Seasoned Postcards

Seasoned

Materials

Materials

In my city I plan to have a sort of structure that people can look to, that shows hope, the past and the future. A symbol of civilisation in a place where people can go and reflect and become one as a community in a place of common purpose in reflection and direction…in a sense a spiritual place.

The idea is to incorporate materials such as glass or clear plastic, some sort of stone/rock and metal. The idea is to make this city a modern but natural place to live incorporating old and more modern materials together.

So I will research in to such materials a:

Wood- A hard substance which forms the branches and trunks of trees and which can be used as a building material, for making things, or as a fuel. Wood properties depend on moisture content. Wood is a composite fibrous material (cellulose and lignin fibres) that starts to decompose at 550 K.

Alder-This wood is very durable in water and not so durable in dry conditions. Historically it was used a lot in pumps, piles and sluices.

Beech-A very hard wood almost unaffected when exposed to water. Therefore, it is used for keels of ships and flood gates. On account of its hardness it was used for wheels and railway sleepers.

Birch-Strong flexible wood that has many uses. Amongst the uses are furniture making, building as well as being used for agricultural implements in the past.

Cedar-A durable wood used in ancient buildings. Easy to work and strongly scented.

Ebony-A very dark, hard and smooth wood used for ornamental work.

Elm-A hard, durable and coarse grained wood. Used for ship building.

Lance-Wood-An elastic wood suitable where some degree of bending is required.

Larch-An extremely durable wood used for rough work. It warps a lot when dried, but can be polished to a fine finish when dry.

Lignum Vitae-A very hard wood.

Mahogany-A very hard wood that is very durable and can be polished to a fine finish with a rich colour.

Oak-The strongest and most durable wood that lasts for long periods in either wet or dry conditions.

Plywood-Thin sheets of wood glued together with the grains running in different directions to improve the strength of the resultant board.

Teak-A strong and durable wood that doesn’t shrink much and is comparatively easy to work.

(http://www.diracdelta.co.uk/science/source/w/o/wood/source.html)

Metal-Steel for earthquake safety: Earthquakes are very hard to predict when it comes to magnitude, frequency, duration and location. So the idea is to have an ideal material very resistant to all of these affects, Light gauge steel framing is capable of meeting this very standard due to its ductility (a mechanical property used to describe the extent to which a material can be bent or stretched with out fracture) and the strict process used to manufacture steel studs, the inherent properties of steel, and typical construction methods used in steel framing.

Glass- Glass used in my city I believe should be strong, during research as far as hurricanes go they say glass installed should be glass that has been tested to 150 mile per hour. These windows should have plastic panes, shatter-proof glass or glass with protective membranes (Impact Glass). The panes have to be more firmly attached than normal window panes (possibly even using screws or bolts through the edges of larger panes)

Rock- is a very credible natural material and can stand the test of time and that is shown through out the world as structured hundreds of years old still stand. There are many different types off Rock sourced around the world with its many different properties and attributes. Its main drawback is that it’s a heavy material and its ‘energy density’ is poor meaning it takes constant heating to keep a stone building warm.

Storm surge considerations

A common problem for buildings during hurricanes is storm surge. Flooding occurs frequently in coastal areas and waves contain a tremendous amount of energy which can literally batter a building to pieces. Beach front buildings should be able to withstand the ocean rising 20 or more feet with large waves on top of that. They should preferably be built on high ground where possible in order to avoid waves knocking the building down.

If waves can reach the building site, the building should be elevated on steel, concrete, or wooden pilings and/or anchored to solid rock. Whether it is intended or not, the walls on the first floor are often built with sheetrock which can completely deteriorate when wet and/or exposed to lateral forces, leaving structural members in place, and allowing water (or high winds) to pass through. This “gutting” occurs frequently in storm surge areas. If done by design, “sacrificing” the walls of the first floor is not an ideal solution, although it can save the rest of the building from destruction. Of course, building contents left on that level will be lost and considerable damage to the building could still result in costly repairs such as mold, rot, and termite problems below under building materials.

