Rhinoceros Creates Sustainable Objects

This is example how "Rhinoceros" cooperates with architects for making sustainable objects.

KREOD is a ground-breaking sustainable sculpture and London’s newest architectural landmark. The brainchild of Chun Qing Li, Managing Director ofPavilion Architecture, KREOD is an innovative architectural sculpture, organic in form, environmentally-friendly and inspired by nature. Resembling three seeds, these pods combine through a series of interlocking hexagons to create an enclosed structure that is not only magni­ficently intricate but secure and weatherproof. KREOD functions beautifully both as an architectural landmark and an imaginative exhibition space – its three pods can be combined in a variety of con­figurations or installed as free-standing forms.

As part of the design team, Evolute was responsible for rationalizing KREOD’s complex input surface, designing the panel layout, the parametric detailing of the wooden members and outputting the production geometry for fabrication. As with any ambitious project, KREOD’s design and manufacturing constraints updated dynamically based on available resources. Throughout the project, Rhino3d,EvoluteTools Lite and EvoluteTools PRO were used for modeling, analysis, geometry optimization, production data generation, as well as a data exchange platform. Evolute proposed a torsion free hexagonal panel layout, as the dual of a circle-packing optimized triangular mesh. The circle-packing optimization forces the incircles of each triangle to be tangent to the adjacent corresponding incircles, as pictured below. After one step of subdivision, the hexagonal panel layout is achieved, carrying crucial features that lower the fabrication costs – the angles around each vertex are 120 degrees, allowing prefabrication of node elements if needed.Once the hexagonal panel layout was adopted, we could proceed in refining the solution for an even distribution of hexagons according to the engineering constraints – size of hexagons and boundary conditions. Several panel layouts were explored in an attempt to find the perfect balance between aesthetics and the physical limitations involved.

A breakthrough in KREOD’s design was brought up by the Ramboll engineering team while designing a connection detail strong enough to take the loads of the structure, elegant and simple to manufacture at the same time. The reciprocal connection became KREOD’s signature. Based on this detail design, Evolute coded the generation of the member layout in tune with all the aesthetic and manufacturing constraints. The parametric generation of the components was programmed in RhinoScript.

Biosphere 2 - ecosystem enclosure experiment

Biosphere 2 is a world-renowned environmental and ecological research site operated by the University of Arizona, and located near Oracle, a small town approximately 15 miles North from the Oro Valley Hotel & Suites.

The name comes from Earth’s biosphere, Biosphere 1, Earth's life system and the only biosphere currently known.

Completed in 1991, it was designed so that scientists could study the complex interaction between natural life systems, including plant, animal and human, in a closed environment over an extended period of time.

Researchers also wanted to use Biosphere 2 as a place to conduct studies to evaluate the challenges and risks of closed systems in possible future space colonization efforts.

The interior portion of Biosphere 2 was opened to the public in the spring of 2002, and the University of Arizona offers guided tours of the facility.

The tour begins in the human habitat, where the original Biospherians lived, continues to the small farm where they grew crops, and then to the wilderness areas with desert, savanna, tropical rainforest and ocean environments.

Project:

Biosphere 2 is a new type of laboratory which combines state-of-the-art architecture and mechanical and computer monitoring systems with a wide range of living ecosystems. It is an experimental project where everything that happens - both expected and unexpected - provides valuable insights into our complex and evolving world. 

While the biospherians further the research of more than 60 projects, 42 Ph. D.-level scientists are formally analyzing the information gathered inside Biosphere 2, as they study such topics as carbon dioxide and oxygen cycles, soil composition, coral reef health and vitality, agricultural pest management, waste and water recycling and more. Every two weeks, the biospherians send the samples they have collected through the airlock to scientific consultants and analytic laboratories for study.

Vertical forest by Stefano Boeri

"Vertical forest" - a project of an Italian architect Stefano Boeri, whose main goal is to increase the efficiency of using land in the center of Milan.
It was the idea of  designer Michel Brunello, his team was engaged in the planting of trees in Milan several years ago. 

Festa Major de Gràcia (Barcelona 2012)

Gràcia is a district of the city of Barcelona, ​​Catalonia, Spain. The most well-known attraction in Gràcia is the Gaudí-designed Parc Güell which is located on El Carmel mountain. Every August, Gràcia holds an eight-day festival "Festa Major", known as Festes de Gràcia, one of the largest festivals in Barcelona.
In any event, the festival that strengthens the middle and late nineteenth century, it was defined in a more civic religion, through the efforts of the many organizations working and leisure, cultural associations or societies of dance.

The concept of Gràcia festival is that each street in the neighbourhood competes to win the prize of being the best decorated street. Each street tends to take the competition very seriously and the standards are very high. A theme is chosen by each street and this can cover anything from Roman wrestling to underwater sea life. Walk through the streets of Gràcia and you will be amazed by the canopies of colourful decoration that are above you and the creativity and originality that each street demonstrates.

Carrer Berga

As we can see mostly all the decorations are made out of waste materials, but how creatively they used! The bees out of painted bottles and lighters out of plastic spoons which create such a nice texture. Probably the one bottle bee would not look so impressive but when there are hundreds of them? Huh? Impressive? 

