Sustainable Innovation for Smart City Architecture

ALESSANDRO PREMIER Osse rvatorio dell'agribusiness Ag rib usine ss Pa e sa g g io & Amb ie nte -- Vo l. XVII - n. 3, Ma rzo 2014 Susta ina b le Inno va tio n fo r Sma rt City Arc hite c ture Sustainable Innovation for Smart City Architecture. I had the opportunity to co-ordinate a research project on the topic of sustainable innovation in architecture for the recently born Eterotopie - Colour, Light and Communication in Architecture Research Centre. Five other researchers were involved in the project, which analysed the life cycle assessment of twelve families of materials, technologies, and products used in architecture with the ambitious goal of weighing up their real impact on the environment. The individual works of the researchers involved were combined in a recent publication. This paper is aimed at summarising some of the results obtained from the research on the life cycle of materials, technologies, and products used in contemporary architecture, contextualising their application through a few selected case studies. The goal is to relate the results of the research to the solutions adopted in a few contexts (buildings and landscapes), and highlight possible alternatives in the light of a highly scientific and rational design approach. Keywords: architectural design, environmental sustainability, life cycle assessment, smart city It is widely accepted that the go al o f planning strategie s f o r the so -calle d smart c ity is to e xplo it the po te ntialitie s o f c o m m unic a tio n te c hno lo gie s to improve the quality ALESSANDRO PREMIER o f lif e f o r its citizens. Within this scope , various pro jects exploit the new networks (the Internet, etc.) to render transport systems and even buildings more efficie nt. One example of this is the po ssib ility o f o ptimising ho me functio ns through the use of our smartphones. As far as buildings are concerned, there are a whole range of measures aimed at improving performance and environmental impact, and the buildings themselves play a relatively secondary role within the design of the smart city. Many of these measures concern the building envelope, i.e. the most visible part of the building. Therefore, the materials, technologies, and products that we curre ntly use play a strate gic ro le in the construction of the envelopes of the buildings that we define as sustainable on different levels. All these technologies such as, for example, photovoltaic technologies, have a determining influe nce on the appearance of our citie s, especially when used extensively. It is clear that in order to assess the real impact of these materials, products, and technologies, it is necessary to use tools that are capable of analysing their entire life cycle. For this reason, our research is aimed at studying the life cycle of twelve families of materials, technologies, and products to asse ss the ir real impact o n the environment. To achie ve this goal, we used Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Udine, Italy, E-mail: alessandro.premier@ uniud.it 248 Sustainable Innovation for Smart City Architecture inte rnatio nal re se arc he s o n the L ife Cycle Assessment (LCA), based on the 14040 and 14044 ISO standards, though without neglecting the cultural and historical aspects associated with the production and use of these materials and the relevant products. The validation of the data we obtained may be confirmed through the buildings constructed as part of the man-made landscape at different latitudes. As can be seen, the landscape may be modified through choices based either on rational and practical requirements, or on merely ideological or purely speculative assumptions. 1 . Te chnolog ie s, mat e r ials, products: between t radition and innovation The materials, technologies, and products that characterise contemporary buildings are partly derived from tradition, and partly from the most advanced technological innovations that have been implemented in the post World War II pe rio d. A who le se rie s o f hyb rids, characterising the entire current production, obviously stand between these two extremes. A distinctio n is f re q ue ntly made b e twe e n natural and artificial materials (cf. Zennaro, 2000), betwe en traditional and innovative, or also now be twe e n smart and materials (cf. Manzini, 1986). Traditional materials obviously include clay, stone, and wood. Today, also vegetation is used as a building material or, rather, as a covering for façades (mur végétal) and roofs (green roof). Innovative materials certainly include plastics, composites, smart materials, and some textiles. Some of the te chnologie s de rive d f rom tradition are based on the recovery of rural b uildings o r b