hi i am a junior architecture student and we have been tasked to design an airport. it's a domestic airport to be located in a province in the philippines. i am planning to incorporate the concept of sustainability and blob architecture. i hope you guys could help me and tell me where do i start with the research...what do i need to take into consideration..
make the basic idea (your idea) for the airport drive the project.
'blob architecture' is not a concept but a conceptually empty formal predisposition.
'sustainability' is not a concept but a way of thinking about every project. an individual project doesn't need to be a manifesto on sustainability. it merely needs to be considered holistically and sustainably on the way to pursuing a larger set of ideas.
what ideas might you bring to a project as rich as an airport in a place like the philippines? think ideas before means or techniques.
maybe this is a bit naive, but what exactly is "blob architecture?" i've heard the term tossed around, but never really looked into it.
i really like what you say there about sustainability, steven. there's a professor here, who i haven't had, but who hates the term "green architecture," because he says there should be no such distinction. architecture should take sustainability into account in just the same way it does codes, siting and so on, but it should not (usually) be a concept or "manifesto" as you say. i've always admired your well-reasoned and insightful comments, too. you're like an e-mentor.
anyway, i've seen a few books specifically on airport design that would probably be worth checking out. sounds like an interesting project. good luck!
sustainability and airport are in direct conflict - acres of concrete for the runways and tarmac is awful for the local watershed, plus all this paving increases urban heat island, and destroys habitat.
Airplanes burn twice as much fuel as the least efficient SUV per passenger model - so how is catering to air travel actively solving reduction of greenhouse gas emissions?
So you could attempt to design a high performance building, but that still fails to engage in larger the ecological context.
sustainable blobs are not possible.
blobs are so yesterday.
Sea planes require no paving! so does arctic/glacial landings (just attach skis)
treekiller makes some good points regarding the sustainability (or lack thereof) of airports... just making the building "green" is a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to the damage caused by the acres of paving... some things that may help to alleviate the issues would be...
capturing and treating the runoff in a bioswale with native vegation...
using porous/permeable concrete for the paving...
maybe using grasscrete would be possible if it is a small local airport (obviously wouldn't work for big birds)...
perhaps you could decrease the acres required by building the runways on top of the terminal buildings??? (it is a school project after all)
finally, you shouldn't be starting out the project saying "i'm gonna make this a blob"... let your conceptual analysis of what an airport in the philippines should be drive your forms...
Not an architectural response, but here goes ... Well, speaking of sustainability-related issues, the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is made out of composite, and is supposed to consume less jet fuel than standard airliners. Boeing has also stated that future 737s will be made out of composite.
In regard to domestic airports, at some point it becomes impossible of analyzing a rural airport in the Phillippines without looking at both Manila's airport and air traffic in the Pacific Rim in general. Does one consider the rural airport as part of a distibuted system of passenger travel and cargo logistics, or as part of a larger hub-and-spoke model,
In addition, it will also help to do some research as to the types of aircraft that will be operating from your airport. Even medium-sized aircraft require larger runways, and larger runways create a larger footprint. For domestic traffic to Manila and other places in Luzon and Mindanao, medium-sized carriers will be used (i.e. EMBRAER regional jets, ATR turboprops, as well as SAAB aircraft). Do some research as to what medium- to small-sized aircraft Phillipines Airlines currently uses. Besides a smattering of Boeing and Airbus, they also use Fokker turboprops as well as Boeing 737s for their domestic routes.
I completely disagree with treekiller. Not in the fact that airport/flying is environmentaly un-friendly, but that has little to do with whether the architecture itself should be ecological. If we are architects or evironmentaliust refuse to touch any occurence in society that isn't what we agree with, how can we improve things? And we should do our own job well, instead of the politicians'.
Secondly, there is nothing in blob architecture, or non-standard, or whatever you wish to call it, that affect in the least if the buildign is sustainable or not.
Thirdly, I think you are all reaching over your heads a little bit. No, I don't think in the end 'sustainable' or 'blob architecture' are valid concepts for an architectural project, but I do think they are great things to decide to explore in one of your first projects as an a junior architecture student. I remember being in my first year hearing 'blob architecture' being mentioned for the first time during a crit, I was pretty intrigued!
And there are so many interesteing conceptual ideas to explore in terms of a local/domesic airport in the phillipines concerning sustainability!
I would recommend you to start looking into how the airport could affect the local economy, and how you make this the best. How does it integrate into its surroundings? How do you minimize en environmental impact but maximize the economical/cultural (if that is what you wich to achieve)? How can it be construcvted using local competences and resources? How can the construction be used to bring competence into the region? How do you deal with local vs. global culture, since an airport is bound to affect this relationship?
C- perhaps you took my words a little too seriously - how can I call myself treekiller and yet be an advocate of regenerative/sustainable design?
