World House Matrix Exploration Kit

WORLD HOUSEINSTITUTE WITHOUT BOUNDARIES

COSTA RICA MATRIx ExpLORATION KITFebruary 2008 www.worldhouse.ca



WORLD HOUSE MATRIx ExpLORATION KIT

The Institute without boundaries has categorized the basic elements of housing design into twelve systems, which can be further grouped into the categories of terrain, climate, economy and culture. In every project, these elements combine and integrate to generate designs that promote the long-term health of all species and cultures. This Matrix provides a framework for generating innovative ideas and auditing the quality of the final product. The Institute uses the Matrix primarily for housing design challenges, although it can be adapted to suit other scenarios.

“… a system is the totality of all that is contained, has been contained and may yet be contained within it. We can never see or experience this totality. We can only experience our personal pathway through the system.”

—Richard Buchanan

12 SYSTEMS4 FILTERS 4 FACTORS 4 MODES

CLIMATE Shelter

CULTURE express

aIr HaNDLING

CONSTruCTION

eNerGy

FOOD

IDeNTITy

COMMuNICaTION

FINaNCe

MObILITy

SOCIaL

SPaTIaL

WaSTe

WaTer

SpINE

ZONE

GENERATIVE

HUB

ECONOMY Connect

TERRAIN Nourish

SUSTAINABLE

UNIVERSAL

BALANCED

INTELLIGENT



4 Filters

SUSTAINING

How can we meet the needs of the today without compromising those of the future?

Sustainable design considers the distribution, allocation and management of resources, including human resources, to achieve local and global objectives.

UNIVERSAL

How can we design products and environments for all people, to the greatest extent possible?

Universal design takes into consideration flexibility, simplicity and self-evidence to accommodate the various life stages, circumstances and needs of people.



4 Filters

INTELLIGENT

How can we use technology to promote the long-term health of nature and human cultures?

by combining ‘hi-tech’ innovations with traditional knowledge and processes, we can design systems for the home that complement our daily routines and respond intuitively to our evolving needs.

BALANCED

How can we strike a balance between extremes and craft a wholesome life for ourselves?

From work to leisure and from starvation to excess, balancing both our individual and collective lifestyle habits is an important step in achieving peace and health.



4 Factors

TERRAIN

How does our home nourish us and the land?

The home, and the human body, is dependant on and a part of local and distant ecosystems. Food and water enter the home and are stored to feed and sustain us. They leave, along with other inorganic materials, to reenter the system as nutrients or as pollution.



4 Factors

CLIMATE

How does our home mediate our relationship with the elements?

We shield ourselves from sand storms, rainstorms and animals yet welcome in wind and sun to make our spaces more comfortable to inhabit. How can we protect our buildings against damage from climatic conditions without shutting out the things that nourish life?

“For our species and civilization to maintain a sustainable relationship with the earth, our activities, including our architecture, must harmonize with natural cycles, rhythms, and resources”

—Sir Norman Foster



4 Factors

ECONOMY

How does our home connect us to each other, our environ-ment and the world?

Communication and transportation devices bring us together to form business and social networks. as a result, we can exchange information, goods and services to support and enhance each other’s lifestyles.

“In order for the market economy to survive, we must have the Love Economy, which is defined as unpaid productive work such as raising chil-dren and maintaining the household, do-it-yourself housing, rehabilitation and serving on the school board.”

—Hazel Henderson



4 Factors

CULTURE

How does our home express our ambitions?

The home is the intersection between public and private, and is also an avenue for self-expression, directly influencing how we interact with each other.

“Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. Places as unique and diverse as the wilds of East Africa’s Serengeti, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Baroque cathedrals of Latin America make up our world’s heritage.”

—World Heritage



WATER

Imagine a house that addresses the universal need for a limited, precious resource.

Where there is water, there is probably life. We rely on it daily in our homes for cleaning and for nourishment. With debates around this precious resource heating up – is water a human right or commodity? – how can we improve its collection, conservation, reuse and distribution, to ensure fair access for all nations? Imagine a home that recycles its greywater for reuse.

