Light Park

On November of 2011, humanity’s population peaked at 7 billion for the first time in recorded history, and the population still increases rapidly at a rate of 1.1% of the population per year. This over population has thrown major cities into chaos, problems regarding infrastructure, sewage, housing, public space are a constant problem with the population does not seem to stop growing. China holds approximately a seventh of the world’s population, thus their major cities have it rough in terms of population density, Beijing in particular is simply overflowing with people, traffic and pedestrians have a tough time getting around. In the past decade, China has become the country with the most skyscrapers in the world, and it isn’t tough to see why. With a high population density and scarce free space, it is only logical to build upwards instead of spread out. Thus projects like the Sky City are being proposed to conserve space and lower the population on the streets. Architects Ting Xu and Yiming Chen however, seem to have a different idea. There has always been overlooked space, space that no one considers… the sky! These architects clearly take the expression “the sky is the limit” pretty seriously. One way to provide extra land to an area with no land is to create a floating land, or other words, as the architects like to call it: The Light Park, the floating city! [2][4]

The Light Park is a brilliant proposal that not only brings space and comfort, but reduces ground population AND is a completely self-sustainable city that does not require any fossil fuels to run, making it a green choice for developers.

“Light Park is designed to provide infrastructure, housing, and commercial and recreational spaces that are free from Beijing’s traffic congestion and air pollution. It is presented as a utopian city that leaves the over-populated, smog-choked city behind and seeks to start from scratch. The mushroom cap-like structure takes the future of urban development to the sky, offering Beijing’s residents a chance to escape the crowded city.” [2]

The city’s design is very similar to the PH-Conditioner Jellyfish article I talked about earlier, and works via the same mechanisms. The ‘Head’ mushroom-cap happens to be a helium balloon that gives the structure enough buoyancy to float given its weight. Translucent solar panels line the top of the vessel allowing for clean self-sustainable energy that will be used in propulsion. The head’s surface also allows water vapour and rain to enter the first layer, where is it then directed towards precipitation filters that in return offer clean water for the residents.

The ‘skyscraper’s’ floors tilt and different angles in order to maximize sunlight onto each platform, it also helps balance out the weight of the structure into a spiral, resulting into a center of mass that happens to be at the center of the structure instead of a side. These platforms are supported via reinforced steel cables that are suspended from the head.

“In order to avoid additional weight and decrease wind resistance, the skyscraper uses a cable-suspended structure to attach the slabs to the mushroom-like cap. The planting slabs are irrigated with rainwater collected on the large cap surface and are distributed in a way which allows maximum exposure to sunlight on each level.” [2]

The bottom features multiple solar-powered propellers that help levitate and balance the structure.

“Though it doesn’t completely solve Beijing’s serious traffic and overpopulation problems, the Light Park can return valuable green space to the public, and also help mitigate the pollution that comes with increased development – with parks and plants floating in the sky above the city, the air is partially cleaned.” [1]

The Design however, remains very dangerous and impractical in my opinion. If this were Sky City you would still be able to exit the city and leave, for Light Park you can’t really leave the city since it’s in the airborne. I doubt that public services on board the Park can actually hire top notch professionals for their hospitals and schools due to the inconvenience it poses to the professionals this then causes problems for the residents who are going through a health problem for example. And again, like the PH conditioner, say the structure lost power / sunlight, caught fire, or something would happen to the ‘balloon’, the damage would be catastrophic given its floating above Beijing!

All-in-all, the concept can be developed even further into something more reliable and safe, perhaps incorporating safe-design techniques such as emergency landing preparations or ‘stations’ for the city. Nevertheless it is the imagination and ambition of humanity that can actually make a change a solve problems in our current communities.

[1] – http://www.evolo.us/competition/light-park-floating-skyscraper/

[2] – http://inhabitat.com/floating-light-park-skyscraper-uses-solar-power-and-helium-to-float-above-pollution-choked-beijing/light-park-floating-skyscraper-ting-xuyiming-chen-1/

[3] – http://www.scoop.it/t/emotional-branding

[4] – http://www.arch2o.com/light-park-floating-skyscraper-ting-xu-yiming-chen/#prettyPhoto

    The VolcanElectric Mask

Volcanoes have always been fascinating to view as they are always associated with the most beautiful of scenery, at the same time, they have also been the source of some of the most catastrophic disasters in history. An example would be Pompeii’s devastating eruption that managed to spread ash all over across the globe. Due to a volcano’s wild nature, ambitious designers Jing Hao, Zhanou Zhang, and Xingue proposed a ground breaking concept that could not only save millions of lives, but generate loads of renewable energy simultaneously! In other words, they are proposing a form of very efficient, self-sustainable, renewable energy; Volcan-Electric energy!