Architects MUST apply their morality to what they create - you are right.
The lessons learned from planning a huge site will be worthwhile- just avoid all preconcieved solutions. Don't jump to create a blob first, without developing a rigorous site analysis that supports the emergent shape and the choice of sustainable approaches. The greenest building are the ones that don't get built- so a student project is the penultimate expression of sustainable design.
C, you may have missed the announcement that blobs are dead, but really, they are so 1999 and many new ideas have emerged in the schools around the world.
Social and physical networks are very much what is being explored these days - as a typology, airports are a prime canvas to explore these topics.
What I have learned at school is that you make a blob, render it in wireframe and call it a network. Sometimes you render part in shiney white material and call it an 'affordance' or 'condition'. Then, you somehow claim that the swarming of birds or the self organizing pattern of bubbles is useful for kids in a daycare. Maybe I just don't get it, but you can't plan for chaos and random behavior. This became really apparent to me in Osaka when you just see stuff jammed together, glued on another part etc. "Emergence" is ugly. The forms of this process are interesting, but I can't see their real usefulness to humans whole live in an essentially Newtonian world.
Killer:
I couldn't care less about announcements! There has been a lot of announcements about the death of post-modernism, just because some stupid ppl thought is was all about some ugly 80s designs. :)
If you say blobs are dead, then what do you define blobs as? Personally, I don't subscribe to the view that architecture is a series of
formal fad's at schools and magazines. I'd rather say they have developed, enriched and become more complex projects that are actually being built.
Then, if you argue that that means they aren't blobs anymore I could agree with you. But if so I think we deserve a definition.
by dead, I mean swallowed by the standardizing corporate world as an image that removes all context and original meanings. I mean that blobs look good on the computer screen but are hell to occupy
I mean, WHY???????
And yes, post-modernism is deader then phillip johnson and stiffer then micheal graves.
Blobs never enriched architecture, they just sucked all the life out of the process- are we architects or editors?
Idealist,You havent mentioned if you'r overall master planning or/ and detail designing.
nevertheless before you get 'conceptual'..I suggest you get a knowhow on the critical details and technicalities of the design.
the most important issues are *apron widths,* turning radius's ,*positioning of aerobridges , *isolation bay, parallel taxi-tracks , *cooling pit, *fire station , location of ATC tower , Constant current regulator station..
and one of the most important issues is the positioning of the DVOR station ,( Doppler Very high – Omni Range) station.
U need a clear unobstructed radius of 100 M around that so it takes a hell lot of place if you'r working within a tight space.
there are many such technicalities which have to be seduced before you can go to bed with your concepts of sustainable design or blob design. take care of them.
Birds are more fun than being a traffic engineer. Kipnis was obsessed with the self-organization of flocks 5 years ago (that's what I mean by blobs being dead). If this can become an airport then I'd give idealist an 'A' - but you have to first have go through a rigorous process that stumbles onto 'flocking behavior' as the rational answer to the program and site.
come on n-more, this is a student project. the objective is to create some sexy images/drawings to place in their portfolio, so you can be hired by a starchitect after graduation- not an aec firm.
imagine new forms of transit and juxtapose strange urban conditions into the void created by the tarmac- make an underground city for example!
How about a space elevator as the new transit hub for the phillipines? think outside the box (just avoid blobs!)
If you really want to go green, deep green - start researching regenerative design and infrastructural urbanism. Explore the social needs of the informal urban districts and see if an 'airport' is a mechanism for providing services and growth! Convert a landfill into an airport and capture the methane to power the buildings. The ground subsidence will make for exciting landings and takeoffs.
to cassiel: i appreciate your opinion on designers and architects not being able to improve on things unless they try to touch on different occurences in the society with which they don't agree. it's our job to find ways to make things complement and intertwine...i'm really more of an idealist than a realist designer so i try being positive about ideas. besides, i don't want to be too critical on definitions of blob or sustainability or if those are in the fad...what i care about is how to make things work for this airport..and be able to create something that would benefit the country. but i appreciate all the suggestions...thanks it helped a lot..to nevermore: yes i've taken into consideration all of what you've mentioned..thanks anyway...
idealist: Thank you, and glad to be to some assistance. My mention of a fad was not directed to you but rather a denial that fads have anything to do with it, as treekiller implyed.
it's done...hahaha...i went through so much trouble...coz i lost my schemes so i had to repeat the entire floor plans...but things happen for a reason...i made new one and it was better than the first...
Sep 13, 06 3:30 am ·
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airport design
hi i am a junior architecture student and we have been tasked to design an airport. it's a domestic airport to be located in a province in the philippines. i am planning to incorporate the concept of sustainability and blob architecture. i hope you guys could help me and tell me where do i start with the research...what do i need to take into consideration..
make the basic idea (your idea) for the airport drive the project.
