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egray
Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Posts: 6
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 Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 2:43 am Post subject: Feedback request for our Eco House |
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International Architects Diseño Earle's Eco House
We've just completed the designs for and are soon to be constructing our first eco-house. We believe the design to be the first of it's kind in southern Spain and we would love some feedback on the design. Construction begins this year and should completed by mid-2009.
We have previously designed an eco-tower and use passive cooling techniques in all of our large-scale projects but this is our first residential eco project. Given the size of the villa (it's 650m2!) we understand the enormous carbon footprint just building what is essentially a single-family home creates, and so have tried to incorporate as many green features as possible.
Anyway, the features:
The house is on three levels. A ‘floating’ glass walkway leads to the entrance which opens into the upper level of a double height glass atrium drawing the eye through 180° of stunning views. This level includes a kitchen, dining room and main living room. A swimming pool and two terrace areas are also located at this level with a separate guest house situated at the far end of the plot. Stairs lead down to a lower level which houses three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a master suite, TV room and family room. In addition a study with en-suite facilities offers versatility. A plant room is on the basement level which also includes the water holding tanks.
The kitchen opening out onto an East facing terrace is positioned to take advantage of the morning sun, partial shading towards the house is provided by a pergola. The main living area is connected to the kitchen and dining room by a bridge which passes over water.
COOLING
Externally the most apparent feature is the roof line which sits wing-like above the building line. The roof form and distance from the building is key, it holds the solar panels at the correct angle to maximize effectiveness whilst also hiding them from view. Less direct heat is transmitted into the house and the space between the two rooflines allows air to pass over the building adding to the cooling effect. Perimeter adjustable louvered vents are also located just below the building roof line allowing cooler air to pass through rooms whilst removing the accumulated hot air.
Extensive glass is used in the design however the ‘double skin’ effect again incorporating adjustable louvered panels, prevent excessive heat conduction through the glass.
The main living area hovers above a ‘mirage’ of water which appears to merge with the swimming pool but is in fact part of the cooling system. It is fed by a canal which runs the length of the pool to one side. The 30cm deep ‘mirage pool’ cools the air passing over it thus contributing to the cooling process.
WATER MANAGEMENT
A rainwater reclamation system will be installed and Grey water will be recycled from holding tanks situated in the basement. The pool will be saline negating the use of standard pool chemicals.
HEATING
A photovoltaic system will supply the electricity to run a radiant heating system within the floor. The adjustable louver wall system will optimize heat capture during the day and retain the warmth by night.
Geo-thermal energy will provide a back-up cooling and heating system.
In keeping with the design ethos only wood from verified managed sources will be used as will low VOC paints and LED lighting. Environmentally sensitive smart glass technology reacting to sunlight will reduce the cooling load through self adjusting opacity levels. The kitchen layout will optimize storage design to decrease waste. All appliances will be the latest low energy and water-efficient models.
If anyone has any comments, suggestions or general feedback, that would be great! For more detailed information, please visit the eco house page, linked above.
Thanks. |
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csintexas
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Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1667
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:19 am Post subject: |
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6994 sq. ft. will NEVER be eco friendly unless the population of the Earth was 90% less.
Other than that, it looks pretty neat.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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egray
Joined: 19 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:43 am Post subject: |
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yeah that's pretty much what I thought. Unfortunately, here in southern Spain, the only people building their own houses are after huge mansions. We just wanted to make one that once built at least would be less damaging than other villas around.
So, what would you say the optimum square meterage would be for a viable family-sized eco-house? |
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csintexas
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 6:58 am Post subject: |
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All we could do is use science to determine that answer. It is based on the total available resources, how many people are wanting to use those resources and the amount of energy used to produce a house from them.
Concrete, glass and steel are plentiful but take a tremendous amount of energy to produce.
It is also very much dependent on our perception of global warming and or whether or not we should conserve finite fossil fuel resources.
As a general rule:
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
In that order will make a better world.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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egray
Joined: 19 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 7:24 am Post subject: |
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Agreed.
As a company we're moving more and more towards ecological architecture but we have a very limited domestic market - our clients tend to only want extremerely large villas and they are the only people building anything right now. Land is pretty costly here right now and that puts construction into the hands of the wealthy.
The area this villa is being built is awash with huge McMansions which guzzle up resources so we just wanted to try and minimise the impact of this villa.
Hopefully these factors will change and we can construct reasonably sized eco-homes for all to benefit from.
Thanks for the feedback  |
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csintexas
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:43 am Post subject: |
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There is nothing at all wrong with doing the best you can. We have to operate within the world we have and and no doubt a large house which conserves energy is better than one which does not.
The only other question would be how much control do you have other than size?
One of my brothers lives outside of Barcelona. He is currently remodeling a house built with stone and dirt (or could have cement in it) which is around 100 years old.
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Chris Stewart
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egray
Joined: 19 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 9:13 am Post subject: |
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Thanks.
Currently with most of our projects the client acquires a plot and is given planning permission for a certain percentage of the total plot size. Most of the time they will build the maximum they can which is often upto 25% of an extremerely large plot.
We design each building to the client's requirements and try to steer them into a sensible build size.
We did investigate the possibility of using techniques such as rammed earth for the structure but this wasn't a viable option for the client.
We're hoping to change the mindset of our clients but as you can imagine it's tough going. Every green feature we get to include us a smalll victory though! We have several projects with solar panels and geo-thermal systems on the go right now.
Personally I have always been fond of the idea of rennovating old structures. Your brother's project sounds really interesting! |
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csintexas
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| Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 9:46 am Post subject: |
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Yes rammed earth is a good material which is currently also not accepted by most modern people.
Well at least you get to work on interesting projects, I have to do the same mcMansions over and over again.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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lekizz
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Joined: 11 Jan 2006
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Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:28 am Post subject: |
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| That's 14 times the size of my humble two-bedroomed house but, despite that, I have to admire your creativity in making an eco-house look stylish. If it makes an impact in people's imaginations and encourages others to consider similar features, that can only be a good thing. I expect some of the cooling features would not have the sufficient scale to be effective in a small building. No doubt water saving features are an absolute necessity in southern Spain and I'm impressed by your use of a saline swimming pool. Keep us posted on how you get along! |
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csintexas
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:07 am Post subject: |
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I had not noticed the salt water pool has that been used before?
I don't see how the roof could actually be optimized for collector efficiency. Perhaps the short side is tilted to the East and the longer side is tilted to the west but neither are tilted toward the South where from what I have read the optimum angle would be equal to the latitude.
What is the orientation?
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Chris Stewart
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csintexas
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| Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:16 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Heating
A photovoltaic system will supply the electricity to run a radiant heating system within the floor. The adjustable louver wall system will optimize heat capture during the day and retain the warmth by night. Geo-thermal energy will provide a back-up cooling and heating system. |
Also I don't understand the active HVAC system. Why is the geothermal a back-up and what does it back-up?
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Chris Stewart
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