The flow shows expected circulation pattern with upwards pumping close to side walls and downwards pumping in the centre of cylindrical vial. At 1000 rpm circulation patterns expands up to the top of the vial while at 300 rpm and lower the upper half of the vial is poorly mixed. The average turbulent energy of the flow is very low comparing with the squared stirrer tip speed and the power number decrees with Reynolds number, indicating that the flow is not fully turbulent.

En la presente tesis se aborda el tema de la novela española actual definida como creación narrativa privilegiada de la contemporaneidad, es decir, estrechamente vinculada al contexto social, cultural, económico, tecnológico y lingüístico de hoy. La hipótesis principal del estudio es que una parte significativa de estas novelas se está acercando a la manera de explorar la realidad característica de otros medios de comunicación, convirtiéndose gradualmente en artefactos de la cultura contemporánea más que en obras estrictamente literarias y homogéneas. El objeto de análisis se realiza sobre obras narrativas de escritores españoles publicadas entre 2006 y 2014, es decir, tras el surgimiento del debate sobre el género novelesco provocado por la aparición de la novela Nocilla Dream de Agustín Fernández Mallo. La tesis explora las posibilidades de traducir las pautas del análisis arquitectónico al ámbito de la teoría literaria. Se revisa, por tanto, la operatividad de una metodología basada en la teoría arquitectónica y narratología posclásica, así como la posibilidad de establecer unos rasgos típicos de las novelas del corpus a partir del estudio de sus componentes y estructuras. Para este fin ha sido fundamental someter la teoría a la práctica y observar en qué medida las novelas analizadas comparten características tanto literarias como extraliterarias, y si realmente es posible generar una categoría integrada sobre la narrativa actual que se alimente principalmente de su contemporaneidad cultural., Tesis Univ. Granada. Programa Oficial de Doctorado en: Teoría de la Literatura, del Arte y Literatura Comparada

This article serves as an overview of arguments in architectural theories which present an ideological tension: dematerialisation and lightness versus materialisation and heaviness. Daedalus - the designer of Icarus’ wings is considered to be the first mythical architect. What would happen if he and his son did not end up with the epic disaster of Icarus drowning in the Ionic Sea? What would happen if Icarus and Daedalus survived until today? What would happen if they were exposed to modern architectural education? This article takes the form of a Socratic Dialog and adds new pages to this Greek myth. Today – in the article – Daedalus, who was always more attached to earth, promotes heavy earth architecture. His sustainable architecture is made out of simple natural materials, it creates no waste, it is easy to build but unfortunately it lacks the lightness which is so much expected by critics rooted in modern architectural world. “Can Eco-architecture be beautiful at all?” – asks Icarus who has always been an enthusiast of lightness. Today Icarus has become a fashionable light-tech architect who likes to deconstruct and dematerialise architecture and believes that it is a key to new aesthetics. Icarus claims that the whole history of architecture is a story of making buildings lighter, and he sees the introduction of glass in modernism as a highlight of architectural genius. “Lightness determines progress.” Just like Buckminster Fuller, he claims that the new style could be distinguished from the old by ‘weight’. Daedalus is fascinated with Zygmunt Bauman’s ideas and the dangers of liquid modernity. He sees the idea of dematerialisation as a fashionable, dangerous and fundamentally flawed concept which detached people from their roots. He is afraid that this idea could backfire in the long run and produce people who are so desperate to reconnect with their own culture that they could even turn to terrorism. This exchange of arguments, which is full of intellectual twists, gives an overview of the battle between different architectural ideas: dematerialisation and lightness versus materialisation and heaviness.

A debate about ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ definitions of sustainability in the form of a theatre play. Socrates meets various enthusiasts of eco-architecture to discuss how to interpret the concept of sustainability, which was famously defined by Brundtland Commision in ‘Our Common Future’. The article shows how different data and concepts of embodied energy, life-time analyses or insulation properties could be manipulated in order to prove eco-friendliness of various products and building methods. The debate illustrates the claim made by Layard and Davoudi, who differentiates between ‘strong’ sustainable development, which encompasses both the need to restrict and to maintain ethical standards, and ‘weak’ sustainable development, which is satisfied with just a few changes within the present system. The article debates which concept is closer to the original definition of ecology coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel in Generelle Morphologie, where he described ecology as a science focusing on relations between organisms and their surroundings. Various examples, tables and statistics show that even products which are harmful to the environment could be presented as eco-friendly if quantitative data are manipulated. On the one hand, these types of easy-to-measure information couldbe very seductive. On the other hand, however, they are misleading and constitute source of confusion for the building industry. Socrates takes on a stand that is very philosophical: ‘Not everything that can be counted, counts. Not everything that counts can be counted’. He points out the consequences of a paradigm change as defined by Thomas Kuhn. Socrates suggests that when talking about energy and buildings, psychological aspects must also be taken into consideration. We should consider not only how many KW/h are needed per m2, but also how much happiness can be created by one m2. (http://www.slideshare.net/mik_krakow/rownowaga-1-uk2732)

The centenary of the Futurist Manifesto reminds us that it was probably the only grand manifesto that came true in the 20th century. It is a very bitter conclusion. War, domination of machines, speed, recklessness and lack of respect to women, life and humanist values – which has been postulated by Philippo Marinetti – led us throughout the century towards the largest social and environmental crisis. From an ecological perspective, this manifesto was definitely more of a course than a blessing

Green schools stay high on the agenda of the British government. The article describes different strategies of designing sustainable schools in the UK. It compares different designs and discusses how different features could influence the educational value of these teaching institutions.

