,

 Sam on building an ‘Imagination Infrastructure’ for emotional sustainability.

,

Yael on climate architecture and using the heat on London’s tube to cool it’s passengers.

,

Katie on cultural sustainability in West Ham tube station.

,

Toto on the sustainability of memory and how it effects behaviour.

Seminar I

Seminar II

Or on our Vimeo page: http://vimeo.com/user7361560

So the boxes have been unpacked, courses have been assigned to their areas, student cards dispensed but how does our big move to the big sparkly new campus at  King’s Cross impact on our sustainability?
I took a quick visit to the site developer Argent’s Marketing Suite at the German Gymnasium to find out more. On display in the Gym are countless models of the ambitious development of the 67 acre central London site and information outlining the plans for the 8million sq ft mixed use space it will create. Central Saint Martins’ occupies 39,000 square-metre  of the redevelopment in the landmark Grade II listed Granary building.
In the site Argent has employed the latest technologies to create more energy efficient building and the site itself has an Energy Centre that feds the Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Plant that powers the whole site and supplies the National Grid.

With the year we’ve had its hard to  believe , but the largest energy requirement of the site is the chilling facilities for the offices.  The site will make use of the best chilled beam technology in order to minimise energy use.  Anything equipment that has the word beam in it is impressive to me!
We will also see the evidence of renewable technologies employed through the addition of roof mounted wind turbines, rain water harvesting and green and brown roofs and other process the I unfortunately am not knowledgeable enough to explain.  For those of your who wish to find out more details please see www.kingscrosscentral.com/energy
So it would seem we can be quite proud of the energy use of our new building – now we just need to work on the inhabitants.

I was delighted to see that this was the first of many ventures of the creative people at wearewhatwedo.org and that they have put in place a wonderful on-line photo and personal story album ‘history pin’ -  http://www.historypin.com/

Here is a short video on what it’s all about:

This project is a great example of cultural sustainability.  Check out if your area is featured and if not why not add to the legacy!

There are many other ventures to marvel at www.wearewhatwedo.org

All images and video are copyright of wearewhatwedo.org

Summer.  A time of fun and frolicking.  A time when activities, people and mindsets go outside.

Degree shows and graduations herald the beginning of the season, a time to dig out the shorts and sandals, and embrace those longer, warmer days filled with BBQs (weather permitting), ice-cream, music festivals and fetes.

Although summer weather in Britain is by-no-means guaranteed, these are things commonlyassociated with summer, and much like the weather, they are fleeting.

In thinking about summer and temporal activities, comparisons can be made with the issue of sustainability.  Indeed, do our attitudes towards sustainability mirror the variable nature of British summer weather?  Do we have a ‘seasonal’ outlook on sustainability?  Is it more coherent only at certain times of the year? Is there a need to be more consistent in our approach to sustainability?

Arguably, in summertime, people’s awareness about aspects of sustainability is ‘heightened’.  With the more outdoor lifestyle (and ‘better’ weather), things like recycling, compost, and ‘getting in touch with nature’ become more pertinent.   But, is this only transient?  Alternatively, is the opposite scenario more common?:  there is in fact less awareness of or concern for sustainability issues as people are overcome by a wave of ‘forgetfulness’ and negligence as they enter ‘holiday mode’.

We cannot afford to treat sustainability ‘seasonally’ if it is to be viable.  Rather is should be embraced as an all-encompassing lifestyle philosophy, engrained in our daily lives to the extent that it is automatically expected and respected.

Time is running out.  Global warming and climate change are irreversible and inescapable aspects of reality.  The world may not end, but human existence on it will.  Quality of life can be increased through sustainable means – socially, culturally, economically and environmentally.  Like plants, we need to think more about the longevity of sustainability in terms of our behaviour and attitudes.  For this, consistency is crucial.

A more holistic approach perhaps can only be achieved by collectively being more mindful regarding our daily actions and their consequences in the long-term.

Indeed the Latin root of ‘sustainability’ alludes to the ‘capacity to endure’ or a ‘long-term maintenance of well-being’ (REF?).  Although the UPG is a fine example of summertime temporary happenings, embodying and spreading the seeds of sustainability, we need to apply this philosophy more long-term.  It’s not just about picking up and recycling your litter after a summer music festival or park BBQ, or about supporting and attending ‘sustainable’ events and buying ‘sustainable’ products.  It’s more than that.  We need to follow up our good intentions consistently throughout the year, making lifestyle changes, and integrating sustainability at every level of activity in culture, architecture, agriculture, infrastructure, politics, business and economics, and art and design, both practically and emotionally rather than a ‘tag-on’ or afterthought.  We need to consider the grand narrative and move towards Torsten Schroeder’s notions of ‘continual conservation’ and ‘multi-scaler’ thinking.

This summer, it’s time to start making sustainability more than just a passing fad or clichéd feel-good buzzword, but to make it something holistic and lasting.  The UPG, and you, can help to make sustainability a reality, rather than a concept.

The actual Sustainable Spaces launch event was an intimate, successful affair.  The dusk serenity of the garden, combined with chilled refreshments and yummy treats, provided the perfect setting for friends and members of the team to toast the beginning of the blog.  After months of planning and designing, we finally went live!  The location couldn’t have been better chosen, and so far, so good!  Hopefully over the upcoming months, discussion will blossom and grow.  Stay tuned and feel free to contribute!

The Team:

Located on Union Street, the Urban Physic Garden (UPG) is a small piece of heaven amid the urban jungle and summertime heat of London.  The latest initiative of Wayward Plants (http://www.waywardplants.org/) directed by Heather Ring, the UPG follows the success of last year’s Urban Orchard on the same site.  The UPG is a pop-up community garden, constructed by over 100 volunteers, using or rather ‘re’-using’ locally sourced, salvaged materials.

The theme and language of the hospital and pharmacy shape the spatial narrative across the site.  Visitors are taken on a journey through wards, treatment rooms and laboratories to learn about the healing qualities and health benefits of medicinal plants and herbs.  The garden serves as a celebration of these plants commonly found in local back gardens and open spaces, while also honours shared experiences of local Londoners.  Over the summer period, the garden will host a variety of events and workshops such as pensioner poetry recitals, history talks, and living medicine.

Even if you choose not to participate, the UPG is a place you can simply go to relax and soak up the peaceful atmosphere, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  It can also double-up as an outdoor workspace, as there is Wi-Fi.  There is also a ‘Rambulance’ cafe – an old, renovated ambulance – where visitors can sample the delights of the fresh food served daily, courtesy of in-house chef Abi Siri Andersen from the Rambling Restaurant (http://ramblingrestaurant.com/ ).

The UPG fully embodies sustainability from the way it has been designed and built, to the way it functions, right down to the compost toilet!   This is a fantastic feature, and is a far cry from the smelly, often flooded port-a-loos so often found at temporary summer sites and events.  It’s clean, well ventilated and skilfully engineered, and is well worth a visit to the garden in itself.  (The UPG toilet is provided by Loowatt http://www.loowatt.com/ ).

Further details about the seminar can be found on seminar II page.

Here are the outcomes of the discussion: