UNIT-E

Project

269655

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

UNIT-E

Full concept/idea title

Description

In times in which levels of pollution are constantly rising, we are forced to think about our future and the future of following generations. Sustainability has become an indispensable core of any project rather than just an option. We have to undertake actions for our planet to last as long as it can. This project aims to demonstrate how little effort is needed to bring about a radical change in the quality of our built environment.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

In times in which levels of pollution are constantly rising, we are forced to think about our future and the future of following generations. Sustainability has become an indispensable core of any project rather than just an option. We have to undertake actions for our planet to last as long as it can. What systems do we need in order to reduce pollution or save energy? Are these systems already present and how can they easily become an integral part of any building? Can we accomplish this integration without actually designing the appearance of the building itself, leaving its design to any author anywhere in the world? This project aims to demonstrate how little effort is needed to bring about a radical change in the quality of our built environment.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

The starting point of this project was to determine which major issues are present and what caused them. The pace by which we are destroying our environment has taken up in the last few decades and global warming has become a priority issue. By using renewable resources and innovative materials in architecture we can significantly affect the current state of nature. Establishing the renewable resources we have available now - or will have in the near future - and how they can be used in a building was the following task. Our target was also to give something back to our planet - to reduce as many harmful effects as we can in one swipe.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

In order to provide a universal solution to this problem that could be used on a wide range of projects, we had to break the subject down to its core, down to the essentials, and create a modular prototype. As we all know, the human body has a series of essential organs without which it couldn't function. In each body, these fulfill the exact same functions, yet every human being has a different shape and appearance. Likewise, has a building. So could we program the building to breathe and live in a certain way without defining its appearance? This approach grants the utmost freedom to the designer in regards to the aesthetics of the project, while the end result remains sustainable.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

The unit combines our needs and actions in one place while saving both time and space. It is composed of different modules, such as rainwater collecting system, waste separation modules, heating, and cooling system, power module... Depending on the size of the building, its purpose, the number of people staying there on regular basis, etc. any unit can be easily assembled.  For example, a cafe produces more glass and plastic waste than an office building or a museum. On the other hand, an office building produces lots of paper waste; the shafts are dimensioned accordingly. Ventilation, heating, and cooling systems are dimensioned according to average values about the building's size and volume. The roof area defines the dimension of the rainwater collecting tube. This list goes on. This unit can be personalized and incorporated into any building. It doesn't affect the building's exterior nor interior design. That can become helpful when implementing the unit into the existing buildings. Applying this unit in different buildings would change our everyday life habits and contribute to a more eco-friendly living environment.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

While the rather rapid technological development of today has affected the arts just as much as the sciences, our planned and built environment has been no exception. Its traces are not yet recognizable in everyday practice, as they have first manifested themselves through scientific discoveries, new technological achievements, and emerging theoretical views on the subject. This development itself was a major cause of global warming, therefore the answer to the current situation shall lie within the same frame. Great emphasis has been put on a detailed inspection of the outcomes (new materials and progressive technologies) of the recent technological revolution of our age, therefore this project sums up recent technologies along with their practical application and its greatest value lies in all of its parts that have not been designed.

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

The project has so far been presented at an international conference, the '10th Days of Passive House in Croatia' under the title of 'UNIT-E: a modular unit for sustainability' as well as we have been invited to present the project at the Faculty of Architecture in Zagreb to a group of architecture students. Among other, smaller-scale presentations we also made the project accessible on the internet (the web page is given in the basic information section). It has also been submitted to the 5th LafargeHolcim Awards competition in the ''Next Generation'' category and has met the stringent criteria of the competition. This initiative gave us the opportunity to reach out to a wider audience. We are constantly looking for initiatives that support young professionals and are planning to further promote it in this manner with the purpose of reaching out to potential investors and/or companies that would be interested in further developing this project.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.