The VolcanElectric Mask is a ‘skyscraper’ dome-like structure that could be built over an active volcano and acts as a shield. During eruptions it has the ability to collect the tephra and waste binding all the pyroclastic materials back into the volcano during eruptions. While the volcano is calm, it can harness the volcano’s heat to provide clean electric power to villages and cities nearby. [1][2][4]

For this particular design, the designers have chosen the Popocatepetl Volcano in Mexico, being one of the most active volcanoes in the world; the design will be very efficient in practice. The structure includes a co-generation plant that generates and distributes the electricity, research facilities and tourist attractions. [2]

Once again, Bio-Mimicry Design helps save the day! This design was influenced and polished by the human’s nervous system. The dome consists of multiple layers, or ‘skin’. The skin is composed of many separate units, each unit is a screw-like tentacle that can burrow itself into the volcano to monitor temperatures and predict eruptions, similar to that of a nervous system. It also creates ‘Dry ice’ by absorbing the CO2 emitted. When there is no activity in the volcano, the skin absorbs rainwater and stores it in the tentacles, the tentacles open their ‘pores’ during that time, and these ‘pores’ are used to create steam by allowing the rain water to come into contact with the volcanic heat , the steam is then used to turn turbines which in return produce electricity. During this time, sightseeing and tourism is open for the public. [1][2][4]

If and eruption gets detected, the dome automatically closes the ‘ceiling’ door thus denying any debris or tephra from escaping. During an eruption, the tentacles line themselves with the Dry ice they had previously created in order to protect themselves from melting away in the heat of the flying lava. Once the eruption has calmed down, the ceiling opens once again, the tephra is collected and is shipped off for use in industrial processes. Having such protection from a volcanic eruption permits researchers to be close to the volcano and study the eruption while remaining safe. [1][2][4]

“Research facilities within the dome provide a close up view of the volcano in action and help scientists improve prediction and energy generation through geothermal and volcanic activity.” [2]

The concept is certainly implementable though it could take a while to create profit to compensate for its price. Its main advantage is the ability to harness geothermal energy while causing zero impact to the volcano’s ecosystem since everything is theoretically floating.

Though it seems like a flawless idea it made me wonder where the support will beams stand. Is it really possible that a dome of that immense size will stand by only supporting the edges? Also, another problem that construction might encounter is an eruption in the midst of construction. It will cost too much to repair and rebuild a structure that was never completed. Nevertheless, this is concept holds colossal potential for self-sustainable renewable energy.

[1] – http://www.evolo.us/competition/volcano-skyscraper-harnesses-clean-energy-from-active-volcanoes/

[2] – http://inhabitat.com/volcano-mask-protects-cities-from-eruptions-and-generates-electricity-from-lava/

[3] – http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2013/03/17/volcanelectric-mask-volcano-energy/#.Uv_4svldV1Y

[4] – http://www.dailyenmoveme.com/en/renewable/renewable-energy-will-be-produced-volcanoes

    PH Conditioner Jellyfish!

Pollution is one of the leading obstacles that mankind is tackling. Ever since the industrial revolution in the 18^th century, pollution percentages have been increasing exponentially. This industrial outbreak has brought all sorts of harm to the atmosphere including damage to the ozone layer, reducing oxygen to carbon ratios, and moreover has caused Acid Deposition. [5] Also, given our growing population, demand for fossil fuels continues to increase by the day, and the burning of these fuels does not seem to stop. With this acidity in the atmosphere, the PH of air is lowering gradually.

“Produced by the fossil fuel used in abundance, as well as the heavy traffic and industrial production, the SO2&NOx drives the PH value of atmosphere under 5.6. Gradually precipitating to the surface of the earth, these acidic materials have caused great harm to plant, architecture and human beings.” [5]

One of the most severely damaged areas of this epidemic is China, region of Chongqing. [5] To Counteract the Acidity problem, Chinese designers Hao Tian, Shi Jianwei, and Huang Haiyang designed and proposed the wild concept of acid-purifying floating ‘skyscrapers’. The aim of the project is to devise a mechanism that gently manages to clear out the acid and pollutants from the atmosphere while producing zero emissions in the process. This is where the PH Conditioner Jellyfish (or Skyscraper) comes into play. [2]

The Jellyfish are envisioned to float in the air by storing a massive bubble of H2 gas in the ‘head’ or more professionally called, the Aerocyst, of the body. Hydrogen’s natural lightness as a gas provides buoyancy to the structure and will cause it to travel up to altitudes of 700m – 1000m where acidic pollutants generally gather. The intricate design is a little difficult to understand at first, but to put it simply, the head is composed of porous membranes that are attached to air bags, these manage to absorb the acidic fog, collect them, and then lead them to a ‘core purifier’ where it is neutralized. The neutralization process causes the acidic pollutants to become water and ammonium salt (a fertilizer). [4][5]

“The porous membrane attached to the air bags can absorb the acidic materials, like acid fog, collect and put them into core purifier where neutralization takes place with alkaline substance produced by nitrogen-fixing microorganism via biological action, which is stored in the purifier center.” [2]

