A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE by ROBIN KENDRICK MARSTRAND
Conceived and Designed by ROBIN KENDRICK MARSTRAND Rua Primeiro de Maio, 32 - 8800-166 Santa Catarina – Portugal. Contact:- ROBIN
[email protected] or
[email protected] (+351) 964 604 550 (BlackBerry Curve handheld telephone for calls, SMS and emails...) Works Location: Ribeira de Bemparece – Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo, Tavira
‘Casa Nostra’ Main description
Casa Nostra is my play on the ambiguities in the meanings of several similar sounding names; Cosa Nostra, Casa Nostra and Casa Nossa (the previous two, well-know Italian and the last being Portuguese). So I mixed it into a linguistic minestrone... ‘Casa Nostra’ is located in Ribeira de Bemparece (local name ‘Barranco’ meaning ravine). It sits semi-splendidly - on a promontory on the side of a valley at the bottom of which the stream of the same name (Ribeira de Bemparece) flows during the rainy part of the year. This stream flows out into a river with the name Ribeira de Alportel which in its turn runs through the hills towards Tavira. Before reaching the town it is joined by other flows and becomes the Ribeira Secca and Ribeira d’Asseca then under the Roman bridge its name is Rio Gilão. Upstream and downstream in the Ribeira de Bemparece valley, the whole area is well covered in an abundance of cork and other trees. Down near the small stream – Ribeira de Bemparece - there are gardens in which vegetables and fruiting trees are cultivated. Many of these have been abandoned during the past thirty or more years. Some continue to be worked by the ailing few farmers left and by their sons and daughters in a few, rare instances. In this valley as in many other semi-wild areas we have wild bore, rabbits and hares, grouse, and other fascinating bird-life, especially of migratory species like hoopoes and golden oreals. Large Page - 1
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE grasshoppers, praying mantices, stick insects, many varieties of wasps, ants and butterflies to wonder over. One can occasionally find a scorpion and there are two varieties of snake, one of which one is the common viper. Gekos love living in houses and eat insects.
First some Background... Back in the ‘anos de miséria’ prior to the eighties, especially during the years of the dictator Salazar all hillsides of the Algarvean hinterland and the deeper interior of all of Portugal, low-lying vegetable gardens were cultivated in a form of subsistence farming. Irrigation water was available from rivers, streams and wells, so gardens and orchards were worked in various forms of agriculture and horticulture without the use of imported chemical materials or sometimes seeds. In many cases though, seeds and seedlings were (as is still the case now) available in markets. In the drier upper regions of the Algarvean hills and much further north in the flatlands of the Alentejo, olive tree plantations, almond trees, fig trees and carob trees were cultivated and tended annually. Once they were securely established, they required little or no irrigation and minimal attention each year. In the Algarvean hills in particular, farming was normally on a very small scale due to the geography of these areas with a topography that made cultivation very tricky and arduous. The 'medronheiro' is an attractive, wild tree, cropped annually. The fruit is fermented to produced the spirit drink of the same name, ‘Medronho’. Figs were dried and those that were not of a drying variety or which had past their best were cropped and fermented for a distillate in the same way as medronho to produce 'Aguardente de Figo'. This small industry continues to exist on both local small scale under license or on a large controlled scale in co-operatives and other distilleries. Where it was minimally possible, trading was difficult in those days and tended to place only to the nearest local villages and towns. Life was very hard. Poverty and hardship and an opening of opportunities in other countries gave rise to the emigration of the farming people to countries, in the main, such as England, France and Germany in Europe and further afield predominantly to South Africa, Australia, Canada, America and Argentina. Those who remained were few – very often the womenfolk - and many of these migrated to areas where there was work from which they could survive in meagre fashion. These were mostly coastal towns. Thus there came a time when many of the country properties of the interior were abandoned. So, following the migrations from the hills of the Algarve and indeed much of the interior of Portugal during the sixties in particular, property was often left unattended or semi-abandoned and the cultivation of small plots of land dwindled into a minimal number of smallholdings and a few larger farms which were able to be self-sufficient and to continue trading locally. Many rural pieces of land were bought by the more successful locals and added to their farming estates which allowed continued survival of these individuals. Many of the abandoned or would-be abandoned properties were were now up for grabs and were sold to foreigners first in very small numbers in the sixties, increasing substantially in the seventies, and then in a huge influx from the early eighties up to a short time into the years 2000 when prices rocketed due to entry into the European Union and the need for many to move money. The majority was English but they came largely for different reasons. Germans formed the next largest number Page - 2
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE in the population and acquired property in various parts of Portugal and especially in the Algarve. The Dutch followed. The majority of settlers contributed to forms of semi-fixed and fixed tourism and although the coastal areas became more and more exploited there were many who, later, established homes in the hills in the neighbourhood of interior towns as an escape from tourism. This gave rise to the phenomenon here of fixed tourism and led to a huge occupation of the Algarvean hinterland. Many came as retirees or to establish a second home or holiday home away from the miserable winters of the north. In most cases these individuals were not interested in farming but in a low-cost life of leisure. Many of the buyers were ‘Green Germans’. But they usually purchased remotely located properties which had a lot of land and the presence of water. They came with the intention of living a natural life-style. They cultivated land with natural methods in a self-sustainable and ecologically