Buildings are brought to life and are made by the flow of energy, air and water. These play an important role in architecture, making a space warm or cool, bright or dark, loud or quiet. In this section, we will talk about key sustainable qualities, interpretations, targets achieved and what could have been done differently. (27)
The design process included ZED factory’s whole firm, which consists of 11 architects. Bill Dunster being the head architect, contractor Tower Region, Yorklake was the developers with planning authority given by London borough of Tower Hamlets
A photovoltaic solar cell, in BowZED is used as a major energy supply for the building; they consist of many layers of semi-conducting material. Light is required to shine in the cells in order to create electric field across the layers. The brighter the light, in this case light from the sun’s rays, triggers the atoms in the semi-conductive material to vibrate and produce energy, which generates electricity (21). In BowZED the PV panels’ mounted at a vertical angle on top of the terrace, however, the solar cells have gaps between them, enabling light to get through the terrace into the flats. PV panel has many benefits, with free sunlight beaming through the solar cells, producing free electricity, residents annual bill drops. In addition, it produces excess energy that is sold back to the national grid, eventually the residents get back the money paid to buy the house, generating a source of income for the BowZED residents. A typical house with PV system like BowZED cuts down one’s carbon footprint by saving them over a tonne of Carbon dioxide per annum.
The wind turbine, which was not part of the initial design, harnesses the power of the wind and uses this to generate electricity. It is at a small scale but ideal for a project, which is based in London as 40% of all wind energy in the whole of Europe blows over the UK! The turbine is located in an exposed area on top of the building which is completely open to the wind (nothing blocks it) which means that it could easily produce more energy than is used through appliances and light features. The benefits of the wind turbine on top of BowZED is not only the fact that it dramatically decreases energy bills but any energy produced via the turbine, you get paid for- whether you use it or whether it gets sent back to the national grid. This is through Feed-in Tariffs. Wind energy is renewable, which means it produces no harmful pollutants such as Carbon Dioxide, therefore decreasing ones carbon footprint. In addition to the wind turbine, there are 2 wind cowls mounted on the roof, these are used as a source of ventilation around each flat. Wind cowls are made of aluminium, with an intake and outgiving vent for air-supplying and air-extracting to make sure there is a constant air flow in the building keeping the house fresh. (22)
Wood Pellet boiler is another essential factor of the house; it is used mainly to provide hot water. The boiler burns wood pellets, which is connected to the hot water system and can save residents around £600 annually. Just like the other sustainable qualities, a wood pellet boiler comes with many benefits. Such as the affordable price of wood compared to fuel, it emits very little carbon dioxide, in comparison to burning coal, saving around 7.5 tonnes a year. (24)
Insulation is an important aspect to making this project sustainable and carbon zero. Exterior walls of the house have a cavity wall filled with rock wool, which is a natural thermal insulation system as it has derived from volcanic rocks. As for the interior walls, ceilings and floor are constructed with a hollow-core concrete slab, allowing sunlight to come through and storing in there for up to five days. This helps maintain a good balance between hot and cold days as the cool is stored during the night and heat stored during the day. The windows are not only triple glazed for thermal insulation, it is also filled with krypton, providing noise insulation blocking the sounds of urban racket.
BowZED could be interpreted as an Eco-Technic, Eco-Centric and Eco-Social project. Sustainable technology has advanced since global environmental concerns have become a key issue in the media. Eco-Technology can be applied to an urban city, in a small-scale. In this case, BowZED uses these technologies such as photovoltaic panels, winds cowls and a wind turbine to reduce energy consumption and therefore cause less damage to the global environment. The project also combines the theme of eco-centricity as it uses reclaimed materials during the construction processes and much of the furniture in the house is reused and refurbished. Such as the wood-pellet burner, mentioned earlier, which uses wood-pellets, which are made of waste wood. Eco-centrism values natural materials hence BowZED uses a lot of recycled materials and methods. Lastly, the main sustainable aspect of this building is Eco-Social, which brings a community under a tight space; however, despite being under one roof, this does not allow chance for the residents to interact with each other, instead segregating the residents into their private spaces. It is eco-social in the sense that there are different people living in one building however at the same time, where are the shared spaces they can interact? The building may be sustainable on paper but it is lacking in providing a sustainable lifestyle for the residents. There are no cycle lines, larger open spaces, or vegetation, which some people would argue is crucial to living sustainably. This brings us onto environmental ethics, on one hand; BowZED respects the ethical part of environment by not using non-renewable fuels. On the other hand, there could still be a long way to go for the residents to accomplish the sustainable lifestyle, as the issue is not dependant entirely on the building but those living in it and the decisions they make need to be considered for the environment.
As for the targets achieved, BowZED is a level six building, ensuring that it is a zero carbon form. As mentioned above, the building is installed with many sustainable features which either emit very little carbon or no carbon at all, making it a zero energy development (7). Zed factory has a ZED life rule laid out for the community living in ZED projects. A fine example where ZED life is followed throughout is the 82 residential flat of BedZED, where a large community can not only interact with each other but sustainable transporting is also considered, walking to school or nursery etc is another aspect. However, the same rule cannot be applied to BowZED as it is a small project of ZED legacy with 4 families living a private life. Bill Dunster’s aim is to cover London’s urban life with a sustainable blanket, BowZED being the starting point of his future ambitions.