Wind acting on the roof surfaces of a building can cause negative pressures that tend to create a lifting force. This is one of the most common ways a building can be destroyed during a storm. Gravity alone may not be sufficient to prevent the roof from lifting, or “peeling,” off the rest of the building. Once this occurs, the building is weakened considerably and the rest of the building will likely fail as well. To minimize this, the upper structure should be securely anchored through the walls to the foundation.

The foundation

Several methods can be used to securely anchor the roof. Traditionally, roof trusses were simply “toenailed” into the top of the walls. These nails provide little to no actual structural advantage; they’re mainly used to hold the trusses in place while the rest of the roof is being built. Gravity and friction then ensure the roof stays put. Various products have been developed that can actually anchor the roof to the walls, which should then be anchored to a solid foundation. Metal straps that nail into the wall and wrap over the trusses are one method. Other methods, including temporary straps made of a special low elongation material, have successfully been used and have an advantage, in that a building built before 1993 which may not be constructed to withstand wind loading can be quickly and temporarily strapped to the foundation to ensure structural stability. Hurricane harness strapping can easily be applied and removed after the storm to ensure the highest level of protection in extreme high wind storms.

Dome homes

Main articles: Geodesic dome and Monolithic dome

The physical geometry of a building affects its aerodynamic properties and how well it can withstand a storm. Geodesic dome roofs or buildings made from wood, steel, or concrete have low drag coefficients and can withstand higher wind forces than a square building of the same area.

Even stronger buildings result from monolithic dome construction.

Concrete

Reinforced concrete is a strong, dense material that, if used in a building that is designed properly, can withstand the destructive power of very high winds, pounding waves, and even high-speed debris. Concrete used in home construction must be reinforced with steel (commonly known as “rebar”). While the rebar can rust in wet or humid environments, there are various effective means to retard or prevent rebar corrosion due to moisture.

Climate/location Research

Climate Research

My city is set to be in a warm part of the world, probably some where along the equator. I think a great place specifically would be somewhere in the Caribbean.

Below you will see stats for how the weather is like in that region.

Destination	January Minimum	January Maximum	July Minimum	July Maximum	Annual Rainfall (Inches)
Anguilla	75.0°F	82.6°F	80.4°F	88°F	40.2
Antigua & Barbuda	74.7°F	81.4°F	79.2°F	87.4°F	40
Aruba	75.9°F	84.7°F	79.5°F	88.2°F	21.3
Bahamas	64.3°F	77.0°F	77.0°F	89.0°F	49.3
Barbados	74.2°F	82.1°F	78.2°F	85.2°F	46.7
Belize	69.9°F	79.6°F	78.6°F	86.3°F	72.3
Bermuda	60.9°F	68.7°F	76.7°F	84.7°F	56.5
Bonaire	75.9°F	84.2°F	79.3°F	88.5°F	21.3
British Virgin Islands	73.1°F	84.1°F	79.6°F	89.0°F	27
Cayman Islands	73.7°F	80.3°F	80.9°F	86.8°F	46
Costa Rica	71.5°F	82.6°F	74.5°F	83.8°F	132.1
Curacao	75.9°F	84.2°F	79.3°F	88.5°F	21.3
Dominican Republic	70.0°F	81.9°F	76.1°F	86.2°F	54.5
Guadeloupe	69.1°F	83°F	75.6°F	87.9°F	70.3
Guyana	76.8°F	82.2°F	76.5°F	83.7°F	74.6
Honduras	76.6°F	82.4°F	80.9°F	87.6°F	99.1
Jamaica	72.1°F	82.3°F	76.7°F	88.4°F	50.709
Martinique	71.3°F	82.1°F	76.9°F	85.8°F	N/A
Mexican Caribbean	67.4°F	81°F	77.9°F	90°F	50
Puerto Rico	70.4°F	83.2°F	76.5°F	88.4°F	52.9
St. Lucia	75.8°F	82.4°F	79.8°F	85.6°F	60
Trinidad & Tobago	70.6°F	85.3°F	74.3°F	86.9°F	67.7
U.S. Virgin Islands	73.2°F	83.2°F	80.0°F	88.1°F	40
Venezuela	75.8°F	83.0°F	78.0°F	86.5°F	35.6

The good thing about this region is there are no drastic changes in climate in this region, making it easier and almost ideal for a floating city, but off the top of my head I have realised that like a lot of tropical regions the Caribbean seems to have quite drastic hurricanes from time to time.

