revisiting
the American bungalow |
1967
• 1975 • 1979 • 2002 |
| Sometimes
an architectural idea hangs around long enough that
the imperative to build it becomes unusually intense.
I keep coming back to this one which came to me “whole”
one afternoon in 1967. Maybe 2005 will be the year
to do it and to see it become a realized idea that
brings its unique architectural vantage point to
the world. It is a good
sign that a project, now over 38 years old
still
seems
challenging
and
demanding
- the years
have a way of filtering out the almost-good works;
ideas that make it through the filter of time
have unusual power. The EcoSphere project is an ideal
way to prototype several critical housing concepts:
Temporary foundations; prefabricated, movable building
(+/- 100 pieces); “breathable” exterior
membrane [see Sanctuary Shelters for someone who
is working on this];
contoured, non-flat floors; self-contained,
off-the-grid, energy alternatives; serious greenhouse
food production; and a non-traditional living space
form-factor. EcoSphere
is a true “EarthShip;” it is conceived
to move and rest (for awhile) gently on the Earth
and
then, economically, to move again. When EcoSphere is
gone, the site is returned to a near-original state
or easily adapted to another use. EcoSphere
is
in the tradition of the bungalow or cabin; a more casual,
smaller, less expensive retreat environment usually
built in remote areas - it is, also, very ship-like
in its fittings and the resulting living style that
will be fit with it. Why should such an environment
be permanently rooted in
one place
to
disturb
the
ground in the way that standard construction
does? There seems to be no reason for this other than
habit. EcoSphere challenges almost every default habit
- hidden design assumptions - of a dwelling;
it makes living in a built environment a conscious
act where
every protocol has to be reinvented or at least re-confirmed. It places the built environment into a non combative relationship with the environment. |
|
design
development and model by Laura Starr
1979
[link] |
| The
membrane of EcoSphere is the most challenging and,
perhaps, the most interesting
aspect of this design. All exterior walls, of any building,
are indeed membranes for they do not, in reality,
keep everything
in or out. And, in this era of so-called energy efficiency,
we try to do just that: by sealing buildings off;
which is not how nature works. Consider
your skin for example; it is a sophisticated input/output
organ, the largest of your entire body. Attempting
to
build absolute barriers is neither possible nor efficient
- and certainly not healthy. It is also a prime
example of “industrial era” arrogance
- the belief that control will work. The
interior air quality and compounding of pollutants
in the
average
building
is a scandal just waiting for its time and a perfect
example of the unintended consequences that flow
from fundamentally flawed design assumptions. The SKIN
of EcoSphere is to be made up of a series of semi-permeable
materials (Gortex is an example of one such) that
allow different gasses (via partial pressures)
and radiation (light & heat) to pass in and out
as conditions warrant. The building BREATHS
as required for comfort and health. Besides this
being a far more effective strategy for energy management,
this embodies LIFE into the building by bringing
a life-like aspect to it. This permeability
will be achieved two ways: first by the materials
themselves
directly responding to air, light and temperature by
filtering or adjusting in various ways, the second
way by the external
panels, related to the geodesic architecture, opening
and closing by user instruction and programmed protocols.
Thus, the “pure” geometry shown in the
pictures of the model, will never
actually be seen
as shown [the elevation of EcoSphere greenhouse illustrates this] -
the building will always be “articulating”
as it seeks the optimum balancing of internal and external
temperatures, air and energy requirements.
This is the skin strategy for Wideness Mega City [EcoSphere Greenhouse was design to be a low tech test of this design strategy] although
this project will require a much greater scale of
light, air and energy management
than does EcoSphere. Modern knowledge and
materials engineering opens the door to entirely
new ways of building the interface between inside
and outside - a distinction that almost entirely
disappears with this approach. The old habit of resisting
what is treated as an
essentially hostile environment
can
give way to
the
notion of
an adaptive, self-repairing membrane that employs
natural
processes
rather
than attempting to resist or overwhelm them. We need an architecture that does not fundamentally see the environment - even in its extremes - as hostile. Our buildings should be “environment valves” which interface us with those extremes in a creative and facilitative way; in a way that allows us to embrace, not resist, Nature. |
|
| The
interior space of EcoSphere provides an entirely
different
experience than the typical residential concept.
It is related, in this regard, to Domicile [link],
my Bay
Area Studio [link] and
Gail’s
Nest [link] projects.
