What is sustainability…?

…Humans living in harmony with the planet by optimizing well being without negative impacts.

…long lasting and cyclical.

Sustainability Game showwith Bob Barker and Jenna Thompson

What is the following image and how does it relate to sustainability?

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 2010Damages ecosystems, economic systems, highlights our dependence on fossil fuels…

The Environment is Right!

Sustainability Game showwith Bob Barker and Jenna Thompson

What is potable water?

Where does Memphis get its drinking water?

Potable water requires lots of energy through the process of treating and disbursing, therefore nonpotable water should be used for non drinking activities. Landscaping, toilet flushing, janitorial, process water from building systems.

Water that is considered “fit to drink” by federal, state, and local municipalities.

The Environment is Right!

Memphis Sands Aquifer

Sustainability Game showwith Bob Barker and Jenna Thompson

What is the most sustainable form of naturally generated energy?

About 40% of the freshwater used in the United States – 136 billion gallons per day – is used for power generation.

Human energy•Walking, running, swimming, exercising

•Compostable waste – Rural studio

Alternative forms of energy production

•Wind

•Solar

•Biomass – plant material that is living or recently living

•Waste in materials used to harness energy

The Environment is Right!

Sustainability Game showwith Bob Barker and Jenna Thompson

Name the six main recyclable materials?

The Environment is Right!

Paper, Plastic, Glass, Metal, Aluminum, Cardboard•60-70% of all items deposited in landfills could have been recycled.

•In the United States alone, 60 billion pounds of plastic becomes unusable or non-recycled waste.

•Plastics most commonly accepted are 1’s and 2’s.

Ocean debris kills at least 1 million sea birds and a 100,000 mammals each year estimated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Great Garbage Patch – North Pacific Ocean

3.5 million tons and growing

Only 5% of plastic is recycled globally

nature’s plastic in the world of architecture and interior architecture

How can architecture begin to use biodegradable plastics as a renewable material to replace toxic plastics in interior and exterior

design applications?

WHY REPLACE TRADITIONAL PLASTICS?

• CONSERVATION– Plastics are primarily produced from petroleum which is a non-renewable feedstock

• WASTE– In the United States alone, 60 billion pounds of plastic becomes unusable or non-recycled

waste

• OFF-GASSING – Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s)– Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

• Phthalates: used as softeners or plasticizers in products such as children’s toys, interior decorative products, and building products

• Dioxins: pollutant released during and after production of plastics

• ENERGY CONSUMPTION – Plastic production depends on fossil fuels creating economic price increase trends– Plastic incineration creates ecological and efficiency problems

• Biodegradable plastics are a renewable feedstock

• Sustainability: Reduce · Reuse · Recycle

• Biodegradable plastics can be broken down by naturally occurring microorganisms

• Biodegradable plastics are non-toxic!!!

• Less obtrusive extraction methods • Less heat to produce

Reemergence of Bio-plasticsNature’s Plastic

Soybean Car_Henry Ford 1941

Native American Horn Spoon

Parkesine (cellulose) Plastic 1860

THE DISCOVERY OF BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS:Resource ·Material Composition · Testing

• RESOURCE– Green Plastics, by E. S. Stevens

• MATERIAL COMPOSTION– Gelatin: biopolymer derived from animal feedstock– Glycerol: plasticizer produced by the fermentation of sugar, or from vegetable

and animal oils and fats.– Water

• alternative material compositions

• TESTING– American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)

• Glass transition temperature (Tg) moment of temperature change)– Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC)

» 120 – 140 Celsius– Assisting Professor: Moussa Traore

• Flammability• Barrier to Moisture

BIO-GLASS GEL-VARIED_A2 M2_VISCOSE_A2

MOLD_VISCOSE_A2 M3_VISCOSE_B

TEST, TEST, AND MORE TESTING

interior and exterior wall system applications of nature’s plastic

PROJECT: Metamorphosis · Wall PartitionProcess

Textured mold Natural curingSurface texture Structural embedding

Connection detail

PROJECT: Metamorphosis · Wall PartitionCompleted project

PROJECT:Soft Boundaries · Aesthetic PanelsProcess

Flattening and Layering

PROJECT:Soft Boundaries · Aesthetic PanelsProcess

Didactic Material and Mass Production

PROJECT:Soft Boundaries · Aesthetic PanelsProcess

Panel Size and Medium Properties

PROJECT:Soft Boundaries · Aesthetic PanelsCompleted Project

PROJECT:Materials Library: reuseProcess

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT:Chameleon Wall · Exterior Garden WallProcess

Embedding seeds Weather elements initiate degradation

Theoretical vegetation growth

· the chameleon wall is still in the process of completing a life cycle

PROJECT:Chameleon Wall · Exterior Garden WallCompleted First Stage and Middle Stage

FUTURE DESIGN APPLICATIONSContext in design · Case studies · Production

• Context in design:– Current biodegradable plastic uses– Progressive thinking

• Case Studies– Workspheres: MOMA exhibition– Portable classrooms

• Production– Reuse of current plastic manufacturing plants

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: Bio-Door PanelsIntroduction · Test Panels · Process and Design

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: Bio-Door PanelsIntroduction · Test Panels · Process and Design

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: Bio-Door PanelsIntroduction · Test Panels · Process and Design

Bio-Plastic Door Panels

Detail

Design Charrette

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: Bio-LightsIntroduction · Concept_Mock-ups · Process and Design

Prior Works: studies_JellyFish

THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS: Bio-LightsIntroduction · Concept_Mock-ups · Process and Design

SPECIAL THANKS TO:• Professor Chisamore

• Professor Doiron

• Components Class

• Dr. Leanne Lamke

• Professor Rebecca O’Neal Dagg

• Professor Magdalena Garmaz

• Soft Boundaries Design Group– Trish Madden– Glen Uecker– Phillip Wilkes

• Auburn University Architecture and Art Students