Carrer Berga

I just made a close look on how all the objects were made and I was absolutely stunned by the creativity of these people. 

Carrer Berga

Carrer Berga

Major celebrations on the festival occur at night, that's why it is omportant to interact with light in installations.

Pack-Unpack

The biggest part of waste problem is a pack. The majority of pack is produced from plastic and oil sub-products.

Everyday each of us uses some plastic objects like plastic bottles, glasses, pockets and others once.

The most of them is thrown right away almost at the moment of buying. For example when you buy a cup of coffee you throw the plastic glass away after some minutes. Moreover to use plastic utensil for hot drinks is very dangerous for health. 

Luis Enrique (Venezuela) created eatable cups for Lavazza company coffee.

This eatable cup is made from cookie and covered inside by sugary powder. 

One more idea about unpacked products was created and realized by Catherine Conway in 2006. She founded the company “Unpackaged” (http://beunpackaged.com/why-packaging/) in the belief that there is a better way to sell products, so their customers can do the right thing – for themselves and for the environment. 

Catherine set up Unpackaged because she wanted to refill her groceries using her own containers. The dream was to set up a beautiful shop that made it really easy for customers to come & refill all their daily essentials.

"Unpackages" vision is a world with less wasteful packaging and we’re achieving it one customer at a time!

This means:

• C0²e reduction from less packaging
• The reduction of material waste from landfill & incineration
• Positive behaviour change – we help our customers consume more sustainably
• Less food waste – buy only what you need

"Unpackages" Policies:

• We always source organic products, where available
• We source products as seasonally as possible
• We always source fair trade products, where available
• We support artisan local producers to help keep money in our local economy, giving preference to social enterprises & cooperatives
• We work with our suppliers to develop reusable packaging “up” the supply chain as well as “down” to our customers
• We apply the principles of the waste hierarchy to all our operations: reduce, reuse and recycle
• We only sell non-air freighted products
• We plan efficiently to minimise our own transportation
• We are actively involved in the local community – from local street parties to supporting environmental campaigns & hosting local school trips to teach kids about waste & the environment
• We promote healthy eating; raw, whole, unprocessed ingredients that our customers can cook for themselves

However Catherine didn’t stop and develop and distribute the idea with unpackaged product among other business to help them go ‘Unpackaged’.

There are some videos about Catherine business:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/05/03/local.green.produce.london/index.html
http://www.reuters.com/video/2008/11/17/recycle-what-about-precycle?videoId=93941&videoChannel=74

Features in many different types of publications from national newspapers to industry, design & consumer magazines. Time Out recently voted this shop the #48th best shop in London.

Catherine was voted #32 in the Observer Food Monthly Top 40 Eco Heroes.

Unpackaged was included in Time Out’s ‘Little Black Book’ of the 500 most essential services in London.
Unpackaged was set up with support from the following organisations: Multistorey, Portobello Business Centre, The Hub, Unltd, Global Tolerance, Striding Out, Sustain, Aquila Green and carpenter Andrew Roddis – do click on their sites and have a look at what they do.



The same idea was realized by three brothers Lane with their friend (Austin, USA). They opened shop «in.gridients» (http://in.gredients.com/)  what will be the first store in America what will sell products without pack.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvyTCx2Uo6k&feature=player_embedded

It's obvious that this idea is more and more recognised around the world. In my opinion there might be only one minus or reazon for non-following of this behaviour is a laziness. 

I can to affirm that on a base of my personal experience because for some years I try don't use unnecessary pack and plastic bags if it's possible to do. When I ask somebody "Why you don't do it?" I hear just one answer "I'm lazy to do it". 

Social housing from shipping containers

Bio-Cleaner – vacuum cleaner for the sea

Bio-Cleaner – vacuum cleaner for the sea
We have almost ceased to wonder robot vacuum cleaners that move independently on the floor and collect the fine dust. Here is a similar principle and decided to use the designer Hsu Sean, creating the concept of the device with the name of Bio-Cleaner, designed for cleaning the seas and oceans from oil spills.

Bio-Cleaner – vacuum cleaner for the sea
We all remember the recent tragedy of the Gulf of Mexico, which is due to an accident on an oil platform for a long time has become one of the most beautiful and popular tourist destination on Earth in a zone of ecological disaster. Here's to the future to quickly solve these problems, just as it should be created by the device Bio-Cleaner.

Bio-Cleaner – vacuum cleaner for the sea Because Bio-Cleaner - an automatic robot designed to clean water stains from the hydrocarbon. To do this he will be by special microorganisms which, acting on the oil will break down it to safety on the marine ecology of the substance.

Moreover, the vacuum cleaner Bio-Cleaner will also be equipped with a special system that prevents the mass death of animals caught in the zone of ecological disaster caused by oil spills. Audible and ultrasonic signals will drive away the fish, birds and marine mammals from dangerous areas.

Bio-Cleaner – vacuum cleaner for the sea

As an automatic home robot vacuum cleaner, the device Bio-Cleaner will run in standalone mode, finding the oil spill itself, moving in the contaminated areas and cleaning them.

Such small devices pave the way for a new great discoveries. I do not believe that these machines are able to completely clean the sea, or that they are able to cleand even a big area. However, they can be an important step in addressing this issue.