This concept rejects the assumed “flatness”
of floors and walls and their being treated as intrinsically
different elements. WHY? Other than some
unchallenged building conventions that derive from
primitive mathematical, measurement
and fabrication means, what valid argument has been
made that dictates the box-like, right angled, flat
design assumption as a default practice? The space
of EcoSphere is a continuous, encompassing form that
is punctuated with linear elements. These two aspects,
Yin and Yang,
set up a spatial dynamic
that can be crafted in the way that creates the exact
sensibility required for each sub-space/function fit,
anywhere/anytime throughout the entire
environment. EcoSphere responds exactly as needed
to real conditions
as they change. The
old concept of floors, walls, ceilings gives
way
to the structure providing in each PLACE the
combination of shape, finish, form and texture appropriate
for what is happening right there, right now. The “view”
in and out of the structure - through a MEMBRANE
that, itself, will “read” as much an IDEA
as a thing - is also shaped to BE what the
function requires not what a pre-determined form-factor
(like a wall and a window)
dictates. In this environment, you do not “look
out”
through a frame (window) at a view; you are part of
two spaces (inside-outside) that are modulated in a
variety of finely-tuned phases that both fit and provoke
the intimate psychology of the moment. The functions
related to storage, working surfaces, and
so on, are
mostly
provided
as
part of
the linear vertical core system and cantilevered platforms.
Functions
related
to sitting, lounging, reading, enjoying media are mostly
provided as part of the curving, visually ambiguous
and continuous
dome structure. This is using the appropriate forms
to support the functions rather than fitting the functions
into the predetermined forms. Thus, requisite variety
between functions and the built context is achieved. |
|
| Look
at the flower as architecture. I submit
to you we have
no concept of ARCHITECTURE. With all our pride
in our technology, we are humbled by a single flower.
This
is the standard by which we should judge our works
not the petty arguments that take place between one
school
of “architecture” and another. Here is
the standard for structure, form, color, function,
shear imagination and beauty. The EcoSphere model represents
but
an
outline, a form, an idea. The task ahead is to render
it with the diversity and joy that nature employs.
This standard
establishes the criteria of success.
EcoSphere was conceived to be a modern version of traditional
nomadic architecture; “housing”
that can go anywhere and be organic
[definition of organic architecture] in
its relationship to the planet. As such, a place to
enjoy nature without imposing all the present industrial
society infrastructure costs on it. We, as a technical
society, have miles to go in this regard (building
a sustainable infrastructure);
EcoSphere can be an experiment and
a step toward this goal. As a society, we have assumed
that high economic and ecological infrastructure costs
are an intrinsic requirement and consequence of a high
standard of living. We have not realized that this
is true only
in the context
of our present primitive technology development and
too simple infrastructure design strategies. We do
not account the full costs of our buildings;
we are
merely transferring unaccounted costs from our economic
ledger to our dwindling ecological ledger and calling
this “practical.” If we want to have different
results, we have to design based on
completely
different
criteria [link].
As part of this primitive infrastructure design, we suffer disaster after disaster in the form of earthquakes and hurricanes and continue to build back (only stronger”) employing the very design strategies that have proven to be inadequate once again. This is refereed to as Nature’s “wrath” instead of Man’s stupidity. EcoSphere will not solve all the problems of this domain [of UpSideDown Economics];
this requires a much greater scope than a single building
can embrace. It can start
a process of discovering and demonstrating workable
alternatives: it can provide an alternative path -
one that repairs the human/nature dichotomy. It can
be more like a flower and less like a dumb mechanical
thing; it can have the best attributes of both, as well as, the integration of human intelligence and passion which we are so proud of but rarely actually practice. |
|
Configuring
the EcoSphere Prototype |
| EcoSphere
is designed to be made of approximately one hundred
pieces. Until the final design and engineering
is complete, the exact number will not be known. The
idea is that no piece will be larger than will fit
into a road legal trailer, can be handeled by two people
and can be erected with a simple “cherry-picker” lifter.
The most eloquent way to do this would be to make
the
trailer,
itself, house the lifting mechanism while becoming
an integral part of the structure as it is erected
- a large scale application of the transformer toy.
If the entire package could be pulled by a hybrid
SUV or small
truck, this would provide maximum deployment flexibility.
To do this will require extreme weight reduction compared
to a conventional structure. The trade off will be
between
weight and manufacturing; sophistication, meaning and
ease of moving versus cost to build. Another aspect
of this
weight issue is the level of finish inside EcoSphere
and the amenity provided by the technology package.
Finish and utilities constitute a great deal of the
weight and cost; the super-structure
itself
is relatively
easy to do. |
| Since
EcoSphere was first conceived (1967), when this model
developed (1979), and now (2002), materials
and technology have both advanced by quantum leaps.