Attached to the ‘head’ is an array of floating gardens, the gardens extend downwards into tentacle-like vines. The water and salt produced in the process of neutralization is fed to the plants, which in return, produce oxygen at high altitudes. Unused resources filter into storage units and become reclaimed resources that can be harvested by the jelly-fish care-takers. [4][2]

While looking completely sci-fi and unrealistic, the science behind the concept makes perfect sense and the design incorporates the job pretty well, this is an excellent example of animal influenced design, or Bio-Mimicry. Not only does it solve a global issue effortlessly, but it also looks appealing and good looking doing it! Though it might be quite odd watching a floating jellyfish casually fly over your city, the idea is nevertheless intriguing. The only concern perhaps, is the fact that Hydrogen is flammable, If anything were to happen and ignite the gas in any way, it would be a disaster having a flaming ball of gas and gardens fall right in the middle of the city.

If this project comes to life it will be recognized as a pioneer in green-design and an urban landmark of the time where the air is clean! Though the designers have created the concept with Chongqing in mind, the concept would be adaptable in all areas of the world and can easily have a wider application. Perhaps we won’t be seeing such designs come to life anytime soon due to all the investments and long-term calculations associated with it… or will we? [1]

[1] – http://greenspyke.com/2013/04/06/flying-jellyfish-alien-like-ph-conditioner-skyscraper-would-keep-the-air-clean-acid-free/

[2] – http://www.evolo.us/competition/ph-conditioner-skyscraper/

[3] – http://www.dvice.com/2013-3-15/alien-jellyfish-invasion-actually-pollution-busting-concept

[4] – http://www.designboom.com/architecture/floating-pollution-fighting-skyscrapers-look-like-massive-robotic-jellyfish/

[5] – http://archilibs.com/ph-conditioner-skyscraper-tian-haiyang-and-jianwei/

   The Mantis Hexapod

In this world of rapidly evolving technology, new machinery and equipment and built on a daily basis, the rate is so fast that most people don’t realize that certain technological wonders have already been built! Like the bionic eye for example, there are still a vast majority of the public who don’t know of its existence or its utility in restoring eyesight! Likewise robots with ligaments have been under development for a few years now called ‘Animatronics’ ; they feature creations such as the military robotic jellyfish, the Boston Dynamic’s ‘Big Dog’, and robot ‘moles’ that drill themselves into the ground for military purposes. With this peak of Animatronic advancements, Matt Denton, Micromagic Systems, has been working gradually over the past three “intense”[4] years to design and construct a robot with legs capable of carrying a human passenger. As a result, his creation became the very first, all-terrain, operational Hexapod in the world!

The robot is almost 3 meter high (9.18 ft.) and weighs a chunky 1,900 kg, almost two tons. It is powered by a 2.2 liter diesel engine which isn’t particularly the ‘greenest’ choice for nature, but given it is a new technology, it could still be improved even further to reduce or even eliminate emissions. The Hexapod uses 6 multiple-hydraulics-powered legs to move around. The body is outfitted with a spectrum of sensors in order to detect the terrain’s measurements to make better choices in leg placement. The Sensors also allow the machine to calibrate its body’s height from the ground by automatically leveling itself for the pilot’s convenience. [1][2]

If it still doesn’t sound impressive, then check this out, the Hexapod can be controlled from the passenger seat, but it can also be controlled remotely using Wi-Fi! This allows the robot to gain access to life-threatening terrain and freely move about while the controller is overlooking it from a safe distance with no risk to his life. The Machine is also able to manipulate external objects by balancing on 5 legs and using the 6^th to push or pull objects. An impressive design feature of the Hexapod is its compact ability; while it looks large when it is ‘alive’ or in use, it could pack itself onto the back of a trailer with space to spare by ‘packing its legs’; inspired by its animal counterpart when it dies, it draws all legs closer to its body and closes (360’) all its ligaments. The body is also capable of intricate movements such as pitch, roll, yaw, sway, surge and heave. [4]

The creator, Matt Denton says: “Seeing the imposing images of an AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) walking across a snowscape really got me fascinated with the concept of using legged locomotion on vehicles.” [3]

The Project has already cost Matt Denton “Hundreds of thousands of pounds” [3] but he believes there is still plenty of room for improvements. The Hydraulic power can become lighter and more efficient while still sustaining the stress weight of the passenger and the body. The engine could become more “modern” [3] by releasing less emissions. It could also benefit from more leg ‘freedom’; the current angle the legs can walk at is 18’. The top speed, which happens to be 1kph, could be increased.

