Queen's University Belfast: The School of Natural and Built Environment

摘要

Riane's project offers radical ideas for dealing with the relationship between traditional ideas of place and the complex flows of globalisation. Notably, it offers a road map for operating low-density, distributed landscapes while dealing with the Lake District's persistent controversies relating to its long-term economic and environmental sustainability in light of change demanded by an accelerated culture. It addresses how architecture and landscape must effectively and intelligently use resources in the face of a climate emergency. Smart Grid imagines the future of the Lake District by unlocking new forms of mobility, resources flows and material circularity. It proposes exploiting both the electric vehicle and the present road network to reimagine infrastructure provision and the spatial consequences on homes and villages. A fleet of autonomous electric vehicles creates a new, invisible connective tissue that moves people and commodities. This new system not only transfers energy, fresh water and food to and between properties in a smarter way, but also extracts unwanted by-products (unused food, grey water, waste, etc), which are then taken to distribution hubs for recycling or treatment. Inside each home, occupants can enjoy heritage without further modifications being needed to allow for comfort. Vernacular construction techniques (dry stone walls, single-glazed windows, etc) can remain untouched and celebrated, facilitated by a tensegrity structure of recycled electrical poles and pylons, which is wrapped in an ETFE skin that collects rainwater, produces solar power and connects with the vehicle.