Workshop synopsis, part 2 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Eric Hart (harteFree-Net.Mpls-StPaul.MN.US) | |
Date: Thu, 22 Dec 94 23:39 CST |
This is part 2 of a synopsis of workshops held by the Riverside community during the spring and summer of 1994. The Riverside community is working on a site design for their rural site 11 miles north of Menonomie, Wisconsin. They own a total of 250 acres but will only develop a tiny fraction of that. They are a cohousing/ecological community that wants to incorporate many ecological design principles into their site design. Thus over the last spring and summer we had workshops on alternative/appropriate technologies which they wanted to consider having in their community. Eric Hart, the planning consultant, compiled this information for future use and prepared the synopsis. The architect for this project is Rick Peterson, who has worked with appropriate and alternative technologies for 15 years. Neither Eric or Rick are members of the community. Most of the group lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area currently and will relocate to the site when their dwelling is complete. ______________________________________ [Workshop text continued] Soil Geology and Wastewater Systems, May 24, 1994: The soils on the site are generally shallow and poor. Only one area has deep enough soils to allow for septic systems and many areas of the site are not suited for septic systems. Some of the soil is so shallow that basements may have to be carved out of bedrock. Most likely a septic system could be engineered on most areas of the site. The lack of good sites for a septic system could, however, impact the location of the development if a septic system was used. The state requires that one of three systems be used for private sewage disposal: septic tank and drain field, holding tank, or a mound system. A holding tank would be the easiest route to go. The amount of land needed for a septic tank and drain field system would be large but not prohibitive. The state rules allow for experimental systems so any alternative systems you propose will be considered. Septic tank and field systems were explained and then a presentation was made on alternative systems. Greywater systems divert the water from sinks and other non-infectious water from the wastewater system and purifies it for use on plants or to recycle through the house. This is a generally accepted type of system and could be used with any wastewater treatment scheme. Blackwater systems actually treat infectious waste and produce useful byproducts rather than just separating and storing or releasing the waste as conventional systems do. A Biogas pit has been developed in China that kills all of the harmful bacteria and breaks down the waste into a useful tea like fertilizer and methane gas. Rick Peterson has patented a digester system that consists of a holding tank, digester, and aeration tank. The water from the digester can be used as fertilizer. This water could be integrated into a series of greenhouses and hydroponic gardens that connect the units in the development. A greywater system was agreed upon and the various merits of conventional vs. alternative systems were debated. The possibility was left open that composting toilets could be used in some of the units along with the community wide wastewater treatment system. No one opposes a centralized treatment system although there was not consensus on exclusively using a centralized system (without composting toilets). District Heating Systems, June 21, 1994: This workshop explored the use of heat pumps in a community wide heating system. Heat pumps can use the air, earth, or water to draw heat out of. Water is the most efficient of these since it stores the largest amount of heat. Coils are placed in the ground or on the bottom of a pond that draw heat from the source. The heat pump extracts this heat and places it in the heating system. A district heating system would consist of a pond, a heat pump, a holding tank, pumps, and a series of pipes that would distribute the hot water (for infloor heating) to all of the units. A utility conduit would pass through all the units below ground that would have the heating pipes as well as other utility lines. The pond would have recreational and habitat uses as well. The pond can be covered with a plastic film which raises the temperature of the pond very high and allows electricity to be generated from the water using special engines. If all of the units in the development are to be tied to the district heating system, then this has an impact on the density of the development. The more spread out the development, the more it will cost to run these utilities to each unit. The denser the development, the cheaper the district utility system will be. Community Design Preferences, July 19, 1994: This workshop explored various ways that the development might be laid out. After analyzing and exploring three models; four corners, circle, and clusters, a compromise design was developed. This consisted of a bow type design with the common house in the middle of the bow, facing south and with a good easterly view. The pond would be south of the common house. A fairly strong consensus was reached by those present on this design. This design would most likely be placed on the south side of the hill east of the existing house. The common house would be on top of the hill and the development might infringe upon the forest. Most people wanted to avoid taking any trees if the development could be placed in the open fields on the hill. No agreement was reached as to where the commercial area(s) would be in this design. Field Trip, July 30, 1994: This field trip was to Roald Gunderson's house and to the Rutters greenhouse. Roald has used several alternative construction techniques including hay bale insulation and natural, unprocessed tree trunks and branches. He gave a short demonstration on hay bale construction. Basically the hay bales can be used for walls (and insulation) or they can be used for insulation. When used as insulation a modified balloon frame construction is used with hay bales as insulation. When using hay bales as weight bearing walls they need to be held together by a large stake. Using hay bales as insulation is perfectly acceptable to building inspectors and is a cheap way to super insulate a house. Stucco can be directly applied to the outside of the bales. On the interior, a vapor barrier needs to be placed on the hay and then the finish can be applied over that. Stucco can be used by utilizing a metal lath which the stucco is affixed to. The stucco will not adhere to the vapor barrier. There is enthusiasm for using this construction technique among the group. The trip to the Rutters greenhouse gave us an idea of how a solar greenhouse worked and ways it might be incorporated into individuals houses. The greenhouse also utilized wind and solar power.
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