Denton says: “Yes, pretty slow, however, I have capacity to go faster; we just have some engineering issues to overcome first. To give you some idea of how inefficient walking is though, when we are cruising at 1kph, we are averaging 25kw of power! ” But, he adds, “I’m pretty sure we could double or triple the speed. One thing to bear in mind, when the body is travelling at 1kph, the leg speed during a step is about 4 to 5 kph, each leg weighs about 130kg, so you are constantly accelerating and decelerating 390kg (3 x 130kg) of mass. Now at 2kph you need to double the step speed, so you can see where the problem is… weight!” [4]

Regardless of the design’s young age, the Hexapod has been called “an instant design classic and an inspiring engineering project for the next generation” [2]

As original as it sounds this isn’t the only hexapod being built, a team from Massachusetts happens be working on ‘Stompy’; a hexapod of similar size.[1]

Though this project is still in its early stages and does not yet have any ultimate purpose aside technological advancement, I see great potential in the practice of the hexapod in the world of engineering. For starters, it is able to manipulate 6 legs, but say for example a future prototype will be able to manipulate 8, 2 as arms and 6 for structural stability, this way you can have a glorious machine capable of moving around in construction fields of all terrain and at the same time, have the ability to mine, drill, dig, given its extra ligaments. A great example would be a mountain terrain project merged with a drilling task, most of the current machines will need time to be able to climb / descend given their tank-like movement mechanism or large thick tires. Another potential I see is its capability to become a mobile-machine carrier. For example, say there is a drilling machine too heavy or large to be accommodated on a hexapod, instead, you could have the hexapod act as a truck. It will be able to move engineering materials on rough terrain land in places where construction cranes cannot be deployed. Though my vision is a bit farfetched, Animatronic engineering construction just might be the future!

[1] – http://www.gizmag.com/mantis-hexapod-robot/26891/

[2] – http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2310411/Beware-Mantis-Giant-legged-terrain-robotic-creature-revealed.html

[3] – http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/19/tech/mantis-robot-monster/

[4] – http://linuxgizmos.com/mantis-hexapod-robot-embedded-linux-computer/

[5] – http://www.micromagicsystems.com/

      Japan’s underground parking – Eco Cycle

With Japan’s ever increasing population, particularly in Tokyo, where the population has reached 13 million, space is becoming progressively scarcer. Tokyo has developed a certain kind of ‘modern culture’ whereas everyone tends to walk to their job and/or rely on public transport rather than commuting with a car. This is due to the immense population density and has in return thrown Tokyo’s streets into a chaos of horrible traffic. Consequently, people have moved to a more compact, and hastier form of travel; bikes. Though it posed no problems at first, more and more people began using bikes which eventually led to a bike-parking epidemic throughout the city. With bikes locked onto lamps, rails, shops and staircases the scenery has been tarnished with bikes in practically every corner of your eye.

While bikes are very practical to use and emit zero emissions, “they are in use just 3-5% of their life time” [1] and parked the other 95% of the time, considering the scarcity of space in Tokyo, there really is no room for them on the streets when they are not in use.

As a result, a Japanese firm, Giken, has revolutionized bike parking and space saving through the invention of the Eco-Cycle Storage units.

Eco Park is an automated underground parking mechanism that parks bikes underground compactly when not in use with the design concept of “Culture Aboveground, Function Underground”. [1]

“the project is engineered as individual cylindrical shaped structures measuring 8.5m x 11.6m below the street surface, where a mechanically operated carrier lifts and organizes bikes into any of the open 204 stalls. the design utilizes a staggered arrangement with loading pallets that maximize the amount of storage with a minimal spatial footprint.” [2]

In order to Park your bike in one of these parking units, you have to purchase a monthly membership with Giken through their website. You are then given an ID card and a small chip to attach to your bike. When parking, The Eco Unit ‘bites’ the front wheel of the bike then pulls it backwards into the machine and closes the door. An elevator then lowers the bike up to 15m underground, the elevator then tilts at one of 360’ and pushes the bike into a supported parking rail that will contain the bike until it is needed. When the bike is to be retrieved all that is needed is a simple swipe of the ID card and the bike is retrieved.

The design satisfies a door-to-door parking concept which is not practical on the surface, it solves the parking problem effectively and helps maintain a very ‘clean and neat’ scenery on the street. Space-saving also leads to more benefits, such as car drivers and public transports arriving faster to their destinations, and pedestrians given more ‘walk-space’.

The design also happens to be earthquake proof and flood proof in order to avoid common disasters that arise in Japan.

Though the concept and the implementation have been excellent in cleaning up the ‘clutter and mess’ from the pavements, not to mention thievery of bikes, there is still skepticism arising on whether or not there is any good developmental space under the walkways of Tokyo given the underground walkways and subways.

[1] – http://www.giken.com/en/developments/eco_park/

[2] – http://www.designboom.com/technology/giken-automatic-underground-bike-parking-system/

[3] – http://www.giken.com/en/developments/eco_cycle/

[4] – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/in-pictures-inside-tokyos-eco-cycle-underground-bicycle-parking-system-8981243.html

  Sky City

Just when you think the world has had enough of ground-breaking announcements and rapid changes, a Chinese construction company decides to announce an ambitious project of constructing a record-breaking skyscraper in a mere 90 days!

