Read part two and answer the questions after it. - раздел Иностранные языки, К30 Engineering The Future: пособие по английскому языку. /Н.Г. Качановская, Л.М. Морозова, О.А. Шалай. – Минск.: БНТУ, 2009. – 128 с
In Conjunction With The Local College And Other Businesses, F...
In conjunction with the local college and other businesses, Fritz is attempting to combine high-technology and ecology in an “intelligent house” in Rosenheim. The windows close when the air conditioning comes on, and the blinds quietly roll down before the sun makes the occupants perspire. The house technology can be controlled via monitors or the telephone. “We need houses that demand less looking after, that gives us more time for our children, that are more fun,” says the father of two children. “Where are the self-cleaning windows? What about electronic systems that let us in, but keep burglars out? Where is the exchangeable installation core?” At least Fritz has been able to realize the latter in his houses.
The eco-manager has worked with the wood technologists in Rosenheim for many years in order to gain a scientific foundation for his ideas. Since 1996 he has enjoyed inviting his partners to “Germany’s largest wooden head.” From time to time Fritz brings together managers, engineers and politicians inside the 15-metere-tall sculpture to plan an environmentally friendly building future. He appeals for ideas and thinking based on natural cycles and oriented toward the sun.
On this point, Hubert Fritz is on exactly the same wavelength as Rolf Disch, the Freiburg-based solar pioneer. In contrast to Fritz, however, Disch does not limit himself to using only one building material. Wherever possible the architect uses wood, but if necessary his houses are also made of stone with polystyrene insulating material. Disch always gives priority to the economical use of electricity and heat. “That’s the most important thing,” says 54-year-old looking down over the vineyards onto the city of Freiburg. Disch has an unobstructed view from the fully glazed side of his house. What is more, Heliotrop, his solar tree house, can turn in all directions, towards and away from the sun as needed. The architect lets the sunshine in during the winter, but on hot summer days he gives it the cold shoulder – turning the almost completely closed metal side of the house toward the sun. The solar panel on the roof, on the other hand, always directly faces the sun and busily supplies electricity – more than the house and its energy-saving devices can use. During the summer Disch feeds the surplus energy into the local electricity grid. Overall, the Heliotrop produces five times as much electrical energy as it uses each year.
The solar architect plans soon to put his concept of the “plus-energy house” into practice in a housing area in Freiburg. And he intends to do this at affordable prices. “It’s still maintained that solar, energy-saving construction doesn’t pay. Yet we want to show that it’s possible – through intelligent planning – not only to save money, but even to make a profit.” Disch points to the tubular solar collectors that not only provide safety as balcony railings but also heat the shower water.
A few kilometers away, a hydrogen-based system is meeting the year-round energy needs of a family of three. The occupants of this energy-self-sufficient solar house, a research project by the Freiburg Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, burn solar-generated hydrogen for cooking and heating. Their electricity is supplied by photovoltaic units and a fuel cell.
What has been achieved here, namely “disconnecting” a house from the electricity and gas networks, is clearly too expensive for the “man in the street”. The higher investment costs for a passive house are recouped within a few years as a result of the lower energy costs. But if you want to reach the plus-energy standard, and decide to mount a photovoltaic installation on your roof, you won’t be able to reduce your building costs below 2,000 marks a square metre of living space, even taking into account federal and state subsides. This figure is considered the yardstick for cheap building. Accordingly, Hans Erhorn of the Fraunhofer Institute for Construction Physics in Stuttgart considers it realistic – as in the car industry – to aim for a “three-litre house,” a building which only requires a maximum of three litres of heating oil a year per square metre, compared with the figure of 30 litres achieved by houses built in the 1970s. “If we succeed in making the low-energy house the norm, we’ll have accomplished a great deal,” says Hans Erhorn, who believes that ecological building will only really make a breakthrough when it pays for the majority of house buyers.
Hubert Fritz is also working towards this goal. New settlement concepts, small building plots, and jointly used technology are intended to make sustainable construction affordable – without any concessions on quality. Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go until we can build cheap, intelligent, recyclable houses that need no energy input. Hubert Fritz will have to spend a few more nights thinking up new ideas.
7. Find the word-combination with one of the following adjectives in this part. Note the difference in their meaning:
Economic - of or relating to an economy, economics, or finance.
Eg. economic development, economic theories
Economical - using the minimum required; not wasteful of time, effort, resources, etc.
Eg. an economical car, an economical style
8. Answer the questions to part 2:
1. Was Hubert Fritz successful in making an “intelligent house” in Rosenheim? Give ground to your answer.
2. What does he appeal for?
3. Does Rolf Disch share all the ideas of Hubert Fritz?
4. Has Rolf Disch succeeded in building a solar house according to his construction philosophy?
5. Can you describe Heliotrop?
6. Is it a “zero-energy house”, a “low-energy house” or a “plus-energy house”? Explain why.
7. What project is Disch planning to realize in the near future?
8. Does Disch think that “plus-energy houses” can make a profit?
9. Do you believe he will manage to realize his project?
10. What is another example of an energy-self-sufficient solar house described in the text?
11. What supplies electricity there?
12. What is faster to recoup: the higher investment costs for a “passive house” or for a “plus-energy house”?
13. What figure is considered to be the yardstick in cheap building?
14. What is more realistic to aim for according to Hans Erhorn?
15. What will help to make sustainable construction affordable?
Sustainability
“Our work embraces infrastructure, architecture and product design.
We design by challenging – by asking the right questions.
We believe the quali
Sustainable Architecture Questions and Answers
1. Read some information about Kelly Hart – a green building professional. Then think of some questions you would like to ask him.
Kelly Ha
The beginnings.
The first of the three Olson houses, designed in the late 1960s, is on a steep, densely wooded cliff (near a beach where Olson played as a youth) overlooking south Puget Sound and, in the distance,
The Next Generation
The second house, built in 1992 in the suburb of Kirkland east of Seattle, bursts cheerfully from the landscape instead of hunkering into it. Yet the principle of prospect and refuge is at work her
The 1960s Revisited.
Yet the third house discussed here returns to many of the themes of the first – a “return to roots” brought about in not a small part by the client’s close collaboration in its design.
Lik
Keeping it Simple
The client would have none of it – no illusions, no architectural tricks. She wanted simplicity; the living room roof would be flat, its windows perceptible as such. The cross axis would be straigh
Follow-up
18. Look through some information about underground construction and answer the following questions:
1. Is it possible to build underground
Advantages of building underground
Houses can be built on steep surfaces and can maximize space in small areas by going below the ground. In addition the materials excavated in construction can be used in the buildin
Builder in Hell
A builder dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, "Ah sorry, you're in the wrong place." So the builder reports to the gates
Read the text and check your answers.
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources — such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat — which are renewable (naturally replenished).
In 2006, about 18% of g
Elements of passive solar design
Every passive solar building includes five distinct design elements (see diagram 1):
1. An aperture or collector — the large glass area through which sunlight enters the building.
Lighting and electrical appliances
To minimize the total primary energy consumption, low-energy lighting (such as compact fluorescent lamps), and high-efficiency electrical appliances are normally used.
Reading task C
1. Go over the vocabulary list. Consult a dictionary if you need.
assembly (n)
proprietor (n)
r
Building for the future
Houses without heating? Long considered only a subject for research projects, this idea has now become a practical reality. Zero-energy houses obtain electricity and heat from the sun free of ch
Comprehension check
9. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text:
1. Hubert Fritz is a famous German economist.
Language focus
Match the words to their synonyms:
1) proprietor 6) breakthrough a) overlook f) support
2) estimate 7) squander b) stab
Language development
Fill in the gaps with the words below making all necessary changes to them:
a) to fulfill low-energy standards b) to lay off
Villa Girasole
The oldest rotating house we have found is Angelo Invernizzi's Villa Girasole (Villa Sunflower) near Verona, Italy. "The two storied and L shaped house rests on a circular base, which is over
Three men and a genie
A project manager, a superintendent, and a field engineer are in Ft. Lauderdale for a two-week period helping out on a project. About midweek they decide to walk up and do
The Cathedral Construction
There's this cathedral that's still being worked on, and the workers have rigged a "cage elevator" inside so they can get material up and down to the upper floor
Warming up
1. Work with a partner. Which of these people have you heard of? Why are they famous?
2. Read their quotations. Which do you agree with?
The History of Skyscrapers
The word skyscraper often carries a connotation of pride and achievement. The skyscraper, in name and social function, is a modern expression of the age-old symbol of the world cent
Sustainability
The skyscraper as a concept is a product of the industrialized age, made possible by cheap energy and raw materials. The amount of steel, concrete and glass needed to construct a skyscraper is vast
Buildings that Scrape the Sky
One of the wonders of the modern American city is that architectural marvel called the skyscraper. From New York to Miami from Chicago to Dallas, from Seattle to Los Angeles, these
Adding a Notch to the City Skyline
Commercial-residential complex in Manhattan steps down to nearby walk-ups
Introduction. The developers of a $545-million complex on
Read part III and answer the questions after it.
Demolition. A three-story brick building in a corner of the site was quickly demolished in two days. But when excavation of the rest of the 200 x 800-ft site began,
Read part IV and answer the questions after it
Bracing. Gary R. Steficek, SOM's project engineer for the commercial tower, adds that not all of the core bracing continues to the top of the building, either. Some
Read part V and answer the questions after it
Wind forces. Most skyscrapers have an impermeable envelope. This building project is unusual because both the arcade at grade level and the copper-clad roof are ope
Comprehension check
15. Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text:
1. The commercial-residential complex in Manhattan is
Language focus
Match the words to their synonyms:
1) walk-up 6) surround a) access f) tenement
2) design 7) adjacent b) beam g) reflec
Language development
Fill in the gaps with the words below making all necessary changes to them:
a) to fulfill low-energy standards b) to lay off
Questions Regarding Skyscrapers
The dictionary says (and I trust it’s no lie),
a SKYSCRAPER's a VERY TALL BUILDING. Why,
howtall, then, is VERY TALL? What rule to apply?
Would twenty-si
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
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Working with Concrete
Concrete (as dry cement) is available in many dry forms and comes as a raw powder in many sizes – in small sacks for the home user, or in huge containers for builders, construction engineers, and m
Disposing of Concrete
In its final form, as waste, concrete is far from being either biodegradable or environmentally friendly. It generally has to be smashed up and removed in chunks. One of the benefits of working wit
Concrete facts
· Global cement production accounts for about 2 billion tonnes of CO2 every year – that’s 5%of all CO2 emissions
· Global cement production in 2007 =
The Bed ZED Project, London
The Bed ZED Project, or Beddington Zero Energy Development, is the UK's largest carbon-neutral eco-community in the UK. It was built in 2002 in Wallington, Surrey, Within the London Borough of Sutt
The Findhorn Foundation Eco-Village
On Scotland's north-east coast, near the town of Forres, is the Findhorn Foundation, an intentional community, based upon the values of spirituality and sustainable living. Part of its project is a
GKK Design Corporatist Frankfurt Skyscraper
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Construction is currently underway on an insanely skinny skyscraper which will will be Paraguay's tallest residential tower wh
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