Considerations

Conserve and intelligently manage water.•

Collect rainwater for domestic use.•

Implement greywater and blackwater • treatment and recycling strategies.

use water as an architectural or artistic • component.

Incorporate landscape features that capture • and filter stormwater, or prevent stormwater runoff.

12 Systems.Terrain



WASTE

Imagine a house that maximizes the use of all its products, and replenishes what it depletes.

Waste is the by-product of life. In our homes alone, we generate biological, organic, chemical, and synthetic waste products, each of which requires its own management system to avoid polluting soil and water, and to prevent outbreaks of disease. Today, the sheer volume of our waste threatens not only cities, but also our entire planetary balance. Imagine a home that achieves a zero-waste footprint by managing its resources intelligently.

Considerations

Minimize waste during construction with • intelligent resource management and attention to design proportions.

use reclaimed materials or post-consumer • waste in construction.

Minimize waste throughout the lifecycle of • the home.

Divert waste from landfill by transforming it • into energy, or another useful product; or, designing for easy composting and recycling within the home.

12 Systems. Terrain



FOOD

Imagine a house that transforms its waste into nutritional value.

Food maintains life and is also an integral part of cultural identities and lifelong memories. but moving meals from field to table is dependent on a complex social and economic network that is global, mechanical, biotechnical and media driven. advances in appliances and preserving techniques makes eating increasingly hassle free for the modern-day homeowner. How can we embrace new technologies without losing connection to the healthy food traditions that define our humanity?

Considerations

Grow food within the home.•

Connect home to local farms.•

Design kitchens that are conducive to • purchasing fresh produce, or storing preserves and vegetables.

Design kitchens that embrace the social and • cultural aspects of dining.

Design a kitchen that helps makes slow food • fast.

12 Systems.Terrain



CONSTRUCTION

A house that grows out of and returns to its ecosystem.

Shelter is the result of materials extracted and fabricated into building parts, then crafted together by human and mechanical labour. How can we improve this process to increase local sourcing and owner participation? Imagine a home that grows out of and returns to nature by using innovative building materials and lifecycle planning.

Considerations

use natural, renewable or locally sourced • building materials.

use materials that will change industry • demands. Practice building methods that conserve • resources throughout the construction process as well as the lifecycle of the home.Practice building methods that can include • participation from non-skilled labour.

12 Systems. Climate



12 Systems. Climate

AIR HANDLING

Imagine a house that cleans the air.

Imagine a home that maintains high air quality levels by using natural convection, cross ventilation, stack effect and breathable membranes. Moving, replenishing, moderating and maintaining air quality within and around a home is fundamental to the health and well being of its occupants. How can we capitalize on the basic laws of physics (convection, conduction and radiation) and use primarily passive systems to achieve HVaC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)?

Considerations

use natural convection, cross ventilation, • stack effect and breathable membranes.

Use building materials and finishes that will • improve indoor air quality.

Use passive or other effective filtration • methods to remove particulates, harmful gases and allergens.



ENERGY

Imagine a house that creates more energy than it consumes.

electricity and fuel, combined with technology, grant us mechanical efficiency within our homes. We can make light in darkness, heat in cool climates and cool food in warm ones, simply by plugging into the energy grid. The sources that support this grid, however, are not without limits. How can we tap into alternative and renewable sources of energy, as well as achieve designs that are energy efficient? Imagine a home that creates more energy than it consumes by harnessing natural elements such as sun, water, wind and bio-waste.

Considerations

Harness natural elements through site • selection and building orientation.

use a high-performance building envelope • with superior insulation in the walls, floors and roofs.

reduce thermal bridging and air leakage.•

use innovative and simple technologies that • are efficient in their use of fuel or resources, are affordable and practical.

12 Systems. Climate



FINANCE

Imagine a home that creates opportunity for its owners.

Houses are often the reward of our life savings. Mortgages and sweat equity make ownership possible for consumers in many income brackets. as well, the housing industry accounts for 67% of GDP growth in developed countries, providing invaluable labour opportunities. Imagine a home that creates wealth for the community by using local suppliers and laborers, and a financial model that helps to leverage shelter into an affordable bracket for a greater number of citizens.

Considerations

Provide financing options for low-income or • other marginalized groups.

