UK - Day 12

I have a roommate!! The classmate I was assigned as a roommate for the trip ended up arranging to do a shorter version of the class for less credit and arrived last night after an unexpected 9 hour layover in New York. I don't know Satara very well, only that she's quiet but seems to be super sweet - made cookies for studio every once in awhile. I'm excited for the new spin this will put on the trip - sharing a room and catching her up on all we've learned so far and how to get around this city. Our first morning doesn't go so smooth. I think we have plenty of time, but it takes quite a bit longer to get to our first appointment than I predicted! We are meeting at the Serpentine Pavilion, which had its grand opening while we were away in Wales. The tube station we come out of is across the huge park from the Pavilion and as we speed walk along, we notice some kind of horse exercise going on through the trees. Since we are late, we can't really afford to go check it out, so we snap a couple of pictures and try to watch as we walk without running into each other. Not sure if they were practicing or if it was a true ceremony for something...
Arriving at the Pavilion, we are greeted with a peculiar site. I had seen the thing from above while it was still under construction, but it is a very different experience from ground level. What I hadn't noticed from above was how much the roof swoops, reaching so close to the ground at one point that only short people/children can walk beneath it. I like that they create a space like this so everyone can experience the architecture at a scale they relate to.
We sneak into the circle of our classmate, listening to one of the Serpentine Gallery folks tell of the history of the Pavilion project and the requirements for the design, so we can follow them in our design charette later this month.
And, we sit on chairs also designed by the architect of the structure. I really like when an architect takes the design past the basics and to the interior details.I also really enjoy SANAA's material choice. Its highly reflective surfaces turn the simple design into something fascinating to look at from a distance and intriguing to be in. The Pavilion does a fine job of attracting passersby who would otherwise walk right by the small brick art gallery next-door.
Every year, a different architecture firm is chosen to design a temporary pavilion to house social gatherings from July to October. Each year has brought something completely unique to the site. If you're interested in seeing the past ones or hearing more about this year's, go here: http://www.serpentinegallery.org/architecture/
After the Serpentine tour, it's time to grab lunch and head to Victoria station to catch a train to our next appointment. I love the train stations here, and can't help but look up as we walk through this one, trying not to run into people in a hurry...
We arrive at the Hackbridge station and go on a stroll to BedZED - the Beddington Zero Energy Development.
I could go on and on about this project, but will stick to the most interesting things I took notes on during the tour and let you learn more from the Arup journal: http://www.arup.com/_assets/_download/download68.pdf. Arup is the engineering firm on record for this housing project. Among other things, they designed the colorful wind scoops on the roofs, which earned BedZED its nickname "teletubby land".
BedZED includes residences, live/work spaces, as well as commercial spaces. They are arranged so that the commercial areas keep to the north side while the residences take up the south side, where they can access more natural light and heat from the sun. Each unit has access to outdoor space, in the form of a sun space and/or a roof garden, and the buildings are linked at the roof level with bridges. The zero-energy design depends on passive heating and cooling, and this is where the wind scoops come in. Their shape allows the wind to spin them in the right direction to collect cool air and bring it down into the homes below.
This section diagram shows the warm and cool spaces, depending on their orientation to the sun.
And this diagram shows the systems of the building in relation to the natural systems they depend on.
One amusing observation Satara and I made was this window...Having operable windows is always a good thing to point out (as we've learned in project presentations) because it is necessary for natural ventilation - environmental control without energy-consuming systems....but, I don't think putting a handle on a window necessarily qualifies it as operable!

Our tour guide, a resident named Sam who lives and works at BedZED, points out a poster chart on the wall showing ecological footfrint per person ranked by country. As you might imagine, our home country is on the far left. We've got some improving to do!
I found it interesting that one way they have tested the success of the BedZED design is by asking the residents questions to determine their overall happiness, including how many neighbors they know by name. The results showed each person knew an average of 20 people by name, while the same question asked in London showed an average of 4. I certainly believe that!