Hop on the train, but which one? : Folkeston "Ever heard of Folkestone?" asks the author and goes on to describe the efforts made to enliven this sleepy forgotten town. The primary role in the scheme is played by the Creative Foundation (CF) set up by the local billionaire Roger de Haana."The most palpable outcome of the foundation's activity is the Creative Quarter. CF picked a perfect location for it — the oldest and at the same time the most decrepit part of town, forming a triangle between two streets. As opposed to similar districts arising spontaneously, this time — instead of waiting for the bohemians to move in, the decision has been made to invite them. CF is buying one house after another and lets them out to artists, with the guarantee of a fixed rent." There's still another facet to the revitalisation scheme: the Green Wave project by Foster +Partners.“ lt proposes to build 1440 luxury flats in blocks along the wharf, demolish completely the existing port and erect a campus instead, with semicircular commercial facilities around a marina for yachts and a ferry terminal. The project is, however, criticised by the Remembrance Line organisation, whose president points out that people were not aware they were voting for pulling the harbour facilities down. Over the last 165 years, the harbour bridge, the harbour station and the wharf have become part of the local tradition and are a unique technological monument." The article describes the potential and dangers of involving the art community during revitalisation of coastal towns on the example of Folkestone. The primary role in the scheme is played by the private organisation Creative Foundation (CF) set up by the local entrepreneur Roger de Haan. The most palpable outcome of the foundation's activity is the Creative Quarter – the oldest and at the same time the most decrepit part of town. The pros and cons were confronted against the New Charter of Athens – proposed by the European Council of Town Planners.

Ecobuild became one of the most important places where sustainable design is discussed in the UK. However, haven’t we forgotten that part of architectural design is beauty? What does beauty mean in eco-design? It seems that contemporary fashion is really compatible with green ideas. Do we need a new vision for green beauty?

The centenary of the Futurist Manifesto reminds us that it was probably the only grand manifesto that came true in the 20th century. It is a very bitter conclusion. War, domination of machines, speed, recklessness and lack of respect to women, life and humanist values – which has been postulated by Philippo Marinetti – led us throughout the century towards the largest social and environmental crisis. From an ecological perspective, this manifesto was definitely more of a course than a blessing

The article presents a conceptual project prepared by a couple of English architects. The project involves constructing a network of wind power plants for the centre of London. "Cities may get windy at times, especially these located on the British Isles. Despite this fact, municipal power-generating wind turbines are rather rare phenomena. David Marks and Julia Barfield, mainly known as the authors of the 'London Eye', are preparing a silent revolution. They prepared a project which involves placing 6,600 wind turbine power plants in London by 2012, when the city will host summer Olympics. This project complies with declarations of politicians who show interest in a proecological strategy for the city. The wind turbine will not be like the familiar three-blade propellers. The architects designed Y-shaped masts-structures, on which 5 turbines are placed. Each of the turbines has vertical spin-axes which secure maximum use of wind, regardless of its direction. [...] The authors like presenting their project from a historical perspective and remind us that energy was generated in the city centres as early as in the 19th century. Later, mostly due to air pollution, power plants were relocated to places as far from residential areas as possible. Do new technologies have a better chance to restore power plants in the city centres?

The article presents pro-ecological residential development of ZEDfactory executed on the suburbs of London. "BedZED is located among boring development of London suburbs in post-industrial areas. When I ask a pedestrian how to get there, he smiles — you are bound to miss it'. He is right, 'the last thing we want is all the eco-buildings to be the same'—writes Keith Hall, Green Building editor. BedZED is a proof that eco-architecture is not going to be boring. An interesting shape of oval roofs, intimate streets with bridges, intriguing steps leading to the roof houses create a friendly atmosphere. Each, even the smallest flat has its own character and a small garden — here greenery becomes an ornament. One can argue that the urban planning of the residential area is very simple. However, this is the strategic sense of this venture — its proves that eco-architecture can be ordinary or regular and at the same time 'luxurious' and — what's important — it can be densely developed, which is a significant requirement contemporary urban planners need to face. Naturally, more and more eco-architecture appears in the world. The uniqueness of Dunster's project lies in the fact that his project proves eco-construction doesn't have to be an exception, but an economically viable standard, provided we put some effort into it. Hence the special influence of this project on opinions of not only investors and politicians, but also norm-setting experts."

Meinhard von Gerkan said about the Chapel of Reconciliation in Berlin that it was "one of the best modern-day buildings between Hamburg and Munich." This articles concludes that: "It was faith in sheer force that destroyed the Forgiveness Church twice. When designing a chapel on its site, Rudolf Reitermann and Peter Sassenroth turned weakness into power of expression. 'Forgiveness is as fragile as clay,' they wrote. The two irregular ovals (one inside the other) point, in a subtle manner, to some important directions and places. We enter along a zigzag route, passing the space surrounding the building, fenced with a louver of vertical planks. This is a perfect place, which is not sacral yet, and already encourages informal meetings. It is an expression of the belief that spirituality cannot be enclosed merely in the walls of a temple and in pathos-filled sermons. Inside, through a glass pane in the floor, we can see the remnants of the former church and a bomb dating back to World War II, which never exploded and lies on the basement stairs."

This publication starts a debate on the Polish participation in the Venice exhibitions, much needed to provide an opportunity for everyone (and in particular for people who take relevant decisions) to gain awareness that this event is of essential importance to our country and that we should prepare for it considerably ahead of time, in a premeditated and thorough manner, allowing for the cooperation of numerous circles and institutions active in the field of architecture.