The design process included ZED factory’s whole firm, which consists of 11 architects. Bill Dunster being the head architect, contractor Tower Region, Yorklake was the developers with planning authority given by London borough of Tower Hamlets
A photovoltaic solar cell, in BowZED is used as a major energy supply for the building; they consist of many layers of semi-conducting material. Light is required to shine in the cells in order to create electric field across the layers. The brighter the light, in this case light from the sun’s rays, triggers the atoms in the semi-conductive material to vibrate and produce energy, which generates electricity (21). In BowZED the PV panels’ mounted at a vertical angle on top of the terrace, however, the solar cells have gaps between them, enabling light to get through the terrace into the flats. PV panel has many benefits, with free sunlight beaming through the solar cells, producing free electricity, residents annual bill drops. In addition, it produces excess energy that is sold back to the national grid, eventually the residents get back the money paid to buy the house, generating a source of income for the BowZED residents. A typical house with PV system like BowZED cuts down one’s carbon footprint by saving them over a tonne of Carbon dioxide per annum.
The wind turbine, which was not part of the initial design, harnesses the power of the wind and uses this to generate electricity. It is at a small scale but ideal for a project, which is based in London as 40% of all wind energy in the whole of Europe blows over the UK! The turbine is located in an exposed area on top of the building which is completely open to the wind (nothing blocks it) which means that it could easily produce more energy than is used through appliances and light features. The benefits of the wind turbine on top of BowZED is not only the fact that it dramatically decreases energy bills but any energy produced via the turbine, you get paid for- whether you use it or whether it gets sent back to the national grid. This is through Feed-in Tariffs. Wind energy is renewable, which means it produces no harmful pollutants such as Carbon Dioxide, therefore decreasing ones carbon footprint. In addition to the wind turbine, there are 2 wind cowls mounted on the roof, these are used as a source of ventilation around each flat. Wind cowls are made of aluminium, with an intake and outgiving vent for air-supplying and air-extracting to make sure there is a constant air flow in the building keeping the house fresh. (22)
Wood Pellet boiler is another essential factor of the house; it is used mainly to provide hot water. The boiler burns wood pellets, which is connected to the hot water system and can save residents around £600 annually. Just like the other sustainable qualities, a wood pellet boiler comes with many benefits. Such as the affordable price of wood compared to fuel, it emits very little carbon dioxide, in comparison to burning coal, saving around 7.5 tonnes a year. (24)
Insulation is an important aspect to making this project sustainable and carbon zero. Exterior walls of the house have a cavity wall filled with rock wool, which is a natural thermal insulation system as it has derived from volcanic rocks. As for the interior walls, ceilings and floor are constructed with a hollow-core concrete slab, allowing sunlight to come through and storing in there for up to five days. This helps maintain a good balance between hot and cold days as the cool is stored during the night and heat stored during the day. The windows are not only triple glazed for thermal insulation, it is also filled with krypton, providing noise insulation blocking the sounds of urban racket.
BowZED could be interpreted as an Eco-Technic, Eco-Centric and Eco-Social project. Sustainable technology has advanced since global environmental concerns have become a key issue in the media. Eco-Technology can be applied to an urban city, in a small-scale. In this case, BowZED uses these technologies such as photovoltaic panels, winds cowls and a wind turbine to reduce energy consumption and therefore cause less damage to the global environment. The project also combines the theme of eco-centricity as it uses reclaimed materials during the construction processes and much of the furniture in the house is reused and refurbished. Such as the wood-pellet burner, mentioned earlier, which uses wood-pellets, which are made of waste wood. Eco-centrism values natural materials hence BowZED uses a lot of recycled materials and methods. Lastly, the main sustainable aspect of this building is Eco-Social, which brings a community under a tight space; however, despite being under one roof, this does not allow chance for the residents to interact with each other, instead segregating the residents into their private spaces. It is eco-social in the sense that there are different people living in one building however at the same time, where are the shared spaces they can interact? The building may be sustainable on paper but it is lacking in providing a sustainable lifestyle for the residents. There are no cycle lines, larger open spaces, or vegetation, which some people would argue is crucial to living sustainably. This brings us onto environmental ethics, on one hand; BowZED respects the ethical part of environment by not using non-renewable fuels. On the other hand, there could still be a long way to go for the residents to accomplish the sustainable lifestyle, as the issue is not dependant entirely on the building but those living in it and the decisions they make need to be considered for the environment.
As for the targets achieved, BowZED is a level six building, ensuring that it is a zero carbon form. As mentioned above, the building is installed with many sustainable features which either emit very little carbon or no carbon at all, making it a zero energy development (7). Zed factory has a ZED life rule laid out for the community living in ZED projects. A fine example where ZED life is followed throughout is the 82 residential flat of BedZED, where a large community can not only interact with each other but sustainable transporting is also considered, walking to school or nursery etc is another aspect. However, the same rule cannot be applied to BowZED as it is a small project of ZED legacy with 4 families living a private life. Bill Dunster’s aim is to cover London’s urban life with a sustainable blanket, BowZED being the starting point of his future ambitions.