Following our case study Article and Video – Drip Irrigation in the City, we received expert response from a Ranchi, India based Civil Engineer, with almost 40 years’ experience.
Based on this discussion, and feedback, this week’s article outlines possible issues that may arise with use of this technology in Residential colonies.
In Case study 1 (original Case Study -Residence A), the Balcony A in question lies adjacent to a plumbing Shaft A, containing supply water pipes to the house. Thus, the plumber can easily provide a water connection (Source for the Drip Irrigation System) from this shaft to the balcony.
However, in Case Study 2 (Alternative
Scenario – Residence B),
the positioning of shafts is different. The Shaft B in the house (Residence B) is placed far from the Balcony. This makes it difficult to provide a water source for the Drip
System.
The Shaft C, which offers a more direct route to Balcony B, contains water supply pipes belonging to another flat (Residence C). Thus, the plumber would be unable to draw a connection from this shaft.
Solution:
Such technology could be Integrated at earlier Design stages in future Residential constructions. Thus, shaft and water supply lines could be planned accordingly, for convenience to Residents and to save Water.
We look forward to more such expert opinions, feedback, comments. These help us move towards further Sustainable Solutions, for our evolving Built and Urban Environments.
An Efficient technique largely used in Greenhouses and Agriculture, could be ‘Adapted’ to serve ‘Emerging’ City Needs – Assist Aging Populations and Address Water Shortages.
Looking at a City Case Study, Details, Pros and Cons.
This week we document Drip Irrigation used for balcony garden irrigation. The Case study is a 1000 sqft. flat dwelling, housing 2 aging persons. Having a large ground garden, while living in a metro city is a luxury most cannot afford. So, many people nurture beautiful balcony gardens. Often aging parents or grandparents may be living alone and looking after these spaces. They may or may not have access to domestic help for daily watering of plants. New developments are often also plagued with water shortages. Tiled balconies can become messy and slippery with pipe or bucket watering, thus posing a danger to aged people living alone.
We thus explore this technology, used in our case study, that may be able to address the above issues. It could remove unnecessary risk and make life a little more convenient for aged people.
The Nuts and Bolts
Looking at 3 main details –
1) Origin – Tap, Tap Connector, Elbow Connector, Main Pipe
2) Route – Main Pipe, Elbow/ Tee/ Straight Connectors
3) Destination – Main Pipe, Feeder Pipe, Stake/Anchor to hold Feeder Pipes in the soil of pots, Drip Emitter
Some advanced kits also include automatic timers for scheduling the watering cycle.
Cost
The whole kit could cost between ₹ 300 to above ₹ 7000 (around $4 – $100 depending on company, number of plants)
Pros and Cons
The Pros and Cons are based on feedback for the technology by the owners.
Note: The products utilized by the owners in the Case Study are by a company called CINAGRO™. We are spreading information about the ‘adaptive’ use of this technology to solve important city issues. We however, are NOT endorsing the products/ company in question. You could search for Drip Irrigation Garden online. There are various companies that sell/ install such products.
Hope these details help you make decisions for your homes and the homes of other aging people with similar requirements.
Have you used a similar technology in your projects? Tell us about your experience. Did you face any other issues than the ones described above?
Do you think this ‘Adaptation’ can help address Emerging city needs?
This is Segment 4 of our Chain of posts focused on ‘Energy @ the Building Scale’.
[Extension of Part 4/5: The Red System (Energy), Singapore – Published: 28th May 2018]
Plan diagrams showing Apartments Clusters
Skyville@Dawson is a 111,106 sq.m., 48-storey1 public housing project by WOHA Architects in Queenstown, Singapore. It is one of two Build-To-Order (BTO) projects commissioned by Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB), as part of their “Remaking Our Heartland” initiative (the other being SkyTerrace@Dawson by SCDA Architects)4. This “housing-in-a-park” concept would show transferability in future projects and towns like – Waterway Terraces, Bidadari, Punggol Northshore, Tampines North6. It is the first housing development to be awarded the GreenMark Platinum Rating10. Skyville@Dawson’s Sustainable Design features including Passive Strategies are elaborated below-
(i) The Building is placed with its longer facades facing the North-South9 directions. This reduces exposure to the East and West directions, that are normally difficult to shade.
Shading Studies for Skyville@Dawson
Clustering and Modules
(i) 8 apartments in plan(as seen in Plan diagrams above), surround a courtyard. This cluster is repeated 2 more times, to create 3 sets of apartments enclosing courtyards. This configuration also provides self-shading, especially from low angle rays from the East and West directions (as seen in the Shadow Studies above).
(ii) In Elevation, 12 clusters form villages, each comprising of 80 apartments.
