Sustained forests; sustained profits
Sustained forests; sustained profits
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Computer-designed, very environmentally "right" homes with regional image and colorThe Product:
modular and expandable
using local materials
low cost
durable core structure
responsive to land subsidence
responsive to work centers
responsive to low fossil fuel use and a set of 30 design criteria
efficient construction of parts within the region.
Relatively low-cost comfortable, healthful, homes and working sitesThe Linkages:
Design criteria
Publications
Housing product components
Alternative uses for short woods and shortwood products
The Forestry GroupSee Realtors and The Trevey for major connections.
Wholescapes
Novosoil
Security and safety
Gardens
Knowledge base
Software and e-commerce
warehouses
See The Energy Core
See GreenBuilder.com
See also ecotourism at: http://www2.planeta.com/mader/ecotravel/search/list.html
Action for the future includes employing an architect and creatinge an architectural enterprise to serve all Lasting Forests programs and to make similar services available throughout the region.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are few people indeed who find conventional strip mine or deep mine operations beautiful. They could be, or they could be ugly for such short periods that ugliness would be judged insignificant. The esthetics of mining are so important to so many people it is surprising why, merely as a good-neighbor gesture, the mining industry has not taken steps in this direction. The costs would be a pittance and the public relations benefits could be enormous. Those who control the land under which coal is located may require esthetics to be maintained or improved during and after mining. This is recommended (Frame 1). It is not a major recommendation and when action to improve esthetics is integrated into the mining system, it can make the work environment more pleasant and safe. There are aspects of the environment that only behavioral psychologists understand well, but there needs to be a sensitivity to people and their inner needs. Eight hours of every work day in a truly dirty, dark, environment probably produces people that have a limited esthetic range and who care little about the environment.
A computer program called System Scene is available for making regional analyses (e.g., 30 viewsites from throughout the county) of regional visual beauty. The architect would operate this system and advise on how mining or other developments may increase or decrease the regional score. (See Frame 2) Viewscape maps are available (Fig. 1). These are complex maps and of many types, useful for different purposes.
Potential views of powerlines or other developments can be mapped. Potential views of all cells from each cell are shown (since roads, residences and other viewpoints may change.) The darker the call, the more visible will be a powerline or other development if placed there.
One is for a house or office -- i.e., to see the viewscape from a point. When several sites are identified (e.g., viewing areas along a trail or road) then (a) one map can be created showing all cells that can be seen from one or more of the sites, or (b) a map can show the number of sites that "look into" a cell. Specific routines are readily made available, such as for "can x be seen from y? Even after trees grow for 30 years?"
The selection of a reasonable viewing distance is required and this relates to the viewer's needs or interests. The costs of analyses increase rapidly with every extension of this viewing distance. Potentials exist for analyzing effects of fog, clouds, particulate pollution, forest fire smoke, and even the visual abilities of the users.
Views of every map pixel from every road or trail pixel can be created for an ownership such as this 69,000 acre area. The map can then be combined with other maps to assess tradeoffs. It may be draped over a 3-dimensional image to help relate bold or hidden areas and the reasons for the views or lack thereof.
Air quality is a major problem of the area and because of needs to make the area very suitable for high-quality extensive outdoor recreation, high standards are needed. The need is to adopt Class I area Clean Air Act standards (virtually no new pollution) and to strive for them in every way possible, both by on- and off-property action (Frame 3).
This standard is influenced by natural factors and U.S. Forest Service analyses (Paulson 1979) indicate Virginia is in a Class I, Goal C area for visibility. Because the region has known causes of natural visibility impairments (e.g., dust, fog, forest emissions) it has been assigned the goal of the ability of people to distinguish clearly form, line, color, and texture at 5 km (3 miles).
Typical opposition to visibility standards, including claims of elitism, is that they are costly. Randall (l979:12~) suggested raising the level of debate over visibility standards from "visibility regulation will raise the cost of electricity" to the more realistic and relevant argument that "visibility regulation offers the opportunity to obtain electricity, improved environmental amenities, and improved health, at a higher cost than for electricity alone."
Other maps can be created to identify what areas can see site x, if we put in a building or if we mine an area. This can identify potential problems, help select alternative sites, and even allow visual barriers to be built or planted well before ground breaking to avoid problems once the development begins.
