Block model

the

GREEN BLOCKs

as a single unit showing combined parkade, comercial & residential levels

Effectively a new general-purpose hosing prototype, the Green Block provides a mix of dwelling options and green spaces that can combine with communal areas for play, gathering, urban agriculture, and spaces for local business to take hold at street level with residents and neighbours. With a simple and robust design that can slot into small infill sites or populate larger city blocks, the Green Block is not intended to become the star of another green revolution, but rather, favours a supporting role toward urban revitalization, setting current ideas and technologies into a regular practice that achieves sustainability collectively, one block at a time... As a general prototype, the Green Block is suitable for adaptation to many regions of the world, but is presented here in the downtown area of Edmonton. Like many North American cities, Edmonton has suffered the effects of a de-centralized automobile society, suburban sprawl and mono-functional zoning; all of which have diluted its core to the point where too many use it only as a place to park their cars between the cyclical home-work commute. Dozens of empty lots beckon what should be a vital downtown. Ideally, better housing models, like the Green Blocks, could encourage more individuals and families favouring downtown to the suburbs and sprawl. With lots of living space, outdoor space, personal privacy, and space for cars, they offer many suburban advantages but with the urban advantage of a compact city address that trades less distance and energy traveling about for more time toward a life and community that`s closer to home. As such, the general design of the Blocks maintains the sort of life-style independance North Americans are used to while also emphasizing a more public street life - all within a building form that achieves greater levels of efficiency, durability and flexibility in building performance.

Terrace View

Interior view to terrace

BLOCK BASICS
The basic Block as shown includes 8 town homes above, a place 8 cars below, and commercial spaces in-between at street level where residents and neighbours can meet by just going about their business. This arrangement (that reduces the presence of cars) provides more room and opportunity to walk, bike, or take public transit, while still maintaining a strong North American preference for car ownership. The primary shell of the Block consists of an inner concrete frame covered with an exterior building envelope. For its part, the concrete (columns, slabs, beams etc.) is chosen for its durability, recyclability, fire resistance and thermal mass. And the envelope (which includes curtain walls and insulated membrane systems) is used to cover and protect the concrete; limiting the effects of thermal bridging and the damaging effects of expansion and contraction caused by the large temperature fluctuations between summer and winter. Within the various suites, wood frame partitioning and construction is used to ensure the adaptable components and materials of the building are renewable.

Legend

1. unit type G 2. unit type E 3. unit type D 4. unit type B 5. commercial space 6. covered parkade 7. community garden

This site section shows how the roofs of parkades and shops can be used for urban farms, outdoor markets, and plazas that tie-in with other commercial spaces. This way food can be locally produced and sold to related services including restaurants, delis and local supermarkets. When combined with the residences above and other street level business what results is a community that invests more time and money in itself, and thus achieves its sustainability as a regular way of life.

4 7 5 5 6 6 5 6 7 7 5

Site section a view into the mechanics of a sustainable community that produces and consumes more locally while remaining connected to the streets and the city beyond...

102 AVENUE

Site model below:

Local context:
existing buildings

strengthen ties with existing city & business

existing buildings

set north of Jasper Ave between 107 and 106 streets the Green Blocks could easily form a new community of 400-500, and provide the space to grow and market a local brand of urbanism.

Home:
house , garden, privacy & comfort - all with downtown amenities

106 STREET

Community gardens:
places to work & grow together

107 STREET

Community markets:
places to sell and prot together

Playgrounds:
fun spaces for kids, safe & close to home

Work space:
opportunity to provide and earn within your own community

Shop space:
existing restaurant

so close it makes walking a practical way to get around

JASPER AVENUE

Site model aerial view

Board

2 storey

Green Room a vertical garden made between the double envelope system

Commercial
1. elevator lobby 2. elevator rm. 3. mech. & water
315 m2 (3400 sq.ft)

Commercial
350 m2 (3770 sq.ft)

Unit type A
85 m2 (925 sq.ft) Indoor 17 m2 (180 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type B
174 m2 (1870 sq.ft) Indoor 34 m2 (365 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type C
125 m2 (1345 sq.ft) Indoor 83 m2 (890 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type D
220 m2 (2360 sq.ft) Indoor 114 m2 (1225 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type C
125 m2 (1345 sq.ft) Indoor 34 m2 (365 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type D
1. bed rm.

1. entry vestibule 2. resident lobby 3. comm. lobby 4. comm. space

1. comm. space

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. bed rm. 4. green rm. 5. balcony

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. bed rm. 4. oce/spare

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. bed rm. 4. terrace garden 5. green rm. 6. balcony

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. store rm. 4. pantry

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. bed rm. 4. green rm. 5. balcony

4 3 2 1 3 3 1

5 4 4 1 4 1 2 3 1 2 1 5 1

2 1 2 1 3 3 3 5 3 6 2

4 3 4 3 5 1 1 1

Parkade level

Ground level - 1

Level - 2

Level - 3

Level - 4

Level - 5

2 storey

2 storey

Block Plans
The housing units above are essentially a type of multi-level town-housve, accessed by a central core. This organization allows the advantages of a private home (personal entry to suites, natural cross-ventilation, east-west [or north-south] day-lighting, garden space, etc.) and allows for higher densities and improved eciencies over conventional town-homes. In all, this example showcases seven dierent house types that range from small one-bedroom units and up to large four-bedroom 2 storey units complete with terraced gardens big enough for family barbecues.