Perspective diagrams showing Apartment Villages
(iii) The apartment layouts are column and beam free4. This provides the possibility of 3 layouts for residents – reducing wastage, allowing flexibility for multiple functions, family size and the future.
(iv) For standardization, efficiency and to reduce wastage, only 5 window types2 have been used in the entire development.
(v) The design uses precast and prefabricated10 elements to avoid errors and reduce wastage. This feature could also contribute towards LEED BD+C v4 Credit – Construction and Demolition waste management.
(i) The individual apartments are approximately 11 meters across in width, thus applying the Unit Thick Principle. Apartments also have openings in all directions. They are thus naturally ventilated and day lit, reducing artificial cooling and lighting costs.
Plan diagram showing Unit Thick apartment blocks
Breathability – Horizontal Air Movement
(i) The clustering arrangement around courtyards, and the repetition of this module linearly, enables horizontal air circulation.
Plan diagram showing Horizontal air movement through courtyards and building block gaps
(ii) Common areas (Lobbies, Corridors, Staircases) and Apartments are naturally ventilated. Many units have not installed Air-conditioning3.
Breathability – Vertical Air Movement
(i) With minimal obstructions and the creation of Canyon like spaces, air moves vertically through the towers – accentuating the breezy atmosphere. The interaction of this air with greenery from sky gardens at intermediate levels, cools this air through evapotranspiration.
Section diagram showing Vertical air movement through the towers
(i) ‘Sky Terraces’7 are located every 12 floors. These are designed as community spaces, where people can collect to interact with neighbors or simply visit to relax and enjoy the lush greenery.
Sky Gardens and Rooftop Garden
(ii) A ‘Sky Park’7 on the roof has planters, hedges, and beautiful city views. Photovoltaics3 power the common area lighting.
Site Integration with Green and Blue
(i) A 150 m long bio-swale (gently sloping ditch with specific plants) filters and treats site stormwater before discharging it into the city drainage system5. Another example of a bio-swale – water treatment and recycling loop can be seen in Kampung Admirality.
Site Plan diagram showing location of Parks, Plaza and Bio-swale
(ii) The site is an ungated3 community, with Public Parks and Amenities that cater to the residents as well as the general public.
(i) Monsoon windows8 on the facade can be kept open during rains, thus providing cool breeze without wind-blown rain entering the home. A similar more advanced Monsoon Window design is utilized in another high-rise residential building – 1 Moulmein Rise, Singapore.
(ii) The walls on the facade have horizontal and vertical sunbreakers5. Balconies or horizontal ledges9 are used to provide shading for openings.
(iii) Double-height verandas10 on the ground level provide pleasant public spaces overlooking the parks.
That’s all for today! We hope you enjoyed this segment. As always, we would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, queries, opinions.
Thank you!
See you next week.
Credits: Graphics : Selected graphics are produced as part of a team project for M.Sc. Integrated Sustainable Design at National University of Singapore (Building Semester – Stage 1 – Complex Living Systems). Group Members – Gajender Kumar Sharma, Aditi Bisen, Huang Hongbo, Zhao Yanming Text: Aditi Bisen
This is part of a series of posts based on scripts, written for class presentations during our Masters in Integrated Sustainable Design at National University of Singapore.
The class had to analyse various complex systems in Singapore, as a precursor to the Design problem in Studio. The systems included are – Red (energy), Blue (Water), Green I (Biodiversity), Green II (Food) and Grey (Public Space).
The following posts elaborate on the Red System.
Part 5/5: How can energy be restructured to improve self sufficiency and reduce emissions?
The 4 parts of the series till now outline the existing Energy system of Singapore – its timeline, characteristics, issues. We saw a Sankey diagram in Part 3/5 detailing existing flows and exchanges, while Part 4/5 elaborated on the System Structure at 3 scales.
This final part talks of an ‘After‘ Scenario where we propose a ‘Restructuring‘ to address issues and gaps – to improve self sufficiency and reduce emissions.
The issues at hand which create possible vulnerabilities are –
This is part of a series of posts based on scripts, written for class presentations during our Masters in Integrated Sustainable Design at National University of Singapore.
The class had to analyse various complex systems in Singapore, as a precursor to the Design problem in Studio. The systems included are – Red (energy), Blue (Water), Green I (Biodiversity), Green II (Food) and Grey (Public Space).
The following posts elaborate on the Red System.
Part 4/5: System Structure
Welcome to Part 4/5 of our series on the Energy System of Singapore. Part 1/5 established that the system has a gap at the neighborhood scale, that it is highly centralized and the largest demand sectors are Industrial and Commercial. Part 2/5 analysed the timeline of the system from the 1800s to present day, and looked on to the future – with a focus on important policies and events, and their corresponding effects.
