CLIMATE CHANGE my life?

Climate change is hot, or at least it is getting warmer. Or so they say. COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference is just about to start (Dec 7th to Dec 18th).

Not only are politicians attending meetings, but also scientists, NGOs, environmentalist etc. congregate to Copenhagen these days.

But what are the expectations and concerns of people around the world on the subject of climate change? People who are carrying on with their normal duties and are not on their way to Copenhagen.

NoMadSpaceLab and The Department of Unusual Certainties intends to find out, and have asked researchers around the world to ask five questions on the topic.

Visit project blog and webpage for information about the project and read about climate impressions from around the world.

[Nordhavnen] Sustainability as environmental and social engine in urban design

One important step on the way to achieve sustainability is to identify environmental problems that need to be solved. In this project the ecological consequences of the way we live today were analysed with the aim of defining environmental problems. By taking a closer look at the origin of the problems related to the environment, it becomes easier to define what actions that can be done through urban planning to solve these problems.

The proportion of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has gradually been built up during the last century. The majority of the emissions come from cities. The CO2 emissions from cities have two major sources; buildings and transportation. It takes energy to run buildings, e.g. heat up or cool them down as well as run electrical systems not only in buildings but also throughout the whole city. Most of this energy comes from fossil fuel burning; hence cities have the very high CO2 emissions.

Another major danger to the environment is the threat human activity is causing to the biosphere. Cities are a major threat to the biosphere in two ways; directly by the way land is occupied and used for habitation, which have huge impacts and consequences for animals and ecosystems. Indirectly by the huge consumption of natural resources that is required to run the big cities.

The primary goal of this project was to examine how sustainability can be achieved through a certain urban form or urban design principles. By focusing on how the various levels of the city planning such as land use patterns, building and landscape types, infrastructure systems and density can contribute to sustainability, this theoretical analysis will constitute the foundation for the further development of a concept for the future sustainable city.

The main inspiration to the concept comes from Stephen Wheeler’s notion on the five urban form values. The five values regard; compact urban form, contiguous urban form, connected urban form, diverse urban form, and ecological urban form. The compact urban form refers to a dense city structure that concentrates urban development within a certain growth limit line. A contiguous urban form means that new urban development has to occur adjacent to existing urbanized areas. The compact urban form enhances the amenity for pedestrians and cyclists and shortens distances with the mixed land use pattern, which makes cycling and walking another attractive alternative to the use of motor-driven means of transport. A good and well-connected public transport system is furthermore of great importance to reduce the use of private cars and in the end emissions. The diverse urban form features a mixed land use, different typologies and various prices and rents. This results in a heterogeneous urban landscape with a wide variety of inhabitants and users with different income groups. The ecological urban form integrates the natural landscape into the cityscape in a way that preserves the existing ecosystems and at the same time provides recreational settings for city residents.

The concept and implementation has been presented according to the five urban form values that together constitute a sustainable city structure. Each urban form has carefully been implemented so that each layer is well-functioning. Furthermore the layers are intertwined and their individual shapes are depended on each other. Transport has e.g. been planned after the urban centres. The layout of the masterplan has been guided by the concept and at the same time findings from the site analysis. Especially the knowledge and understanding of the site is important to create a design that is embedded in place and emphasizes the spirit of the place. As a result the new uses in the future Nordhavn derive from the area’s potentials and its history.

100% Design – Tokyo Designers Week 2009

Today was the last day of Tokyo Designers Week 09. MONU Magazine on clean urbanism was featured in the Magazine Library section of the event.

The opening article of Monu Magazine on clean urbanism (issue 11) is by Samo Pedersen of NoMadSpaceLab. Please support Monu by buying the mag, and NoMadSpaceLab by reading the essay;o)

Links to: Monu Magazine, Magazine Library, and 100% Design Tokyo 09

This is it

Today the memory of Michael Jackson was celebrated all around the world with the simultaneous release of the movie about the final part of his, too short, life.

Bustler and Archinect already in August arranged a competition of what would be a proper sized memorial to a star of his size. As we see it at NoMadSpaceLab only the galaxy itself can be a proper framework as memorial for the king of pop. There for our proposal was to to create a star formation of the whole milky way to shine in the memory of Michael Jackson.

London Floating Gallery

A concept for an adaptable architecture gallery is developed through analysis of its implementation area. Located in London the gallery is floating along the river Thames. A main focus is to reflect upon its context and create meaningful experiences relevant for the gallery’s visitors.

