#Adaptive Architecture

[reasonsforhope]

Pictured: Luis Cassiano is the founder of Teto Verde Favela, a nonprofit that teaches favela residents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, how to build their own green roofs as a way to beat the heat. He's photographed at his house, which has a green roof.

Article

"Cassiano is the founder of Teto Verde Favela, a nonprofit that teaches favela residents how to build their own green roofs as a way to beat the heat without overloading electrical grids or spending money on fans and air conditioners. He came across the concept over a decade ago while researching how to make his own home bearable during a particularly scorching summer in Rio.

A method that's been around for thousands of years and that was perfected in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s, green roofs weren't uncommon in more affluent neighborhoods when Cassiano first heard about them. But in Rio's more than 1,000 low-income favelas, their high cost and heavy weight meant they weren't even considered a possibility.

That is, until Cassiano decided to team up with a civil engineer who was looking at green roofs as part of his doctoral thesis to figure out a way to make them both safe and affordable for favela residents. Over the next 10 years, his nonprofit was born and green roofs started popping up around the Parque Arará community, on everything from homes and day care centers, to bus stops and food trucks.

When Gomes da Silva heard the story of Teto Verde Favela, he decided then and there that he wanted his home to be the group's next project, not just to cool his own home, but to spread the word to his neighbors about how green roofs could benefit their community and others like it.

Pictured: Jessica Tapre repairs a green roof in a bus stop in Benfica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Relief for a heat island

Like many low-income urban communities, Parque Arará is considered a heat island, an area without greenery that is more likely to suffer from extreme heat. A 2015 study from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro showed a 36-degree difference in land surface temperatures between the city's warmest neighborhoods and nearby vegetated areas. It also found that land surface temperatures in Rio's heat islands had increased by 3 degrees over the previous decade.

That kind of extreme heat can weigh heavily on human health, causing increased rates of dehydration and heat stroke; exacerbating chronic health conditions, like respiratory disorders; impacting brain function; and, ultimately, leading to death.

But with green roofs, less heat is absorbed than with other low-cost roofing materials common in favelas, such as asbestos tiles and corrugated steel sheets, which conduct extreme heat. The sustainable infrastructure also allows for evapotranspiration, a process in which plant roots absorb water and release it as vapor through their leaves, cooling the air in a similar way as sweating does for humans.

The plant-covered roofs can also dampen noise pollution, improve building energy efficiency, prevent flooding by reducing storm water runoff and ease anxiety.

"Just being able to see the greenery is good for mental health," says Marcelo Kozmhinsky, an agronomic engineer in Recife who specializes in sustainable landscaping. "Green roofs have so many positive effects on overall well-being and can be built to so many different specifications. There really are endless possibilities.""

Pictured: Summer heat has been known to melt water tanks during the summer in Rio, which runs from December to March. Pictured is the water tank at Luis Cassiano's house. He covered the tank with bidim, a lightweight material conducive for plantings that will keep things cool.

A lightweight solution

But the several layers required for traditional green roofs — each with its own purpose, like insulation or drainage — can make them quite heavy.

For favelas like Parque Arará, that can be a problem.

"When the elite build, they plan," says Cassiano. "They already consider putting green roofs on new buildings, and old buildings are built to code. But not in the favela. Everything here is low-cost and goes up any way it can."

Without the oversight of engineers or architects, and made with everything from wood scraps and daub, to bricks and cinder blocks, construction in favelas can't necessarily bear the weight of all the layers of a conventional green roof.

That's where the bidim comes in. Lightweight and conducive to plant growth — the roofs are hydroponic, so no soil is needed — it was the perfect material to make green roofs possible in Parque Arará. (Cassiano reiterates that safety comes first with any green roof he helps build. An engineer or architect is always consulted before Teto Verde Favela starts a project.)

And it was cheap. Because of the bidim and the vinyl sheets used as waterproof screening (as opposed to the traditional asphalt blanket), Cassiano's green roofs cost just 5 Brazilian reais, or $1, per square foot. A conventional green roof can cost as much as 53 Brazilian reais, or $11, for the same amount of space.

"It's about making something that has such important health and social benefits possible for everyone," says Ananda Stroke, an environmental engineering student at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro who volunteers with Teto Verde Favela. "Everyone deserves to have access to green roofs, especially people who live in heat islands. They're the ones who need them the most." ...

It hasn't been long since Cassiano and the volunteers helped put the green roof on his house, but he can already feel the difference. It's similar, says Gomes da Silva, to the green roof-covered moto-taxi stand where he sometimes waits for a ride.

"It used to be unbearable when it was really hot out," he says. "But now it's cool enough that I can relax. Now I can breathe again."

-via NPR, January 25, 2025

[zomb13s]

alfons.design – For all your creative media solutions and concepts

For all your creative media solutions and concepts — Read on alfons.design/ Alfons Scholing is a visionary in universal design, transforming everyday environments into spaces that are accessible, functional, and beautiful for everyone. His expertise spans multiple design disciplines, from product innovation and architecture to digital interfaces and urban planning. At the heart of Alfons’ work is…

[remash]

le grand palais renovation ~ chatillon architectes | photos by laurent kronental

[arc-hus]

Quarry No. 8 & 9, Lishui, China - DnA

[theradioghost]

there's that thing, right, where more imperfect media gets WAY more fandom-type engagement, because it gives you space to mess around in. to WANT to mess around in. and I believe on all levels that the Dinotopia books are infinitely better than the TV stuff, and I treasure that version of this world deeply and I love those books. but whenever I feel the need to pick at worldbuilding and imagine how things work, I am always drawn first to the slightly dumb, way more fucked up version of Dinotopia from the miniseries. a well thought through utopian society is never gonna give you questions like "how the fuck does a vegetarian-bordering-on-vegan culture make clothes warm enough for skybax riders" or "how do marriages work in your universal system of semiromantic dinosaur-human polygamy. how does ARCHITECTURE work in your universal system of semiromantic dinosaur-human polygamy" or "what are the societal ramifications of the dinosaurs being weirdly paternalistic towards sapient mammals, presumably including the cetaceans even if this version doesn't have the mountain cultures full of pleistocene fauna?"

