Why a black google? Some studies say that having a black background instead of white helps saving energy. Based on these results, Heap Media Australia has created a black version of google they have named BLACKLE. For more info on this project, its characteristics, history, critics, you can check wikipedia (what else!). One of the advantages: there is no publicity. One of the disadvantages: it doesn’t have as many functions as google. Besides, there are different opinions about its efficiency: according to some research, for LCD screens the energy use could even be higher. Once again, energy efficiency is not all that simple. These are some of the tips that the official google site offers in respect of this matter.
⚐ EN
November 6, 2007
October 31, 2007
i am very interested in construction technologies applied in humanitarian architecture and I want to use the blog for, on the one hand, telling you about some of the technologies currently being developed and, on the other hand, finding out what else is being done out there (send me an email – alejandra@ecosistemaurbano.com)
i want to start by presenting my friends’ project, CONCRETE CANVAS. these young British engineers have developed CONCRETE CLOTH, a concrete-based construction material. CC consists of a 3-dimensional fibre matrix containing a specially formulated dry concrete mix. a PVC backing on one surface of the cloth ensures the material is completely waterproof; while hydrophilic fibres on the opposite surface aid hydration by drawing the water into the cement. you shape the cloth, add water…. and it’s ready! the concrete hardens leaving a set structure.
this cloth has many useful applications (water tanks, flat roofs, building cladding…) but the idea originated from the construction of dome-shaped emergency shelters.
CONCRETE CANVAS SHELTERS can be deployed by 2 people without any training in under 40 mins and are ready to use in 12 hours – only water and air are needed. the shelters are distributed in a packed format, water is added, they self-inflate to adopt the optimum final shape and in a few hours the concrete sets. they are easily distributed, they are semi-permanent, can be covered with other materials or can be part buried to improve the thermal properties and make them more resistant against impact… they meet certain needs (especially where there is an armed conflict going on or in extreme climates) that a more traditional tent (despite them being great for other needs!) can’t meet.
here are some pictures and a pdf with more info for you to see the great job CONCRETE CANVAS are doing.
October 30, 2007
Carlos Romo Melgar – eu:abierto
Category: eu:abierto+⚐ EN
As we have said before, this blog is aimed to be a meeting point for creative people with a capacity for critical análisis. We like these people to have the chance to publish their ideas and thoughts, and obviously their work too. For this purpose we have created eu:abierto.
As part of this section, we want to introduce Carlos Romo Melgar. He has written a short introduction about himself which I am translating for you, and he is presenting some of his work, which you can download below. We want to remind you that everyone interested in doing the same should get in touch with Domenico – send an email to domenico@ecosistemaurbano.com
I am Carlos, an architecture student at the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM).
I was born in Salamanca but for now I live in the capital.
Today at 19.00, ecosistema urbano will be giving a talk together with lara almarcegui at the fundación arquitectura of the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM). This is part of the urbanaccion event and we will present the latest urban actions we have carried out.
We invite you to visit the urbanaccion exhibition that is taking place in the gallery at COAM, where you will be able to see some of the most interesting groups working on interventions in the city.
We are a group of students from the School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM) who have just created a blog about Landscape. The aim of this post is to publicise the blog and invite you to visit it and take part in it. You will find it at www.paisajetransversal.blogspot.com
The blog is aimed for promoting a workshop part of the program for Eurau 08 (www.eurau08.com) that will take place at ETSAM in January.
October 29, 2007
We attach a picture of the workshops that are taking place in Gliwice (Silesia), organised by the association of architecture students in Poland. ecosistema urbano is taking part as the tutor of one of the work groups.
Silesia is a region located in the southwest of Poland where a number of cities have sprung around the numerous coal mines, with a total population of approximately 2 million people. Currently, most of the mines and heavy industry associated with them have been dismantled and abandoned.
These workshops are an opportunity for thinking about the future of the region, the development possibilities given by the huge industrial heritage and the options for organising the urban centres in the area to function as a single regional megalopolis in Silesia.
If you took part in the workshops, we want to hear your comments!!
[ecosistema urbano] has won, together with EXPOCIENCIA the competiction for designing the pavilion for Galicia (a Spanish autonomy) at the Expo to take place in Zaragoza in 2008. The competition was called by Jubileo de Galicia (linked with Saint James of Compostele Pilgrim Way).