It is possible to build a successful “craft” version
of EcoSphere using structural means that have been
available for 50 years; working at this level, however,
would mean that only about 50% of the energy and deployment
goals can be achieved. With no practical budget constraints,
it is now possible, employing cutting edge technology
from the high end boat building industry and available
aircraft technologies, to meet the most stringent weight,
technical systems and deployment demands. If EcoSphere
is to be built
in the near term, an ambition level and configuration
somewhere between these
two extremes will be necessary; this range will be
determined by time and money budgets and the degree
of sponsorship
the project can attract. If the prototype is to have
a hydrogen energy system, for example, will be determined
by not only financial means but by the available level
of technology sponsorship. |
| Given
my present circumstances, personal and corporate,
there is only one option I know of for producing EcoSphere
in the near term. This is basted on a few “ifs.” If MG
Taylor does move its home office to Nashville (as is
presently being considered); if the work there
continues to require my presence at the same frequency
as the
past year (about half time); and, if I can
divert the daily costs of my staying in hotels to cost-of-ownership
in the prototype; then, there will be a financial basis
for doing a prototype. Given this circumstance, how
far along the continuum, between craft and high technology,
we can get will be determined by the degree that we
can accomplish corporate sponsorship from technology
companies who are looking for a development project
and opportunity to demonstrate their products. This
means that the unusual costs, both administratively
and time-to-completion, associated
with coordinating such a prototype will have to be
factored into the configuration management equation.
A set of design assumptions based on my personal use
of the prototype
and a
reasonably aggressive
corporate-sponsor
program forms the basis for the following Program Statement. |
| March
12, 2004 note: The “IFs” turned
out to be true - only more so. It looks
like that I will be traveling from
project site to site for some time now with “stays”
being a year or two - a perfect test of EcoSphere’s
move-ability. So... the challenge is how to turn rent
and hotel money into capital to fund the EcoSphere
project and, as a by product, provide me with more
human living and work conditions. It also is likely
that the site will be somewhere in Ohio or Calgary,
Canada instead of Nashville. It also may require an
“attached” drafting room with about 6 workstations
much like may have to be added to the Bay Area Studio
Project. |
|
EcoSphere
Prototype
Program Statement
|
Goals
of Prototype:
| Demonstrate
feasibility of the basic concept |
| Provide
a model for the
Xanadu Project [link] and
Master’s Project [link]. |
| Function
as my mobile on-site living/work
environment |
| Provide
a viable technology test bed |
| Provide
an educational experience for young architects
and designers |
| Inform
the Post-Usonian Project [link]
[public blog] |
|
|
| These
six goals have to be in harmony with one another.
To demonstrate basic feasibility, the structure must
be capable of deployment and relocation and achieve
a high degree of energy independence. To be a model
of the Xanadu, the character of the environment must
be such that people can sense, by being in EcoSphere,
what Xanadu will be like. To function as my Nashville
environment,
it will have to accomplish (in a condensed form)
most of the program requirements of my Bay
Area Studio [link] and
it will to be built quickly. To be a viable technology
test bed it will have to
offer
manufacturers
an opportunity
to develop product and demonstrate their utility
to a potentially large market - this means the product
application has to be far greater than the market,
itself, for EcoSphere-like buildings. To provide
education for young architects and designers, it
has to stretch them intellectually and artistically
and yet, be completed - Design/Build/Use -
within
a time
frame
that fits
their educational
process. All, worthy goals; each providing richness
to the Program and interesting challenges to both
the design and build processes. |
Ecosphere
Zones
Zone
I: Base
Structurally holds the Sphere and supports
the Tower. Houses mechanical equipment
and energy storage, provides a small
shop and storage areas. |
Zone
II: Sphere
Sitting, conversation, dining, media
areas, Library. Overflow guest sleeping. |
Zone
III: Greenhouse
Food preparation (top level). Bathing
(middle level). food production (lower
level). Solar collectors. Heat and
water storage. |
Zone
IV: Tower and Platforms
Storage. Bathroom (in tower between
lower and midlevel). Guestroom (lower
level). Bedroom (midlevel).
Studio (top level). Venting. |
Zone
V: (Optional) Drafting Room.
A semi
circular work area attached to the
Supporting base for about 6 workstations
and a small collaborative area at the
end. This can be covered with a light-weight
suspended translucent roof.
