ECO-FRAMES:THE POWER OF LESSDr. Cristian Suau

www.ecofab.org

ECO-FRAMESTHE POWER OF LESS

DR. CRISTIAN SUAU

[1] Schumacher, E.F., Small is Beatiful: Study of Economics as if People Mattered. Part 1. The Modern World, A Question of Size. Page 56. 1973, London, Blond editors.

man is small, and, therefore, small is beautiful

THE POWER OF LESS ECONOMY = ECOLOGYdesign with less provides unexpected processes for adaptability, by identifying current obstacles; exploring potential spatial systems; rethinking appropriate technologies and fabricating environments free of CO2.

ludic experimentation: what should we play instead?progressive design approaches on potential architecture, by exploring the spatial deterioration of the built environment and generating new spatial games. avoid bulky bodies.

low-passive energy and reuse of materialsapply decarbonized energy and disused materials upgrade your design outcome through the integration of structural, constructional and climatic factors.

research by design – design by researchnever split research and design! reuse and recycle your artwork. it is an indivisible equation.

form follows materialsgo for low-embodied energy materials. it is not a difficult choice.

adaptable living systemslife is frantic and changing. adaptability is smart. it merges as an antidote against reductive or dysfunctional spaces.

social accessibilityarchitecture is not merely commodity. look at the current housing situation in spain! let’s reject any design trend that excludes the ethic component of what we produce. designers are operative organizers.

PROPHECY

P = W x O x EP = PRESSURE ON OUR ENVIRONMENTW = AVERAGE GLOBAL WELFAREO = GLOBAL POPULATIONE = EFFICIENCY

the formula describes how we should increase the efficiency (E) in the use of materials and energy to keep the pressure of our environment limited.

In 1989 the global population was expected to grow 4 times and its average welfare to grow 5 times by 2030. so, to keep the P factor equal (=1) we should increase the efficiency (E) in the use of materials and energy by a factor of 20.

jeroen van der bergh, professor in environmental economics at the free university inamsterdam

FORECASTING

The Society of the Spectacleby Guy Debord (1977)

ILLUSION

Streetscape life of a slum

NEWORDER

FATAL ERROR

COMPACT

SMART TECH

Eboy view of London CONGESTION

Ani

mal

sby

Pin

k Fl

oyd

(197

7)

OBSOLESCENCE

BEYOND THE ICON!

Pie

ter B

rueg

el, T

he T

ower

of B

abel

(156

3)

MYTH

BEYOND THE COLLAPSE OF SPECULATIVE ECONOMIES…WHAT CAN WE PLAY INSTEAD?

ECO-HABITAT REUSE OF WASTE LIGHTNESS

URBAN RESEARCH AT OMA (NL), ETSAB (SP) & WSA (UK)

ECO-DENSITY

COLLAPSING DENSITY

THIS PART IS A MISCELLANEOUS OF ASSUMPTIONS, FAILURES, CONFRONTATIONS OF SPATIAL IDEAS:VERTICAL VERSUS HORIZONTAL SYSTEMSSELF-SUFFICIENT BUILT ENVIRONMENTSETHICS RATHER THAN AESTHETICS URBAN VISIONS

QUESTION

what games of ECO-density should we play instead?

KEYWORDS

IRONIC SCENARIOSBUILDING ANTI-ICONSURBAN STRATEGIESPROGRAMMINGNEW SENSESCAPES

THE DENSER, THE MORE SUSTAINABLE

NO FUEL = NO SUBURBIA

FAST-DENSE TRANSPORT

google-scapevertical studioautumn workshop at UIC, 2008

CACTUSANTI-ICON FOR A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

PROGRAMMATIC STAGES

VERTICAL GARDEN - PARK

VERTICAL GARDEN – UP & DOWN

THE PLINTH WATER GAMES DRIVE-IN CINEMA THE CAFÉ HALL

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS ON POTENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

IAAC, BARCELONA (2006) LJUBLJANA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, SLOVENIA (2007)PUC, SANTIAGO DE CHILE (2008)WSA, WALES (2008)UIC, BARCELONA (2008)

SEQUENCE OF PROTOTYPING CARRIED OUT IN IAAC (SP) - UL (SL) - PUC (CL) – UIC (SP)

LIGHTNESS

COLLAPSING LIGHTNESS

THESE EXPERIMENTS SHOWS SEVERAL MISTAKESNON-SENSE SYSTEMSACCUMULATION OF FAILURESACCIDENTSSTRUCTURAL COLLAPSES

QUESTION

what game should we play instead?