A Chinese firm, Broad Group, has stated that they plan to construct the world’s tallest skyscraper in only 90 days and have already begun the preparations. The skyscraper is to be named Sky City, and if it goes as planned, the structure will stand at 838 meters above ground defeating the previous competitive world-record holder, Burj Khalifa, by only 10 meters. The project’s ‘secret’ is prefabrication of the structure. For four months they will mold all the floors and walls in their specialized factory. It will then be assembled within 3 months by professional workers. The company has proven this technique to be effective when they constructed a 30 floor building in only 15 days

The Building’s Design holds certain similarities to its competitive counterpart, the Burj Khalifa. As the building arises the surface area gradually decreases in order to lower the impact of wind on the building. However, while Khalifa featured ‘decks’ every few floors, the sky city will feature an outdoor park to increase the ‘eco-friendliness’ of the scraper.

The main idea behind the Sky City is to preserve space and become more resilient and self-sustaining. China suffers over-population issues and over-consumption of goods (such as fuel, which in return pollute more rapidly) thus the development of this project is mainly to preserve land while accommodating approximately 18,000 citizens AND removing more cars off the roads to reduce the population and pollution.

Zhang Yue, CEO, Broad Sustainable Building, states: “Some say that it‘s sensationalism to construct such a tall building. That’s not so. Land shortages are already a grave problem. There’s also the very serious transportation issue. We must bring cities together and stretch for the sky in order to save cities and save the Earth” [1]

According to CNN and GIZMAG, The Sky City will have 220 stories (aprox. 10,800,000sq ft) of useable space connected by 104 high speed elevators. Being a ‘City’ it will contain all the typical public properties used in a typical city and this includes:

“A hotel accommodating 1000 guests, a hospital, 5 schools, and offices. Of the total space available, nearly 83% will be for residential purposes, housing up to 17,000 people. 5% will be for the hotel housing 1000, while 3% each will be dedicated to schools, hospitals, offices and shops. There will be 10 fire escape routes, which will evacuate everybody in a given floor within 15 minutes; the building will be fire-resistant for up to three hours. It will also have 17 helipads. Sport facilities will include 6 basketball courts, 10 tennis courts. Plans include preserving some green space around the building.” [2]

Surprisingly, the tower will only use a fifth of the energy typically used by a structure of such size, this will be due to the ‘Sustainable’ design approach that the broad group has developed. These developments feature 15cm thick exterior walls and quadruple glazing on windows to minimize heat taken and insulate the building as much as possible, which in return lowered the need and use of Air conditioning. Indoor Air is also filtered to be made 20 times cleaner than the external weather which happens to be heavily polluted. Building lights also use LEDs in order to preserve energy. These are all ‘small’ changes to make the building more sustainable, externally speaking; the building is rumored to be tilted at such an angle on land to minimize wind influence on the colossal structure.

The benefits of the structure are reflected in its powerful earthquake resistance, energy sustaining, cleanness, durability, and price. Resources used in the project are ‘well-managed’ due to the structure theoretically being built in a factory, thus excess product and waste could be simply recycled in the very same factory. The project will consume 270,000 tons of steel and will cost almost a third of the price of Burj Khalifa, US$ 628 Million. Pretty cheap compared to the ‘smaller’ Burj Khalifa of $1.5 Billion.

While this project sounds very promising a few issues have been raised regarding it. For starters, the project is under the public’s skepticism, it seems a little preposterous to construct such a thing in only 3 month. Engineers also seem to be criticizing the ‘wind factor’ since the ‘squared’ shape of the structure doesn’t exactly reduce wind load like say, the Shanghai tower for example. Thus theories have been going around that the building would sway uncontrollably due to this. Another problem presented by critics was the tower’s ability to handle fires and emergencies, being an entire city; it would be an extremely tough task to evacuate it in case of a fire. Another problem would be an elevator that travels almost a kilometer; critics have said that it is impractical for use. And lastly, the social issue of containing an entire city in one building seems overwhelming; people would still have to leave the structure occasionally for multiple reasons defeating the projects purpose: To make a city that no one has to leave.

Due to all these claims and problems the project has been put on hold by the government to investigate them further. Zhang replies to this with:

“It’s because of all the concern in the media and on the Internet, the government is a little wary and has slowed down the process,” [3]

Broad seems keen to see this project come to an end and have plans to construct yet another Sky City named Sky City 2, which will go up to 1008m over ground.