uildings link e d to so me ve ry spe cif ic climatic zo ne s. Fo r instance , the recovery of earthen constructions involves the use of a resource (earth) that is readily available o n the site (at zero chilo metri , o r ze ro kilometres, as we say today), thus reducing the impact of transportation to the building site. The building site itself can be highly reliant on the self-build practice (for reduced labour costs). However, the re sults are buildings that often d o no t me e t the pe rf o rmance stand ard s currently required at our latitudes in terms of, for example, thermal insulation. Thus, we have to improve the performance of the clay wall by adding thermal insulation materials. Moreover, plaster and earth rapidly dete riorate due to weathering. As a consequence, the use of these te chnolo gie s is re stricte d to are as with a specific climate, such as some desert regions or parts of Africa. A similar reasoning can be carried out on wooden constructions. Some companies are currently trying to bring to our latitudes (e.g. the Po Plain or, even worse, the Lagoon area) construction technologies that are typical of mountain villages, which are traditionally rich in the raw material involved. In this case, we are o b vio usly no t d e aling with trad itio nal building technologies, but with a hybridisation (which is necessary) with other materials, such as plastics, metals, structural glues, etc. As far as the LCA is conce rned, the exploitation of wood as a resource should be based on forestry (cutting and continuous renewal of forests). Unfortunately, the constant increase in the use o f e xo tic wo o d spe cie s in buildings (mo st exterior façade claddings are made of these highly resistant materials) brings back to the fore the problem of deforestation in equatorial areas. As a matter of fact, the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has not stopped yet: a further 5,843 square kilometres of rainforest disappeared between July 2012 and July 2013, an increase of 28% on the previous year (cf. ansa.it, 2013). More ove r, the uncontrolle d exploitation of natural resources is not a recent issue , b ut se e ms to b e part o f the e ntire humankind’s history: a significant example is the de fo re statio n o f the Italian pe ninsula, which was started by the Romans in the 2nd century B.C. (cf. Calvani, Giardina, 1979). Today, we are witnessing the great success of “green” buildings featuring plant surfaces. One of the most famous creators of this kind of building is the French botanist Patrick Blanc, who has also worked with renowned architects, such as Jean Nouvel and Herzog & de Meuron. These solutions are an attempt to re-green our 249 ALESSANDRO PREMIER Osse rvatorio dell'agribusiness grey cities, thus reducing the quantity of CO 2, using first the roofs and, more recently, also the walls o f b uild ings. Appare ntly, the se phenomena take inspiration from the tradition of the hanging gardens or toit-terrasse (cf. Le Corbusier, 1923). Their configuration, though, seems to be closer to what happens in the slums of the poorest countries (e.g. the Philippines), where people try to recreate green corners in their own terraces, perhaps to cultivate their vegetable garden, amid the city smog. As far as the LCA is concerned, the maintenance of these surfaces is particularly problematic, since they can rapidly lead to the deterioration of the building structures themselves (owing to the presence of water, mould, insect infestation, etc.) if they are not adequately attended to. Other technologies that could somehow be considered as derived from tradition, such as those connected with stone, ceramic materials, and binders, are constantly developed to improve production processes or minimise the amount of raw material used. This is the case with the extraction and processing of stone materials: cladding materials are cut into increasingly thinner slabs (in the order of millimetres) and glued or fixed onto other rigid substrates to obtain a material with a “traditional” appearance, making the best of the resource and also reusing all the waste mate rial (powde rs) to produce othe r composites. As far as ceramic materials are concerned, besides the progressive reduction in the tile thickness, the research is currently focussing o n pro ductio n pro ce sse s to o ptimise the embodied energy of the products and reduce the ind ustrial pro c e ss impact o n th e environment (water and air). Bind e rs, use d in mortars, plaste rs, and concre tes (co nglome rates), are incre asingly combined with other materials that enhance their performance (for thermal insulation, etc.). One of the current challenges is to reduce the use of concrete in constructions (the cement binder requires intensive quarry exploitation) and, at