Taking the idea of architectural modular components from my incubator task and applying them to the main build. My basis for a component approach was down to the Aquaponics system comprising of different parts i.e. feeding, the fish, water pumps, water released, water filtration using gravity, plants taking in nutrients through exposed root systems, clean water returned to fish - process starts again. This is the closed loop process. My idea to have different components that could be moved to accommodate different uses / growth of different plant heights was aimed towards a flexible and adaptable 'Herbal Tea Stall'. This idea of adaptability within the scheme could be developed within the Botanical Farm approach.
Ideas of connection and multiplicity.
My approach is one of sustainability, by using existing feature on the site to their full advantage. Using the ideas of connections and symbiotic relationships, I firstly wanted to establish a link between the Finnish Institute and the adjoined activity. From researching the history of Finland I found much of the Finnish population see themselves as countryside orientated. They have a historic connection with the Forest, wanting to live in and around the edge of the trees. Due to rapid industrialisation Finland urbanised and a void was created between the vernacular idea of nature and home and the concrete jungle of the city. Many cities, including Newcastle have fallen victim to environments that don’t integrate nature, growing and floras life cycles, Recently efforts are being made to fully incorporate urban farms and nature back into urban life. An effort based around sustainability i.e. cutting transport and fuel emissions, fresher produce, towards an integrated zero carbon closed loop city model. On a deeper note the connection and influence nature can have on the human psychology is evident within many farming orientated communities, social allotments, mass housing developments such as Byker Wall in Newcastle is clear to see.
Therefore the idea Pipewellgate was a former Oil and lubrication factory was a key reason why I chose the site. (Others include its close relationship with the river and trees). My scheme is about highlighting a sustainable future, through reuse and systems such as Biogas production, a process that uses the plant waste and rubbish from local restaurants to be digested into methane gas, that can then be used to power and heat the building. On a higher agenda, I want to highlight architecturally how Oil is not a finite resource, and show visually how an Urban Farm could function, how relationships and understanding back to nature will ultimately guide us into a sustainable future. Through the ideas of biomimicry and study of processes that have taken 3.8 billion years of development to become the most efficient structures, much can leant about how our society can function on many different levels. It is to this end, the ideas and research behind Fungi started to influence my project, both on an architectural level, landscaping and how a networking organisation like the Finnish Institute could function.
Fungi are incredible organisms:
· Believed to have enabled plant to come from the oceans and live on the land billions of years ago. Through their symbiotic relationships, Fungi were able to keep these plants alive on the surface whilst root systems and aerobic functions adapted and evolved. I like this idea because it ties in well with Aquaponics. A system that isn't reliant on the land, because it is purely a combined process using the fish and the plants in a soilless environment. It is a process that happens naturally under the sea through organisms like plankton. This system can be seen historically used in river ways on 'floating islands' and rafts, essentially doing the same thing. Today through research and development, the systems have become efficient and are economically viable within the urban farming environment.
· Fungi live and feed using other organisms, specifically for me - trees. The tree gives the Fungi energy through photosynthesis and the Fungi gives the tree nutrients and food. They can also filter out contaminated soils and attach themselves onto root systems to increase surface area and nutrient intake. Therefore a symbiotic relationship, between two independent organisms that mutually benefit one another. This relates very strongly to the relationship the Finnish Institute will have with the Botanical Farm part of the scheme. My ideas behind how they both relate to one another are similar to the Fungi and the Tree because they will share economical benefits and food produce. The Botanical Farm will be elevated on top of the processes and Finnish Institute below, 1 - to indicate that the Aquaponics Farm process is a disconnection with the ground and land - making it perfect for Urban sites. 2. To acquire plenty of sunlight for the plants to grow. 3. To ensure the plants and 'green house' on top will be in the hottest part of the building. 4. The plants will act as a natural filtration system for the spaces below, reacting seasonally i.e in summer giving lots of shade and in winter allowing lots of light.