'blob architecture' is not a concept but a conceptually empty formal predisposition.
'sustainability' is not a concept but a way of thinking about every project. an individual project doesn't need to be a manifesto on sustainability. it merely needs to be considered holistically and sustainably on the way to pursuing a larger set of ideas.
what ideas might you bring to a project as rich as an airport in a place like the philippines? think ideas before means or techniques.
maybe this is a bit naive, but what exactly is "blob architecture?" i've heard the term tossed around, but never really looked into it.
i really like what you say there about sustainability, steven. there's a professor here, who i haven't had, but who hates the term "green architecture," because he says there should be no such distinction. architecture should take sustainability into account in just the same way it does codes, siting and so on, but it should not (usually) be a concept or "manifesto" as you say. i've always admired your well-reasoned and insightful comments, too. you're like an e-mentor.
anyway, i've seen a few books specifically on airport design that would probably be worth checking out. sounds like an interesting project. good luck!
sustainability and airport are in direct conflict - acres of concrete for the runways and tarmac is awful for the local watershed, plus all this paving increases urban heat island, and destroys habitat.
Airplanes burn twice as much fuel as the least efficient SUV per passenger model - so how is catering to air travel actively solving reduction of greenhouse gas emissions?
So you could attempt to design a high performance building, but that still fails to engage in larger the ecological context.
sustainable blobs are not possible.
blobs are so yesterday.
Sea planes require no paving! so does arctic/glacial landings (just attach skis)
the only types of blobs that are sustainable are turds
treekiller makes some good points regarding the sustainability (or lack thereof) of airports... just making the building "green" is a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to the damage caused by the acres of paving... some things that may help to alleviate the issues would be...
capturing and treating the runoff in a bioswale with native vegation...
using porous/permeable concrete for the paving...
maybe using grasscrete would be possible if it is a small local airport (obviously wouldn't work for big birds)...
perhaps you could decrease the acres required by building the runways on top of the terminal buildings??? (it is a school project after all)
finally, you shouldn't be starting out the project saying "i'm gonna make this a blob"... let your conceptual analysis of what an airport in the philippines should be drive your forms...
Not an architectural response, but here goes ... Well, speaking of sustainability-related issues, the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner is made out of composite, and is supposed to consume less jet fuel than standard airliners. Boeing has also stated that future 737s will be made out of composite.
In regard to domestic airports, at some point it becomes impossible of analyzing a rural airport in the Phillippines without looking at both Manila's airport and air traffic in the Pacific Rim in general. Does one consider the rural airport as part of a distibuted system of passenger travel and cargo logistics, or as part of a larger hub-and-spoke model,
In addition, it will also help to do some research as to the types of aircraft that will be operating from your airport. Even medium-sized aircraft require larger runways, and larger runways create a larger footprint. For domestic traffic to Manila and other places in Luzon and Mindanao, medium-sized carriers will be used (i.e. EMBRAER regional jets, ATR turboprops, as well as SAAB aircraft). Do some research as to what medium- to small-sized aircraft Phillipines Airlines currently uses. Besides a smattering of Boeing and Airbus, they also use Fokker turboprops as well as Boeing 737s for their domestic routes.
bioswales are nifty and create great habitat for:
birds!
check out this video of a bird versus plane
hahahaha treekiller.
please don't make the airport look like a wing.
I completely disagree with treekiller. Not in the fact that airport/flying is environmentaly un-friendly, but that has little to do with whether the architecture itself should be ecological. If we are architects or evironmentaliust refuse to touch any occurence in society that isn't what we agree with, how can we improve things? And we should do our own job well, instead of the politicians'.
Secondly, there is nothing in blob architecture, or non-standard, or whatever you wish to call it, that affect in the least if the buildign is sustainable or not.
Thirdly, I think you are all reaching over your heads a little bit. No, I don't think in the end 'sustainable' or 'blob architecture' are valid concepts for an architectural project, but I do think they are great things to decide to explore in one of your first projects as an a junior architecture student. I remember being in my first year hearing 'blob architecture' being mentioned for the first time during a crit, I was pretty intrigued!
And there are so many interesteing conceptual ideas to explore in terms of a local/domesic airport in the phillipines concerning sustainability!
I would recommend you to start looking into how the airport could affect the local economy, and how you make this the best. How does it integrate into its surroundings? How do you minimize en environmental impact but maximize the economical/cultural (if that is what you wich to achieve)? How can it be construcvted using local competences and resources? How can the construction be used to bring competence into the region? How do you deal with local vs. global culture, since an airport is bound to affect this relationship?
C- perhaps you took my words a little too seriously - how can I call myself treekiller and yet be an advocate of regenerative/sustainable design?
Architects MUST apply their morality to what they create - you are right.