These programs are now available as are others (e.g., the U.S. Forest Service's Viewit system) and need to be collected, tended, maintained, and expert operators maintained for their effective use. For an operation as large as that recommended for the region the uses are expected to be high. Almost any development could be given an effective visual analysis-- just to be safe. The use of the systems will not be constant and it is during the "off periods" that these systems and related services can be marketed to the hundreds of mining firms and land owners in the region. A service center is likely to be kept quite busy with a variety of customer requests and educational programs for all of Virginia and the region.
Continued program revisions and improvements as well as improvements in service and quality of reports is needed and this will be the major work in the first years of the development of the Architectural Enterprise (Frame 4). Within the Architectural Enterprise there might be created be an Architectural Review Board (Frame 5). This group will be responsible for setting architectural standards for the entire area e.g., color, size, proportion, signing, landscaping, lighting, underground utilities, walls, materials, etc. It will not design all structures but will be responsible for a fully integrated, highly coordinated approach to improving the visual qualities and esthetics of the ownership and working through all means possible (e.g., litter abatement organizations, public utilities, public education, and laws) to influence the esthetics of the county and region as the context within which the objectives of the Corporation miqht be achieved -(Frame 6, 7, 8).
The Board is a mechanism established to maintain design continuity and preserve property values throughout the region. All housing and facility plans must be approved by the Board prior to the start of construction. In general, this group reviews plans, including materials and exterior color specifications for all structures built or altered in the region to insure that they are visually compatible with their natural surroundings as well as with other nearby structures. Under architectural design approval clauses in any covenants for land use,the organization may bar the construction of a house or other structure for purily esthetic reasons, if in its judgement, such action is justified to protect the attractiveness and natural quality of a neighborhood.
There is a sensitive problem that needs to be addressed. I deny any claims of bigotry or elitism. I am concerned only about the achievement of the potentials of the people within the region. It cannot be said that all goes well for these people. There is sub-standard housing; some do not have running water; some do not have indoor toilets; many houses are in very poor repair. No matter what the history or where lies the blame; no matter how-- there is a need for a rural renewal project. The neighborhoods that exist (I'll be specific on request but it is not important here, only the principle) are the context for all land development. New residential areas will not flourish if the only access to them is through a rural slum. The residential sites have been located. Architects, urban and rural planners, and others can aid in upgrading and relocating many areas, some of which are well within the 10-year flood plain (Frame 9).
There is a growing body of research on visual analysis but little has been applied. In fact, little can be applied at this stage of its development. The applied questions that are researchable and for which research is needed (Frame 10) are as follows:
Lasting Forests can, through matching funds, encourage a wide variety of groups and foundations to support this work. By integrating it actively into computer-based systems that provide decision aids, rapid progress can be made--both on the land as well as in a self-supporting and profit-making enterprise. See also Views within Lasting Forests.
Estimated Budget (Annual):
Average Annual Costs categories:
These Notes are primarily for development with Ray Mulligan, architect, designsynergy@mindspring.com
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Frame 1. Develop a section within standard contracts within the region that provides guidelines, standards, and penalties for failures to assure mining and other activities are as esthetically pleasing as possible and are reasonably compatible land uses. The standards would probably include:
Frame 2. Secure System Scene, make a county or regional analysis and report the results widely. Prepare reports on the system and regularly publish the score and changes made in it over time. Actively work through government and legislative channels to secure laws on regulations preventing developments of any type that may reduce the visual analysis score. (Of course, compensatory action can be taken, i.e. if a company degrades one area and causes a loss of 5 points it may invest sufficient funds elsewhere to increase the score 5 or more points.)
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Frame 3. Adopt Class I Clean Air Act standards for the region and work through every feasible means to secure such air quality regionally.
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Frame 4. Provide cost-effective visual analyses for other land owners and agencies within the region.
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Frame 5. Establish an Architectural Review Board.
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Frame 6. Develop, publish, and enforce architectural standards for the entire region.
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Frame 7. Work through all possible county, regional, and state means to achieve as cost-effectively as possible improved visual qualities of the areas surrounding the ownership.
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Frame 8. Develop educational media, programs, workshops, and demonstrations to enhance awareness of visual qualities of the land and develop techniques for measuring changes in behavior resulting from these educational experiences.
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Frame 9. Establish a rural re-development authority with a member of the Architectural Enterprise as executive directors and develop a plan for re-developing all areas as needed within at least a reasonable radius of the region.
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Frame 10. Expand an active, highly applied visual analysis and landscape esthetics research program as rapidly as possible.
