[lifesaviors] [TF-PANEL] PP: "Palaces for the People"
- From: "Lion Kuntz" <lionkuntz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: ET-W7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, lifesaviors@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2003 18:33:12 -0800
Hi (from Jacky)
Here is a pre-view of an edited comment to be forward to ET-PARTI
later
(with the subject tag "PP" for "project
proposal") for the panel
discussion from Lion Kuntz.
Note: the discussion thread for proposal proposals is
"unlimited" since
this will be an interaction between the proposer and the audience. The
header
[PANEL-D] PP: "Palaces for the People"
Has an additional subject header (PP) will enable people to identify
and skip messages that are not of interest to them.
Note to Kuntz:
There is a need to provide a few lines on the "Palaces for the
People"
as a proposal since we have a new audience (about 600 of them) for the
panel discussion. Then your comments below will be in a better context
for discussion.
Pls resend new version to et-w7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Regards
Jacky
============================
Compliance with prior paragraph request:
"Palaces for the People" is a proposal to demonstrate a minimum standard for
evaluating Ecocity housing and mixed use projects. That means, Palaces may not
be the best idea, there may be many better and much better ideas, but there
needs to be some "floor" below which ideas must measure up to or else be
dismissed. Palaces for the People is put forth as just such a threshhold bar
for measuring ecocity projects.
Palaces, on a superficial level can be compared to "Opera Plaza" mixed use
development near city hall, in the Civic Center District of San Francisco: a
theater, shops, restaurants on ground level, affluent lifestyle apartrments on
upper levels. Palaces utilize setbacks to reduce shading of ajacent buildings
so that all buildings have fair and equal access to solar power provided free
for the using to whomsoever has the intelligence to make use of it. The ground
floor is businesses or public activity spaces, and provides employment for some
upstairs residents: upstairs provides some labor pool for downstairs
businesses. With a large elaboration of this concept more than half of all
commutes can find a satisfactory destination within 8 blocks, reducing the
number of vehicle trips for unnecessary commutes by a high number (to be
determined) expected to be in the 80% range.
The setbacks create a set of terraces, so that residents in upper floors have
private patios for contact with sun/sky and green landscaping if they so desire.
The building is garlanded with solar panels on the sunny sides which contribute
sufficient energy that a possibility of disconnecting from the utility grids
exists. Surplus solar energy is stored as Hydrogen gas, from electrolysis of
water. Gas stored underwater is safe from fire and explosion hazard, and can
provide pressure to lift water to the upper levels without mechanical pumps. H2
gas can be burned in a turbine to generate electricity for nights and
low-sunlight periods. H2 gas can be piped to kitchens in residences and
restaurants/cafeterias for clean, smoke-free cooking fuel.
Waste heat from turbine operation, or solar power harvesting devices, guarantee
that there will always be heating for residential comfort, hot water supply,
commercial enterprises needing reliable and constant supply of heat. Thermal
power can even be employed to drive air conditioning or icemaking.
Total surface drainage designs capture all rainwater, and pass it through
various appropriate purification steps. Depending on local rainfalls, no
additional water supply may be needed. Because of the constant available
dependable heat supply, distilled purity of water allows repurification of
waters to absolute highest standards of pure known in history.
Sewage is isolated in own contained plumbing system, treated daily to steam
treatments to sterilize the sludge, then dehydration (baked) to remove weight
and odors. Dried briquettes are exported for countryside afforestation
projects. It is probable that after a short "learning curve" how to perform all
the functions harmoniously in one structure, that autonomy from the grid
connections will be achievable: no sewer pipes, no water pipes, no electric
lines coming into or going out of these buildings.
There are some webpages to start the imaginations, and additional add-on
technologies (which cannot be discussed until the basic Palaces idea has been
passed by peer review process live in real time in this conference). There are
two external proposed support projects: (1) proving the minimum reliable food
security microfarming, and (2) proving Solar PV Breeders to generate the high
volumes of PV electric panels needed by Ecocity carbonless lifestyles.
++++start
Subject: [PP]: "Palaces for the People"
-----Original Message-----(edited)
From: "Lion Kuntz" <lionkuntz@xxxxxxxxx>
With reference to the background material by Juergen Paulussen for
Session C and E on Eco-City Planning and Management - Case Studies &
Methodology
( http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/ecocity03/S-C&E.html
)
> L.K. published a couple of webpages which illustrate an affluent
> lifestyle in solar-energy-based, village-buildings called
"Palaces for
> the People", which are claimed to be autarc regarding
energy and
> freshwater provision and sewage treatment, and will be no more
> expensive than much lower standard of living conventional
buildings.
>.....
> Lion Kuntz
> proposes to build up "Palaces for the People" as a
prototype in
Beijing.
> The outline of "Beijing Eco-Vision" could be a
starting point.
I think this sentence needs clarification. I hope nobody feels misled
that they were under the impression that I would write a check for a
dozen prototype "Palaces for the People" in Beijing.
I know that at any particular time there are development projects in
various stages of planning, such as a new hospital or university
campus.
That these projects have an overt objective to achieve, within a
rational and limited budget. I know that there is also funding
existing
for special purposes and events, such as promotion of Beijing and
China
during the upcoming Olympics. In fact, there is an ambitious
construction project currently ongoing for the "Olympic
Village" in
Beijing. While it is too late to use the "Olympic Village"
as the
funding source, and house the athletes in Palaces for Eco-publicity
value and prestige, a thriving city like Beijing is planning urban
revival projects all the time.
My "proposal" was to marry a suitor of large mixed-use
development to a
promotional bride.
Especially when so many journalists, satellite TV broadcasters and
international tourists will be coming, one suspects that both city
managers and national administrators have some slums to hide, and some
funds to do it with. Probably, there is a surplus of funds available
only in the next year or so for high-publicity value showcase projects
which will have a substantial enduring purpose after the Olympics.
Palaces for the People offers just such an opportunity to capture
large
publicity values showing the world how ecologically sensitive and
technically sophisticated this generation of Chinese is.
With 3,480 meters square of Solar Energy harvesting, or say 3.4
megawatts of peak power per hour, each single Palace is an impressive
piece of technology. Make one into a college of technology, with
dormatories upstairs, classrooms on groundfloor, and rather advanced
equipment in the basement, and the 700 graduates per years will be
swelling the national energy-independence skill base required for a
post-carbon era. This is a worthwhile expendature for a country which
just signed a $5 billion deal with Russia over keeping the carbon
fuels
burning. Any country with $5bn to spend on carbon when the carbon era
is
visibly near deaths door has got to have a few sheckles to play with
developing the next-generation post-carbon-era apartment buildings.
Of course, maybe I misunderstand a culture I have had minimal contact
with, and China has no interested parties. In that case, this
discussion
has only displayed the same arguments which are valid in India,
Israel,
or Australia.
... lion kuntz
--
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