Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Brown, and welcome to today's lesson.

We're gonna be learning about eco-houses and eco-structures and sustainable architecture in this lesson.

I'll be thinking about the work of Ken Yeang, who is an eco architect.

Now today, we'll be thinking about his influence on architecture and getting ideas and thinking about what we can do as designers.

So without further ado, sit back, let's get on and let's think about all of the different learning cycles, keywords, and the key learning outcome for today.

Today's outcome, today's learning outcome is that I can use the architectural work of Dr.

Ken Yeang to create my own designs.

Keywords.

First keyword today is PhD and that's studying one subject a lot at university, finding something new, and then becoming a doctor of that subject.

Sustainable, so that's using resources wisely so they do not run out.

Eco-architect, that's someone who designs buildings that are sustainable.

And eco-house, a house that is designed to be sustainable.

We've got two learning cycles today.

The first one, we're gonna be looking at the work of Dr.

Ken Yeang and his sustainable design.

And then we're gonna be thinking about our own eco-house designs.

And, of course, we'll start with learning cycle one.

So let's think about Dr.

Ken Yeang and he's known as an eco-architect.

An eco-architect is someone who is known for sustainable design.

He designs buildings that can be as sustainable as possible, and he thinks about the power, the materials, and design within all of the buildings that he designs.

Now in his work, he imagines how cities and buildings can exist without harming the environment.

The term eco is taken from the word ecological or ecology, and that's where we get this term eco from.

So when we're thinking about ecological or ecology, eco means house and ecology means study of.

So ecology is a study of living things, their environment and their surroundings.

So let's think about Dr.

Ken Yeang's childhood.

So he was born in 1948 in Malaysia and he started school in Penang where he was born.

But in 1962, he went to Cheltenham College in the UK.

He then studied architecture at the Architectural Association in London and then went on further to complete a PhD in sustainable design at the University of Cambridge.

Quick check for understanding.

Where was Dr.

Ken Yeang born? Was it A, Penang, Malaysia? B, Cheltenham, UK? Or C, Cambridge, UK? Which do you think? That's right, well done.

He was born in Penang, Malaysia.

So his early work, so once he'd received his PhD, remember a PhD is where we're looking at one thing in lots and lots of detail and becoming a doctor of that, he began his career in architecture.

And then in 1977, he co-founded Hamza & Yeang.

Now, his designs became dedicated to eco-architecture.

That's architecture that responds to the local climate and the environment and we're trying to be as ecological as possible.

He's designed green skyscrapers that include gardens, sunshades, and natural ventilation.

And we're gonna go through a couple of those examples and show how he actually designed these.

So he's also a writer.

And being an eco-architect and academic, he's published many books, including the "Dictionary of Eco-design" in 2010.

He still does some lecturing and works in universities, but this "Dictionary of Eco-design" comes up with a really good definition of what an eco-building has and it needs to have six different things.

He suggests that it needs to include nature, needs to use natural energy, it doesn't waste materials, it has very little impact on the natural environment where it's built, it uses space really smartly, and uses water wisely as well.

We're gonna go through some examples about what that actually looks like in practice.

And we'll go start with one of the most famous designs, that's the National Library in Singapore.

So nature, there are gardens on many floors and over 100 different types of plants.

Energy, the design uses fresh air, sunshades, and sunlight, and that helps cool and light the building.

The materials, well, a lot of the materials look very new.

There's some recycled materials there, but bricks from the old library were actually used and recycled items were reused inside, things like carpets and things like that.

So there were the opportunities reusing materials.

Let's go through the other three now.

So environmental impact, well, this was actually built where the old city buildings were before and it actually replaced the old library.

As we've said in the previous slide, some of the bricks from the old library were actually used inside this design.

Water, there are rain sensors and they channel water to the indoor gardens and that makes the gardens grow and then makes the living areas even better.

And space, well, there's sky gardens, so there's gardens on different levels there.

There's bridges and there's open spaces and they're built upwards.

They have built upwards to try to create light and to create space really wisely.

Another check for understanding.

What doesn't eco-architect do? Do they A, construct sustainable buildings? B, design sustainable buildings? Or C, design and construct buildings? Which do you think is right? Is Andeep, Sofia, or Laura correct? That's right, well done.

It's Sofia.

They design sustainable buildings.

They might not construct them, but they will think about the design of them and these designs will help the people who build them.

And, of course, they'll still be on hand too to help out any issues when the construction happens.

So here's another one of Ken Yeang's famous designs and this is the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London.

So how has he used nature? So plants grow on the roof and not only is that to encourage nature to be in the very inner city, busy city of London and it's to help animals and encourage animals to come across, but it also insulates the building as well.

