Grace’s Arch & Music Blog

Once I was invited to a kindergarten to introduce to the children what architecture is. They prepared some fantastic drawings to interpret their views on architecture. I showed them a few pictures of the construction site and briefly introduced how a house is built, from the groundwork to its completion. In order not to make them feel bored, I asked them how there is water when the tap is turned on? And how does the light at home turn on when we press the switch? What secrets are hidden in the walls that they can’t see? Some children were very excited to say that there are water pipes and electrical circuits in the wall. I said right. Does your home look like a machine? We need so many resources in our lives, and we need water and electricity to live a carefree life.

The latest news is all about the epidemic every day. But do you remember the Swedish environmental fighter girl? Greta Thunberg is a student in Sweden, and a climate activist. She launched Fridays for Future strikes to raise global awareness of global warming and climate change issues. This brave girl became a vegetarian for environmental protection and did not travel by plane, because this generates a large amount of carbon dioxide.

Especially in cities, all buildings consume a lot of resources. They produce a large amount of carbon dioxide, and also during the construction itself they cause environmental pollution. In Europe, buildings account for 40% of final energy consumption. This translates into a correspondingly high potential for a climate-friendly energy future.

A new urban planning area, Aspern Seestadt (Aspern Lake City), was created on the site of the old military airport in Vienna. A research centre, ASCR (Aspern Smart City Research), was established. Within the “Smart Building” domain, ASCR explores the role of buildings as producers of renewable energy, identifying potential savings while maintaining a high level of comfort for residents, and the lowest possible construction and maintenance costs over the entire life cycle of the building.

What kind of buildings are sustainable and environmentally friendly? I think you might think of green buildings! “Green buildings” used to refer to buildings that “consume the least earth resources and produce the least waste”, but now the term has expanded to cover “ecological, energy-saving, waste-reducing and healthy” buildings.

A residential complex located at D12 in Aspen Lake City is participating in a research project on intelligent buildings. This residential facility has six separate parts, a total of 213 state-subsidized rental apartments, with a total area of approximately 16,000 square metres. There are commercial and public spaces on the first floor. A two-story communal collective garage was built on the basement floor, and nearby residential residents or visitors can park here. A special function of the building is that the thermal energy can be self-sufficient, that is, all the energy used for heating and producing hot water is generated in the buildings themselves.

Speaking of electricity, this building is of course connected to the power supply network to make up for the lack of self-sufficient electricity in winter. Energy is basically generated by solar thermal, photovoltaic and hybrid systems (a mixture of photovoltaic and solar thermal systems) and heat pumps. In addition, the waste heat from the garage is also used to generate hot water and heating through the air heat pump. The new concept of underground thermal storage system has also been successfully put into operation.

For ASCR, the interaction with the residents in this building is particularly important. 111 families decided to actively participate in the research project. They can choose to use Home Control to set their own comfort level (desired temperature, ventilation, etc.). The project is carried out concurrently with social research on acceptability and usability.

The architect of the project, Robert Haranza, told me that they must pass a construction impact assessment review before they start construction. Because there are multiple construction sites in the same area at the same time, a common local cement mixing equipment is planned to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to replace the cement truck running back and forth from other districts. In order to reduce the noise generated by the construction site, as well as to reduce the cost and shorten the construction time, they use prefabricated construction methods.

The exterior wall part and the cement frame of the loggia can be assembled in a short time, like a puzzle. The wall combination of wood and mineral wool insulation material is not only a building material for reducing carbon dioxide, it is 10 cm thinner than the traditional reinforced cement method, so it also increases the indoor area.

The greening of the atrium creates a microclimate that can be warm in winter and cool in summer. The canyon-like public space design incorporates the children’s play area, and the same landscape theme resonates through different spaces. The design of the residence is a composite residence with a small studio on the ground floor, allowing freelancers to start a small business in that new community. Flexible use of space is one of the focuses of their architectural design. For each entrance and stairwell the architect chooses a different colour from Le Corbusier colour palette.

In addition, the self-funding figure of 90 euros/square metre and the monthly rent of 7.35 euros/square metre are really cheap for the living standard of Vienna. The government has conditional subsidies that allow affordable housing to improve the quality of life of many families.

Querkraft and Berger + Parkkinen worked together to create a sustainable example. This project was nominated for the Austrian National Award for Architecture and Sustainability in 2017. The vision and perseverance of the Swedish girl Greta can also be realized in the architectural industry. But behind this it must be the nation’s long-term environmental protection policy that everyone can participate in environmental protection. There is only one Earth, and the resources we can share are limited. Thinking of the cute drawings of those kindergarten children, the green buildings with self-sufficient resources should no longer be a topic in the future, but a progressive one. What will Greta in your heart do?