the same time, make the recycling of the conglomerate cost-effective also for hightech applications. During the 20th century, glass and metal were the symbols of innovation in construction, and today the y are the b asis of the majority of contemporary buildings. These materials are also constantly innovated to fine-tune their performance. Among metals, aluminium (a resource now entirely obtained from recycling) seems to be preferred over steel. Steel is still vital in highly corrosive environments (e.g. brackish), and also offer lower thermal conductivity compared to other metals, i.e. approximately 50 W/mK. The potentialities of zinc alloys, which melt at fairly low temperatures (about 420 °C), seem to have been only partially exploited. Today there are shape memory alloys (SMA) that automatically react to changes in temperature, and can be used in the field of adaptive sun shading systems. No wadays, the mo st cutting-e dge te chnological innovations seem to focus on plastics, fab rics, co mpo site mate rials, re -asse mb le d materials and, of course, smart materials. Plastics have lo ng b e e n conside re d the symbol of e nvironmental pollution, pe rhaps mainly for the reason that their recycling or reuse was not considered to be cost-effective. As a matter of fact, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is still represented today as a huge island of plastic debris (see the photos of the port of Manila that were associated with it by mistake), an id e a f ully c o ntrad icte d b y nume ro us scientific studies (cf. Goldstein, Rosenberg, Cheng, 2012). Plastics are, instead, materials characterised by a very low melting point and high le ve l of re cyclab ility. In some case s, plastics (e.g. PMMA) can replace translucent materials such as glass. Combined with fibres o r use d in o the r co mpo site mate rials, the y provide excellent performance also in terms of resistance and durability. Some profiles made of fibre-reinforced polymers can entirely replace steel in building structures. The same may apply to fabrics and membranes that are now the symbol of ephemeral buildings, designed to last and occupy the ground and space only for a limited period of time. These can be modified o r mo ve d at any time , re co nf iguring the surrounding environment, or restoring it to its original state. Compo site s are the re sult of dif f e re nt materials combined together in various ways 250 Sustainable Innovation for Smart City Architecture (mixed into paste, overlapping layers, etc.) to achie ve pe rf o rmance s highe r than tho se provided by the individual base components. These products are very often produced from recycled or waste materials. For this reason, during their entire life cycle, they provide very high performance, also in terms of durability. As far as their appearance is concerned, they can be used to reproduce virtually any material (b o th traditio nal and inno vative ): wo o d, plastic, metal, stone, ceramic, and so on. The field of smart materials and te chnologies (so me times erroneously called “inte lligent materials”) is very complex and articulate. They are technologies developed to create pro ducts and co mpo ne nts that pro vide extremely high performance, whilst consuming very little energy, zero energy, or even producing energy (e.g. photovoltaic technologies). These materials have one or several properties that can be modified and controlled by e xternal stimuli, such as mechanical stress, temperature , moisture , pH le ve ls, and e le ctrical o r magne tic fie lds. The applications, based on these technologies and materials, dedicated to improving building envelope performance seem to be very effective. Shape memory materials (polymers or metal alloys) can be used to create d ynamic sun shading syste ms that are capab le o f ad apting, auto matically o r b y utilising a minimum amount of energy, to the external environmental conditions (temperature variations, etc.). PCMs (phase change materials), such as paraffin, are proving to be ve ry use ful in the co nstruction o f b uilding external walls, as they are capable of varying their response in terms of thermal insulation according to changes in the external temperature. Thermo-chromic or photo-chromic paints may be useful to improve the heat dispersion or reflectance of building external walls. A separate discussion must be dedicated to pho to vo ltaic te c hno lo gie s: praise d f o r producing energy from renewable sources, they do, however, seem to provide limited durability over time (due to the decrease in amorphous silic o n pe rf o rmance ), whilst pre se nting recycling problems similar to steel (silicon melts at about 1,414 °C). During the first twenty years of life of an amorphous silicon panel, its powe r is e q ual to 80% of the pe ak powe r, meaning that if the selling price is 2 e/Wp, the actual cost is equal to 2.5 e/Wp (2 e/0.80) after 20 ye ars o f o pe ratio n. All PV te chno lo gie s share similar p ro b le ms in re se c t to the ir decrease in performance over time. For these reasons, their use should be subject to an accurate cost-benefit analysis, i.e. by calculating the ir EROE I value (Ene rgy Re turne d On Energy Inve ste d = usable energy acquire d/ energy expended). 