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A Proposal (early 1990's): Optimal Site-Specific Shape of the Enegetically Efficient Single-Family Residence
Project Director: Raymond C. Mullican, A1A, McGown, Mullican, Dunn
Co-director: Robert H. Giles, Jr., PhD, Systems Ecology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Energy required to build, heat, cool, and maintain residential structures in the U. S. is an enormous component of the national energy budget (over 40%). Attempting to reduce the energy costs of this essential human need... for " a good place to live"... is not only a simple wish but becomes a necessity as fossil energy supplies or access to them are reduced. In this project we propose to develop a computer system that selects an optimum space-enclosing shape for a single family residence. Geometry or form of a structure is important and failure to include it in designing and developing future housing will exact high energy penalties on developers and residents. Beyond form, there are important other criteria for specifying and deciding upon an optimum residence, all of which can be expressed in energetic terms.
We propose to develop a good fit between materials, form, and the energy environment of the place of residence. The problem is very complex for it requires intimate knowledge of the ecology of the site, materials, shapes, maintenance, as well as the practical aspects of current (and likely) available materials, building codes, and cost-effective construction. The project will develop a computer program that selects a form from a large set of regular polyhedra, one that meets stated space requirements, given a site. Additional weighted criteria will be used to select a form with an optimum energy budget for a 30-year period. A representative or prototype structure will be developed and construction specifications developed for pre-engineered production units (e.g., trusses) and pannelized units to assure low-energy construction costs. Energy economics (or conservation) are particularly great when tallied for 1000 homes over 30 years.
This may be considered a passive-solar-energy project but it is independent in design from any solar collector. Auxiliary heating or cooling units of any type (including solar collectors) may be added without compromising the design.
Until the many questions about energy supplies and costs are resolved, it behooves prudent people to use wisely the energy resources now possessed. This seems desirable, for with every increase in cost or every decrease in the quality of the environment or in the quantity of work that can be performed, people reduce their options, freedoms, and opportunities for humanness. At least, energy conservation is not a bad idea.
Objectives
1. To develop a computer program using multi-criteria numerical analysis to select an optimum form for a residence for a particular site, one being energetically efficient over a stated period.
2. To develop a prototype and construction guides for future structures.
Methods and Procedures
The project work has three major premises:
First, a theoretical standard is needed. The variety of dimensions, doors, windows, additions, etc. make available to the designer an infinite number of structures from which an optimum may be selected. One selection will not be adequate, because there are too many considerations involved in designing a structure for only one to be a satisfactory answer. Comparisons, relative values, and ranges of values are typically needed. The end product needed is a decision aid. The quantitative results should be useful for selecting among designs, assessing the ecological impact of a structure on a site, and comparing appropriate structures for different sites. In addition, the results may be used as a basis for energy conservation incentives such as by giving tax breaks to encourage energy-use efficiency, giving direct payments or awards for operating energy-efficient facilities, and for modifying energy cost rates (e.g., electricity charges lowered for efficient dwellings.)
One selection will not be adequate because there are too many considerations involved in designing a structure for only one to be a satisfactory answer. Comparisons, relative values, and ranges of values are typically needed. The end product needed is a decision aid. The quantitative results should be useful for selecting among designs, assessing the ecological impact of a structure on a site, and comparing appropriate structures for different sites. In addition they may be used as a basis for energy conservation incentives such as by giving tax-breaks to encourage energy-use efficiency, and for modifying energy cost rates (e.g. electricity charges lowered for efficient dwellings).
Third, the concepts above suggest that a search-routine may be developed to determine general living areas throughout the country where energy costs are lowest. We have not made that search to identify such areas. We think it should be done, and that the results would constitute a valid dimension of a concept of optimal building site selection.
Fourth, the external thermal regimen of living spaces is of primary importance. Siting of the structure based on thermal criteria (both macro and micro) and ecological concepts can provide the much-discussed and somewhat sought structure that is in ecological harmony with the site. Such structures can provide trade-offs between erosion potentials and energy costs. They can be designed to preserve tree or rock outcrops that modify the thermal characteristics of the structure itself.