Energy, so they try to use natural air and light use.

And when it gets cold, heating actually comes from underground heat pumps.

Materials, well, materials are actually quite recyclable here.

So they've used recycled aluminum.

There's natural rubber flooring, and wood that's used only comes from forests that's carefully looked after.

Environmental impact.

Well, this was built on an old hospital site and so no green land was destroyed in the making of it.

The water, so the green roofs help soak up rainwater and to help prevent flooding.

And lastly, space.

The building was designed to fit into the old hospital and the hospital is on the left-hand side.

So it actually seamlessly is an extension to the main building.

Here's a timeline of events.

So born in 1948.

Got a PhD from University of Cambridge in 1974.

1977, co-founded Hamza & Yeang, which is still going.

2005, the National Library of Singapore was opened.

That's the one that we looked at earlier.

2010, the "Dictionary of Eco-design" was published.

And lastly, 2011 the Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Extension was opened.

Now, Ken Yeang has actually changed the way buildings are designed, particularly very tall skyscrapers in cities.

And he's inspired other eco-architects to design spaces that connect nature and buildings.

And he's received so many awards from different people and was actually named by The Guardian as one of 50 people to save the planet in 2008.

So here's your task for now.

It's to discuss how Dr.

Ken Yeang's work can influence the design thinking for our own design.

So what I'd like you to do now is to imagine designing an eco-house.

And what I want you to do is, first of all, just take a step back.

Just think about what is an eco-house.

And what we can do is we can use Dr.

Ken Yeang's suggestion in that "Dictionary of Eco-design." So how will your design include nature? How will it use natural energy? How will it not waste materials? How will it have little impact on the environment? How will it make smart use of space? And how will it use water wisely? Have a real good think carefully about what size this eco-house is gonna be, where it's gonna be, who's gonna use it.

And think about how these six different, what elements can you think of that would actually help you to create an eco-house? Okay, time for you to go off now.

Have a good think, have a good discussion.

We don't need any drawings, we don't need anything at the moment.

We're having just a really good strong discussion about how Dr.

Ken Yeang's work can influence the design thinking for our own designs.

All right, without further ado, off you go.

Great, welcome back.

So let's go through what Alex and Sofia discussed when they thought about how Ken Yeang's work can influence their designs.

So Alex is gonna use natural features like trees and plants in his design and he's gonna reduce the amount of materials needed and to reuse materials where possible.

Sofia, well, she's going to use a house's shape to bring in natural light and reduce heating and lighting and she's gonna use natural ventilation to keep buildings cool, but also to keep them warm as well.

Really good thoughts there about what they might choose to do.

I'm sure you've come up with lots of different ideas and I do hope you can borrow ideas from each other as well.

Discuss these as a class and think exactly what sorts of ideas can you come up with that maybe we haven't even already covered.

Well done.

We're now ready to move onto learning cycle two and that's eco-house designs.

Now, we're gonna go back a little bit and think about what a design specification needs.

So design specification needs to think about the function.

What should the design do? Who is it for? That's the users.

How will it work? That's the performance.

The appearance.

What will it look like? The materials.

What is it made from? And that's really key when we're thinking about an eco-house.

And the environment.

How to reduce the impact on the environment and that's really important when we're thinking about eco-houses.

Now, Ken Yeang's list, if you think back to those six different things, it helps us think about the function, the performance, the materials, and the environment.

Think about all those six different areas.

They definitely cover what it should do, how it should work, what it should be made from, and how to reduce the impact, but doesn't really work on who it is for and what it will look like, and that's a really key part of architecture.

And I think that's done on purpose because, of course, every design is going to be different.

So you might need to be thinking about those four that have already been ticked off.

But the needs of the user and the appearance are really going to be different in every single design that's happening.

Check for understanding.

Which two parts of a design specification are not covered by Ken Yeang's list for an eco-building? Is it function and performance, users and appearance, or materials and environment? Which two parts of the design specification are not covered? Is it A, B, or C? That's right, well done.

It's B, users and appearance.

So we do need to think about the user of the eco-house and what they would want, as well as all those other things that we've thought about and the advice we've been given about how to design an eco-house.

So Alex says his users, they're gonna be a family of four, two adults, two children living in a city.

Whereas Sofia, it's gonna be a family of two, one adult, one child, and they're gonna live in a village by the sea.

So we're gonna stop for just a quick second because I want you to think for your own design, who will your design be for and where will it be? 'Cause that's gonna be quite important because you need to think about is it gonna be in the city, is it gonna be rural? And if so, all of those different things might impact all of the other decisions you have to make.

