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Sat May 1, 2010 7:59:32 am
by thekfactor,
on I vs Sydney by peredovoi_otryad
re: comment#7
Glorious leader
Is he a cool bro IRL?Fri Apr 30, 2010 5:03:46 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#23
what is your point exactly? first you talk about high-density, then you wanna talk about green space and sustainability, then you want to talk about efficiency. and now you want to talk about affordability. the fact is, this was a renovation project, not new construction. if you have a small existing apartment and you want to do what this guy did, then go right ahead. the cost of acquiring the property is a sunk cost.
like i said, if you want to factor in what this guy did in terms of cost of interior finishing plus cost sq foot (for a new property), you might as well built the space 20-50% bigger on a double-loaded corridor scheme. it'll probably be cheaper, and would take only a slightly larger lot. or if you were a developer, with an existing lot, you could just build less units (bearing in mind the construction and finishing costs would be cheaper).
you'll probably be closer to the street too.
Well, I'd want all of these. My basic idea of a city (cross-section away from major artery for like 2 km) is something like this. And yeah, the basic idea would be something like what you said, of course. I drew these like 2 days ago when talking about it with Roy.like i said, if you want to factor in what this guy did in terms of cost of interior finishing plus cost sq foot (for a new property), you might as well built the space 20-50% bigger on a double-loaded corridor scheme. it'll probably be cheaper, and would take only a slightly larger lot. or if you were a developer, with an existing lot, you could just build less units (bearing in mind the construction and finishing costs would be cheaper).
you'll probably be closer to the street too.
Fri Apr 30, 2010 2:41:21 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#22
that's my point precisely: i'm willing to wager that labour is considerably cheaper than material cost in Russia and across most of the old Eastern Bloc. this is why you see dense concrete high-rises (usually public projects) in these areas. i'm not advocating surburbia or mcmansion developments, those are highly unsustainable in terms of land-use and household energy consumption (heating and gas consumption).
Also, experimental designs have been made with regards to high density housing with green spaces, all the way back to the 1930s and their failures are rather well documented. The most famous examples include Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation and various other projects based off it, which include commercial spaces, amenities and expansive green spaces. I also grew up in a country where the bulk of the population including some of the upper middle class live in private and public high-density high-rises. You can experiment all you want with design, but the fact is the biggest factor determining the success of such projects are the management of the public spaces. I can't remember exactly what papers or critiques i've read, but high-density development across the board suffer from the exact same problems of unclear delineation of public and privates spaces which lead to dereliction and unsafe "blind-spots". These developments usually only experience any level of success when the residents take ownership of the public spaces, which is rare and subject to factors beyond design.
A lot of the recent research into sustainable developments have focused rather on low to mid-density urban lots. these including single-family houses, mixed commercial/residential zones, as well as mixed-income multi-unit mid-rise developments. there is most potential here because of the urban planning and urban design factors(transportation, more social buffer space per person, access to ground-level, access to commerce and amenities, access to daylight)...
I agree with the idea of mainly building mid and low-rise. However, this guy's model provides a compact living arrangement that is near the street, which is very potential for people who want to have such a living arrangement but don't have $500,000 for an apartment.Also, experimental designs have been made with regards to high density housing with green spaces, all the way back to the 1930s and their failures are rather well documented. The most famous examples include Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation and various other projects based off it, which include commercial spaces, amenities and expansive green spaces. I also grew up in a country where the bulk of the population including some of the upper middle class live in private and public high-density high-rises. You can experiment all you want with design, but the fact is the biggest factor determining the success of such projects are the management of the public spaces. I can't remember exactly what papers or critiques i've read, but high-density development across the board suffer from the exact same problems of unclear delineation of public and privates spaces which lead to dereliction and unsafe "blind-spots". These developments usually only experience any level of success when the residents take ownership of the public spaces, which is rare and subject to factors beyond design.
A lot of the recent research into sustainable developments have focused rather on low to mid-density urban lots. these including single-family houses, mixed commercial/residential zones, as well as mixed-income multi-unit mid-rise developments. there is most potential here because of the urban planning and urban design factors(transportation, more social buffer space per person, access to ground-level, access to commerce and amenities, access to daylight)...
Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:39:02 pm
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#19
building denser is also just a bad idea in hot and humid climates. it might make sense in cooler climates, but then the high-rise building in cooler climates are usually glass and steel, which just mean increased heating costs.
the method for building high-rises sustainably in hot/humid climates isn't about increasing building mass density, but about creating horizontal and vertical cross-sectional voids in the building mass to facilitate passive cooling through stack and cross ventilation. if you're interested, ken yeang's bioclimatic designs are worth looking at.
I'll google it, thanks.the method for building high-rises sustainably in hot/humid climates isn't about increasing building mass density, but about creating horizontal and vertical cross-sectional voids in the building mass to facilitate passive cooling through stack and cross ventilation. if you're interested, ken yeang's bioclimatic designs are worth looking at.
Thu Apr 29, 2010 4:02:16 pm
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
Also, high-rise residential design has evolved a fair bit since Le Corbusier. http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/static.panoramio.com/photos/original/22235432.jpg
Thu Apr 29, 2010 3:58:44 pm
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#19
we learned all this, only we were taught to look at it a little less simplistically. different climates and locales have varying land-values, labour-cost, material-cost, labour and material availability, etc.
a high-rise apartment building would make more sense when land cost is high, but be a really poor decision in places with low land value or poor soil conditions that cannot support the weight of the building without an overly-exorbitant foundation. even then, you have to look at the labour market. is it worth paying for the extra labour and engineering expertise to build a highrise in that particular location over its life-time? to answer this you then have to figure out what the target demographic is and what your client's development plan is for the surrounding area.
different locations have greatly varying labour and material costs as well. for instance, it makes sense to build high-rises where labour is cheaper relative to material cost. this is usually in less developed construction markets, or where the material of choice is concrete (labour intensive but cheap). highrise apartment buildings are not frequently built in american cities, since labour is much more expensive that the material of choice here, which is steel and glass. concrete would be cheaper, but would require much more labour.
as for the point about it being cheaper to install these panels: interiors/finishes surfaces cost much much more than merely covering square footage with floor and walls. also, if you want to convince somebody this is the best way to live, you'll be running up against culturally and ideologically-based resistance.
sustainable design is much more than brute strides towards energy efficiency and "green space". it's about designing in a way that doesn't compromise quality of life while being responsible to the environment and to reduce waste. i don't really feel like explaining why your obsession ...
Well, I've lived in both the high-rise suburbs of Moscow and the low-rise apartment and townhouse suburbs of DC and both have a good amount of green space and pretty comfortable living, except here you have to drive to get anywhere, even to a store.a high-rise apartment building would make more sense when land cost is high, but be a really poor decision in places with low land value or poor soil conditions that cannot support the weight of the building without an overly-exorbitant foundation. even then, you have to look at the labour market. is it worth paying for the extra labour and engineering expertise to build a highrise in that particular location over its life-time? to answer this you then have to figure out what the target demographic is and what your client's development plan is for the surrounding area.
different locations have greatly varying labour and material costs as well. for instance, it makes sense to build high-rises where labour is cheaper relative to material cost. this is usually in less developed construction markets, or where the material of choice is concrete (labour intensive but cheap). highrise apartment buildings are not frequently built in american cities, since labour is much more expensive that the material of choice here, which is steel and glass. concrete would be cheaper, but would require much more labour.
as for the point about it being cheaper to install these panels: interiors/finishes surfaces cost much much more than merely covering square footage with floor and walls. also, if you want to convince somebody this is the best way to live, you'll be running up against culturally and ideologically-based resistance.
sustainable design is much more than brute strides towards energy efficiency and "green space". it's about designing in a way that doesn't compromise quality of life while being responsible to the environment and to reduce waste. i don't really feel like explaining why your obsession ...
Also I doubt that people would "resist" this, if experimental designs are made before going large-scale. Right now, 85% of new housing demand is from people who either don't have children yet or people whose children already moved out, and this sort of thing, if pre-fabricated, would probably not be that expensive to install, and people would like it as an alternative to a "McMansion" which is really no different except in size.
Also they have begun to build a lot of high-rise apartments here. The main limit to what they can build is zoning and traffic limitations only allowing single-family house development, but they're rewriting it from scratch.
Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:59:17 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#17
my architectural degree in sustainable design/technology is all a sham.