There are a variety of uses that a space
like this can be put from home office facilities
to guest accomindations to bedrooms. |
|
|
| Each
of these
zones express a different character and support
distinct functions. Each zone, in addition, flows
into one another creating
a seamless, integrated space. The resulting composition
creates many areas rich in prospect and refuge. This
provides
a dual strategy for arrangement: first, the general
space is matched with the functions allocated to
it; secondly, within each area, there is adjustability
built in to the structure so that different “furniture”
components open and close as necessary to the provide
different utility as required by the actual activities
taking place at any time. As example: in the Sphere
the lower dome that forms the “floor” will
have surfaces that fold up to make sitting, lounging,
sleeping,
walking areas,
thus,
creating a changing interior “landscape” that
can adjusted to fit different requirements; also
in the Sphere, the dining
furniture (located at the intersection of the sphere,
Tower and Greenhouse entry) will fold out of the
Tower structure in
such a way to provide a dining surface for a single
individual,
for small
and
large
groups. The food preparation area will have two configurations,
one for day-to-day low demand use and one for the
preparation of larger meals. In the Tower, the relationship
between the Bedroom, Guestroom and Bath will be made
variable with folding doors and partitions so as
to create a variety of options ranging from
complete
privacy to openness between these three spaces. All
zones will have “battens” that fold out
from the dome, “floor” and “walls” to
provide variable degrees of acoustic, sight and and
temperature as may be desired
by each occupant - this is an interior version of
the dome’s adjustable exterior skin. |
| In
total, the fixed structural elements combined with
the interior and exterior variable components compose,
together, an unprecedented level of real-time adjustment
capability for configuring the exact combination
of shape, texture, color, utility, privacy, openness,
sight
lines (in
and out) and sound control desired by any user at
any time. Along with being a work of art that has
being, substance, form and meaning, EcoSphere is,
in addition, user responsive
in a way that existing buildings are not. The resulting
impact on the experience of living will
be great. It will enable us to understand how old -
and restricting - the existying paradigm of the “house”
really is. |
Ecosphere Technology
Energy creation, storage and distribution:
The EcoSphere solar system is both passive
and active. The entire greenhouse is
a solar collection unit. Passive collection
will provide air heating. Active solar
will provide direct hot water storage,
solar cells for electricity generation
and provide electricity for a hydrogen
storage system. To the extent useful,
energy
or heat
generated
within EcoSphere will be captured, stored
and reused. |
Food growing, preparation, consumption
and disposal:
Various eatable plants and an internal
fish farm, capable of providing a basic
diet, are part of the greenhouse system
along with appropriate greenhouse and exterior
composting. Exterior landscaping employing
Permaculture techniques and engineered
micro climes will be provided (earth berms,
sun orientation, use of excess heat, etc.).
The process of harvesting to serving the
food will be designed to be accomplished
within a 20 minute cycle. |
Waste disposal:
Composting toilets and gray water system
will be used. The idea is to keep the
building totally off the energy grid
and the water intake, waste disposal
system. This is likely to be the most
controversial aspect of the project from
the standpoint of codes and social acceptability.
The present system in place does not
really solve the health and and ecological
costs it merely transfers and hides
them. |
Exterior Skin:
Heating and cooling skin “metabolism” system.
Heating is a great deal easier than cooling;
both processes, however, may require a
deep well (below frost line) heat sinks
to store and draw from. Additional (to those located on the Greenhouse skin)
solar cells will be placed on the (sphere) skin where
useful. Hydrogen will act as storage to
be converted back to electricity for a
variety of purposes including supplemental
heating and cooling. The exterior skin
will have a variety of strategies (reflection,
insulation, one or two way permeability,
clear, opaque) by which desired temperature
and visual-ness can be achieved; this will
be administrated by a computer system employing
swarming algorithms. Users can set a number
of parameters for personal preferences
up to certain limits of energy storage/depletion
and so on. |
Computer
AUGMENTATION capability:
The computer system has two missions. One
is to monitor and “run” the
household in every way possible; the
other is to provide a state-of-the-art
support system for a virtual professional
practice. The house system will include
security, management of energy and temperature
systems, device control (including remotely)
and a variety of communication,
Internet surfing and bill-paying functions.