The idea of the project is the following: In Galicia there are many different forms of water – the sea, the ocean, rivers, springs, rain, dew… We don’t need to convince anyone about their quality nor their abundant presence. Water is present in all the elements that make the landscape of Galicia. Water is its sustenance and its wealth. It is its soul and its reason for being. The pavilion is a fair way for Galicia to pay homage to water.
To show this wealth and present the different waters in Galicia, we will bring them all to the pavilion, with their specifications, colours and qualities. There are 315 municipalities in Galicia, each one having a very close relation with the water that runs across its territory. These waters tell stories about families, villages, cultures, industries… We propose collecting 24 samples of water (see, river, tap, spring, fountain…) from each municipality. We will bottle them in air-tight recycled PET containers and label them to show where they come from and some information about their chemical composition. All the containers will make up a wall of bottled water. A full range of samples of the waters in Galicia. A bottled territory.
webcams of the world
Category: findings+internet+new technologies+⚐ EN
I have come accross this website, www.fisgonia.com, from which you can look for webcams installed around the world. It is specially interesting because the webcams are “geo-referenced” (we know this term thanks to Domenico), that is, they are located in a world map in googlemaps.
Another site for looking for webcams throughout the world is www.earthcam.com. The design of this site is less attractive but the search engine is pretty efficient.
The municipality of Madrid has awarded the project by [ecosistema urbano] with the only mention in the open competition for ideas for drafting a project for the rehabilitation of the streets in the area of Pez-Luna in the historic centre of Madrid. We have had an interest on this area since we initiated the ephemeral project for a beach in Madrid, summer 2006.
You can download the file showing the proposal:
Some weeks ago Domenico had the pleasure to guide Luca Brunelli (from bogwog office) and his students in a visit to the Eco-Bulevar in Vallecas. We want to take this opportunity to say hello to Luca and the students of the course Proyectos 1, 1st semester, School of Architecture of the CEU-Cardenal Herrera Univresity (Moncada, Valencia). Here is a photo of the group….
We want to remind you that there are only a few days left for registering for the Sustainable Architecture International Conference that will take place in Seville during November. Some very interesting names will take part in the Conference: Jaime Lerner, Salvador Rueda, Jean-Philippe Vassal, José Antonio Marina, Saskia Sassen, Paul Hyett…. More information at www.cics.es
A few days ago, Ecosistema Urbano run one of the three workshops on Architecture & Sustainability organised by the Holcim professorship at the Architecture School in Seville.
Belinda and Domenico were very impressed by the enthusiasm and quality of the work carried out by the students, bearing in mind the workshop was only two days long. We have been surrounded by fantastic people, from Ramón Queiro de Holcim, who was a wonderful host, to: José Pérez de Lama, whom we already knew and was a pleasure to see again, José Ramón Moreno and Félix de la Iglesia, both very nice, and the sin|studio team (Paula, Ana, José María and Elena) whom we joined for some great tapas & cañas and with whom we have shared some of the best moments.
Here is the link to the blog where you can find a summary of the workshops and a photograph of the group of students who took part in the one we run.
in eutv:wiki we have activated two new pages we would like you to see and comment on.
On the one hand, we want to take further the debate about what sustainability indices we should use to define a ranking of sustainable cities… we have Irina’s proposal, with 16 indices….
on the other hand, we have recently received a first bibliography proposal… you can see it in the herramientas page… a proposal by motosierra!!
October 28, 2007
We attach 5 images showing the present state of 3 megaprojects currently being built in China (estadio H&dM / piscina PTW / CCTV Koolhas) and the comments by the author of the photos , who has kindly let us use them (Rubén Palacios):
“When you get tired walking for kilometres and kilometres in a city that is out of scale, you rapidly understand how easily a society so fascinated with the future can forget about the detail, and how it desperately looks for images that represent it as it would like to be.”
We have received an email from Lara telling us how the project “a bike lane for Madrid” was followed by a large number of people in the last meeting in patio Maravillas, in Madrid city centre.
She tells us: “I am very happy for the warm welcoming the project has received in your blog, the comments, and the people who attended the meeting because they read about it on the day and wanted to find out what was going on…. The bike lane is going ahead, it is going into action.”
Last Wednesday (24th October) two workshops took place in patio Maravillas:
Mobiliario alegal-Santiago Cirujeda
Plantillas carril bici-Patio Maravillas/BiciMad
Ps. I have just returned from Seville and have been positively impressed by the number of people who use the bike lane recently created there. It would be great if the same thing happened in Madrid!