The whole barge functions as a responsive environment. It has been important to create a dialogue on how people will approach a space that is physical adaptable. To achieve this adaptability overall constrains have been created by the designer. This can be expanded to an overall view on the city and a discourse on the importance of adaptable environments.

For the gallery to achieve adaptability in both a physical as well as a mental way the idea is to create a responsive environment, which will enhance unforeseen experiences. For this cameras map people’s movement along the barge and process the information. This information is gathered throughout the day. In the evening the collected data will be displayed as a glow on the floor where the majority of people have been moving. First it should be interpreted as a continuous reflection upon the occurring flows. To put it a bit more philosophical, if one likes, an image of a continuous reflection upon society. As it should represent a reflection on movement, flows, and society, it makes no point in creating immediate feedback. As a society is a plurality the individual can only achieve something in relation with others. Thus the floor lights most up where most people have moved. Throughout the barge the floor will be able to illuminate.

Through use of sound, it is hoped that another atmosphere is created. Microphones record the amount of noise. This provides information on the amount of artificial light that should be applied within the given area of the gallery. Thus where there is the highest noise level the light is brightest, and the room best lit up. On the contrary if an area is completely quiet this part will be dark. This system is directly responsive, which means that as soon as the noise level rises, immediately the light gets brighter.

It is believed that exchange of experiences among visitors could be achieved, through the abnormal situation the users would be put in while visiting the gallery. Standard norms of keeping the voice low in a gallery would be broken, which would force the visitors to decide how they should behave. Would they be quiet like usually in a gallery, or play around with the responsive environment? It is believed that people are more willing to open up towards new encounters and experiences, when they are put out of their daily context and known environment. Hopefully this can raise a discussion on creation of spaces where an eclectic approach is encouraged, contrary to many single-minded spaces found in our capital driven society.

In the evening, when dark, the translucent patterns function as a display for the outside observer. Where there is no people, no noise, the gallery is dark and thus no illumination occurs through the building skin, which will be dark. On the other hand light will go through the pattern in the skin where there is noise. This creates a display of activity on the skin for the outside observer.

Presumably the most important feature influencing the gallery’s appearance is the adaptability of the exhibition space. This space can be transformed from completely open, to covering almost the whole width of the barge. The space is adaptable through a system of tiles. The width of each tile forms a section that can be adjusted in height of as many tiles put on each other as the sweeping skin allows in that exact area.

The idea is to create a spatial adaptability in the gallery that benefits various functions. The space can be designed in modules in order to achieve a number of small individual rooms for an exhibition, or transformed into one main room where a lecture can be held. It gives the artist possibility to design the exhibition space according to the exhibited art.

[Icebear] Melting reality

Poster at the A3:3E exhibition at the 2009 EXIT festival Novi Sad, Serbia. Exhibited in July ‘09.

Link to the A3:Format blog: http://a3format.org/

Århus Vice

Just as the world is preparing for screen-scape 2.0 with interactive facades and intelligent lighting it seems that Århus in Denmark is going Miami Vice mania. I am not sure whether it is because the local glazier had sale or if it is a local affection of the 80’s but it seems like every building in the city centre needs to have a neon sign.

Brian Flanagan aka. Tom Cruise would definitely love it, but it strikes me odd how the city can refrain from exchanging the saturated glow with commercial-packed-televisions. In this case it is fortunate!

What factors dominate the lightscape of a city? An how come a seemingly outdated technology is maintaining or even increasing its popularity in a danish provincial city? Through my little observation of the signs in central Århus I wonder which other aspects can be analyzed through a city’s lightscape? Is it purely coincidental? Or does it somehow reflect the city?

Well here are some photos form the city centre. All these can be taken within a walking distance of 5 min.

Don’t Panic

A first introduction to work by NoMadSpaceLab will be these posters for don’t panic online. The first couple of posts will predominately be of smaller scale graphic assignments. The reason for this is simply that these are much quicker to prepare for a web presentation. Our Architecture / Urban Design projects will be published as they are reformatted to a proper web presentation.

Monu Magazine publication

The article “Sci-fi greenery..” by Samo Pedersen is featured in the current issue 11 (Fall ‘09) of the Dutch Monu Magazine.

Support Monu by buying the mag at: www.monu-magazine.com

Further content by OMA, Bernd Upmeyer etc.

A preview of the content is available on youtube:

Welcome

you have reached the first post on the new blog of NoMadSpaceLab

This blog will be used as the quick&dirty platform to publishing current and ongoing work of NoMadSpaceLab.

enjoy, and thank you for visiting!!

More at www.nomadspacelab.com