Adaptive Reuse of BIG BOX store.

Preliminary Site Investigations
After visiting a Boston site this past weekend, and viewing other potential site locations via Google earth, I have determined to move forward with a Providence location as my chosen site. Here are some preliminary site analysis diagrams that I have been working on.

Environmental Education Building Ceter

New 1, 3 & 9

• Architecture should serve to educate people about the importance of building with ecology in mind.

• Architecture should convey a message of how to build with less disruption to the natural environment.
• Architecture should communicate through design alternatives what is correct and what is not to people who need to learn, especially those in the building trades.
• Architecture should school those who do not know how important it is to recognize ecological building awareness.

• Architecture should instruct people on how to develop a sense of ecological adaption in relation to building practice.
• Architecture should inform those who ignore the impacts of building without care.
• Architecture should infuse a sense of understanding to those about to embark on building in a natural setting.
• Architecture should guide those who conduct building with ecological ideals that benefit the planet as a whole.
• Architecture must teach the masses that a building should never conquer, but respect its environment.
• Architecture should enlighten people about the significance of building in any setting.
• Architecture should train people to recognize the connection humans have with the world and the impact of where they build to work an live.
• Architecture should act to cultivate an appreciation of building anywhere and everywhere.
• Architecture should make people aware of the momentous opportunity to adhere to a building practice that treads lightly on the earth.

New Manifesto

Architecture should go beyond function and form to educate people about the importance of building with ecology in mind. Architects have the ability to teach and learn through design, by using the living world as its example. What we design should work with, not against, the natural rhythms of life. The design of all structures should mirror the biodiversity of any given region. Architects and designers should create projects that utilize renewable energy sources that strive to help the planet. Architecture should educate people through the use of various methods of integration of living systems.
All architects should embrace the “Hannover Principles,” whenever they apply their services. Architects have a responsibility early in the design phase to think about the most effective ways a building can coexist with the environment. Why is it, we still see buildings that do not maximize solar gain? Architects can help solve a problem like the one just mentioned by adding a simple trombe wall or even a greenhouse that could bring life as well as psychological well-being. Architects should stress good design that embellishes thought provoking sustainable alternatives to old standards of building construction. Through new construction we can have an even greater impact, by starting with the site rather than working with an existing structure. Whatever the task, architecture can work as a tool to communicate what smart building should be about.
Architecture can transform the way we think about building through well-built examples of ecological responses. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is a perfect example of a building designed to teach and serve. Today’s architects should be taking routine pilgrimages to places that preach ecological design alternatives. By educating ourselves, we can in turn educate many more through our own design endeavors. We can teach appropriate design solutions that break with the norm to perhaps become the norm.
What good is a building that draws energy for its entire existence? Architects should employ tactics that embrace nature rather than conquering it. We must design and show people how to sustain ourselves. Architecture should celebrate and promote intelligent design features rather than hide them. Only by placing the living systems on display can architects really educate people as to how to employ ecological strategies. Instead of hiding the column in the wall, we should expose, much like we should a solar panel or green wall. By making smart systems available through design we can foster a greater understanding of how to really live.
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Flat Roofs Should Be.....