October 27, 2007
We want to introduce to you Francesco Tomasi, a new member of ecosistemaurbano:abierto.
My name is Francesco, I am an Italian architect but have lived in Madrid for a long time. Right now I live and work in Viena, in Reinberg’s studio, where all the projects we develop are based on an ecological basis and pursue optimising energy efficiency. Reinberg is a prestigious architect “working” on solar architecture. He works on the complete construction process, from the design to the completion of the project. He has obtained very good results on the construction site in terms of minimising CO2 emissions and energy consumption, as well as reducing the volume of waste. Here it is common to study and use materials such as earth and straw and their possible applications. However, the key idea tends to be making good use of the sun in all possible ways, active solar and passive solar. Reinberg has been one of the initiators and promoters of green houses in architecture, private and public. After finishing a master on eco-sustainable architecture, my interest on this topic has vastly grown and I am aiming to create a website focusing on the subject.
October 15, 2007
eu:tv first video
Category: ⚐ EN
Here is the first video from eu:tv (ecosistemaurbano:tthe interactive site about sustainability.
We want to hear your comments!
October 14, 2007
For those reading our blog from the UK, we propose a lecture about construction and sustainability taking place in London this Thursday 18th October.
Future Perfect – an engineering agenda for a sustainable society? is this year’s joint ICE (Institute of Civil Engineers) and RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) annual lecture.
Mark Whitby, co-funder of the multi-disciplinar engineering firm Whitbybird based in London, will talk about sustainability, climate change and their impact on the design and construction of buildings and infrastructure.
October 8, 2007
We want to introduce a new member of the eu:abierto group: My name is Carlos Vial and I live in Santiago de Chile. I study architecture and right now I am finishing my final project, a proposal for the urban rehabilitation of an area in the periphery of the city. The rehabilitation is based on a strategy of systems and operations aimed to enhance the social integration in the area. I am also the editor of a Chilean architecture website [ www.plataformaarquitectura.cl], from where we want to show the present state of architecture in Chile and worldwide, generating a space for discussion and learning.
Recently, my interests have focused on material research and the study of the latest trends in urbanism, seeking a sustainable and pro-active tool.
October 5, 2007
Some weeks ago, Ecosistema Urbano created an account in Facebook. If you don’t know it yet, Facebook is a social network, a phenomenon that some experts think has the potential to become a giant of the size of google, Yahoo or Amazon.
The motive for opening this account is simple: we want to develop a network of creative people interested on areas related to architecture, city and design; people who constantly think about sustainability in their work, and aim to maintain and increase urban vitality.
We understand this blog as a meeting point for all this people and a social network as the best tool for them to meet and communicate.
For this purpose we have created in Facebook the group [ecosistema urbano]:abierto where all our readers can join in exchange for a text introducing themselves which we will publish in this blog.
We want to meet our readers and we want them to have the possibility to publish in the blog.
If you want to be part of the group, send us your text – write about what you want; we have conceived it as an introductory text, but you can make it anything you like. You can tell us about yourselves or about your interests.
The texts, which should contain less than 3000 characters, will be published in the blog under the category eu:abierto, and they can include links to sites you want to recommend.
For publishing and joining the Facebook group [ecosistema urbano]:abierto you can send me an email at domenico@ecosistemaurbano.com
eu:tv goes ahead and we are delighted to present its new logo. Of course, we want to hear your comments.
October 4, 2007
How to get to the ecobulevar?
Category: ⚐ EN
If you want to visit the ecobulevar in Madrid, the address is: Bulevar de la Naturaleza, Ensanche de Vallecas, Madrid. This map will make it clearer.
The best way to reach the spot is probably to go on Metro to Sierra de Guadalupe station, Line 1. There is a 15min walk from there.
We bring you more opinions about biodiesel. Now is the turn for an article published in the newly born Spanish paper Público: “green cars pollute too”. It talks, for instance, about the ban implemented in Norway to use the word “ecologic” in automobile publicity. Another interesting aspect is the debate that has started in the Spanish version of the blog following the previous article on this topic: bloggers’ comments, related news, etc.
On the same topic, check his link to flickr.
wiki:eutv
Category: ecosistema urbano+eutv+sustainability+⚐ EN
More on the sustainability website for expo Zaragoza2008: We decided to use a wiki site as the collective working tool. We had only to choose a wiki site. After analysing various sites, I have chosen pbwiki. It feels pretty intuitive and graphically attractive.