The basic model for our initial work is simplified as summation over a stated 30-year planning period (and mortgage period) the following (all expressed as kilocalories or equivalents):
Q = f (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H)
where:
A = the energy costs of all "panels" or "walls"
B = area covering (paint etc. with selected albedo)
C = influence of surface roughness on energy loss
D = energy equivalents to heat volume to a limit (daily)
E = energy equivalents to cool volume to a limit (daily)
F = costs of triangulation (as needed)
G = illumination needed from non-solar sources
H = cost of wind barriers/baffles
In general, we seek to select a form that minimizes Q. Comparisons will be made between (a) a conventional house with the same" front-door" orientation, and (b) a house with an alternative" not-to-the-street" orientation.
Location:
Geographic information systems allow detailed analyses of sites. Landsat, for example, provides much information for 30 x 30-meter areas. We have done work with temperature, precipitation, and have underway a project on solar radiation (Figures 1 and 2). These allow us to state the unique characteristic of a site and to "custom design" a form to the site conditions...the ecology of the site (including wind and the effects of shade from nearby mountains, buildings, or "likely-to-be-permanent" forests).
Position:
Given a site, we study each form in 24 different positions, as if it were being rotated at the center of a map cell. The form (say a cube) or house is not to be rotated after being built but we study all positions, then select one that provides the greatest over-all energy advantages. (See Figure 3)
Regular Polyhedra:
We have studied a set of 20 regular polyhedra (Figure 4) and will continue studies of these forms. They are general, of course, and in reality will be slightly modified for evident "practical" reasons. they are a large, simple, diverse set of computationally tractable structures that may be packed together in almost unlimited ways including the minor energetic modification of breezeways or similar connectors to meet changing needs.
Volume-to-Surface Ratio:
It can be demonstrated that the smallest surface area that is needed to enclose the largest space is a sphere, i.e., it has the largest volume-to-surface ratio. With a fixed volume, an infinitely large surface can be conceived for enclosing it, i.e., an irregular wafer-shaped structure, two molecules thick, with one molecule of space between. As space-enclosures become more spherical (Figure 4), the volume-to-surface ratio tends to increase.
Energy costs of producing building surface materials are now known or are being studied. By multiplying surface area by cost, the volume-to-surface ratio becomes a legitimate criterion for maximization.
They likely will have windows, doors, porches, patios, roof overhangs, etc. These will be generalized and are likely to be a common set of modifications for any structure so deciding among the forms will not be affected.
The forms may be unusual as "houses" but we believe that people can be influenced by them; that given future energy costs, they may desire a change; and even if never accepted, they may be used as a standard against which efficiency of alternative forms may be compared.
The living space will be specified by a "client" and assumed ample for carrying on the activities of the normal, full life-style of the people for which the living space is designed. The area needed is a human decision, an input to the system being described, and no limits are placed on it.
Given that such decisions may change, the structures should be "packing", i.e. they should be regular modules that will fit together reducing surplus wall space at joins.
Floor efficiency is depicted in Figure 5. It is a well-established concept. The height (HT) that a building designer or user finds acceptable is input to the program. It is a decision variable and is related to family size, furnishings, and activity patterns, and storage needs.
Figure 6. Cross sections of structures showing wall and floors. a. In a structure with vertical sides (e.g. cube and dodeca prism - 12 prism, 12 base) the floor efficiency is 1.0. b. The decision about the acceptable minimum ceiling height determines on floor efficiency in a form like an octagonal prism - 8 prism, 4 base. c. In such a form, an efficiency of 1.0 may also occur. d. The floor efficiency here is also 1.0.
Triangulation Stability:
Stability has practical implications on unstable soils and earthquake-prone sites, and over the long run is an entropy-minimizing parameter on all sites. Stability is not likely to have as much importance as other criteria but it is included because it has direct energetic relations. The most stable forms are those that are triangulated. For example, the tetrahedron is perfectly triangulated.
The basis for determining the stability index is to determine the number of lines needed to triangulate the structure completely. To any plane, not already a triangle, lines are added until it is triangulated. The index is the total length of all lines so added. That these lines relate well to high-energy-cost support members of buildings is an important consideration.
Floor Efficiency:
The general concept of floor efficiency has been shown in Figure 5. This will be computationally a difficult aspect of the program development as will be seen in Figures 6 and 7.
Unusable floor area equations will be developed for all forms having sloping sides. These will be included in the computer code. For the following forms:
Lesser rhombicuboctahedron-4a base
Greater rhombicuboctahedron-4 base
Greater rhombicuboctahedron-6 base
Specific equations will not be developed. They will be assumed to be spheres and the efficiency will be computed based on the intercept of HT with a curvilinear wall.