2. The appearance of the new “sustainable” buildings A problem that seems to be overshadowed too often nowadays is the impact of these materials and technologies on the building appearance. This research analysed a series of case studies in which the above -mentioned technolo gies and materials were used to try to bring a better unde rstanding of this problem, and identify po ssib le so lutio ns f o r impro ving the ir integration into the surrounding context. As has alre ad y b e e n highlighte d , the recovery of earthen construction technologies seems to be suitable only for specific contexts and b uilding type s. The Tusco n Mo untain Retreat, designed by Dust (Arizona, 2012), is located in the Sonoran Desert, in an isolated place exposed to sun and wind, characterised by an arid climate and surrounded by rocks and cactuses. The aim of the project was to reduce the impact on the surrounding environment, perhaps by pursuing mimesis. As a matter of fact, the building is only one storey high and the colour of the walls made of rammed earth (sourced locally) blend naturally with those of the surrounding environment. It is hard to imagine these technologies being used in an urban environment. The use of vegetation to protect buildings or create natural shading systems has a long tradition. One only has to think of climbing plants as an example. Some b uildings have gre e n ro o f s, o b taine d b y mo dif ying the surrounding ground so that it becomes the roof 251 ALESSANDRO PREMIER Osse rvatorio dell'agribusiness itself: the Library of Delft (Netherlands, 1998), designed by Mecanoo, is an example of this. The use of green walls, as maintained by Patrick Blanc (cf. Blanc, 2008), is instead the result of the need to bring the green colour into the urban environment to draw on the visual wellbeing it produces on the human psyche. The outdoor seating are a of the Café Trussardi in Milan, de signe d b y Carlo Ratti Asso ciati together with Patrick Blanc (2008), looks like a glass case , place d in fro nt of a historic building, with a green “crown” running along its top edge. In the space of only a few years, however, the vegetation has deteriorated as a conseq ue nce of the incre asingly ne gle cte d mainte nance , and the wate r pre se nt has corroded the building metal parts. The use of wood in façades must also take into account the deterioration of the material, which generally passes from a warm to a greyish colour within a few years. For this reason, the use of exotic wood claddings (ipé is wide ly use d ), which have no thing to do with the materials naturally available at our latitudes, is increasing recently. An example is the Ebro Environmental Centre in Zarago za (2011), designed by Magén Arquitectos. The building is lo cate d in the city ce ntre , ne ar to the Almozara bridge ove r the Ebro Rive r. The brown colour of the building envelope (ipé) strongly contrasts with the materials and the colours of the surrounding environment, where wood has not at all be en used as a façade cladding material. On the other hand, stone claddings, typical of some European cities, can be re-interpreted by developing the design of their elements. This is the case with the Muse um of Live rpool (2011), designed by 3XN, where the inspiration for the white stone cladding was taken from the material used in the façades of the Three Graces, located along the city harbour, but its shape was modified. The façade s on the long sides are clad with thin trapezoidal slabs, glued on a metal support to obtain an effect similar to pleated paper. Ceramic surfaces have a long tradition of use at our latitudes: consider the brick façades in Italy or the ceramic claddings used in Spain, which are finding a new life through the use of new pigments and colour combinations. Two perfect examples are the project by MirallesTagliabue for the Santa Cate rina Market in Barcelona, and the use of pearlescent ceramic in the building envelope of the Music Hall in Algueña (2011), designed by Cor & Asociados, where the building is designed to disappear by blending into the surrounding context. Metal and glass can be used to pursue the same goal. Bent Façade, created by the designer Chris Kabel (Amsterdam, 2012), is a second skin that covers an existing building