Unit type C
125 m2 (1345 sq.ft) Indoor 34 m2 (365 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type E
177 m2 (1900 sq.ft) Indoor 114 m2 (1225 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type F
78 m2 (840 sq.ft) Indoor 83 m2 (890 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type E
1. kitchen. 2. oce/spare

Unit type G
136 m2 (1460 sq.ft) Indoor 100 m2 (1075 sq.ft) Outdoor

Unit type G

Unit type G
1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. terrace garden

Unit type G

Roof top
1. elevator room 2. mechanical rm. 3. green roof

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. bed rm. 4. green rm. 5. balcony

1. living rm. 2. bed rm.

1. living rm. 2. kitchen 3. bed rm. 4. green rm. 5. balcony 6. terrace garden

1. bed rm. 2. green rm. 3. balcony

4 1 2

5 1 3

4 1

5 1 1

2 1

3 1 2 3 1 2

1 2

3 4

3 5

2 2

Level - 6

Level - 7

Level - 8

Level - 9

Level - 10

BLOCK SYSTEMS
Double Envelope & Green Room An important feature of the Block is the green room, which is essentially an intermediate climate zone created by a secondary glazed envelope placed over the exterior balconies. Using a curtain wall with operable vents this envelope slows the rate of summer heat gains and winter heat losses to and from the building, while also providing a semi-outdoor space to grow plants and vegetables beyond the regular seasons. Additionally, it operates as an effective sound barrier to the outside, providing added quite and privacy from the city streets beyond. Heating, Ventilating, Cooling A big advantage of the double envelope combined with the green rooms is that it allows the creation of intermediate hot and cool zones that can be used for either suppy or exhaust air, depending on needs. For instance, in winter the sunny-side green rooms become the source of warm supply air, and the cooler shady-side rooms become a place to exhaust the used warm air and provide a buffer zone against direct heat loss. Alternatively, in warmer seasons the supply air can be taken from the cooler shadysides, used, and then exhausted directly out to the hot side. This strategy offers many ways to balance energy gains and losses with a combination of passive and active systems that work together in achieving higher efficiencies for all seasons. Water System To conserve our most precious resource, the water system makes use of rain and grey water. One central grey water system captures water from both the roofs and from the various sinks, bath and laundry sources, and then stores, recycles, and re-circulates this for use toward the many green room and garden spaces. At a smaller scale within the unit bathrooms, sink grey-water is directly harvested for use toward toilet flush-water (separating this system from the larger one is intended to simplify plumbing requirements and maintenance). 3 2 6 8
1

am

am

am

am

1 1

8
3 3 2 1 3 1 3 2

7 winter mornings
1. supply air from east 2. exhaust air to west 3. core centrally vent.

pm

pm

pm

pm

winter afternoons
1. supply air from west 2. exhaust air to east 3. core centrally vent.

spring/fall mornings
1. supply air from west 2. exhaust air to east 3. core centrally vent.

spring/fall afternoons
1. supply air from east 2. exhaust air to west 3. core centrally vent.

summers
open cross ventilation

one sided units

1. supply air from core 2. exhaust to green room

6 7

Heating, Ventilating & Cooling

5

Water system
1. city water supply 2. sewer line 3. storm line 4. grey water collection tank 5. recycled water tank

6. water to units 7. recycled water to gardens 8. roof water collection

Household water use

1. fresh water suppy 2. recycled water supply 3. fresh/recycled control valve 4. pipes to green panels 5. plants grow from panels

6. fresh water to xtures 7. sink grey water to toilet tanks 8. grey water to central tank 9. black water to sewer line

6 4 6 3

6 7

2 1

BLOCK TYPOLOGY
As an individual, general-purpose building type designed for replication toward larger communities the Blocks are amenable to many situations. Whether lined in rows or shuffled in parts, stacked low or piled-up high, they can fill a variety of small, medium, and large sites. Contextually adaptable in this regard, they can be easily phased into neighbourhoods and gradually promote a healthier brand of lifestyle that grows with the pace and scale of local development. One by one, more lots could give way to Blocks, and sad grey-scapes of gravel and cars could fade to livelier shades of green - a nice thought and quite possible with the right solutions...

Green Block as inll building ...to 4 green blocks

Urban revitalization
The blocks are particularly well suited to patching urban sites as infill buildings, successively populating wide areas back to life, and might just provide a way to return paradise from the parking lot.

Design options...
For many possible uses and sites, there are many possible blocks... Large small, tall - short, single-use or mixed-use, a simple solution works again and again that can produce real differences from careful & appropriate repetition.

from

empty lots...

single building

larger developments

with commercial buildings

inlled with existing buildings

direct street & lane access

creation of new pedestrian lanes

merged with large-scale street-level retail

mixed use with centralized parking

Board