changing the acrostic for the laws of dinotopia was fuckin stupid though, I ignore that bit

[bspoquemagazine]

From Classic Complex to Contemporary Workplace In Rome, @alvisikirimoto transforms a 20th-century landmark into the new HQ for global law firm @dlapiper. With fluid, people-first design across 7 levels and 4,000 sqm, the project redefines the modern office. Featuring tactile materials, lush interiors, and panoramic terraces, it’s a workplace that connects with its city—and its people. 📍Via Veneto x Aurelian Walls, Rome 📐 By Alvisi Kirimoto 🏢 Client: DLA Piper 🏗️ Property: DEA Capital 📸: © Serena Eller / © Ellerstudio #AlvisiKirimoto #DLAPiper #ContemporaryArchitecture #InteriorDesign #WorkplaceDesign #LEEDCertified #RomeArchitecture #OfficeInspiration #AdaptiveReuse #GreenDesign #HumanCenteredDesign #ModernOffice #MINTLIST

[35letters]

(via Transformation et surélévation d'un garage en 63 logements collectifs à Paris 11ᵉ (75) - Atelier Téqui Architectes)

[a-treatise-on-velociraptors]

Annihilation the movie was super disappointing to me in a lot of ways, but Annihilation the book the movie is based on didn't have most of those issues and is one of my favorite scifi books as of reading it.

[aelirus]

I love the church in Hearthome. I have a feeling that whatever the entralink house in driftveil was doing was trying to emulate it. Sudden philosophy ?!? Stfu sages!! You can't do it nearly as well as these old people in the sinnohan church!!

so, anyway, I love that church and everything each NPC says inside is really touching, to me. I feel like it just reflects the sort of broad scale gamefreak was attempting to wrangle in that game, and how much heart they wanted to put in dppl despite some messy production.

And also, there's just something about how understanding those NPCs are about weariness and sustaining yourself that in a messed up way it kinda seems like if Cyrus had gone to church, to that church, he might've been a bit better off.

I gotta parse this still cus that could be taken so many ways.

Land of legendaries, antagonist is the biggest atheist ever, believes that the universe and whatever created it was wrong because it let him be hurt.... and we as the players are supposed to be on the side of the legendaries and myths, essentially. Hm... much to think about

[emilococo]

Tick, Tock.

Click Clock.

Honestly, I need to get better at meeting deadlines.

Shakespeare the Animated Tales belongs to its respected owners and creators.

[archihaven]

Source: http://thevirtualbuilder.tumblr.com

[reasonsforhope]

"The search has intensified for alternative energy-saving technologies for heating and cooling that don’t run on fossil fuels.

Now, by mimicking a desert-dwelling chameleon, Chinese scientists have developed a cheap energy-efficient, cost-effective coating on houses.

They say the new material could keep buildings cool in the summer or warm in the winter without using additional energy.

“Many desert creatures have specialized adaptations to allow them to survive in harsh environments with large daily temperature shifts,” said Dr. Fuqiang Wang, author on the paper describing the invention and researcher at the Harbin Institute of Technology. “For example, the Namaqua chameleon of southwestern Africa alters its color to regulate its body temperature as conditions change.”

Pictured: A Namaqua Chameleon

...Many systems, such as cooling paints or colored steel tiles, are only designed to keep buildings either cool or warm, and can’t switch between modes.

Inspired by the Namaqua chameleon, Dr. Wang and his colleagues wanted to create a color-shifting coating that adapts as outside temperatures fluctuate...

When heated to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the surface began to change from dark to light grey. Once it reached 86F, the light-colored film reflected up to 93% of solar radiation.

“Even when heated above 175 degrees Fahrenheit for an entire day, the material showed no signs of damage,” reported Dr. Wang.

The team then tested it alongside three conventional coatings—regular white paint, a passive radiative cooling paint, and blue steel tiles in outdoor tests on doghouse-sized buildings throughout all four seasons...

In summer, the new coating was significantly cooler than the white paint and steel tiles, according to the findings published in the journal Nano Letters.

“During spring and fall, the new coating was the only system that could adapt to the widely fluctuating temperature changes, switching from heating to cooling throughout the day,” Dr. Wang added.

The researchers say that the color-changing system could save a “considerable” amount of energy for regions that experience multiple seasons, while still being inexpensive and easy to manufacture."

-via Good News Network, September 21, 2023

[batarangsoundsdumb]

Hmmm if you wanna be a cowboy go to Texas but idk if a european is ready for Texas. Pretty sure Bigfoot is there or smth

Also as a person from southern usa (not Texas but I visit sometimes) be prepared for the heat and make sure you go to the right part of Texas unless you want them 👹 to get you. Hope this helped 🥰

(PS) yeehaw :D (if you are one of them 👹 please reblog so batarangsoundsdumb knows to run 🏃)

"i dont know if a european is ready for texas" there is nobody as badly prepared for texas as texas itself.

[nekez]

[ A Golden Statue ]

REI SoHo Flagship Store (Puck Building) (Original Architect: Albert Wagner, 1885 – Renovation by Callison, 2011) - 303 Lafayette Street, SoHo, New York City H.Min, Contax T2

[arc-hus]

We Rural Renovation, Turin - Archisbang

[lynxmuse]

Viadukt by EM2N