[1] – http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/another-world-s-tallest-now-2-km-high-tower-is-coming-up-2012-07-05-1.465898

[2] – http://www.gizmag.com/broad-sky-city-one/22983/

[3] – http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/24/travel/sky-city-breaks-ground

[4] – http://en.broad.com/uploads/pdf/tkcswsm201307.pdf

[5] – http://www.businessinsider.com/why-chinas-sky-city-one-is-a-bad-idea-2012-11

[6] – http://www.designmena.com/thoughts/engineer-retire-china-achieves-superquick-tower

The Himalayas water towers

The Himalayas; the greatest mountain range in the world, with the highest concentration of glaciers and ice peaks exterior to the polar regions, these peaks hold the gift of life for billions of people; water. Lakes and rivers form due to melting ice and flow at the base of the Himalayas, distributing fresh, pure water to villages, towns and countries around the expanse. For thousands of years the water cycle has been in full function without any resistance or problems, however, with the industrial revolution all sorts of issues began arising all around the world. One of these issues is global warming. Though global warming has not had a significant impact on humans yet, it has impacted human resources and the landscape worldwide. For generations multiple towns and villages have been using what natural resources and water they were blessed with from the Himalayas, but with global warming put into the equation, the ice in the Himalayas is melting at an accelerated rate. It is only a matter of time before the rate of melting outweighs the rate of freezing, causing the Himalayas to be lost as a valuable source of natural water as well as causing natural disasters such as floods in these villages due to the excess water output.

To find a solution to conserving the water and avoiding disasters three Chinese designers came up with a concept called the Himalayas water towers. These towers are designed to collect water from rain seasons and store them in vertical cylinders until they are needed, this way it can moderate water sources and partially prevent the Himalayas meltdown. Once needed, the frozen water is melted and sent down the tower into the roots for transportation, the needs of this water will depend on the demands of the cities and villages nearby. The towers are to be established close to the peaks of the mountains and the structure can be produced on mass to store as much water as possible. This concept took top prize in the eVolo skyscraper competition.

“The designers, Zhi Zheng, Hongchuan Zhao, Dongbai Song, say the skyscraper will collect water in the rainy season, purify it, freeze it into ice and store it for future use.”(3)

“At the bottom of the structure, surrounding the six intertwined water tubes is a transport system that regulates fresh water distribution to the towns and cities below. The curving channels connect the mountains to the villages, and are also hold within them a railway for the transport of people and goods,” (3)

The design is something taken out of a sci-fi movie; it is very intricate and futuristic but at the same time very graceful and contained. The structure divides into three main sections, the upper-section, core, and bottom section as well as an underground transportation system.

The core is mainly four wide cylinders that support the upper partition’s storage facilities, and concurrently hosts systems that purify, freeze, and even melt the collected water.

“Four massive cores support steel cylindrical frames that, like the stems below, hold levels that radiate out, creating four steel tubes filled with ice.”(4)

These systems are concealed within an ergonomically shaped center that is angled in a way that minimizes snow settling down on it. The upper section consists of four different length cylinders that store the water; multiple layers of reinforced temperature-resistant glass and steel are needed to withstand the unusual weight of the stored water. The cluster of ‘cylinders’ hold water at temperatures varying between -15’c to 0’c, at the core the temperature is 0’ and as you go down the structure, the temperature increases up to 15’c.

The lower partition is perhaps the awkward part of the design. From the center, a massive stem consisting of six twisting legs holds the structure up; the legs continue beneath the ground and become part of an underground root system. The legs are covered in cells that collect and transport the rainwater similar to that of a plant’s roots.

“Like the stem of a plant, these pipes grow strong as they absorb their maximum water capacity. In each of the six stems, a core tube is flanked by levels and levels of cells, which hold the water.” (4)

The channels underground are used to regulate dispersal and transport the water underground to the towns, another interesting feature about these channels is their capability of including a railway. This opens up a possibility of a ‘metro’ in the harsh environment, which can conveniently carry people and goods throughout the region while minimizing causalities and injuries due to the cold.

The structure overall is built to be as ‘curvy’ as possible, this way it is able to resist the wind and minimize the wind load, consequently lowering the amount of material required to build the structure.

As interesting as this proposal sounds, it is questionable if it will actually be implemented. Building such structures in the center of extremely treacherous conditions is exceptionally expensive and the work-force will be suffering in endeavor to build it. But it remains a very influential concept capable of gaining presence, perhaps in the far future.

References:

http://inhabitat.com/water-storing-himalaya-towers-take-first-place-in-2012-evolo-skyscraper-competition/ (1)

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130122-himalayas-water-towers-of-asia (2)

http://www.tgdaily.com/sustainability-features/62131-himalayan-water-towers-to-solve-global-water-crisis (3)

http://www.evolo.us/competition/himalaya-water-tower/ (4)

The Looxcie vs Google Glasses

We live in the twenty first generation and life is all about communication and media now, this is an unarguable truth, every average being possesses an account to a social media, whether it is Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, or even BBM. Everyone wants to share their life and experiences with their friends, family, and possibly the world! While the majority of people are still posting their pictures and uploading their videos to share their experiences with the world, two innovative companies have advanced their game and gave a new definition to ‘sharing your experience’, instead of a static photo or video, why not share your very precise second and have someone else experience it with you simultaneously?