The professional
practice system [link] will
include high speed access, server system,
back up,
large
multi-screen, high resolution displays,
integrated video conferencing, standard
software packages and simulation and
modeling. These are just the basics - the
real opportunity is to build an augmentation
environment that supports human life
in a variety of seamless, non-intrusive,
friendly ways. Can the environment become
a learning system? Can it, ultimately
become and agent for the user? can it
become a “companion?” I think
so. We proceed with simple rules, add
feedback,
connect to the Internet, build in memory [link],
add
robotic tools; in time, the building
becomes “smart;” then... |
Transportation:
Assuming EcoSphere will be located just
outside the Nashville metropolitan area,
or a simular situation, so an electric/hydrogen
car prototype is
possible given the ability of ecosphere
to generate electricity, make hydrogen
and store it. This keeps the car choice
simple with a broad range of alternative
vehicles being available. Hydrogen cars
are now being used in California for
fleets that can provide and maintain
the fuel infrastructure. The issue
with
hydrogen
is the size of
the producing unit and the electrical
draw. The state of the art should be
such that an application on the scale
of EcoSphere will work if appropriate
energy management is exercised. If a hydrogen
solution proves impossible in the
short term, an all electric car is
a viable alternative given its use. |
|
These
technologies are described separately elsewhere, however,
they must work as a single system and be integrated
into the structure, fabric and processes of EcoSphere.
No compromise of a high standard of living is
contemplated
because of the energy and ecological objectives of
the project. While the system must be totally transparent
to those living
in the
environment,
the
control systems must be automatic and user programmable
with continuous feedback to the occupants of the cost
and environmental impacts associated with their actions.
They can, therefore, spend with awareness;
something that typical a home owner cannot do, in real
time - or accurately - today.
Being
free of all energy, water supply and waste systems
is a primary design goal of EcoSphere. Without this
capability, it cannot meet its design goals of mobility
and having minimum impact on the earth when deployed.
This first prototype, however, can fall somewhat short
of this measure as long as real advancements toward
the goals are accomplished. The various key technology
components should be made modular so that the system
can be improved in the future by increments in ways
that support on-going test-bed activities.
Ecosphere Construction
Fabrication:
The entire structure, interior components
and all utilities (organized into “packages”)
will be fabricated off-site. It is expected
that, with the prototype, major components
will have to pre-assembles in the shop
to prove out fitness. This process will
be similar to the Bay
Area Studio [link] and
Gail’s
Nest [link] projects
except that the goal with EcoSphere is
to do the
complete finished product off
site (which is not the goal of the two
other projects).
The
complexity of this fabrication will be
determined
by
the
degree that
new
light weight materials are used. More
traditional materials means less cost,
less innovation required, less time in
fabrication
and less performance and relevance to
board scale production. Greater use of
new materials means more time and cost
and a greater probability of accomplishing
EcoSphere’s mission. EcoSphere
is an opportunity to develop a valid
architectural grammar using these new
materials. This is as important
a consideration in the material palette selection
as their energy and weight management
goals. |
Site Preparation:
The objective is, of course, to do as little
site “preparation” as possible.
For year around use in a near suburban
setting such as this prototype, a carport
- caretaker living unit - storage unit
is in order. I can live in this while
the engineering and fabrication of EcoSphere
takes place. It can be field built and
also a test of certain materials and
systems - a prototype of a prototype.
This will be a detached unit; any connection
to
services
or code-compliant
facilities will be provided in this facility
(See Steinmeyer
project [link]).
Patios, walks and driveways will be removable
pavers
that allow ground cover growth to be
integrated with these surfaces. Foundations
will be prefabricated. Excavation (carefully
preserving the top soil) will be made
to create the partially underground greenhouse
area, footings and any heat sinks. Gravel
will be placed to create structural bearing.
After erection, the top soil will be
replaced as planted earth berms around
the parameter of EcoSphere’s base
and greenhouse. Landscaping will be added
to augment the natural beauty and nature
of the site and to provide edible food
(Permaculture). Upon removal of EcoSphere,
the excavation area will be filled and
the top soil replaced more or less as
things were in the beginning. All site
work and landscaping will be finished
prior to the placement of EcoSphere except
the final dressing and planting of the
berms surrounding the immediate structure. |
Field Erection:
Place the prefabricated footings onto the gravel bearing beds, set the
Base (Zone I), Tower and Platforms (Zone IV), attach the dome in hexagonal
and pentagonal sections (Zone II), erect the Greenhouse (Zone III), hook
components together, smooth the parameter berms and add final landscaping
- The structure is complete. The next step is to supply it with water,
Hydrogen, plants and test the systems. This is a one to two day process.
It would seem that Spring or Fall would be the better times to do this. |
Finish:
There are innumerable little things that
distinguishes a mere building from a
home and place to work. this is both
finishing the work and “moving
in” to it. This takes several days
just to get to the starting point. The placement
of personal things in the environment
is an act of investing energy into and
taking possession of a space - it is
primal. It is also discovery; the process
of finding out what a space can really
become and how you can relate to it.