located in a city centre setting. The building envelope is clad with aluminium plate s th at we re perforated using a punch, and then powder coated to maintain a white colour that recalls the traditional paint use d in the co urtyard houses located along the city canals. The final re sult is a wrap that looks like a light veil, covering the entire building and acting as a sun shading system for the translucent parts. The “Q uattro C o rti B usine ss C e ntre ”, designed by Piuarch (2010), is situated in the ce ntre of St. Pe te rsb urg, ne ar the Ne vsky Prospekt and the Hermitage. Each courtyard of the building is characterised by a different colour, referencing those used in the residence of the Tsars: gold, emerald green, silver, and aquamarine. The façades of the courtyards feature transparent glass sheets with different inclinations, arranged in such a way as to create an impressive fragmentation of reflections on the mirrored surfaces: a tribute to the Hall of Mirrors in the Great Palace of Peterhof. Plastics and co mpo site mate rials can be use d to cre ate archite ctural e nve lope s with similar q ualitie s to tho se made o f glass o r metal. This was demonstrated in the past, for example , by Herzog & de Meuron with the Laban Centre in London (2003), in which they used coloured cellular polycarbonate façades, a technological solution successfully used by some designers also at our latitudes (Udine, B e rgamo , e tc.). C o rian® (a co mpo site material) is widely used in the construction of building façades. It allows the creation of white surfaces that are quite similar to those made using some stone materials, and can undergo 252 Sustainable Innovation for Smart City Architecture the same type s o f pro ce ssing. This is de monstrate d, for e xample , b y the Anansi Playground Building (Utrecht, 2009) designed by Mulders van den Berk Architecten: a white e nve lo pe in the mid d le o f a c hild re n’s playground whose surfaces are decorated with e ngrave d d rawings d e picting d if f e re nt f airytale s. Mo re o ve r, co mpo site s, such as pultrude d glass fib re , allow the continuous cladding of extremely large surfaces, such as the curve d line s o f the She rato n Milan Malpe nsa Airport Hote l, designe d by King Roselli (2010), that is perfectly integrated into the surro unding e nviro nme nt and into the airport complex. Te xtile s are no w wide ly use d in the construction of temporary pavilions and sports facilities, such as stadiums and arenas. Wellknown examples are the football stadium and the Bask e tb all Are na b uilt f o r the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Other examples are the travelling pavilion, designed by Zaha Hadid for Chanel, now located in the square in fro nt of the b uilding of the Arab Wo rld Institute in Paris, or the UN Studio’s Burnham Pavilion in Chicago. These are buildings that can be disassembled and moved quickly from one place to anothe r, thus minimising the ir environmental impact. As far as smart technologies are concerned, the pho to vo ltaic industry is a particularly interesting sector. The architectural integration of these technologies has been a hotly debated issue in the world of design for a very long time now. An undoubtedly excellent example is the RMIT De sign H ub in Me lb o urne (2012), designed by Sean Godsell Architects for the RMIT Unive rsity. It fe ature s a do ub le -skin façade system. The outer skin is a sun shading system, consisting of mobile discs made of fro ste d glass with inte grate d pho to vo ltaic technology. Some discs are fixed, while others are mobile and revolve around their axis. All the disc s are inte rc hange ab le with o the rs featuring PV technologies that provide higher pe rf o rmance . In this case , pho to vo ltaic technologies are integrated into the panels that make up the façade, thus almost concealing the cells that would otherwise be quite visually impactful. In other cases, probable deficiencies in the design process, as often happen in our suburbs, lead to the construction of entirely blue surfaces, also ve rtical ones, where PV mo dule s have a signif icant impact o n the appearance of façades, roofs, and sometimes even entire green areas. 