That thought was definitely on the minds of developers working at Looxcie and Google because both of them have achieved just that and got ahead in the social sharing ‘rivalry’. However, only one of them can be the best in providing a friendly user interface for the user while offering the highest quality service in terms of design and utility. So which is better?

The Looxcie is a Small extreme definition camera that is more or less a cuboid with curved edges, the company sells many accessories that simply snatch on to the Looxcie and preform its respective purpose, examples of the accessories includes earphone adapters, latches to stick to a helmet, a shoulder guard with the camera attached on it, parts that hold your Looxcie making it a car’s head-cam, etc… Ultimately the Looxcie’s purpose is to latch on to absolutely anything and record the experience. Using is with the smartphone app enhances the experience, you are able to use the app and alert a partner of your initiation of an activity, and they will simply follow your message and spectate you live. With a Looxcie you can also record the experience directly into cloud so that at a later given time you will be able to edit and cut and post it on a social site.

But at the end of the day, it remains a simple cuboid yet sustaining a sense of elegance, the finishing on the product was perfected. Its simplicity is what permits it to be manipulated and adapted to other ‘holders’ and that is a big bonus for the user. The user will be able to wear the Looxcie is whatever preferable way; a business man could stick it in his ear as an earphone to look stylish and professional while remaining on social connections. A Biker could stick it to his helmet since he wants the Looxcie for its utility not looks. A dancer could attach it so some part of their body that does not interfere with their dancing and such. There are even adaptations to allow it to picture underwater experiences! However, the Looxcie’s durability is questionable, it’s small figure and shape makes it look very fragile but there are versions of this Looxcie that make it a “rugged”(2) durable cam. “The Explore features a much more solid build quality, built with rubber, durable plastic and what looks like some form of metal (but is probably plastic, as well)”(2) “Everything feels very sturdy and in place. I never felt like it was going to break on me or like I was being overly rough with it.”(2) In terms of safety, it’s difficult to imagine a situation in which the Looxcie could bring any harm or injury since it is so lightweight.  The Looxcie has no internal memory but there is an external memory slot for convenience of active users.  The battery life is 1.5-2 continuous hours of footage, which is not very pleasant to hear. Looxcie’s price is 200$-250$.

What about Google glass then? Google class is an interactive set of glasses you wear. It could be thought of as an alternative to smartphones minus the applications. It responds to “ok glass, (Command)” hence it is possible to activate recording and other Glass features by simply talking. The glasses themselves look very futuristic which could be a good thing and a bad thing together; it is arguable whether its design looks sensible to wear in our generation. Some might call it amazing and innovative, while others might say they look like something out of a sci-fi movie, and would be embarrassed to wear one. Perhaps if it was more commonly used people wouldn’t feel so bad about it and start using it (thus causing a worldwide revolution in the way we live!)

Design wise the glasses look like a state-of-art creation.  A top rim that holds everything together made of malleable material and is resistant to breaking, the rim attaches to a cutting-edge gadget on the right side; A Cuboid extending from the eye till the ear, everything that runs the glass is stored here and is elegantly presented without all the complication bursting outside. “it’s rather simple” (3). This ‘cuboid’ is a full touch pad. From its tip the glass itself is seen as well as a miniature camera attached relatively close to it. The microphone is hidden somewhere in this ‘cuboid’. Aesthetically the Google Glass appeals to most people (newer generation to be more specific). No one has reviewed the design as flawed or ugly, rather, reviewers enjoy the experience but feel uncomfortable getting “Looks” (4) from people since it looks out of place. In terms of utility for sport-men it might be an issue as the glass might slide off the users face and fall off, though the design is durable, the ‘cuboid’ might not be. Any damage taken at that point will cause the glasses to malfunction.

With respect to the ‘recording life’ aspect, Google Glass seems to have an issue with the video recording, video recordings cannot exceed a certain limit so it will be unable to record for long durations as opposed to the Looxcie. Nevertheless, the Glass maintains a longer battery life than the Looxcie, the question now remains, which is better at recording life experiences?

The answer is Looxcie! Its simple design enables it to adapt to many different situations as well as record extreme High quality videos while streaming them at the same time! The Glass is only capable of a limited time of streaming and it has a certain fixed shape and place, your face, it cannot be worn anywhere else. Another reason Looxcie wins is its aesthetics; even though it lacks the sophisticated-yet-simple look of the Google Glass its simple design looks consistent with our current generation trends, or in other words, it does not look out-of-place to wear. Surely it lacks the battery time but it is also dramatically more affordable than the Google Glass. Plus, there is a sense of insecurity in the presence of a Google Glass, it is unknown by the people what the user could possibly be doing with the Glass while looking at them, meanwhile the Looxcie usually looks disguised in some way and at most times people don’t realize it’s actually a camera till they take a closer look, even then it’s unknown If the camera is on or off but the sense of insecurity is a absent.