A work of architecture is never “decorated”
- it is lived in. |
FIRST
USE:
I am not sure how long it will take to bring an EcoSphere on line for the first
time. I will guess three to six months before it is fully operational and proven
out. This goes beyond the mechanical and organic systems; the entire way of living
in this environment is more like living on a cruising sailboat than a traditional
house. This will require many adjustments and copious documentation. |
|
Design
and construction cannot be divorced as is the common
practice today. How a work is to be built directly
impacts the grammar of its design. The design, in term,
effects the method of construction. There is feedback
between the two. Many would agree to this statement
and say they do it; however, it is not until a design
such as this one - far removed from mainstream building
- is proposed that the existing inadequate relationship
between Design/Build/Use is fully revealed. Technically,
EcoSphere is more like a boat or automobile than a
house. This is true in how it is made and also in how
it operates after it is fielded. To build EcoSphere
as a one-off, and accomplish anywhere near a production
level, will take a great deal of engineering and design
work. I suspect, this will require a distributed team.
EcoSphere will be a product of the internet; the result
of a ValueWeb; an interesting and relevant point. |
Ecosphere
Mission
As
a ROOM in my distributed environment:
The objective is that when I travel, I take
only myself and a laptop. Today, 95% of
the time, I work in a Taylor environment
no matter where I am. Unfortunately, I
spend 75% of my time in hotels that do
not serve my needs nor reflect my values.
This is over a $35,000 a year “vote” in
the market place that I would like to divert
to a more organic result. There is no way
that I can, in the near term, maintain
one place where I can work and live so
it is necessary to build nodes (“rooms”)
that support my presence for different
aspects of my work. EcoSphere has to be
a room in my distributed
studio [link] as
it extends beyond the Bay Area. |
As a TESTBED:
The scale of EcoSphere is the smallest example
that design strategies essential to a number
of future projects can be developed and
tested: Bay
Area Studio [link],
Domicile [link],
Crystal Cave [link],
Xanadu [link],
Wilderness Mega City [link],
Master’s NavCenter Treehouse” concept [link] -
and so on. Not only the specific technologies
themselves,
but
also
the method
of getting
manufactures to participate in a lean Design/Build/Use
Rapid Prototyping process to produce environments
that are actually used. To do this in an “industry” that
has no real R&D, at the scale of a
building, is a challenge. Living in EcoSphere
is also part of the testing process as
the environment diverges significantly
from traditional life-work style protocols.
Documenting what works and not is essential
to future designs. |
As an Example of PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE:
I have long asserted that the role of any
professional is not to grind out common
projects over and over but to push the
state of their art, as well as, transfer
the skill set and learnings to others.
This project fits well within that defining
principle. |
A PLACE To Be:
And, to simply be a place of real architecture
that provides an unique viewpoint on the
world, expresses a philosophy of life and
a shelter with the appropriate tools of
living and work. |
|
This
will not be my main residence and Studio as these functions
will remain on the west coast. However, my
major MG Taylor Corporations tasks for the next couple
of years involve three categories of work: (1) to fuel
the effort to write the manuals of the Taylor System
and Method (and finish securing necessary IP) and assist
in the transfer of the this capability to license holders
and partners; (2) assist in the creation of a number
of joint ventures and partnerships with organizations
who will take the Method to distinct markets and scale
it (this also requires the building of the requisite
ValueWeb [link]);
and, (3) developing the management function that will
carry MG Taylor beyond the founders and through
the next cycle of work. If Nashville becomes the MG
Taylor home office, or Ohio where the VA NavCenters
are going up [link],
or Calgary where the Master’s Academy Campus
is rising [link],
then I will require a living and work environment
that supports
my efforts
in accomplishing
these three tasks while executing these projects.
My
next several years will involve a great deal
of writing
and the development of systems. I require
an environment that is shaped to serve this purpose.
A quite place of few interruptions but one that is
stimulating because of its innate variability. I require
an environment that does not take too much time to
take care of but does require a level of involvement
and interaction. One radical aspect of EcoSphere is,
although
it should
require less maintenance than a typical dwelling, it
does require greater interaction; it is more like a
living organism than an object. EcoSphere is a true “environment
valve” - an interface process between the larger
environment and the capsule within which one lives.
It has to be worked like a homestead.