The lessons learned from planning a huge site will be worthwhile- just avoid all preconcieved solutions. Don't jump to create a blob first, without developing a rigorous site analysis that supports the emergent shape and the choice of sustainable approaches. The greenest building are the ones that don't get built- so a student project is the penultimate expression of sustainable design.
C, you may have missed the announcement that blobs are dead, but really, they are so 1999 and many new ideas have emerged in the schools around the world.
Social and physical networks are very much what is being explored these days - as a typology, airports are a prime canvas to explore these topics.
Good luck
What I have learned at school is that you make a blob, render it in wireframe and call it a network. Sometimes you render part in shiney white material and call it an 'affordance' or 'condition'. Then, you somehow claim that the swarming of birds or the self organizing pattern of bubbles is useful for kids in a daycare. Maybe I just don't get it, but you can't plan for chaos and random behavior. This became really apparent to me in Osaka when you just see stuff jammed together, glued on another part etc. "Emergence" is ugly. The forms of this process are interesting, but I can't see their real usefulness to humans whole live in an essentially Newtonian world.
wow, doesn't school teach us how to Bullshit. haha. my first year tutor told me we were really inrolled in BS101, haha.
Killer:
I couldn't care less about announcements! There has been a lot of announcements about the death of post-modernism, just because some stupid ppl thought is was all about some ugly 80s designs. :)
If you say blobs are dead, then what do you define blobs as? Personally, I don't subscribe to the view that architecture is a series of
formal fad's at schools and magazines. I'd rather say they have developed, enriched and become more complex projects that are actually being built.
Then, if you argue that that means they aren't blobs anymore I could agree with you. But if so I think we deserve a definition.
architecture is an immature beast these days.
you seem kind of bitter...?
by dead, I mean swallowed by the standardizing corporate world as an image that removes all context and original meanings. I mean that blobs look good on the computer screen but are hell to occupy
I mean, WHY???????
And yes, post-modernism is deader then phillip johnson and stiffer then micheal graves.
Blobs never enriched architecture, they just sucked all the life out of the process- are we architects or editors?
just make sure that it doesn't collapse and kill some people like andreu's airport
Idealist,You havent mentioned if you'r overall master planning or/ and detail designing.
nevertheless before you get 'conceptual'..I suggest you get a knowhow on the critical details and technicalities of the design.
the most important issues are *apron widths,* turning radius's ,*positioning of aerobridges , *isolation bay, parallel taxi-tracks , *cooling pit, *fire station , location of ATC tower , Constant current regulator station..
and one of the most important issues is the positioning of the DVOR station ,( Doppler Very high – Omni Range) station.
U need a clear unobstructed radius of 100 M around that so it takes a hell lot of place if you'r working within a tight space.
there are many such technicalities which have to be seduced before you can go to bed with your concepts of sustainable design or blob design. take care of them.
all the best.
Birds are more fun than being a traffic engineer. Kipnis was obsessed with the self-organization of flocks 5 years ago (that's what I mean by blobs being dead). If this can become an airport then I'd give idealist an 'A' - but you have to first have go through a rigorous process that stumbles onto 'flocking behavior' as the rational answer to the program and site.
come on n-more, this is a student project. the objective is to create some sexy images/drawings to place in their portfolio, so you can be hired by a starchitect after graduation- not an aec firm.
imagine new forms of transit and juxtapose strange urban conditions into the void created by the tarmac- make an underground city for example!
How about a space elevator as the new transit hub for the phillipines? think outside the box (just avoid blobs!)
If you really want to go green, deep green - start researching regenerative design and infrastructural urbanism. Explore the social needs of the informal urban districts and see if an 'airport' is a mechanism for providing services and growth! Convert a landfill into an airport and capture the methane to power the buildings. The ground subsidence will make for exciting landings and takeoffs.
to cassiel: i appreciate your opinion on designers and architects not being able to improve on things unless they try to touch on different occurences in the society with which they don't agree. it's our job to find ways to make things complement and intertwine...i'm really more of an idealist than a realist designer so i try being positive about ideas. besides, i don't want to be too critical on definitions of blob or sustainability or if those are in the fad...what i care about is how to make things work for this airport..and be able to create something that would benefit the country. but i appreciate all the suggestions...thanks it helped a lot..to nevermore: yes i've taken into consideration all of what you've mentioned..thanks anyway...
idealist: Thank you, and glad to be to some assistance. My mention of a fad was not directed to you but rather a denial that fads have anything to do with it, as treekiller implyed.
treekiller:
www.wikipedia.org/postmodernity
www.wikipedia.org/postmodernism
C-
(sigh...)
T:
I just love your arguments. Gotta give you credit for that.
it's done...hahaha...i went through so much trouble...coz i lost my schemes so i had to repeat the entire floor plans...but things happen for a reason...i made new one and it was better than the first...
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