Small notes

Querkraft & Berger + Parkkinen Architects

•        Energy-saving and environmentally friendly construction methods, affordable housing, sustainable energy use, environmentally friendly building materials, energy self-sufficiency, flexible space use, green buildings (a building that achieves environmental friendliness and efficient use of resources)

•        In 2017 nominated for the National Award for Architecture and Sustainability in Austria

•        Competition 2011-2012, housing with wooden materials

•        Construction 2013-2015

•        231 apartments, with commercial and public space on the ground floor

•        The base is 7,700 square metres, the covered area is 3783 square metres, and the total usable area is 15,700 square metres

•        Self-funded 90 euros/square metre, monthly rent 7.35 euros/square metre

•        Total construction cost 23 million euros

瑞典少女的遠景及執著

曾經我有一次被邀請到幼稚園和小朋友們介紹什麼是建築。他們準備了一些天馬行空的圖畫，詮釋他們對建築的看法。我給他們看幾張工地的照片，簡單地介紹一下一棟住宅如何從地基開始到完工。為了不讓他們覺得無聊，我問他們家裡為什麼水龍頭一開就有水？還有為什麼按開關家裡的電燈就有電了？他們看不到的牆壁裡面是藏了什麼秘密？有的小孩就很興奮說牆裡面有水管，還有電路。我說對啊，你的家有沒有像是一個機器？我們的生活中需要這麼多的資源，需要水和電，才能無憂無慮的過生活。

最近新聞每天報導的都是疫情。你們還記得瑞典環保少女嗎？葛雷塔(Greta Thunberg)是一名瑞典的學生，也是氣候活動家。她為提高全球對全球暖化和氣候變遷問題的警覺性發動了週五罷課抗議行動 (Fridays for future)。這位勇敢的女孩為了環保成了素食者，也不坐飛機旅行。因為這會造成大量的二氧化碳釋放。

尤其是在都市裡面，所有的建築物都消耗大量的資源。不單是產生大量的二氧化碳，甚至在建造的過程中也有造成環境的污染。在歐洲，最終能源的40%消耗在建築物中。但也就是說，未來氣候有好新能源的潛力也很大。

在維也納的舊軍事機場產生了一個新都市規畫區 – 阿斯朋湖城（Aspern Seestadt）。一個研究中心ASCR (Aspern Smart City Research) 被成立，正在研究在“智能建築”領域中作為可再生能源生產者的建築物，以在為居民提供高舒適度以及在建築物的整個生命週期內盡可能降低建築和維護成本的基礎上，確定潛在的節約措施。

什麼樣的建築是永續環保的? 我想你們可能會想到綠建築吧! 綠建築在過去指「消耗最少地球資源，製造最少廢棄物」的建築物，而現在擴大為「生態、節能、減廢、健康」的建築物。

位於阿斯朋湖城D12的一個集合住宅參與智能建築的研究項目。這個住宅設備有六個獨立的部分，總共213座國家補貼性出租公寓，總面積約為16,000平方米。一樓有商業及公共空間。在地下室的樓層建造了一個兩層樓的公用集體車庫，附近的住宅居民或訪客都可以在這停車。該建築物的一個特殊功能是熱能可以自給自足，即用於加熱和產生熱水的所有能量均來自可再生資源。

說到用電，這個建築物當然已連接到電源供給網，補充冬天時自給電力的不足。能源基本上由太陽能熱能，光伏和混合系統（光伏和太陽能熱系統的混合物）和熱泵產生。此外，來自車庫的廢熱還通過空氣熱泵用於產生熱水和加熱。地下熱存儲系統的新概念也已成功投入運行。

對於ASCR，與這個建築物中居民的互動尤為重要。 111個家庭決定積極參與該研究項目。他們可以選擇使用Home Control設置自己的舒適度（所需的溫度，通風等）。該項目與關於接受性和可用性的社會研究同時進行。

專案的建築師Robert Haranza和我說，他們開工前必須先通過建造影響評價審查。因為同時有多個工地在同一區建造，所以有規劃一個共用的水泥混合設備減少水泥車來回跑時二氧化碳的排放。為了減低工地施工產生的噪音還有降低成本及縮短施工時間，他們使用預制建造方式。外牆部分及涼廊水泥框能像拼圖似的在短時間組裝。木材及礦棉絕熱材料的牆壁組合不僅是二氧化碳減量的建材，厚度上比傳統的鋼筋水泥造法少了10公分，因此還增加了室內使用面積。

中庭綠化營造出小型氣候能冬暖夏涼，峽谷式公共空間設計結合兒童遊樂區，景觀穿梭不同的空間。住宅設計上是複合式住宅加上底樓的小型工作室，讓自由工作者能在那新社區開始小型事業基礎。彈性的空間使用是他們建築設計的重點之一。每個入口和樓梯間建築師挑選不同的勒·柯比意Le Corbusier多樣性色板。

此外,自備金90歐元/平方公尺和租金7.35歐元/平方公尺對維也納的生活水平來說真的非常便宜。政府有帶條件性的補助讓可負擔的住宅改善很多人的生活品質。

Querkraft 和 Berger+Parkkinen兩個建築事務所攜手打造了一個永續的範例，在2017年被奧地利提名建築及永續國家獎。瑞典少女葛雷塔的遠景及執著也可以在建築界實現，但是在這背後必須要有國家的長期環保政策加上大家能堅持做環保。地球只有一個，我們能分享的資源有限。想到幼稚園中小朋友可愛的畫，能夠自給自足資源的綠建築應該不再是未來的課題, 而是進行式。你心中的葛雷塔會怎麼做呢?

小筆記

Querkraft 橫向力+Berger+Parkkinen建築事務所

• 節約能源資源又環保的建造方式, 可負擔的住宅, 永續的能源使用, 環保的建材, 能源自給自足, 彈性的空間使用, 綠建築 (達成環境友善與資源有效運用的一種建築)

• 2017提名建築及永續國家獎

• 競圖 2011-2012, 主題木製集合住宅

• 施工 2013-2015

• 231戶住宅, 底樓商業及公共使用空間

• 基地 7700平方公尺, 蓋覆面積3783平方公尺, 總使用面積 15700平方公尺

• 自備金90歐元/平方公尺, 租金7.35歐元/平方公尺

• 總建造費2千3百萬歐元