Part 3/5 looked more deeply into the System’s Flows & Exchanges. Important findings were that there is a high dependence on fossil fuels mainly Petroleum Products and Natural Gas for both direct consumption and generation of electricity. Also, despite efficient gas turbines for electricity generation, there are high conversion losses of up to 40 per cent as heat. However, the transmission losses remain low. A large percentage of transportation is also powered using fossil fuels. Within sectors, the highest consumption is for air-conditioning loads. Considerable waste heat is generated from processes, adding to environmental heat and affecting micro-climate.
Moving on from this understanding, in this post we explore the System Structure in greater detail on 3 scales – Island, 10 km X 10 km and Building.
System Structure on Regional and Island Scale; Graphics: Credits below
This is part of a series of posts based on scripts, written for class presentations during our Masters in Integrated Sustainable Design at National University of Singapore.
The class had to analyse various complex systems in Singapore, as a precursor to the Design problem in Studio. The systems included are – Red (energy), Blue (Water), Green I (Biodiversity), Green II (Food) and Grey (Public Space).
The following posts elaborate on the Red System.
Part 3/5: System Flows and Exchanges
Welcome to Part 3/5 of our series on the Energy System of Singapore. Part 1/5 established the objective and boundary condition of the system. It then identified the Elements, and Flows & Exchanges between them, to set relevant scales of study and understand critical functions. We found that the system has a gap at the neighborhood scale, it is highly centralized and the largest demand sectors are Industrial and Commercial. Part 2/5 went deeper into the analysis by looking at the timeline of the system from the 1800s to present day, and looking to the future. The timeline reflected important policies and events, and their corresponding effects using maps at Regional and Island scales.
Moving on from the above base, this post delves deeper into the System Flows and Exchanges. The Analysis is divided into 3 sections – Generation, Transmission, Distribution & Consumption.
Energy System Flows & Exchanges Sankey Diagram; Generation, Transmission, Distribution & Consumption in detail below; Graphics: Credits below; Data Sources: 1, 2
This is part of a series of posts based on scripts, written for class presentations during our Masters in Integrated Sustainable Design at National University of Singapore.
The class had to analyse various complex systems in Singapore, as a precursor to the Design problem in Studio. The systems included are – Red (energy), Blue (Water), Green I (Biodiversity), Green II (Food) and Grey (Public Space).
The following posts elaborate on the Red System.
Part 2/5: System in Time
Welcome to part 2/5 of our ongoing series, on the Energy system of Singapore. The last post established the objective of the system. We then started analysis by first establishing a boundary condition and later identifying the system’s Elements, and the Flows & Exchanges between them. This was done to set relevant scales of study and understand critical functions such as generation, transmission, consumption. We gathered that there is a global scale and 3 local scales for this system – Island, 10 km X 10 km and building. There is a gap at the neighborhood scale. We also found out that the system is highly centralized with high demand from various sectors, the largest being Industrial and Commercial.
Keeping this base work in mind, we move deeper into the analysis and understand the timeline of the system starting all the way from the 1800s to present day. We also look at future aims and targets to address present issues.
This is part of a series of posts based on scripts, written for class presentations during our Masters in Integrated Sustainable Design at National University of Singapore.
The class had to analyse various complex systems in Singapore, as a precursor to the Design problem in Studio. The systems included are – Red (energy), Blue (Water), Green I (Biodiversity), Green II (Food) and Grey (Public Space).
The following posts elaborate on the Red System.
Part 1/5: What are the Objective, Boundaries, Elements, Flows & Exchanges of the Red System in Singapore?
The ‘objective‘ is established keeping in mind short and long term goals. The short term concern would be to create a resilience to Supply – Demand Balance. For the long term, development needs to be Sustainable and the System should address Environmental Issues.
For the analysis we explore the Systems Thinking approach. For this, we first establish the ‘Boundary‘ conditions for the system. This helps identify Scales and to find Gaps. If the system is reliant on factors outside the country, then there would be a Global scale. Within Singapore, we assume 4 local scales – Island, 10 km X 10 km, Neighborhood and Building.
Next, we break the system into its constituent ‘Elements‘ to understand the ‘Flows & Exchanges‘ between them. This critical understanding helps us find flaws, shortcomings, and even opportunities at every stage. These can then be addressed or exploited to bring about improvements.
I sit in my living room looking at the gallons of water pouring down my window, courtesy the Great Indian Monsoons. I can’t help but feel sad seeing such a colossal waste of a precious resource – fresh water. This emotion is heightened by two reasons.
The Architecture Gazette 