So take time out now just to think to yourself, who will your design be for and where will the house be? Well done.

I'm sure you've come up with lots of really good ideas and thought very, very carefully about this.

This is going to be needed for when we move on to the next part.

So we need to think about the appearance.

Now, Alex has said he's gonna use recycled aluminum and he's gonna use glass in a tall eco-house and it's gonna be a really modern design.

Sofia, however, is gonna use timber from looked after forests and a grass roof.

It's gonna have a much more natural look than Alex's design.

And that's possibly to think about the environment of where it's going to be and the materials that they might use.

So you might need to now think, how will materials affect the appearance of your design? So again, take a few seconds now, think about what materials you're gonna use, but also the appearance of the eco-house.

What's it actually gonna look like? So what sort of design are you going to go after? Doesn't matter if we want to make any changes, but these are just to get the ideas into your minds right now.

So spend a few minutes, off you go.

All right, welcome back, well done.

I'm sure you've now thought about the users and you've now thought about the materials and also what it's going to look like.

What's it gonna be made of and what sort of style is it going to have? Well done.

So we've now thought about all of the aspects of the design specification, but there still might be extra details we'll need to add to our designs.

So we might be thinking about extra features.

So Alex is gonna have solar panels and the walls are gonna have plants growing on them.

And Sofia is going to have a wind turbine and she's gonna think about how to save and use rainwater.

So again, another thing for you to think about.

What extra features are your eco-house designs going to have? Off you go.

Good, wow, there's been loads of designing and thinking already.

So we're gonna have to start thinking how do we put all of this together? And what we want you to come up with now is to use all of these thoughts, use all of the requirements to sketch different ideas.

Now, they need to include nature, natural energy, not wasting materials, have little impact on the environment, make smart use of space, and use water wisely.

Now, we do want you to think about sketching really carefully.

When you think about these sketches, obviously you've got in your minds already about the users and what they want and the appearance and what it's gonna look like.

And what we'd like you to do is to not just come up with one idea, but come up with lots of different ideas.

Notice it does say plural ideas, sketch different ideas.

Don't just go with the first one.

And I would just use rapid sketching for this.

So get a big piece of blank paper and just sketch an idea and then move on to another page or use a different part of that page and just come up with more ideas.

Because the more ideas you come up with, the more you can take and you can mold and you can change them together.

Today is not about getting your final, final design, it's about getting ideas on paper.

So think about all the different things you've discussed.

Think about what other people have discussed.

Think about the shape you want to have.

These are just going to be designs and ideas to get you started.

They might not be the end product, but they're just to get you started.

Do think about the shape.

What size you want it to be? Tall, thin.

Is it gonna be wide? Is it going to be long? Is it going to be round? Is it going to be square? Think about all of these different things and come up with lots of different ideas.

And then once you've got some of your ideas, can you label your designs to show how your designs meet the demands? So how did you include nature? How did you include natural energy and not wasting materials and having little impact on the environment? And how did you use space carefully? And how are you using water wisely as well? Lots to think about and this is the fun bit.

I just want you to go really creative, lots of different ideas and really think very, very creatively about how you can address some of these demands of an eco-house.

All right, good luck.

Off you go.

Look forward to hearing and seeing some of your designs.

We'll be back with a little bit of feedback in a moment.

In the meantime, off you go.

Enjoy.

Right, welcome back.

Well, Sofia has been working with Alex throughout this lesson and she discussed her designs and she drew lots of different ideas.

She's got four ideas there and she labeled some of the special features of her eco-house.

She knows they're not perfect, she knows they're not, you know, exact, and she knows that her work might change as she goes through the unit.

But nevertheless, she knows what she is trying to achieve and she's got some ideas.

It could be she might combine some of these ideas.

Could be that actually she thinks about a different shape or a different pattern that she wants to try to achieve.

Anyway, I'm sure you've come up with some amazing ideas and you've been very, very creative in your approaches and I'm sure you've had a really good time today.

Let's go through the summary of today's lesson.

So Dr.

Ken Yeang is known for being an eco-architect.

Eco-buildings can include nature in their design.

Eco-buildings don't waste materials.

Eco-buildings use space wisely and have little impact on the environment.

And eco-buildings use natural energy and water carefully.

Thank you ever so much for being with me today.

I've really enjoyed this lesson, and I hope you have too.

I'm sure you've got some amazing creative ideas that are going to help you when we're coming to thinking about how to design an eco-house.

You've done a fantastic job today.

Thank you ever so much, and I'll see you another time.