WOW!
A friend of mine turned me onto this amazing innovation in building, featuring a forest in the sky! Here’s a brief quote from the article: “Bosco Verticale – a pair of residential towers situated in the heart of the Porta Nuova district of Milan – is home to over 21,000 trees, shrubs and perennial plants. The vegetation converts an average of 44,000 pounds of carbon each year, while…
The place I have chosen is the third floor of the environmental building, on the couch overlooking the lower floor.
As I walk down up the stairs to the second floor I see the wooden stairs which only allow access to the second floor. I open the glass clear door located straight down the hall from the second floor, the cold grey staircase loops around which leads to the third floor.
As I open the door, the same layout from the floor below is repeated but is littered with offices which surrounds the perimeter of the floor. The floor consists of geometric couches with vibrant orange colours permeating the neutral tones of the dark-mustard and grey tones which contrast the vibrant hues. The air is very much cold with hints of luncheon meat and wood coming from the nearby office lunchroom.
The colour and furniture scheme is very modern and is scattered with wood railings and vibrant oranges and lime green colours. The combination of furniture and use of geometrics, wood, and bright colours looks as if the floor was to be on the cover of a 1970’s modern living magazine, or a Scooby-Doo Episode.
During the morning, the floor is full of students either studying or gossiping on the many couches. Every so often, a groan will come from a student coming out of the elevator only to see no space is available to settle their study group in, which is muffled amongst many conversations not only coming from this floor but also the ones both below and above.
Being that it was just recently built, it did hold primacy in its design over the other nearby buildings, the nearby IC building has nowhere near the same architecture that distinctly defines the environmental centre. Contrary to other campus buildings, even on the third floor, the abundance of windows amasses enough natural light to keep the entire building well-lit. Being that it is the environmental centre the design mimics colours associated with nature, with the combination of potted plants and perfectly clear glass, it is well understood this building has an association with science and biology.
With the influx of glass scattered on every wall covering the building, the third floor becomes very dark in the night after the sunsets. The blue of the moon-laden sky’s midnight hue is brought about by the complementary colour of orange being so prevalent in the design of the building. This very much public space where students come to study and loaft on the couches become a very private space after sunset, as the elevators and upper floors are locked and it's possible to even get stuck in the elevator if a student tries to go to an upper-floor without a card pass.
The space on the third floor is therefore only space which is commonly viewed in the sunlight, as its transformation from a public space occurs in the evening after sunset. While it is a new building with many study spaces, it still is barren in the number of students that attend its presence, and much less the third floor.
This almost hidden enclave of couches and isolation is a place for studying but also a place for socializing and unintentionally a place of rest. In my own experience at the school, the third floor of this building is where I see the greatest number of students sleeping on its couches, its comfort coupled with its hiddenness and isolation make it’s a perfect spot for tired students to spread themselves on the firm but cushioned texture of the orange couches.
It's very surprising that a place of studying, work and office life can also be used as a means of rest and comfort. The contrast of the glass, high-tech design coupled with the cold temperature is very different from the natural wood railings, and bright colours splattered on comforting furniture. The third floor occupies a unique position, in that it is the floor separating the private offices and the public common space down below, this unique space, therefore, is a liminal place in which it marks the transition from public to private, technology to comfort, loud and quiet. Overall in this combination of furniture, design, scents, and feelings that only the third floor occupies, it creates a space that is unique not only to the building but of the entire campus.
Bottles for Houses - Alternative Construction Methods
Bottles for Houses – Alternative Construction Methods
Organizations such as “Hug it Forward” and “Casa de Botellas” (Bottle Houses) have begun to redefine ecological building among low income families. A construction practice that uses glass and plastic bottles to build homes has become an inexpensive as well as an efficient way to provide low-income families with a place to live. (Photo Courtesy casasconbotellas.com) Projects like these have taken…
