Kris Wilson

The other day an architect came in to talk to us about sustainable architecture. His name was Kris, and he works for Design House Architecture ltd. (Click here to view their site). He told us about all the waste created, and the energy and resources used on a building site (See slide 2). He told us all about what a sustainable home should have (See slide 3). After that he showed us some examples of sustainable buildings (See slides 4-8), and an example that he designed on Google Sketchup (See slides 9-15). Then the last slide is about all who can be sustainable, and etc...

Sustainable Architecture PPT

View more OpenOffice presentations from A S.

HEHEHE!!!! I finally learnt how to upload powerpoint presentations on to the Internet and from there on to Blogger!!!!!

Joe + Clement

The other day two university students came in to talk to us about sustainability and worm farming and stuff. They were part of SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise). SIFE students' vision statement is “To create sustainable outreach projects that make a positive difference in the community”. They did an activity with us using an apple. The apple represented the surface area of the earth, and the skin represented the area of land that we were able to grow food on. First they cut the apple into quarters, and took one. This represented the surface of the earth that wasn't sea. Next, they cut that quarter into another four quarters. This was because of the mountains, the rocky bits, the too hot or cold bits, and finally, the bits that we could grow food on (1/16). But they didn't stop there, we humans have built on and polluted some of this area, so he cut it in half again. This astounded me. There is only 1/32 of the world that we are able to grow food on, and it needs to support the whole globe!!!!
I do not believe that this is entirely accurate, because things can be grown almost anywhere in a hydroponic place, or artificial conditions. Stuff could also be grown on a volcanic slope, or many other places.
They also showed us a bunch of other stuff, including how much of the contents of our bin could be recycled, or put in a worm farm/compost bin. That's about all I'm gonna right for now, but I'll post again soon.

Native woods on our island

On our island we have the following trees:

• Kahikatea (also known by the misleading name "white pine")
• Matai (also known by the misleading name "black pine")
• Rimu (also known by the misleading name "red pine")
• Kauri (one of the most ancient species of trees in NZ)
• And possibly a few other types of trees, and also undergrowth.

On the scale of how threatened a species is, all of the above trees are "least concern", except for the kauri tree. The kauri is classified "conservation dependant" and often grows to at least 600 years old, though many seem to have reached the 1000 mark.

Uses:

[Kauri] In the past the size and strength of kauri timber made it a popular wood for construction and ship building, particularly for masts of sailing ships due to the absence of branches extending for much of its height. Kauri is also a great timber for building the hulls and decks of boats because of its resistance to rot. Kauri stump wood was much appreciated for its beauty, and was wanted for ornamental wood panelling and fancy furniture.

[Rimu] Historically, rimu and other native trees such as kauri and totara were the main sources of wood for New Zealand, including house construction. But, many of New Zealand's original stands of rimu have been destroyed, and new laws forbid the cutting down of rimu in public forests, though allowing limited logging on private land. There is also limited recovery of stump and root wood, for use in making bowls and other wood turned objects. The inner bark can also be used to treat burns and cuts.

[Kahikatea] Since the wood does not impart an odour, and is clean and lightweight, Kahikatea was used to make boxes for the exporting of butter when the refrigerated export got better between Australia and New Zealand in the 1880s. For Māori, the kahikatea had many uses. The fleshy aril or koroi was an important food resource, and was served at feasts in great amounts. The wood was also favoured for making bird spears. Soot obtained from burning the heartwood supplied a pigment for traditional tattooing. Kahikatea, along with other trees in privately owned forests, can only be harvested under a permit system and if sustainable harvesting techniques are used.

[Matai] The timber of this tree was used extensively in New Zealand for flooring during the mid-20th century. Mataī is not threatened, although as a forest-type it has been greatly reduced through widespread logging. Very few intact examples of Matai-dominated forest remain.

To read more about them, visit the following websites:

Dacrydium cupressinum (Rimu)

Agathis australis (Kauri)

Dacrycarpus dacrydiodes (Kahikatea)

Prumnopitys taxifolia (Matai)

Wharf pictures

Here are the pictures from the Google Sketchup model of the wharf:

I'm an architect

My primary job on the island is architect. I share this occupation with Sprint Gas Racing, and so far business is booming. Because we are starting from scratch on the island, we are needed a lot. The plans for the wharf are complete, the eco-housing design is finished except for the furnishings, and the blueprints for the community centre/town hall are still in the first stage.
On my other blog (no pun intended), I have done a post about architecture throughout the ages. To see it, click here.
Soon I will upload some pictures of the Google Sketchup model of our wharf, and hopefully the finished versions of our other buildings.

Things an eco-house needs

1) An energy-saving design.
2) To be constructed with environmentally friendly materials (such as the EcoFaeBrick or homemade concrete).
3) It could use the natural features of the land to it's advantage (for cooling and heat and the like).
4) A way of powering the electrical neccesities of life (like a few small wind turbines or a tiny dam over a nearby stream).
5) The eco-house could have a water tank to store the rain-water off the roof.
6) A stone/concrete floor to trap the heat from the day and releases it in the night.
7) To look fabulously awesome.
8) A revolutionary way of not producing lots of carbon.
9) Lots of plants and vegetation.
An eco-house is an environmentally sustainable building that uses all of the above to help save our planet, etc...

Sustainable house

Here is a sustainable eco-house with solar panels and efficient heating.
It's specifications:
Construction: Timber frame walls; floor is 100mm slab with 50mm screed and 50mm polystyrene (with embedded water pipes for heating via solar hot water / wet back system); timber truss roof with corrugated steel cladding.
Windows: PVC framed double glazed.
Thermal mass: Concrete floor and stones surrounding wood burner.
Insulation: During building used the thickest batts possible along with 50mm of polystyrene.
Materials: Untreated timber used in the house.
Passive design: North facing windows and blinds.
Water heating: 6 flat solar panles.
Energy saving features: Heating system using solar combined with wetback to heat underfloor of house as well as hot water for showering etc.

1st contender for the Eco Building Material

This is likely to be one of the building materials used in the building of our civilisation on the Matai islands:
EcoFaeBrick
Under the brand of EcoFaeBrick, we are providing a breakthrough wall material to you. We offer you a brick that 20% lighter compared to the clay brick but 20% stronger in terms of compressive strength. By using EcoFaeBrick, you will get benefit not only in the higher quality of bricks but also in the lower structural cost. Please do not worry that such high quality of bricks will cost you extra, as we sell EcoFaeBrick at the same price as you pay for ordinary clay brick.We use 75% of processed cattle waste as our material. EcoFaeBrick is a safe product in terms of technical as well as health concern. Laboratory tests for the product have been conducted.
This was sourced from ecofaebrick.com

Matai Island Jobs

Here is a list of available jobs for the Matai Islands:
I am one of the Architect Designer-type people, in conjunction with my friend, Sprint Gas Racing.
There needs to be one or two people to farm our crops and tend to the livestock and chickens.
Also someone to provide the manpower (or womanpower) to build our community and earn their living as a builder.
We would, of course need an explorer so we could use the island to it's full potential.
And a navigator to help the explorer map the island.
Another person we need would be a technician to fix all our technical problems.
A Boatman or two would be needed for getting across to the mainland and taking care of the boats.
The position of Mayor would have to be debated over,
And a City Council would be an addition to another job, a night job perhaps.
Electricians would be required to install and maintain all our technology.
I would also like to be a Politician, and debate treaties and stuff with the other islands over resources and political stuff.
That's about all the jobs I can name right now, but I'm sure that there's more needed. If you can think of any, please leave a note in comment form :).