ENCLAVE
Anna Kurzeja
ENCLAVE
BIJENKORF
ENCLAVE
NARRATIVE
Entering the enclosed space on de Bijenkorf rooftop, you calm down. Protected from noise by the sound panels and greenery, you can choose a comfortable spot to sit down in the first space. The benches allow you to sit in a group or treat it as a backrest and lean against it while lying on the grass. You can also enter the enclave through the second space, going down the ramp to one of the patios surrounded by the office space, which is suitable for desk work in the fresh air, with the cafe counter emerging from inside of the building. From those areas, you can enter the central space of complete silence. Surrounded by sound panels, greenery on the sides, and on the trellis above cutting off all the noise from air traffic of helicopters rushing to the hospital, covered completely in the grass, the slight slope allows you to lay down, meditate, relax or even just simply go to sleep in quiet.
MATERIAL
Four billion tonnes of concrete are produced each year for use in homes, roads, dams, bridges, and almost every other building or large structure imaginable. This intense demand means that cement accounts for 8% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. If carbon emissions are to be reduced, then an alternative recipe for concrete that cuts down on carbon emissions is desperately needed. That's where graphene-enhanced concrete comes in.
One of the most efficient sound barriers in an urban environment is made out of the greenery. Sound is absorbed by all parts of the plant such as leaves, branches, twigs, and wood. The rougher the bark the better it absorbs sound. Outdoor surfaces coated in plants can have much the same effect. At the same time, plants create a lot of white noise, which is appealing to the human brain as a mask for undesirable noise.
It is recommended noise levels be kept below 65 dB during the day and restful sleep is impossible with nighttime ambient noise levels above 30 dB.
LAYOUT
The Enclave consists of three sections. Two on sides are less protected from noise, therefore visitors can stroll there freely, chat, read a book on the west side, or sit by a table on the east side. The central part is fully enclosed. Grass on the sloped floor, slightly sunken level in the middle, double covering with sound panels on the sides and trellis, covered in ivy that function as noise absorbent.
The height of sound panels is proportional to the noise intensity on the facade of de Bijenkorf, with the highest of 79dB during the day and 66dB during the night.
SITE
Relying on the characteristics of the neighborhood and the building below itself, the rooftop serves a public function. It is not easily accessible from the street level and therefore is not a part of any pedestrian traffic artery. The isolation of this element of the environment, its' emptiness contrasting to the busy ground level, is what makes it an enclave. Space protected from the dynamics of the city center offers peace and quietness, the moment of a break.
BUDGET
$7MLN
Graphene reinforced concrete is still a futuristic concept, with few instances of use in actual constructions. However, experimental projects are usually funded by institutions as research initiatives.
The commercial price of graphene oscillates around $150 per gram, although with the rapid development of production techniques the price will probably decrease in coming years. The hazardous exfoliation process has been lately replaced by a simpler and cheaper flash Jule heating technique.
The price drop is expected to offer 1kg of the final product, which is reinforced concrete with a 0,05% mixture of graphene for $350.
Sound panels require 80 cubic meters of the mixture, which calculates to +/- 180'000kg of standard concrete, which by adding graphene mixture will drop by 30% because of production methods, offering the same strength.