:/
The one drawback of highrise apartment buildings is the cost per sq. m. which isn't really a trade-off compared to dense low-rise construction. This, however, allows you to save a lot of that meterage and instead replace it with these panels, which probably cost a lot less to install than it costs to build a separate kitchen, dining room, bedroom, etc., allowing there to be both more green space and more density. Don't you guys learn this?:/
Wed Apr 28, 2010 6:56:51 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#16
If I ever do this, it would only be for my home, or maybe for a single building that I own.
Well, I would like to experiment with this, and if it works, implement it in a bigger project.Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:59:24 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#13
I know some private equity fund managers and investment bankers. I might be able to get the money for this type of project, but it would involve a lot more work and commitment than I would want to put into something like this. I have other interests/skills/talents.
Ah. My ideas of housing are on the scale of square miles, so I was really intrigued by this guy's idea.Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:52:29 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#11
I would like to incorporate this concept, but I would not do it where I am now.
I wonder if it is possible to implement an idea in housing without giving it away to asshole developers and then not being able to develop it further because you are left with nothing. Housing tends to be very expensive and I doubt that a bank would loan you several million to build something experimental.Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:40:16 am
by thekfactor,
on The woman on the train by udosero
The Metro here is very clean. You cannot eat or drink on it so there are almost no rats. The cars have carpeting instead of the linoleum/whatever thing so the ride is very quiet. It was designed in the 70s when the idea was that the city is "dirty" and the transit should be segregated from it aesthetically. It has become less like that recently though, as ridership is now around a 800k per day (in a metro area of 5 million), so the new cars have fewer seats and some have the rubber floors instead of carpeting to save money.
Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:30:48 am
by thekfactor,
on The woman on the train by udosero
Wow. The worst I've seen on the DC Metro is pools of vomit on Friday night.
Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:29:07 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#9
Do you want to work on a system that incorporates this guy's walls thing into a housing project/system?
The only downside I can think of is people who hoard useless crap and have to pay for self-storage to keep things they will never use again instead of selling them or throwing them out.
Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:01:06 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#7
Before I was born, my family lived in an apartment that had the bathtub in the kitchen.
Was this in New York?Wed Apr 28, 2010 4:50:16 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#3
The potential is there, if everyone in an apartment live like this, you can fit a lot more people into it. Higher density
less buildings.
Also, if you live with children, you still need a separate room for them, as well as a separate toilet and bath. (Which this guy doesn't make private either.) Here's something I think would be an improvement based on compact living situation back in Russia.less buildings.
My fixes:
Puts bath, toilet rooms adjacent to entrance. Doors can be made sliding to make it easier I guess. Basically, this shifts more of the things he has (washer, dryer, bath) into spaces that are not vital to have near sunlight. Another thing is, I've learned that you don't need a sink that is much bigger than just the basin, as long as it's not too low (at least 1m high) to prevent spillage. All the toothbrushes and such you can just put on a rack in the wall or the little thing where the basin ends and there's like 6 cm between that and the wall. This allows having two people live in the apartment comfortably, decreasing the meterage per person from 33 like the guy has to ~18.
With two bedrooms you can have a separate wardrobe near the door, saving more space, and a closet for children's things. Only thing that drives up the cost is the toilet not being adjacent to any other water usage. On the other hand, if the 2-bedroom apartments are mirrored, with the bathrooms adjacent, much more piping is saved from that than from having a pipe go to and from the toilet.
In reflection, this guy is much like Le Corbusier - his ideas are very good and innovational, combining uses of a kitchen, bedroom, living room, study room, etc through moving walls, - but he remains an autistic savant who has no idea of the social implications of his creations. That is, he designed the apartment for people like him who live alone and may have people over sometimes. He also doesn't play video games or poker with friends so he doesn't have a comfortable couch or a good table, just a seat like something you'd expect on a train. He does not have the walls automated through a remote control because he does not come home tired from work. As such, his invention is very incomplete.
Wed Apr 28, 2010 3:27:30 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
re: comment#3
The potential is there, if everyone in an apartment live like this, you can fit a lot more people into it. Higher density
less buildings.
They should find a way to make this on an industrial scale, the same way Venezuela builds PVC plastic homes for the poor.less buildings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7381709.stm
Wed Apr 28, 2010 3:15:02 am
by thekfactor,
on A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms by interesting
Feng Shui is reactionary pseudo-science.
Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:19:10 am
by thekfactor,
on Boast Max by peredovoi_otryad
re: comment#2
what are trains like in sydney?
Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:19:07 pm
by thekfactor,
on Another teacher I never had or cared for died by thekfactor
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