The address is www.eutv.pbwiki.com, we invite you to visit the site and take part in the construction of this new project.
For those who don’t yet know what we are talking about, there is more info here.
[ecosistema urbano] has been invited to take part in the exhibition “Zaragoza-Kioto architectures for a sustainable planet”, to be held in the Spanish Pavillion at Expo Zaragoza2008, together with twelve other international teams.
We have tried to find the way to make the best use of this opportunity for reaching the public, and we think it would be very interesting to let everybody express their opinions on sustainability: we want to offer our bloggers and readers the opportunity to be part of this exhibition. The idea is to develop and then “present” a new website about sustainability where experts and passionate people can share their knowledge.
It is going to be the first site about sustainability managed in web2.0 style, with inputs from anyone. On top of this, the site will be presented at the expo Zaragoza2008, a true international showcase.
It is our aim to increase participation levels, starting from the very first step of brainstorming and developing the website. We want bloggers to give their opinion, telling us how we can create a website as interactive as possible.
We have been trying to develop a system that enables an effective way for us to receive all sorts of advice, comments and critiques about this project. We will of course keep you up to date! For now, we want to ask you to post your comments through this blog.
In English!
Category: ecosistema urbano+⚐ EN+⚐ ES
We are pleased to say that the English version of the blog is back alive – we invite all of you English speakers to check it out using the link at the top of this site and send us your comments.
La versión en inglés del blog vuelve a la vida – invitamos a todos los angloparlantes a que la visitéis usando el link que aparece arriba y nos mandéis vuestros comentarios.
Following our first call for applicants, thanks to which three Spanish students joined us at the Dubrovnik workshop, we are announcing new calls. We are presenting a new section in our blog called eu:calls. The next one is looking for applicants to take part in the OSSA urban workshops SILESIA MEGAPOLIS en Gliwice en Polonia. You can download the pdf with all the information here.
The workshop will take place from the 21st to the 28th of October 2007. There is a 50€ fee that also includes accommodation, meals, excursions and presents. We can take a maximum of 4 students.
To apply, send your c.v. and portfolio to info@ecosistemaurbano.com before the 12th of October (attachments not to be greater than 2 MB).
The names of those selected will be published the following day.
October 2, 2007
www.agenda21-local.net
Category: sustainability+urbanism+⚐ EN
We have opened up our own media channel at www.agenda21-local.net. We are given the chance to communicate our innovative products for implementing the objectives of the local “agendas21”. We offer a range of high-quality services that can be used to improve the relationship between neighbours and the public space. We have started a new site inside our blog, next to the projects site, called products. In this space you will shortly find a list of specific services aimed for sustainable towns and cities. Some of the services, including rehabilitation of neighbourhoods, workshops for the future involving the participation of the neighbours or the eco-pack, will be carried out together with fundación CIREM foundation, an expert on this matter. We hope these services are what Spanish towns are looking for. We will watch out for your comments to improve our proposals throughout the process.
urbanaccion
Category: ⚐ EN
On the 19th of October we will open the workshops URBANACCION with a lecture by Jaime Lerner. The workshops, which will take place in Casa Encendida, Madrid, will be run by Carlos Teixeira, Lara Almarcegui and Raumlabor. We want to open a space for debate and learning about new ways of understanding public space, in contrast to the currently established rules and ways of thinking and developing such spaces. A city like Madrid should reflect its special character through the energies coming from its citizens, the general comfort and the quality of its urban proposals. Not only do we understand that the streets must be periodically cleaned and guarded, but also that they must be the scene for the interaction between its inhabitants. This fact is even bigger in large cities where public space is in general the scene of the conflict.
The aim of the workshops is to reflect upon the urban environment, its needs, opportunities, agents and actors involved, proposition and capacity for acting. The goal is to create proposals that can be implemented. We want to give opportunities for urban projects sprung from urban communities, proposals for the improvement of their environment and collaboration with government bodies. Providing communities with tools for analysis and positive proposing action in terms of quality urban public space. Implementing the solutions created at the workshops on public spaces around Madrid city centre. To take part in the workshops send your c.v. urban accion is an event run by malashierbas, In-Constant and [ecosistema urbano].