· Fungi as connectors and networks ties in well with what the Institute does. Fungal mats underground enable much of our ecosystem to build and maintain health. These 'mats' might connect one trees root system to another to enable mutual benefits. One of the tree might be producing lots of photosynthesised energy whilst the other will have access to lots of water intake. The two could then live in a win-win situation through the connection the Fungi produces. This is essentially what the institute does, it brings different talents, organisations, ideas together to create collaborations. Whilst in the tutorial on Monday with David, he advised that I lose the 'ramp' and instead look to connect the building with the natural incline of the hill to the south and the sculpture park. This makes perfect sense and links back to the idea of the fungal mat. Linking different activities for mutual beneficial outcomes. This direct link between the Sculpture Park and botanical indoor Farm will enable first floor access and link the activities.
10 min 35 secs in, is the relevant section about Fungi influence within a design and organisational framework
12 mins 35 secs in - refers to the 'Fungal mat' and creating connections
A relevant section was, how they used the Fungi’s relationships to create a new organisation model - ‘What if the head office was more like the Fungus, about distributing nutrient information to the chapters rather than trying to direct it, and so creating an information network than a hierarchy'. So by looking not only at the structure but at the organism’s orderings, relationships and rules, the organisation of the Finnish Institute and how it networks itself could be influenced.
· One of my early ideas was to create a distillery, this came from a conversation about what I wanted the Farm to produce. Because of its small scale I wanted something worthwhile, a produce that would be financially lucrative and enable growth and income for the Finnish Institute (A financial symbiotic relationship where my Urban Farm activity would help fund and develop the Finnish Institutes socially benefitting ideas - again a lot like the Fungus and Tree bond). A botanical distillery, specifically Gin came to mind, a drink that was infused with not only Juniper berries but Nordic berries (the types that could be foraged in the Finnish Forests.) This would not only create a viable business whose profits would go back into the community but would (with Newcastle Brown Ale in mind) give the Pipewellgate a local vernacular identity - Fin_Gin (A logo that both connects both to the Finnish element and 'Fins' of the fish used in the Aquaponics of the farm to grow the infusion berries) . The idea that a local product that could be sold in bars around Newcastle would be specifically link to the Fin_Farm scheme. This is all just idealistic however, the deeper note I want people to take from this is, growing foods and producing food themselves, that the incorporation of nature within the city will have economical benefits, it will, as mentioned, cut transport cost, stop foods from being flown thousands of miles and ultimately making cities and countries less reliant on imported goods. I want the botanical Farm to include a cafe, drinks bars etc but also a workshop area where people can come and create different foods using ingredients from the site. As stated in crits - What does the building want to be? First and foremost an educational tool that shows people new ways cities and communities could grow and live in the future. Its a scheme that will open up minds to new perspectives. To change people minds-sets away from the disposable and inexhaustible ideas many have about resources to allowing the building to educate and act as a mediator to make people understand that through considered design and understanding, things can be reused, often in a more beneficial and economic way.
o Back to the relationship between Fungi and Distilling. Since ancient times Yeast (a type of Fungi) has been used to ferment Alcohol, a fitting connection that helps link the scheme. It is also used to flavour and preserve foods such as Blue cheese and Camembert. So many things fall back to the influence and effects of nature.
· Fungi and Biomimicry, helped influence by architectural idea about pulling the roof canopy down into the building. Structures that would act as water collectors, Access to the outside on the roof, ventilation, and light penetration. To Support these structures 'Steel columns' be used - these will be the existing steel oil cylos that will be decontaminated and reused. They will act as core anchors within the structure and relate back to my incubator about different component that interrelate and mutually benefit one another. Now that I am linking and bridging into the Sculpture Park, I am looking to my roof as a natural canopy that will have my plants growing. I want the plants to grow down the inverted cones and down the steel cylinders visually linking the fish tanks and growth of the plant to show visitors their connection. A precedent I’ve looked at is the Media Technique by Toyo Ito, similarly connecting and stabilising the different levels through vertical structures. David has told me to start planning spaces on levels and around the vertical structures, to create different and interesting interior and exterior spaces.
· Some types of Fungi are 'Bio Illuminators' meaning they light up at night. This idea helped me envision the building as a beacon, with the transparent 'green house' on the first/second floors attracting attention to the site, this will help to draw people at night and during the day to the fairly remote site, it will inject new life into the area through visual stimulation. One down side to the Sculpture Park is its hidden and unexposed character, something that local residents I've spoken to have refered to as a dangerous place to go at night. However it is pleasant and interesting to discover the different sculpture by day, with the trees adding to the sense of adventure. This idea about using the building to illuminate, could help make the park less threatening at night. By lighting up the trees and hillside from within the 'Green house' and by creating a literal bridge across into the hill, I think the Sculpture Park would be enhanced in a positive way.
