sustainable egg house

When writing the last blog entry, I was surprised by how shipping containers have been turned into holiday homes, dorms, shops and hotels. I read something that is even more surprising today--a sustainable egg house built by a Chinese student.

Haifei Dai is a recent graduate in China who studied architecture in college. It costs a lot to rent a home in Beijing today so Haifei Dai decided to build a little home for himself. The total cost of this egg home is only 6400 yuan (about $900) and it can be pushed around by two people since it has wheels on the bottom.

The egg home is also an sustainable design. The frame is made of bamboos around a iron core. Bamboo is a great material here because it is a material with easy access and it can be easily bended. The solar panel help the egg home get most of its energy. The home is covered with stitched bags filled with grass seeds. Not only do they keep the interial of the egg warm, but also gives the egg life to breathe in the nature.

The entire structure was hand built by Haifei and his friends. What I found most interesting is how he made the sink to get water.It is by little intelligent ideas like this one, the egg house was built as a sustainable design.

This structure attracted lots of people's attention and was all over the news for two reasons. One, it reflects that the high housing price put huge amount of pressure on college graduates who try to start their careers. Second, this homemade house is small, but could provide young people with a cosy place and a sense of belong.
Architecture is often the media that reflects the society and influences the society. The egg house encourages the society to think about the direction towards which city architecture are heading in the future.


sources:
http://www.odditycentral.com/news/chinese-student-builds-sustainable-egg-house.html

http://www.xcar.com.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=13560678&extra=&showthread=&page=1

shipping container houses

Some days ago, a post on a popular Chinese site got many people's attention--a shipping container home in Beijing controlled by cell phone. Here is a video explaining how it works.

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrjPPkLN7fw&feature=related





Building houses with shipping container is not a new idea around the world in the architecture field. By building a little shelter/house with recycling shipping containers, the cost is cut low and it's easy to build. There are tons of used shipping containers around the world that are not being used for any purposes, and this is a wonderful idea for reusing materials for building. Shipping container homes have been used as temporary shelter for construction workers, private staying for vacation and even apartments.
There are many problems of shipping container homes such as insulation that prevents them to be used for long term. However, architects are working very hard to discover new ways of designing and using those shipping containers for them to function the best as architecture.

Here are some of my favorite examples of how shipping containers have been transformed into houses:
1. container city II
http://www.containercity.com/container-city-two.html
This project is completed in 2002 by architect Nicholas Laceya and Partners and engineer Buro Happold. The installation time was only 8 days and they turned 30 shipping boxes into studio spaces.
I like how the designer shifted the direction of different containers to create a fun space with different colors. The circle windows and bright colors reflect the artists who work here.

2. Port a Bach
http://www.port-a-bach.com/
This is definitely my favorite shipping container holiday home! It is transportable and fun.

 

 

As I search around the web, I even found student dorms and hotels made out of shipping containers.All these wonderful designs inspire us to think more about recycle materials and space efficiency! 

Boston Fusion/Bay Arch

After studying the High Line in NYC and the Greenway in Boston, I came across this design in today's archdaily and was surprised by its unique shape and idea.

This design is by Christian Bay-Jorgensen, from the firm Bay Arch. It is located at the harbour in Bosotn, MA. The purpose of the project is to design a living complex that contributes to the environment. 

From those pictures, we can tell that this project is not just a green architecture, but also designed as a tool to promote sustainable living style. By living in those apartments, people save a lot of living space and reduce the use of cars and gas. By integrating shops into the complex, people can enjoy a convenient life. The shape of the complex also makes sure that every family can enjoy the sunshine and a green garden! Each family can joy their own private space in the complex and also have community space.

Not only does the whole design use eco-friendly materials, the roof gardens also function as the source of energy. They generate the electricity of more than 250 houses.

This design reminds me of a housing complex in Japan called the ROKKO Housing.It is located on the slope of Rokko Mountain and the building uses the slope to integrate the design with nature.

Both housing complex are similar in the way they use slope to create private and public spaces for apartments. I really enjoy the idea of living in a housing complex instead of individual houses. People can still get their own gardens and private spaces, while they save resources and build a community friendship.

Source:

http://www.archdaily.com/90356/boston-fusion-bay-arch/

http://www.ldm.lt/naujausiosparodos/japan_arch.en.htm

New York City Day Trip 3 Ground Zero Site

I visited the Ground Zero Site for the first time in December 2008. There was really nothing to see because there were fence around the site.
Two years later, I am in front of the site again, and there has been major progress on the rebuild of the site. Because of the complicated political issues behind the site, even though there was a design competition held for the rebuild of the site and memorial, the real new site is not that exciting but some even taller office buildings, yelling to the world "The terrorism did not win"!

A rendering of the architectural elements of the new World Trade Center in New York City.
source: wikipedia

thinking from the High Line--Boston Greenway

The High Line of NYC reminds me of Boston's Rose Kennedy Greenway Park, which is another great green architecture landscape project that brings a place for people in the city to enjoy nature and sunshine within the context of a big city.

The Rose Kennedy Greenway was constructed in 2008 and it is a 1.5-mile-long series of parks and public spaces like fountains, seats...ect. When Interstate 93 was put underground and the elevated freeway was removed, a green way was planned and constructed on the site.

Though there are some critics accusing the greenway as a big waste of space, I really like it and enjoyed much of my time there during the summer when i lived in Boston.

To me, the best part about the greenway is how it link people, the children, the adult couples, the older man, together in this fun public space and people use it as a way to be engaged in the city. During the summer, there are kids running around the fountain, people lying on the grass in their Bikinis and reading books. This gathering place is like a "comma" in the sentence of Boston, a break,and a chance to take a breath.

After seeing the High Line and the Greenway Park, I find myself extremely interested in public green spaces. They define the characteristics of a city, and speaks its personalities. They are fun and welcoming when designed well and people love them. They link the busy city and beautiful nature together and find the harmony relationship between the two. They attract everybody without being awkward,because they fit into the context of the site and decorates the city.

Here are some pictures I took of the Boston Greenway：

sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Kennedy_Greenway
http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/rose-kennedy-greenway.html

New York City Day Trip 2--the High Line

Where is New York City's best green space?
My answer is the High Line.
The High Line reused the old train track and turned it into a place for fun. By integrating plants, public arts and people, it provides an interesting space up in the air of NYC for tourists to enjoy the city and for NYC to expresses itself in a new amazing way.

Here is my understanding of the High Line with my camera.

photo shoot on the High Line

one side

starting point

enjoying the sunshine

some really cool structure, don't now what it is for

railroad

watching the city

the IAC Building

some hotel on the way

railroad again

another view of the city

galleries with big windows

the river