“eutv” (Ecosistema Urbano TV) goes ahead. At the office we are working on the design of a logo that will shortly be ready. Meanwhile, the collective task involved in defining the project goes on on the internet. So far, at the project website eutv.pbwiki.com we have registered a proposal by juan freire, which we find particularly interesting. Juan proposes developing a Ranking of cities to help publicising the project: Over the last few months a number of initiatives for comparing cities have come up, based on rankings that use different indices to quantify the degree in which cities are creative, green, sustainable, innovative… Despite these exercises being very criticisable for the methodology used as well as often for their consequences (sometimes they lead to a “city race” in which all cities want to be like each other), they generate great interest amongst politicians and the public, and they can have positive applications (they can point out weaknesses and define routes for change). In this project, work could be done with sustainability indices for Spanish cities, for example. A number of variables could be defined and the results could be compiled in a cooperative manner. These results could be published broadly and could be an instrument for making the project better known within the media, amongst politicians or the public. In a few days I will publish in Ciudades enredadas, a blog in ADN.es, a post with the analysis of different international city indices that have lately appeared in the media. It can be useful as a guide.
What do you think these indices could be?
The following headline in Spanish paper ELPAIS on 12th September has caught my attention:
“Biofuels don’t reduce CO2 emissions. This statement opens the interview of Chemistry Nobel Prize Winner Hartmut Michel. The interview questions the suitability of biofuel. I am not an expert, so I can simply recommend the article.
These are further extracts from the interview:
“to produce biofuel, such as ethanol, it is necessary to invest much energy in the shape of fertilizers, transport, as well as on distilling the alcohol. (…)Nearly as much energy is required as that later found in the ethanol. And if you obtain that energy from fossil fuel, you end up emitting more CO2 than you would if you simply used petrol in your car.”
“Biofuels are promoting the loss of tropical jungle in Indonesia, Malaysia, some regions in Africa and Brazil. In Brazil the issue is soya: more and more soya is being cultivated in the jungle. Burning up the jungle in order to produce soya liberats an enormous amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”
May 3, 2007
[ecosistema urbano] is an architecture and engineering team that focuses on the research and ecological design of new architecture projects that understand sustainable development as a resource for innovation and enthusiasm.
Its principle members have backgrounds in architecture and civil engineering from Madrid Polytechnic University, Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia as well as the Bartlett School of Architecture at the University College London. They are design studio professors in the School of Architecture of Madrid and visiting professors at several universities in Spain and Latin America. They have received grants from more than ten public and private institutions.
They have received more than 15 awards since the year 2000 in national and international architecture design competitions. On the last year 2005, they have received top recognition for their work, including the European Acknowledgement Award from the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction (Geneva, 2005) and the selection as one of the “Top ten spanish architects under 40” by the Antonio Camuñas Foundation.
Exhibitions of their work have been shown in several national and international institutions. Their work has been covered by the national and international press, television programs, and specialized publications (Holland, France, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Canada, and USA).
Recently a monograph of their projects, entitled Monoespacios 8, was published by the Association of Architects of Madrid. Presently their work is being shown in the collective exposition FRESHMADRID (www.freshmadrid.com). Next they plan on showcasing one of their projects in an exposition by El Croquis Magazine.
Currently the team is involved in research projects about future paths of city design called “eco-techno-logical city”, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Industry. As for their latest project construction, they are building the second phase of the EcoBoulevard project in Madrid (pilot project of bioclimatic revitalization of a public space) and constructing the Meteorological Museum in the historical Buen Retiro Park in Madrid.
March 20, 2007
Three-day discussion meeting revolving around the theme of urban rememberance in reference to the casus of Warsaw.
The seminar will comprise the following elements:
- introduction to the subject of discussion in form of lectures on the specificity of Warsaw, delivered by Aaron Betsky and Jakub Szczęsny – the curators of the Festival – and invited guests (2 from Poland and 2 from abroad).
These preliminary lectures will take place in the three initial days of the Festival, each directly preceding the day’s discussion sessions.
Discussion sessions moderated by Aaron Betsky will be held in an open-participation formula for young architects from Poland and abroad.
The ambition is thus to provide a platform of intellectual exchange and a brainstorm-fed theoretical testing ground for fresh concepts for the future of Warsaw – to create a reservoir of ideas necessary for a major urban center in constant growth.
[ecosistema urbano] will take part in this event.
March 6, 2007
Lecture at the UCSD – San Diego
Category: ⚐ EN
Lecture at the University of California, San Diego.