· An interesting part of my landscaping and architectual strategy is based around 'cleaning the polluted site'. De-contaminating the brown field site so that the land can be regenerated into usable and fertile ground. I have in mind a landscaping idea that will firstly cleanse the site and then in legacy form, allow for communal allotments to grow food. I see my scheme as something that is inital and will change and develop as the site is cleaned, with new landscaping attraction further down the line i.e. added river front sculptures to tie in with the Park, Muscle farm?, communal green space and also the development of the produce market that could connect to the Sunday Quayside market in Newcastle. I have been researching into the use of plants and their properties in decontaminating land, looking at finding from Teesside and Durham University. I am also interested in how the plants could clean the land and also be used as Biomass for the building. A viable plant to use would be 'Reed Canarygrass' because it grows well on poor soils and contaminated industrial sites, and researchers at Teesside University's Contaminated Land & Water Centre have suggested it as the ideal candidate for phytoremediation in improving soil quality and biodiversity at Brownfield sites. Once the grass reaches maturity, a process that takes two years, it is harvested and baled up before its conversion into bricks and pellets.
(http://cordis.europa.eu/fetchCALLER=NEWSLINK_EN_C&RCN=31824&ACTION=D)
'The test burnings have shown that reed canary grass produces a good, clean fuel without picking up contamination from the soil,' Dr Lord pointed out. 'Reed canary grass has great potential because it offers a suitable use for unsightly Brownfield sites while producing an excellent fuel at a time when the world is crying out for new ways of producing green energy,' he went on to say. Our research also suggests that the end product is improved soil quality and biodiversity at the greened-up sites. Experts say crops burnt specifically for fuel falls under the 'renewable energy' category. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere when the biomass is burnt. When crops are re-grown, the same amount of CO2 is removed from the atmosphere. Bio-fuels are considered carbon neutral because they have no impact on the CO2 levels in the atmosphere.'
o So from this info, the excess land on Pipewellgate could be used to create this decontaminating, power crop?
o Other Sustainable ideas apart from the Biogas digester include rainwater collection for grey water treatment of toilets. A reed bed to deal with toilet waste. Wind generated is also a very viable possibilty for the site becuase of the strong westernly winds down the Tyne. These could fit into the Landscaping strategy.
· To tie this idea of rejuvenating the soil and land from the Brett Oil refineries use, again I looked to Fungi to investigate what they can do. It turns out Fungi are used when oil spills happen all over the world. Bioengineered species can be created to deal with different strains of Brownfield waste and contaminates (See video below). Fungi break down carbon and can turn poluted soil into reusable ecosystems using a process called Mycoremediation.
Ecuador: Oil-Eating Mushrooms
Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation in which fungi are used to decontaminate the area. The term mycoremediation refers specifically to the use of fungal mycelia in bioremediation.
One of the primary roles of fungi in the ecosystem is decomposition, which is performed by the mycelium. The mycelium secretes extracellular enzymes and acids that break down lignin and cellulose, the two main building blocks of plant fiber. These are organic compounds composed of long chains of carbon and hydrogen, structurally similar to many organic pollutants. The key to mycoremediation is determining the right fungal species to target a specific pollutant. Certain strains have been reported to successfully degrade the nerve gases VX and sarin.
In one conducted experiment, a plot of soil contaminated with diesel oil was inoculated with mycelia of oyster mushrooms; traditional bioremediation techniques (bacteria) were used on control plots. After four weeks, more than 95% of many of the PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) had been reduced to non-toxic components in the mycelial-inoculated plots. It appears that the natural microbial community participates with the fungi to break down contaminants, eventually into carbon dioxide and water. Wood-degrading fungi are particularly effective in breaking down aromatic pollutants (toxic components of petroleum), as well as chlorinated compounds (certain persistent pesticides; Battelle, 2000).
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A site photo showing a Petroleum Container was used at Brett Oils. This then backs
up the use of Fungi to cleanse the site. |