3. Conclusions: feedback on landscape and quality of life The research very briefly outlined here requires further and more structured arguments that cannot be developed given the constraints of an academic article. Some might consider the results of the analysis carried out to be selfe vide nt. H o we ve r, co nsid e ring th at “the improvement of the environmental situation, i.e. of the quality of life, reduces or cancels the incide nce o f de viant b e haviours” (Wo rtle y, Mazerolle, 2008), and that our society seems to have a high rate o f psycho pathy (cf. G alimb e rti, wise so cie ty.it, 2011), it see ms useful to stress some of the basic concepts of architectural design in the urban context, which are so me time s calle d “aware ”. The improve ment of the quality of life in urban centres can certainly also be achieved through the co nstructio n o f a mo re harmo nio us landscape. The choice of some technological solutions, for example those not related to the spe cif ic lo cal c ulture as f ar as traditio nal materials are concerned (e.g. wooden buildings in urban lowland), seems to be directed more b y fashio n trends or the powe r o f certain eco nomic sectors, which promote a “gree n” image that is actually disconnected from the real context needs. The same observation can be made by analysing green walls, especially whe n the y f e ature suppo rt and fe rtigatio n systems involving the use of PVC panels and fe lt laye rs. In this re gard, the possibility of turning some urb an waste lands into gre e n spaces, perhaps by demolishing a few buildings of poor value rather than by recreating artificial situations of questionable durability, might be worth emphasising. In some cases, the use of smart technologies, such as photovoltaic ones, 253 ALESSANDRO PREMIER Osse rvatorio dell'agribusiness can produce a visual effect similar to cacophony in music, re sulting in c o nte xts with an “unaware” appearance. Examples of this are the PV roofs that can be seen in some historic centres or in rural areas, or projects where entire façades are clad with photovoltaic modules, lacking any k ind of de sign o f the surface pattern, and featuring standard cells with a stro ng and intrusive impact o n o ve rall appearance. Unfortunately, without culture, a specific analysis of the place, rese arch and development in design, experience in the technological field, or compliance with current and well-designed re gulations on landscape (Cf. Settis, 2010), improving the environmental quality of certain places in Italy would seem to be an impossible task. Sommario I materiali, i prodotti e le tecnologie “sostenibili” impiegate nell’architettura contemporanea condizionano fortemente l’aspetto dei nostri paesaggi. Basti pensare, ad esempio, alle tecnologie fotovoltaiche o a certe p ro po ste p ro ve nie nti d al mo nd o d e lla bioarchitettura. Molte di queste soluzioni, soprattutto quelle che riguardano l’involucro edilizio, sembrano dettate più da interessi economici contingenti che dalle reali esigenze dell’ambiente. Per questo motivo analisi specifiche sul loro reale impatto ambientale possono essere utili per compiere scelte progettuali più razionali, dettate da un approccio scientifico. La ricerca ha preso in partita una serie di analisi sull’intero ciclo di vita di materiali, tecnologie e prodotti contemporanei, secondo il principio “dalla culla alla tomba”. Tutto questo non è però sufficiente se non è supportato da un’adeguata conoscenza di questi materiali, prodotti e tecnologie. E soprattutto non è sufficiente se non è supportato da una profonda cultura della progettazione, da un’adeguata conoscenza del luogo e delle sue tradizioni. Acknowledgement Eterotopie – Research Centre – Colore, luce e comunicazione in architettura, Treviso, Italy Bibliography Blanc P. (2008). Le Mur Végétal: de la nature à la ville. Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex: Michel Lafon. Bertagnin M. (1999). Architetture di terra in Italia: tipologie e culture costruttive . Monfalcone: Edicom. Calvani V., Giardina A. (1979). Le vie della storia, vol. 2 . Bari: Laterza. Gasparini K. (2012). Schermi urb ani. Tecnologia e innovazione: nuovi sistemi per le facciate mediatiche. Milano: Wolters Kluwer Italia. Go ldstein M. C., Rosenb e rg M., Che ng L. (2012). “Increased oceanic microplastic debris enhan-ces oviposition in an endemic pelagic insect” in Biology Letters. Pub lished online 9 May 2012. doi: 10.1098/rsb l.2012.0298. Le Corbusier (1923). Verse une architecture . Paris: Cres. Manzini E. (1986). La materia dell’invenzione . Milano: Arcadia. Premier A., editor, (2014). Innovazione sostenibile per l’architettura. Materiali, tecno lo gie e pro do tti. Ve ro na: Knemesi. Settis S. (2010). Paesaggio, Costituzione, Cemento . Torino: Einaudi. Zennaro P. (2000). La qualità rarefatta. Considerazioni sull’influenza del vuoto nella costruzione dell’architettura. Milano: Franco Angeli. Wortley R.K., Mazerolle L. G. (2008). Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis. Milton: Willan. http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/canali/energiaeambiente/ clima/2013/11/15/Amazzonia-riprende-de fore stazioneselvaggia_9622854.html http://wise society.it/incontri/umberto-galimberti-la-nostra-societa-ad-alto-tasso-di-psicopatia-non-e-adatta-a-farefigli/ 254