Design Research and Methodology: 301-671B An Eco-Vilage for Montreal s West Island M. Arch. 1 By: Shawn Moscovitch E-mail: shawn.moscovitch@mail.mcgill.ca Advisor: ----------------- McGill University School of Architecture February 3 rd, 2003
PROPOSAL The development of an ecologically based language for the architecture of a specific location, a sort of regionalism based on sustainable principles. The region in question will be Montreal's West Island (specifically, St-Lazare, in a forested area which will surely see development in the near future). This will involve a detailed study of the site which will help inform design decisions. The program will be a housing complex, an "eco-village", of which one unit will be developed in detail. As much as possible, this complex will be self-sustained: issues of energy, water, waste treatment, food production, density and transportation will be key. The reasons for such a study are quite simple: to reduce human-kind's impact on Nature by re-shaping the way in which we live. Housing provides the opportunity for an intimate relation between the building and it's occupants: a symbiotically didactic relationship which is mutually morphological. In essence, it is a response to the current trend of the suburbs and sprawl. The house here is to be seen as tool (as opposed to a machine) for living; an extension of the human body, its shape based on the requirements of the task assigned to it (much like a hammer is an extension of the arm, design to tolerate high impacts, to increase the force of each blow and to be comfortably held be one's hand). The study of the site will provide the definition of the tasks to be performed by the house.
SITE The site is located over several lots in St-Lazare along a main road (St-Charles). Each lot is approximately 165' x 537' and consists largely of forested area. Proximity to the commuter train provides inhabitants with easy access to various business districts. PROGRAM A housing complex which will mimic (or surpass) current suburban densities. The complex will be largely self-sufficient.
PRECEDENTS -materiality (local materials) -consistency in language (steel, glass, concrete, stone, colors) -overall theme (waterfall/cascade) -relationship with site (mutually enhancing) -natural setting source: http://www.inusa.com/tour/pa/laurel/fallingw.htm -"eco-aesthetic" -interior/exterior link Fallingwater Mill Run, Pennsylvania (1939) Frank Lloyd Wright Wright, Frank Lloyd. The Natural House. New York: Horizon Press, 1954.
-"eco-aesthetic" -mysticism/romanticism -natural forms source: http://www.culturageneral.net/arquitectura/arquitec/casamila.htm Casa Mila Barcelona, Spain (1910) Antonio Gaudi Zerbst, Rainer. Antoni Gaudi. New York: Taschen, 1999.
-location; similar climatic conditions -self sufficient; relies on few outside sources -doesn't look like traditional house source: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/popup/hhtoronto/images/cutawayr.gif Toronto Healthy House Toronto, Ontario (1993) Martin Liefhebber Ledger, Bronwen. A Healthy House. Canadian Architect February 1997: 29-30, 37. McDougall, Bruce. Going Green in the Burbs. Canadian Geographic January/February 2003: 67-72, 74. Warson, Albert. First Totally Self-Sustaining House is Built in Toronto. Architectural Record March 1997: 28. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/popup/hhtoronto/frame.html The Healthy House System http://www.healthyhousesystem.com/ "Unplugged Houses in Toronto, PV Power, Issue 7, May 1997 http://www.oja-services.nl/iea-pvps/pvpower/07_02.htm
-location; similar climatic conditions -self sufficient; relies on few outside sources -food production -waste treatment through natural means source: http://www.planetware.ca/photos/cdn/pei13.htm -natural systems vs. mechanical systems Prince Edward Island Ark Charlottetown, PEI (1976) New Alchemy Institute New Alchemy Institute. An Ark for Prince Edward Island: A Report for the Federal Gouvernment of Canada. Little Pond: New Alchemy Institute, 1976. Todd, Nancy Jack and John Todd. From Eco-Cities to Living Machines: Principles of Ecological Design. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1993.
-simplicity in materials -appropriate color palette -dynamic (emerges from the cave/draws in) -relationship with landscape (seems like it was always there) source: http://art.dada.it/fuksas/bio/homwork.htm -no style (timelessness) -monumentality Cave Painting Museum Niaux, France (1993) Massimiliano Fuksas Rose, Anne. Prehistoric Presence. Architectural Review August 1995: 68-70. Massimiliano Fuksas http://art.dada.it/fuksas/home.htm
-re-used materials (car windshields) -rammed earth base -does more with less -uplifting/beautiful source: http://www.arch.auburn.edu/ruralstudio/ Mason's Bend Community Center Mason's Bend, Alabama (1993) Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio Dean, Andrea Oppenheimer. Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. Rural Studio http://www.arch.auburn.edu/ruralstudio/
-high density using non-traditional form -landscape seeps in -self sufficient; relies on few outside sources -craftsmanship (details vs. whole) -occupants aware of surroundings/relation with nature source: author Arcosanti Cordes Junction, Arizona (1976-...) Paolo Soleri Arcidi, Philip. Paolo Soleri's Arcology: Updating the Prognosis. Progressive Architecture March 1991: 76-78. Difar, John Morris. Job site for Utopia. Progressive Architecture April 1973: 76-81. Soleri, Paolo. Arcosanti: An Urban Laboratory?. Scottsdale; The Cosanti Press, 1983. Soleri, Paolo. Arcology: The City in the Image of Man. Phoenix; Bridgewood Press, 1999. ARCOSANTI: a Prototype Arcology http://www.arcosanti.org/
-doesn't look like traditional housing -high density using non-traditional form -visual dynamism (optical relationship between boxes) -time/seasons ever present -"pedestrian streets" provide intermediary state (not in, not out) source: author Habitat '67 Montreal, Quebec (1967) Moshe Safdie Baker, Joseph. Inhabiting Habitat. Canadian Architect August 1997: 30-32. Dean, Andrea Oppenheimer. Evaluation: Habitat A Generation Later. Architecture: the AIA Journal October 1986: 52-55. Safdie, Moshe. Beyond Habitat. Montreal; Tundra Books, 1970. Safdie, Moshe. For Everyone A Garden. Cambridge; The MIT Press, 1974. McGill University s Canadian Architecture Collection: The Safdie Hypermedia Archive http://cac.mcgill.ca/safdie/habitat/default.asp Moshe Safdie and Associates http://www.msafdie.com/ Expo 67 Montreal World s fair http://naid.sppsr.ucla.edu/expo67/
-totally self-contained (relies only on the Sun as an outside source - everything else in produced or absorbed within) -re-creates exterior environment within source: author Biosphere 2 Oracle, Arizona (1988) Phil Hawes Sieloff, D. A.. Biosphere 2: A World in Our Hands (1995). Columbia University Biosphere 2 Center http://www.bio2.edu/
-communal living (vs. social alienation) -high density using non-traditional form -preservation of fauna/flora -shared resources (economic advantages) -gardens - food production source: http://www.cohousing.ca/cohsng4/windsong/images/ws01.jpg Wind Song Langley, B.C. (1996) Davidson, Yuen, Simpson Architects Haden, Bruce. Cohousing. Canadian Architect September 1997: 46. Van der Ryn, Sim. Eco-villages: Toward Sustainable Architecture. Progressive Architecture March 1991: 88-90. Windsong Cohousing Community http://www.cohousing.ca/cohsng4/windsong/ Global Ecovillage Network http://www.ecovillages.org/ Canadian Cohousing Network Home Page http://www.cohousing.ca/
-often employ re-used materials -passive strategies -earth berm provides insulation and visual link to site source: http://www.earthship.org/bld/index.php Earthships (Housing typology) Earthship Network http://www.earthship.org
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