11.20.2009

My Parkitecture Design Competition Submission


Garages were created to reduce the environment’s impact on automobiles. It’s time for the roles to reverse.




Rear Exterior Showing Bio Reactors and Solar Panels

My design strives to reinterpret and redefine a garage’s program. Defined, a garage is a shelter for the storage of automotive vehicles. While protection from the elements is important for car care, why does the building’s function have to stop there? Many people currently commute to work leaving garages empty for large portions of the day. Therefore, while the car is not present, I feel it is fair to consider a “garage” as a waste of space and resources. It is my goal to produce a sustainable building whose focus is to reduce the automobile’s impact on the environment.

Cars and buildings account for approximately 60 percent of the worlds CO2 in the atmosphere. I propose that today’s cars be retrofitted with reservoirs to store any carbon dioxide the vehicle produces. When the car returns to the garage, the reservoir is emptied by pumping the co2 into Bio Reactors located on the roof.


Layout of plumbing which feeds Bio Reactors

These Bio Reactors contain algae and water. Through photosynthesis, the algae multiply as they consume the CO2 and give off by products of oxygen and fatty proteins. Once the tanks become overcrowded with algae, they are emptied and the fatty proteins stored. When the storage container is filled the proteins are collected by trucks, which can in turn use the proteins to produce biodiesels and other clean burning fuels which further reduce the impact of automotives on the environment.

Close up of roof system. Yellow tubes feeding in CO2 for Algae

The garage’s form is generated from its functional requirements while the detailing and aesthetic reflects the form of a leaf, alluding to the building’s use of photosynthesis.

The garage’s walls are constructed of used tires that are filled and compacted with dirt. The tires provide a sufficient amount of thermal mass for passive solar heating. Furthermore, the tires allow the walls to flex and are a suitable construction method for areas prone to earthquakes.

For colder climates, the interior is retrofitted with a waste oil heater, which operates off of used motor oil. This is especially useful for people who change their own oil and will make it less likely for them to pour the unwanted oil into the soil.

The design allows for versatility. It is a concept that can be built new or applied to existing garages. Furthermore, the simplicity of the design with its flat walls allow several of the garages to be placed side by side giving them the opportunity to share storage containers.

Skylight creates a dynamic shadow and gives patron a close up view of the Bio Reactors

Green Garage is a sustainable application, which not only diminishes its own affect on the environment, but also gives back by reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and replacing it with oxygen and alternative fuels.

Feel free to post any comments.

Thanks!

2 comments:

  1. your design is not very aesthetically pleasing and looked like any suburban architecture but the idea is interesting. Personally I still prefer the concept and design of the winner in the Parkiteture competition.

    Nicoli K Sennigan

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  2. Dwell judges picked a solution that was an idealistic, artistic statement that looked good, rather than an architectural solution that was "forward looking". I am happy that you posted your comment, and the link to your thoughtful solution...

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