CITY Issue 56

I f Mo gan’s Camp Schank House ep esents the most elemental method of wate -conscious design by catching and sto ing ainwaye , the Simpson-Lee and Magney houses a e exempla y of the most ancient fo ms of ainwate ecycling. Designed by P itzke -P ize winne Glenn Mu cutt in the s, each a e p ivate homes. The landma k Simpson Lee House, located no thwest of Sydney, is a study in simplicity and light. With its mode nist-meets-indigenous sensibility, the house ha nesses athe than ﬁ ghts its envi onment and the elements. He e, wate is ha vested f om the angula oof to be used fo both d inking wate and toilets. t anquil eﬂecting pool sto es all ext a wate , which can be used in the event of ﬁ e (not uncommon in the d y su oundings). Mu cutt’s Magney House, located on Bingie Point, NSW, is even mo e st aightfo wa d: Using a convex, co ugated aluminum oof, ainwate d ains down into a Japanese-inspi ed t ough that then takes the wate , Rube Goldbe g– like, alongside the house and into pipes that lead to an unde g ound ciste n, whe e the wate is sto ed and e-used. bout kilomete s away, in the leafy Sydney subu b of Koga eh, a chitectu e ﬁ m llen Jack Cottie ’s Town Squa e scales up these p inciples with a complex ooftop ga den and manmade “aquife ” system that se ves an enti e complex. Designed as a “sustainable city,” the p oject includes apa tment units, etail outlets, a pa king ga age, and outdoo publicaccess space — not to mention the Town Squa e itself. Wate is collected f om ove , squa e mete s of ooftops and squa e mete s of p ivate te aces. It then flows th ough a cont ol tank that sits below the Town Squa e whe e it is filte ed and held in a giant sto age tank the size of an Olympic swimming pool. F om the e, it is piped back into the su ounding apa tments. Sto m wate is also collected and filte ed to a second sto age tank fo usage in ga den i igation and cou tya d landscaping. In acco dance with NSW’s blue ules, wate -efficient fittings and fixtu es a e used in all units. massive ooftop sola panel a ay completes the effo t; llen Jack Cottie calculates that the Koga eh Town Squa e will “gene ate enough sola ene gy to powe subu ban homes and save pe cent of potable wate use compa ed to a typical esidential development” — numbe s that set new benchma ks fo conse vation. WATER COLLECTED FROM KOGAREH TOWN SQUARE'S ROOFTOPS AND PRIVATE TERRACES IS STORED IN AN OLYMPIC SWIMMING POOL-SIZED STORAGE TANK. In the mo e concent ated landscape of a city, whe e buildings extend up, athe than out, oo op wate collection isn’t enough. In one da ing example that may blaze a path fo many mo e, the u ban alte native looks unde g ound to a sou ce that, without p ope unde standing of the science at play, may sound athe oﬀ-putting. chitect Michael Pea ce and the ﬁ m DesignInc’s da ing Council House , a -sto y public building in Melbou ne, stands as one of the wo ld’s most ambitious and innovative p ojects fo , among othe techniques, its use of ﬁ lte ed sewe wate . The building’s cooling system is essentially built on the inte action of two elements: exte nal ai and filte ed sewe wate . He e’s how it wo ks. long the south side of the building, five “showe towe s,” -mete tubes of lightweight fab ic, hang seve al sto ies above the st eet. Special louve s at the top of these showe towe s d aw in f esh ai th oughout the day. s the ai ente s th ough the tubes, it falls th ough a showe of wate (a la ge showe head that you only wish you had in you own bath oom lite ally p ot udes f om the building façade). The wate d oplets evapo ate slightly as they descend, cooling both the falling ai and wate . t the bottom of the showe towe s, the ai is piped into the building to cool the etail and public space on the CH ’s g ound floo . The wate is piped to the basement whe e a Phase Change Mate ial tank sto es coolness, o “coolth.” The PCM also se ves as a batte y of so ts that is then f ozen by the towe s’ cooled wate . nothe wate st eam (we’ll 54 CITY TY THIS SPREAD, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: GLEN MURCUTT’S SIMPSON-LEE HOME; SHOWER TOWERS HUG THE SIDE OF THE CH2 BUILDING IN MELBOURNE; THE KOGAREH TOWN SQUARE SAVES MORE THAN 40 PERCENT OF POTABLE WATER USE. SIMPSON-LEE HOUSE: PHOTO BY ALEX EDWARDS. CH2 PHOTOS: COURTESY CITY OF MELBOURNE.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 56

City Issue 56 Contents Letter from City: Re: Design Our Friends: The Faces Behind the Stories Action: What's New, What's Hot, What's Now Wanted: Olympic Bound? Button Up City Moment: The Writing’s on the Wall How We Live: Concrete Jungle Fast Food: Bites of Spring The Amused Bouche: Blueprint Special In Rouge: Hero Worship Fashion: Welcome to the Boys’ Club Travel: My Pod Architecture: Out of the Blue Design: Home Remedies Tokyo Rising Zen and the Art of Catholicism Think Big Face Value Runaways Intimate Relations Where to Buy It: Store Locations Icon: The Infinity Pool

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