Clean-Swap

The project ‘Clean Swap’ addresses the future of converting combustion vehicles into electric by reusing the chassis, while the design introduces robotics into the process. 

The principles of circular economy were applied in the approach to the site’s existing materials by upcycling and repurposing the timber, tiles, insulation, and plaster. 

Embodied carbon, cradle to gate, was addressed in the calculated emissions of the existing materials on site vs the production of new materials, leading to the considered use of charred Ash Dieback, cut down due to disease, otherwise wasted, but used here as cladding and insulating through high thermal mass.

The singing gate incorporates innovative design by reducing carbon emissions and material depletion by decreasing the amount of steel required in a structural mechanism.

Bamboo was used as it was a structural alternative, that was regenerative and absorbed carbon in its growth. 

The intervention harvested wind, and air pressure to funnel the wind through the bamboo strands to make a tune as the user interacted with the blow holes.

The joint itself was adaptable, as strands of the bamboo could be removed, and the structural integrity of the joint would still work effectively. 

The Bat Cave was a design intervention to provide a space attached to ones bedroom to view the stars. The proposal incorporated hydraulics to allow for a moveable facade that hugged the building, providing another layer of insulation when not in use. It also used telescopic arms to allow for the user to position themselves in any angle to view the stars effectively.

The Bat Cave incorporated local building regulations of providing bats with shelter built into the facade, as the site was in a bat conservation area.

Senseless Void is a concept utilising Vantablack, the worlds darkest black, to create a sensory deprivation chamber down a tube at the end of a pier.

Carbon Footprint is a concept addressing the pollution through combining dried algae powder with foam to create a bioplastic for shoe soles. 

Algae is one of the fastest growing aquatic plants, absorbing CO2 at a fast rate, it is also found to be a polluter of rivers as it grows fast and covers the lake, stopping light from getting through.

As it absorbs CO2 at a fast rate, it could be farmed to harvest and thus reduce the emissions of the shoe retail industry. 

This concept focused on a building with a unique roof structure, allowing algae to grow in the thin plastic sheeting in an effective way.