Posts Tagged ‘apartment’
Apartment Food Gardens: Public and private spaces
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on November 14th, 2011
Source: Permaculture Global
Photo by Jason Gerhardt
Permaculture designer Jason Gerhardt and his partner moved from the country into a city apartment in Boulder, Colorado, just over a year ago. While they appreciated being in a home which had a smaller footprint and connected to local markets and bike access, the loss of food-growing space presented a challenge at first:
“The biggest challenge was how I was going to come up with 50 large containers to grow food in. We had 4-5 large containers that we used to grow tomatoes in in the mountains, but nothing more. The design for the containers was rather specific in that they needed to be large enough to support the growth of crops like peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbages, etc. We also need the containers to be light in color so as not to over heat from the strong direct sun that our climate affords us. Lastly, I needed the containers to be attractive so my neighbors and the homeowners association wouldn’t cause a stir. I began to search online trading posts such as craigslist, but only acquired three big containers that way. These were nice ceramic and wooden containers, but too expensive to furnish the whole patio with. I then happened upon a huge supply of full sized 5 gallon buckets from a mead maker in an industrial strip down the road. I realized they weren’t the most attractive option, but they were free, salvaged from the wastestream, light in color, and large enough. I decided to use the buckets on my private patio area and put the more attractive containers down by the street and in view of the public.”
Read the full article by Jason Gerhardt to find out more about the design of the planters, the soil mix they used, and the yields they had in this first year.
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Retrofitting Apartments with Smart Meters
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on December 2nd, 2010
Source: EcoVoice
From “Brisbane residential high-rise leads the way with advanced smart metering system“:
Brisbane ‘cleantech’ company, networkGreen, has signed a 10 year contract with Felix Apartments to retrofit the latest in embedded smart meter technology and manage the on-supply of electricity, hot water, and gas. Daniel Filmer, Managing Director of networkGreen, said that this was a significant milestone in the evolution of sustainable living by bringing meaningful electricity, water, gas consumption data to the individual user.
“High-rise buildings are one of the largest contributors to carbon pollution, we wanted to allow residents to see what they were using in real-time, so they had the opportunity to reduce waste and create a more sustainable way of living .” he said. Felix Apartments comprises of 253 residential apartments over 39 levels and will undergo a retrofit program to install the embedded smart-meter technology, which will allow each occupant individual access to their electricity, water and gas consumption by logging into their secure web portal for their apartment.
networkGreen smart meter systems use the latest technology to capture accurate electricity, water and gas usage information and display this information to the end user through a secure and easy to use online web portal and iPhone application.
Read the full article on Eco-Voice.
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Lift Out Rechargeable Scooter Battery
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on May 5th, 2010
Source: Springwise
Electric scooters may be increasingly popular as an emissions-free transportation option, but charging them can be a hassle. With that in mind, UK-based Econogo has come up with the Yogo, a scooter whose battery is designed to be removed for easier charging.
Most electric scooters are powered by built-in batteries. One result of that fact is that recharging them typically involves running a cable from a building to wherever the vehicle is parked and then waiting several hours for a full charge. That may work fine for those with easy access to a garage; for urbanites and apartment-dwellers, not so much. Econogo’s newly launched solution: a scooter with a Lithium battery that can be simply lifted out, brought inside and charged within an hour. With a top speed of 30 miles per hour and a battery life of 22 miles, the Yogo is priced at GBP 1,999.
Read the article on Springwise.
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1970s 2-bedroom flat: Medium-density retrofit
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on March 23rd, 2010
Source: Ecovation via The Ecologist
From “Eco-renovation of a 1970′s 2-bed flat“:
“Our 1970′s flat in North Oxford had had very little work done to it since it had been built. We bought it a year ago and have undertaken an eco-renovation, learning as we went along. This was made slightly more challenging by living in it while all the work was done but at least we knew what was going on! Our intention was to create a light, low energy, low-water usage, low-carbon, healthy living space for ourselves. Where it has not been possible to reuse, we have tried to use products that are natural, have low embodied energy, use minimal energy, are from an ethical source and that have minimal toxicity. We are hoping to demonstrate to our neighbours and others that one does not need a huge house in the country and pots of money to “go green”.”
The rest of this excellent article goes into detail about problems, solutions, materials, products and suppliers. The decisions and compromises that the occupants made are carefully outlined. This article is a rare insight into retro-fitting (or “eco-renovating”) a flat rather than a house. -KA