Beyond
this personal and professional use, EcoSphere has a
social
role to play and that is to be a “spokesperson” for
architectural alternatives. Except for the insertion
of ever more convenience devices, the concept of the
house has hardly changed in a century. The advances
made by Wright and others are largely being overwhelmed,
today, by retro-buildings whose only claim to fame
seems to be their dishonesty and grossness not to mention
their ecological irresponsibility. Architecture cannot
be sold with pictures, that which really makes a difference
- “the quality that has no name” - has
to be experienced. Perhaps this can be the role of
EcoSphere the two weeks a month when I will not be
in it; a retreat place for people to sample an authentic
alternative. Although it was not designed to be shocking
or spectacular, EcoSphere does have the potential to “jar” people
out of their assumptions of what a dwelling is and
must be. If it can be the catalyst to some
fundamental reevaluation,
then the project will have done some good in addition
to serving the requirements of a few. |
EcoSphere
As Architectural Art:
SHELTER:
The concept of shelter in housing has
become one dimensional: in or out.
The questions of what is shelter,
to whom is it provided (is everybody
the same?), from what (are all
elements the same?), to what degree
(is it just binary?), in what
circumstances (is every moment
the same?), is rarely fully addressed
- or provided for. The concept of
shelter has many nuances and it
means different things to different
people and they need different
degrees of it at different times.
These requirements can change with
mood, task, time of day, season.
EcoSphere can be (in whole or part)
an open air pavilion, enclosed
and visually and acoustically open
- or closed - or a tight
womb protecting from the elements.
It never, however, treats nature
as hostile, something to be afraid
of, separate from - or something
to defeat. EcoSphere screens, augments,
attenuates, separates each factor
(sight, sound, light, heat) discreetly,
as required in
whole and by different
parts of the environment, depending
on the requirements of individual
users. |
ARRANGEMENT:
The arrangement is both zoned and free
flowing and rests on a different
functional basis than a traditional
habitat. There is greater variety
and flexibility in how requirements
are translated into architectural
means. The EcoSphere interior is
to be built like and function like
a ship. One moves though it like
through a landscape; with access
to truly vertical as well as horizontal
spaces. Where you are
in three dimensional space (in
relationship
to other
elements) has meaning; how you
see the interior and exterior
landscape has meaning; the angle
that you look and the turn of your
body as you move, work, relax,
has meaning. These are physical
facts that provoke mental states-of-mind
and convey metaphysical messages
through denotation and connotation.
Theses distinctions are almost
totally lost in “modern” buildings
which take almost all variety out
of the built environment and then
over compensates with pointless
architectonics, superficial ornament
and the grandiose abuse of materials. |
| The
aspect of sunlight as it moves through
the day and seasons is an active
element in the life of a building
that is almost totally truncated
in the conventional house. The passage
from one room or area to another
can be made an experience not
just a common happening. The relationship
between
areas has far more importance than
just convenience. As one moves from
one space to another; there is
reorientation, changed perspective,
a new mix of
textures, light, shape, space and
utilitarian elements. Privacy is
accomplished
in EcoSphere by vertical
and horizontal
movement away from (in all
planes and directions) the open center
of the space. One moves
through layers
of interior landscape - partial
shields - creating spatial ambiguity
and a sense of prospect, as well
as, pockets of quietness and away-ness.
Folding elements provide greater
or lessor sight and audible privacy.
Arrangement becomes an active design
principle not merely a factor of
basic convenience. |
EXPRESSION:
The dome is encompassing, round, soft,
flowing. The Base, Tower and Platforms
angular, vertical and penetrating.
The dome provides for (mostly)
the open-ended functions;
the angular structures the (mostly)
task-based
functions. Each “mode,” however
is intertwined with the other -
one aspect a few steps from another.
The entire structure rests on the
earth
and
floats above
it
while
being “tucked-in” by
the sunken greenhouse and planted
berms. There
is both dynamic tension, cooperation
and resolution between these elements.
The outside landscape is “right
there” under, over, beside
the semi-transparent structure
cantilevering
the functional areas into the natural
landscape separated only by the
gossamer
“environment valve” of
the ever changing skin. |
HISTORICAL
CONTEXT:
The dome has a long history [link].
It has often been the subject of
technological advancement and philosophical/social
meaning. Nomadic architecture goes
back to the beginning of history,
almost terminated with our technological
civilization,
and now is beginning to enjoy a revival.