Help low-income or other marginalized • groups maintain shelter security.

Integrate local and donated materials, • community labour and other cost-savings mechanisms into the design and construction approach.

Create a live/work model allows owners to • recover ownership costs through enterprise.

12 Systems. Climate



MOBILITY

Imagine a house that breaks apart, travels and is put back together.

The flow of people and goods to and from the home, and also within the home, both physically and virtually, permits networks to form, business to take place and economies to grow. How can the design of our homes facilitate quick movement of ideas and objects to allow physical activity and free time in our daily routines?

Considerations

Maintain ability to move components, or the • entire structure, freely and easily.

allow people of all abilities to move freely • and easily within the home.

Connect residents with the city, the country • and the world at large.

Design space for transportation equipment, • such as bicycles, snow shoes or roller blades.

12 Systems. Economy



COMMUNICATION

Imagine a house that communicates to and for its users.

Sharing ideas is a powerful way to shape societies. Whether by telephone or video broadcast, we constantly send messages out from our dwellings and accept new information in. every year, our homes make room for new gadgets that minimize the distance between doorsteps, such as radios, televisions, telephones and computer devices. We also continue to create new means through which our homes can communicate with us. Imagine a home that communicates to and for us by using interfaces that stimulate all five senses.

Considerations

Create physical or virtual communication • links within the home and between homes.

Convey information about the home, its • mechnisms and services, to its occupants by virtual or mechanical means.

Stimulate the five senses (touch, sound, • taste, smell and sight) with interactive interfaces.

use design as a opportunity to educate. •

12 Systems. Economy



IDENTITY

Imagine a house that helps its occupants manage and achieve personal and communal aspirations.

Houses shelter us from the elements and also support the actions and intentions of our lives. They are extensions of our dreams and desires. a house – its form, materials, location and period – presents an image to the world about its occupants.

Considerations

Promote, complement or enhance long-• standing cultural patterns and customs.

Integrate with local heritage while allowing • co-existance of other traditions and connection to communities internationally.

allow individual users to customize and alter • the space.

Facilitate personal growth for occupants.•

Facilitate collective growth and development • for the community at large.

Facilitate creation of communities of interest. •

12 Systems. Culture



SpATIAL

Imagine a house that creates a perception of unlimited space.

People inhabit space. It has depth, breadth and height. Its configuration, along with the play of light and shadow, can assign it with characteristics such as public or private, dangerous or safe, open or confined. Today, a popular question is how to increase density in cities without infringing on individuals’ desire for personal space. Imagine a home in which the spaces can adapt to different functions making possible both personal and communal activities.

mixes public with private, and interior with exterior.

Considerations

Use spaces efficiently to address municipal • needs for density intensification, while still meeting the needs of the inhabitants.

Create spaces that are multifunctional and • adaptable to various uses.

Design spaces that balance public and • private environments.

Design spaces that balance indoor and • outdoor environments.

12 Systems. Culture



SOCIAL

Imagine a house that promotes social interaction.

Often, the design of a house determines the nature and degree of interaction that will take place between family members, roommates and neighbours. It can be open to the street or fenced in; it can provide space for group gatherings, or dictate isolation. Imagine a home that contributes to the community by promoting social interaction and providing safe and welcoming spaces.

Considerations

enable interaction between individuals • within the home.

enable interaction within the greater • community, fostering relationships between local and global environments.

Create environments that are inclusive and • that give residents a sense of belonging in their place of habitat; and, in effect, result in long-term residency and stewardship.

12 Systems. Culture



4 Modes

The four modes represent organizational methods around which a design operates. They can be combined and repeated to generate various effects.

SpINE

Can the home’s services and technology connect in one area? Can it mimic the complexity of a spinal cord?

ZONE

Can the built environment be compartmentalized into wet and dry zones? Would this benefit cost, materials and flexibility?

GENERATIVE

Can the designed spaces connect, combine, expand and contract to create multiple configurations to suit different users and uses?

HUB

Can the space specialize in specific services to facilitate community gathering and economic growth? Can it be shared as a home, rental space, office grocery store or studio?

World House Matrix Exploration Kit

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