...... Cambridge, England ........ Meredith Bowles ......

Meredith Bowles, Cambridge, England : Glenn Murcutt Master Class 2003

[ private house : urban : low energy : laminated timber : passive solar : rain screen ]

Cavendish House, Cambridge, England

Meredith Bowles, Mole Architects

This light-filled passive solar house uses minimal energy, using innovative construction methods to harness the heat of the sun. Designed for a family of four, the house is a re-interpretation of the suburban villa house. Sitting within a broad street of Victorian and Edwardian detached houses close to the centre of Cambridge, the house appears both modest and striking.

The relationship between the shingle-clad front room and the glass-fronted house behind is playful and provocative, suggesting an architecture at once abstract and figurative. The origins of the design come from early discussions with the clients, whose concerns were apparently opposing; on the one hand a wish for order and symmetry, and on the other a striking piece of contemporary design.

The building is constructed entirely from a frame of solid cross-laminated timber panels, supported by laminated timber beams and columns. The solid timber construction enables solid floors to act as a thermal heat sink, minimising the need for additional heating. The front, north, elevation has fewer windows and is clad in a semi-reflective patterned glass rainscreen, whilst the rear elevation has large openings to the sun and the garden, with external sunshades over the outside terrace. A ground-source heat pump provides hot water and the minimal heating required. The building uses less than the target of 15 kWh/sqm for space heating – equivalent to German Passivhaus standards.

Winner - British Homes Awards, Small House of the Year 2010

Winner - RIBA East Spirit of Ingenuity Sustainability Award 2010

Finalist – ‘Grand Designs’ New Building Award 2010

Photography : David Butler, Siobhan Doran

Mole Architects -

http://www.molearchitects.co.uk

OZ.E.TECTURE

architects thinking locally acting globally

www.ozetecture.org

Lindsay Johnston19 July 2016

Juan Carlos Eugene Soler : Glenn Murcutt Master Class 2001

54th Central Glass International Design Competition, Tokyo, Japan

‘Architecture That Generates New Sakariba’ - 2019

The Japanese ‘Central Glass International Design Competitions’ have been run each year since 1966. The 2019 competition attracted 188 international entries. Seven were shortlisted and Eugene’s entry was placed second.

[ theoretical proposition, metaphor, solar energy, technology, sustainability, community ]

‘MOON LANDING’

It is in our deepest primal instinct as social beings that people gather in a communal place that gives us a sense of culture and belonging. We gather around the warmth and wonder of campfire under the stars and share memories and stories. Or by day, under the cool shade of a tree- a natural place to meet a lover or exchange knowledge. Such place that delivers these conditions perhaps is the genesis of ‘Sakariba’.

The proposal is a massive balloon structure that can create and harness energy from the Sun whilst defining space underneath its volume, where people of all ages can gather to meet, play or ‘hangout’. The ‘Moon Landing’ hopes to create a central place for gathering where business and commerce are encouraged and generate ‘Sakariba’.

On a hot summer or rainy day, people can gather under its shade. On a cloudy day, the balloon structure can rise above the clouds where it can efficiently harness energy from the Sun. At night, it becomes a light source and a signal to attract people and when it descends it creates a space where people can gather around its warm glow. The ‘Moon Landing’ has all these features at the same time providing sustainable energy to its local community.

This idea is not science fiction but actually a very feasible means of efficiently combining what is currently being developed in balloon technology, sustainability, science and art. What is new is the realignment of technology to create a more poetic and meaningful purpose to reinvigoration local culture, religion, myths and stories, which is appropriate when it needs to be integrated in local communities. Especially to the 25% of the world’s population which has no or lack access to electricity. Such space offers a wonderful chance for the community to be activated, bring people together and encourage businesses and various activities.

By combining a strong metaphor with technology and sustainability- the proposal hopes to address not only the community’s basic needs but also hopes to give a deep importance and meaning in local culture and tradition to bring people together and organically for business growth and generate a ‘New Sakariba’

Moreover, in a world where we have Internet connection but seem to be ‘disconnected’- the ‘Moon Landing’ can be a benefit to existing ‘Sakariba’ not only to reduce the abundant energy we are drowning in, but also to remind us to look up and realize our place in the Universe and encourage real connection with each other.

Architect : Eugene Soler

Awards : 54th Central Glass International Design Competition _ Second Place

Web site : http://www.ateliersoler.com

OZ.E.TECTURE

architects thinking locally acting globally

www.ozetecture.org