Prefabrication [link] is
just on the cusp of becoming its
long anticipated
promise. After its great period
in the 30s, 40s and 50s, the reality
of an affordable
modern home [link] faded
for nearly 40 years and is now beginning
to see a revival in interest and
practice. |
THEME:
I was living in Arizona when I first
conceived EcoSphere. As art, I
wanted a work that would express
a fundamentally
new viewpoint of reality
and that created
a different
interface between
“inside” and “outside” than
that of the typical dwelling. One
that
would, on one hand put nature on
a pedestal, and on the other create
a much greater intensity of interaction between
the dwelling, its occupants and
nature. I was seeking a way that
the flat-plane viewpoint and the
box (no mater how well articulated
to go beyond inherent limitations)
could be shattered and replaced
with an environment that had a
far greater natural variety - dynamic
- intrinsic in its makeup. On the
tactile level, how one moves through
space - and where one looks - has
a direct corollary to one’s
thoughts and feelings. We experience
this
as a reawakening when we explore
natural environments but usually
lose it in the human designed environment.
The human designed environment,
beside being ugly and awkward most
of the time, does not have nearly
enough variety to sufficiently
occupy a truly alive human mind.
My intent
was to create a built-artifact
that
provided
the
same sense as
moving through a natural
landscape. I am not speaking metaphorically
here - nor as a strictly cerebral
experience - but on the visceral
level. I wanted a far greater intensity
of experience than provided by
traditional architectural means
and I wanted the building to express
this promise
in its
form. The dynamic tension set up
between the “alter to nature” (which
is passive/refuge) and the greater
degree of interface (which is active/prospect)
makes the major thematic
element of the design which is
reinforced by the extraordinary
degree that the occupants of this
“EarthShip” can dial-in
the exact level of interaction
desired. The
THEME, then, is the constantly
changing relationship between human
and nature and the synergy of their
interaction. This is the essence of
appropriate technology. |
|
|
| The
fundamental basis of architecture is that it forges
the context by which day-to-day living becomes art [link].
The subject of architecture is the life
lived within
it. This life-as-art emerges as a consequence of
many factors. These factors range across the entire
Design/Build/Use spectrum. Artistic intention must
be designed-in, built-in and practiced into
reality. |
| EcoSphere-type
designs offer a far more engaging, interactive,
adaptable and ecologically sound environments than
the presently
ubiquitous housing habit. The prototype offers a
robust test bed for a variety of technologies and
design ideas. As architectural art, EcoSphere breaks
new ground; it offers a degree of intimacy between
form and function almost impossible to accomplish
in either traditional linear, “flat” form-factors
or in the common use of dome
structures [link]. |
| EcoSphere
is looking for a few good designer, craft-persons,
engineers and sponsors - and some adventurous owners.
Go to the Business Model [link
below] and contact [link] me
if you are interested. It is time to break the mold,
At the same time, it is time to reconnect with intrinsic
values that have be lost in our mindless rush to
the present modern sentiment. Lets create a new evolutionary
path. |
|
Update -
February 2005
“Can you build it?”
|
THE question,
of course, is “can you really build it? And, for
what cost?” Recently, we just completed a 5,000
square
foot RDS [link] with
Armature [link] which
is about the same scale as EcoSphere. This
project
was done in less
than
90 days: designed, engineered, manufactured, shipped
(to Europe), installed and used [link].
In
mass, this is an EcoSphere without the skin. The
RDS has a sophisticated electrical system. While
different, and acknowledging there are aspects
of EcoSphere that go beyond it, the RDS demonstrates
that we are now at the threshold of technical compentency
required to prototype an ecoSphere or UsonianOne
project [link]. |
| Builder-designer Phil Carson has explored many elements that are key to the EcoSphere concept including breathing walls, non-toxic materials, modularity and rapid assembly/disassembly structures. Visit his web site [link]. |
|
EcoSphere background:
[link] Architectural
Projects # 63
[link] 1970s
Concepts
[link]
Dome
Dwellings
[link] Renascence
Project |
|
|
|
| Return
To postUsonian Index |
|
|
|
|
| GoTo:
Renascense Reports 1977, 1978 - Index |
|
|
Matt
Taylor
knOwhere @Palo Alto
December 8, 2002
SolutionBox
voice of this document:
VISION • STRATEGY • DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
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posted:
December 8, 2002
revised:
August 23, 2005
• 20021208.252296.mt • 20021204.444409.mt •
• 20021226.333300.mt • 20021230.112233.mt •
• 20030101.760099.mt • 20040312.287610.mt •
• 20040320.365100.mt • 20040703.444411.mt •
• 20040831.321409.mt • 20050210.761111.mt •
• 20050823.345010.mt •
(note:
this document is about 98% finished)
copyright©
Matt Taylor 1967, 1975, 1979, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
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