Only through computer analyses can all forms be analyzed, given the complexity of the structures. A standard computation as indicated in Figure 1 B A hypothetical line, b, is drawn to the vertex. A solution, as in A above, is then obtained using an adjusted HT. HT is reduced by the distance C
Figure 7.
(c) Several equations may be needed, depending on the specified HT. From a to b, there is no lost space. From b to c there may be lost space. As the floor is moved upward, say from a to b, then an equation as in B above may be used. If large between-floor distances and large HT are used, then a floor efficiency must be computed for between a and e. The system subtracts the a to b distance from HT, then solves for b upward subtracting from HT both the a to b and the b to d distance. Not having achieved the full HT, it then solves, as in A above, the lost floor space for the d to e zone. The total lost floor space or inefficiency is shown as UNUSE. When very complicated surface transitions are encountered, progressive linear interpolation is done.
Solar Efficiency:
With the growing concern for alternate power sources and the prospective development of solar heating, it was decided to maximize the incoming or energy-excessive conditions solar radiation to each structure during 30-year average days of the year with an energy deficit condition (say less than 65 degrees F). The radiant energy coming into each surface of each structure in each position on a clear day is computed for an all" summer days" (i.e.,those with excessive heat). The position that minimizes this load is selected (for it minimizes cooling costs). Similar analyses are done for winter days. The optimum position minimizes these differences.
The general concept is that the position of a structure on a site may be adjusted and significant energy increases or reductions may be achieved.
The method used for orienting the structure is to rotate it about its vertical axis by degree increments until a position symmetrical to its original position is reached. As examples: the cube must be rotated 90 degrees, the tetrahedron 120 degrees and the 6 prism, 4 base must be rotated 180 degrees. If a form is rotated 180 degrees, the increment is 20 degrees. Otherwise, the increment is 10 degrees.
To determine the optimum rotation angle, a comparison factor (TOTRAD), will be calculated. First the effective winter and summer days will be computed, using monthly temperature information. Then, using the representative winter and summer radiation values, TOTRAD is computed:
TOTRAD = WDAYS*WRAD - SDAYS * SRAD
where SDAYS = effective summer (winter) days
where WDAYS = effective winter days
where SRAD = representative daily summer radiation
where WRAD = representative daily winter radiation
The angle with the highest value for TOTRAD is the optimum angle. By maximizing TOTRAD, the incoming winter energy which can be utilized for heating, is maximized, and the incoming summer energy, which would have to be dispersed by cooling, is minimized.
Solar Input:
Sellers (1965:14) presented the solar relations and equations for a site. There are many preliminary computations involved, but the dominant equation used in the program reported herein is:
R = cos Z cos S + sin Z sin S cos (A-a)
where
R = radiant energy on a surface (later scaled to kilocalories/unit area/day)
Z = zenith angle
S = slope of the structure surface
A = solar azimuth
a = aspect (direction faced in degrees or radians)
The preliminary equations involved computing the declination, the equation of time, the hour angle, the zenith and the azimuth from longitude, latitude, time of day, and time of year.
Outputs:
The outputs from the program will be in several parts. First, for each potential solution, the floor area and unusable area for each floor will be printed, along with the number of that floor, the geometric form number, and the solution number. In the program, certain of these data are eliminated if they do not meet the floor space standards input by the user. Then three tables are printed comparing all solutions on the basis of 1) floor efficiency, 2) volume to surface ratio, and 3) stability.
The next section constitutes the bulk of the output. For each solution, data for each face is printed. The side number, its type, area, aspect, and slope, and the radiation incident on it for all rotation angles, will be printed. This will be done for winter and for summer.
Following this, an ordered table, ranking the solutions on the basis of all four criteria, will be printed.
Finally, another page will be printed for each solution. It will contain the total radiation for summer and the total radiation for winter at the various rotation angles. It prints the yearly optimization angle, the height of the building, and the length of an edge. Also included will be information for each floor. The number of floors, the floor to floor height, the total usable area, the weighted floor efficiency, and a breakdown for each floor.
Figure 2. The set of 25 regular polyhedra to be analyzed in the study.
Figure 5. Cross section of the two floors. The decision-maker inputs the height (HT) in feet (to the nearest decimal) of the shortest acceptable ceiling height. The shaded area may be used for storage and other purposes. The floor efficiency is computed as the proportion (USE/SUM).
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Last revision January 17, 2000.