KEYWORDS

SIMPLICITYWEIGHTLESSGAMESFOLDINGDO-IT-YOURSELF

www.reciclarq.org

www.tyrespace.com

spatial experimentations require ludic strategies.

games provide new situations to subvert rules and turn conventions upside down, and the unpredictable convergences between concrete and intangible, even virtual and volatile, spaces.

The following works attempt to achieve the potential and latent playability of any type of spatial configuration to create and fabricate new spatial interfaces and frameworks.

so we need to transform the classical sense of workshop into a game-lab, a space for non-stopping brainstorming.

the power of playing with less reveals a new sense in design by using three design factors: Compactness; Lightness and Speed.

PLAYING WITH LIGHTNESS

BARCELONAIAAC spring workshop – 2006 (teachers Ayala & Suau)

the base model - fabrication

CARDIFF

armadillo - workspacethe tissue as collapsible membraneworkshop WSA - Suau & Catina, 2008

armadillo - workspaceassembly and components

workshop WSA - Suau & Catina, 2008

FOG IN THE DESERTKeyword:Fog water collection; climatic design; low-passive energy technologies

The Camanchaca or advent fog

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH PROJECTS IN NORGE, SVERIGE & ESPANYA

REUSE OF WASTE

COLLAPSING WASTE form follows material

experimental research on elementary or compact architecture through smartuses of industrial waste as new frameworks: JUNK-FRAMES- pallet shipping boards- whole tyres

QUESTION

what happens when disused materials become operative frames?

KEYWORDS

REUSECHEAPSPEED OF ASSEMBLY TEMPORALITYCOMPACTNESS

www.reciclarq.org

www.tyrespace.com

PLAYING WITH WASTEthe following prototypes are based on the application of manufactured waste, as potential junk-frames with low-tech building methods. Each fabrication process reuses timber and rubber waste as structural frames:

1. PALLET HOUSING SYSTEM (PHS) constitutes an ecological design response by reusing timber shipping boards. It shows innovative and agile uses offered by shipping boards applied to compact building that can be easily assembled or disassembled. Neither cranes nor scaffolds are used to connect walls with floors or roofs.

2. TYRESPACE works in the development of minimum architectural prototypes through the reuse of disused whole tyres. It consists of a compact hexagonal layout where walls and roofing are structured mainly by combining car and motorbike tyres.

these prototypes has been analyzed and tested based on structural, constructional and climatic performances.

12

formfollowsthe material

FABRICATING ECO-DWELLINGS

BARCELONA

applied research work – Ayala & Suau 2006tyrespace

REMOTE

collaborative work – Suau, Ayala & Zapulla - 2005tyrespace

tyre-bridge winter workshop PUC – Suau & Torres - 2008

FABRICATING ECO-DWELLINGS

SANTIAGO

tyre-bridge winter workshop PUC – Suau & Torres - 2008

FABRICATING ECO-DWELLINGS

SANTIAGO

winter workshop PUC – Suau & Torres - 2008tyre-bridge

collaborative work – Suau & Zapulla - 2005

GLOBALDesign patent of PHS

TIMBER – HOUSING TYPES WITH PALLETS

CRISTIAN SUAU, RESEARCH BY DESIGN PROJECTS

TIMBER – PALLETSHOUSE IN CARDIFF

CRISTIAN SUAU, RESEARCH BY DESIGN PROJECTS

TIMBER – MOBILE ALLOTMENTS WITH PALLETS

CRISTIAN SUAU, RESEARCH BY DESIGN PROJECTS

FINALE