After research I have identified the Caribbean as being located in the Atlantic Basin, an area which is more prone to Hurricanes. The RMS^® Caribbean Hurricane Model uses the latest methodologies and innovations to estimate Hurricane risk in the Caribbean.

‘The RMS Perspective on Hurricane Landfall Probabilities:

The increase in hurricane landfall frequency observed over the last ten years has provided great insight into RMS research on future Atlantic Basin hurricane activity. The latest scientific research and information indicates that Atlantic hurricane activity over the next five years is expected to be significantly greater than the long-term average, particularly for the most damaging Category 3-5 hurricanes.

The RMS® Caribbean Hurricane Model incorporates this new five-year forward-looking view of land falling hurricane risk, which will be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure that this view accurately depicts activity rates over the next five years.’

Above is info basically stating that in the last 10 years the frequency in general but specifically in the severe hurricanes has increased and is projected to increase in the future so linking this to the brief this could make for a very good point of a negative in having a floating island in this region!

Expressing through abstract images

This task challenged our imaginative and creative thought, i had to express Certain words through imagery and more specifically in this case through mini red cubes.

Reduce

Reduced

Here was a simple idea showing cubes getting smaller and it also help that they are all in one line so u can distinctivly see a reducing line on top!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Force

The idea here was to create an almost distinctive symbol to show force, here i fink i’m successful in doing so by as u can see two cubes are trying to pass a wall barrier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explode

Here is an attempt to express the ‘word’ explode. the general idea is that an explosion cause  particles to travel outwards from the place of impact and i tried to re-create that making the black square the source of the impact and trying to show the red particles moving away from it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hidden

This idea is a simple one, mark a white square as the cube being hidden and put other squares on top to express the hidden aspect. However i think this could have been accomplished more efficiently showing the ‘hidden’ more clearly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reflect

I think i have successfully accomplished a clear expression of this word, it i self explanatory, and simple shows a reflected sequence!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suspend

Here i have used a block of cubes to symbolize the ceiling a string of cubes comming down from it to pose as the suspended subject and to make it even clearer i made a floor in a sense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance

This is fairly simple showing a balance on the page with two identical lines of cubes on either side of a void, showing balance.

Research into Renewable Energy

Firrstly i have begun to research on how my floating city will be powered. Power is what makes any settlement village or in this case City work and run and a way in which it and the comunity will continue to exist.

Researching online there are many ways in which the city can be powered which would make it efficient and could wipe away or reduce the carbon footprint of the city and by creating the city from scratch it gives us a great oppurtunity to make the city very reliant on renewable energy.

Whilst researching online i found many ways to power my city effectivly but in a clean way in regards to the envrironment-

Wind Power

Solar Power

Hydroelectric Power

Biomass and Biofuel

Wave/Tidal Power

Africa Animals-Evaluation

During this project i used software programs to store and present my work. Using these software program such as Photoshop and Cinema 4D. These programs proved helpful and many ways. 1stly at the research stage where i had to use other programs such as Safari to access the internet an import images and info to Photoshop at that point you can describe it as a ’splat of info”, from this point you can re-arrange the info (pictures and text alike) in to an attractive and informative page.

Pieces of work that i used these software programs for included my mood board, general research in to animals, research in to MDF, side tables, packaging and i also used cinema 4d to construct my instructions on how to put my table together aswell as my general packaging.

Using the computers in this project has its positives and negatives…

The negatives include learning as you are eagerly trying to get work done! for me personally this is annoying because i am slightly too used to knowing what i have to do then endeavoring to do so…(but i guess its part of learning)

The positives is that you can present you work more clearly and help to make the aim and direction of the project more apparent, (also this way it lessens the risk of not being able to read text for example).

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