Perhaps in the future the Google Glass will take lead by becoming more affordable to everyone, but until then, the Looxcie will be the pioneer of recording live experiences.

References:

http://www.looxcie.com/products/cams/ (1)

http://phandroid.com/2013/05/14/looxcie-hd-review/ (2)

http://www.google.com/glass/start/what-it-does/ (3)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2409512/Google-Glass-review-John-Humphrys-Just-Id-got-grips-smart-phone-.html (4)

ERO – CONCRETE RECYCLING ROBOT!

Demolition is a very chaotic business which involves using heavy-weight machinery and TNT to demolish the structure almost instantly, releasing a colossal amount of harmful dust into the air, usually in cities, which is very serious issue as it harms the pedestrians and at times the workers themselves. It similarly leaves behind residual material such and concrete, steel, tiles, and iron framework. The process involves using a lot of energy and releasing a lot of CO2, and leaving behind tons of waste that is sent directly to landfills. Who has the time to go through such a mess in attempt to salvage recyclable material to be reused when you could save your time and simply go buy more material for cheaper?

A student from Sweden’s Umea Institute of Design, Omer Haciomeroglu, came up with a revolutionary concept. The ERO Concrete recycling robot! The idea put forth got gold place in the IDSA IDEA Design competition. The concept was released in July 2013, subsequently, there has been no real-time use of the product since the concept was only released very recently but chances are, the product use will be implemented on a large scale within the coming years.

So what is this robot exactly? And why is it so ground-breaking? Well, imagine disassembling a whole building without leaving a single trace of its existence. It sounds too good to be true however it is possible! Thus I introduce the ERO Concrete recycling robot:

The ERO Concrete recycling robot is capable of efficiently disassembling entire buildings (concrete structures specifically) without leaving any residue or material behind. The robot is placed near the to-be-removed structure and it strategically creates an optimal route to break down the entire building. It begins by cracking the concrete walls with high-pressure jets, the arm design elegantly fits the jets and the suction tube together in one part, this way the machine is extracting all the concrete that is being broken, shooting water jets, and at the same time reabsorbing the water. All the absorbed materials are then filtered through the machine’s complex interior. The water is recycled and the concrete is filtered from dust and packed on the spot into bags prepared for re-processing and reforming at the factory. What remains is the iron framework and windows which are manually disassembled by the construction team and sent off to factories for reprocessing or immediately available for reuse!

Generally the rubble from demolitions had to be thrashed by pulverizes then sent to plants for packaging and reforming. “In order to overcome later separation and ease the transport of materials,” writes Haciomeroglu, “the process had to start with separation on the spot. It was a challenge to switch from brutal pulverizing to smart deconstruction.” (1)

Not only is the utility of such a concept remarkable but its design is magnificent! The entire product is nothing but a small mobile machine that can become compact and be stored effortlessly. The design features an extendable three-pivot-arm which consists of a ‘forearm’, ‘arm’ and a ‘hand’. Having such a similar idea of the human arm, it is able to extend, compress, sweep and is capable of doing every human arm action in terms of extensions and pivoting but without the human limits.

The body itself is conveniently designed to store only the engine inside it and nothing else, the engine is connected to the arm (source) and a pipe that extends to the trucks where all the concrete is stored. Finally the ‘legs’ are possibly the most noticeable part of the design, they consist of several balls that are aligned along a rod and covered with tank-like interlocking shells. The shells are used to keep construction debris / equipment out of its movement system and similarly to a tank it is able to move on any terrain without harming the machine. The legs also have a pivot point which allows the robot to raise its-self upwards or lower itself depending on the situation. Also its ability to draw its legs in makes it a very portable product when it is trying to pass through hallways and doors, easing the process for the construction workers.

Nothing is known of the materials or prices yet since it remains a concept but such a design has solved many of the issues that the current demolishing procedures retain. The only negative outcome perhaps of using this method of disassembly would be the time consumed for the process to be completed. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages thus it only makes sense for this concept to be depicted into reality within the soon future.

References:

http://www.core77.com/blog/idsa/2013_idsa_idea_winners_our_gold_faves_omer_haciomeroglus_ero_concrete_recycling_robot_25186.asp (1)

http://inhabitat.com/amazing-ero-concrete-recycling-robot-can-erase-entire-buildings/ (2)

http://www.architizer.com/blog/ero-concrete-recycling-robot/ (3)

http://www.core77designawards.com/2013/recipients/ero-concrete-recycling-robot/ Picture Source

http://www.yankodesign.com/2013/08/06/this-robot-sucks/ Picture Source