Wednesday, 29 October 2008 00:35
| What if buildings were designed to provide maximum green space? |
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Of all the possible drivers for architectural decisions, what if providing optimal urban agriculture space was equally prioritised with residential needs?
The CoCaring Networked Neighbourhood is a model for sharing dense residential areas, using shared services while retaining privacy and autonomy.
A shift to maximising systems for efficiency in future neighbourhoods would include multi-purpose buildings. The gardens insulate the houses and communal spaces as well as providing food and employment for the community. This project also combines simplified systems and emerging technology, in energy harvesting, monitoring systems and architectural capacity.
The CoCaring Networked Neighbourhood is particularly interesting because the architecture supports and reflects the green principles of the community.
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The property consists of three two storey houses, a large three storey building, a kindergarten, studio, and gardens which produce fruit, vegetables and herbs. The fifty residents are responsible for looking after different elements of the site.
The living areas are shared, with a large lounge room and entertainment area on the ground floor with the kitchen and dining area. The upper floors consist of bedrooms and personal spaces.
With three large wind turbines, small rooftop wind turbines and solar panels there is more than enough power for the property; any extra energy is donated to CERES. Rainwater tanks filter and store water for use in toilets, washing machines and to maintain the garden. The sweeping buildings have extended eaves on the north side to combat the summer sun and are built on concrete slabs to help with thermal mass.
Residents from the three homes are responsible for looking after different aspects of the site. The family who lives at number 3 runs the child care facilities; the family from 3a maintains the gardens, with help from some of the other inhabitants.
The main part of this building is the kitchen and dining area which is like a restaurant. The kitchen is large and is used and shared by all of the residents in this building, who come together as a huge family for a meal.
The main garden starts from the second level of 3a house and sweeps down to the main section. All of the buildings have gardens on the roofs which in some cases help with insulation. Even the studio has a garden over it.
The studio space is used for an RMIT class designing wind turbines, which is also run at the university. The space is also available for students to use for their own projects.
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