Next Project

Smart Grid: Architecture in an Autonomous Landscape

Part 2 Project 2020
Riane Samir
Queen's University Belfast | UK
Situated in the Lake District, Cumbria, Smart Grid imagines the future of the Lake District by unlocking new forms of mobility, resource flows and material circularity. In a world, threatened by continual global crisis, we continue to function in the most unsus­tainable ways. The way in which we attain everyday commodities such as electricity, water and food was developed at a time when technological capabilities were limited. Infrastructure was created to support these systems, causing technological lock-in.

The thesis seeks to re-imagine infrastructure provision and the spatial consequences on homes and villages. A fleet of autonomous vehicles create a new, invisible connec­tive tissue that can move people and commodities. The new system transfers energy, fresh water and food to and between properties in a smarter way. Vehicles also extract unwanted by-products, such as unused food, grey water and waste, that can be brought back to distribution hubs for recycling or treatment.

Inside the home, the occupant can enjoy unaltered heritage without the need for any further modifications enabled by a tensegrity structure of 'mined' electrical poles and pylons, wrapped in an ETFE skin that can collect rainwater, produce solar power and connect with the vehicles.



Riane Samir

Tutor(s)


2020
• Page Hits: 3135         • Entry Date: 29 October 2020         • Last Update: 02 November 2020