harmonious way, often close to the old traditional methods of farming and were regarded by many as being plain hippies. And many were. In the seventies and the early eighties there were problems with communities of multinationals agglomerating around the hard-core and genuine individuals of this kind and in some instances, due to the erosion of the principles of the ‘Good Life’ they were seen to be a threat to society due to their behaviour, their estranged life-style and the common use of drugs and the almost open growing of marijuana which was relatively easy in the sometimes more remote areas. The marginalisation of a fringe element and abuse of interpretation of the principles became identified as a growing problem. At some point this resulted in raids by the police in a number of attempted clean-up operations in several different locations across the Algarve. However; the legacy of the Green Germans exists successfully today in the form of individuals and groups continuing to live upon this foundation of clean, green principles. Many small and thriving companies provide naturally grown produce to restaurants and the grand public. Some import of produce good quality, ecologically manufactured products and supply supermarkets or supply directly. Some of the products that exist today as a result of this have attracted imitators among much larger, longer established companies. This legacy changed things for the better in the Algarve and other parts of Portugal. It brought and created news standards, some of which have been adopted and resulted in notable improvements. But initially costs were high for special paints, good quality timber, special insulation and waterproofing membranes, glues, tools, techniques and know-how. It became a matter of investment in the long-term worth of employing the superior ranking in availability of the ‘new quality services’. The phenomenon began to became more widespread and more popular. Prices began to descend as availability increased in small steps. Despite the spread of the good news, it was still not part of the ‘technical ethos’ unless induced by regulations. This remains true, now, as I write. And still, only a minority could supply to a small but increasing minority of users and customers. And still only a supposedly technical minority in the services, understand the new technologies even though they are good at naming names and recognising trade marks. This is never sufficient especially
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE when progress with important know-how does not proceed beyond this superficially acquired phase of learning! So what’s new? This superficiality exists everywhere! However; it is important to recognise that Portugal and its professions are still emerging from a scarcity of high-level training and apprenticeships in professions and trades. This sounds damning and unjust but until those who are involved, turn around and openly face the potential of a better future in the quality of their service, it remains true in far too many instances. Now, as a partial result of the ‘crs’ and due to imposed austerity, prices having dropped in sales as have the sales, too, a new phenomenon is taking place. People want greater, lasting value and they want it for less money. Competition is stiff and the survival of the fit will help immeasurably to improve quality in supplies and services. ------------------------------------------I bought the old farmhouse in the mid eighties. (See photo.) It was a ruin with several parts that were in good condition but other parts too dilapidated to restore and only suitable for rebuilding. During the eighties, into the nineties (despite an international droop in the economy) and then into the years two thousand in property and building flourished. From my involvement in some activity in selling and from my later responsibilities in Villa Management and later still, as sitemanager for my clients, overseeing and controlling the building of a number of new houses or doing restoration work I gained experience and knowledge. During these years I investigated and learnt much which concerned the ‘behaviour’ of dwellings and how this depended partly on materials and how they were used. By ‘behaviour’ I mean the way in which the experience of a home owner (Villa Management also exposed me to this) discovered a need for regular maintenance; high heating-costs during the winter; difficulties in cooling in the summer (poorly understood!) and the huge costs incurred by the need to rectify these and other problems. These are the problems that resulted from poor design concepts and poor building know-how and techniques. Albeit, work was executed by simply educated but willing builders, it was only the outer finish which seemed important! Portugal gained a bad reputation. ----Regarding the discovery and demand for comfort; as many are now aware, Air Con has caused immense problems in parts of the world due to over consumption of electrical power resulting in uncontrollable and uncontrolled brownouts and blackouts in the States, in Australia and many other countries which have a dependence on excessive input of electrical energy as a cure at worst and improvement in comfort at best. For many years I have looked at alternative energy investment as the long-term solution and designing building in favour of this valued concept has been my abiding interest. In this context ‘Investment’ signifies an outlay of money with hopes and expectations that amortisation will result in a minimum, given number of years.
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE The previously mentioned phenomenon of new ideas, methods and use of materials brought here by immigrants is only part of the picture. There still remains much to be done in design for building which may or may not incorporate the new technologies.... ----Too few have money these days or wish to spend it on purportedly ‘wise solutions’ with no forward proof of a successful outcome. Worse? Many, simply do not believe in ‘genuinely good’ that’s on offer for the money spent. When I came here in 1983 I worked, trying to sell hot-water solar-systems produced in Australia. They were of high-quality and a long, successfully developed technology. Outside of Portugal in countries all over the world these units were sold very successfully. But here; who would buy the Solahart system when other, ‘cowboy installations’ were the surrounded by bad and heavy rumours of malfunction, turned off and abandoned. The cowboys hit the dust and disappeared in the cloud. The poor reputation of an otherwise good technology acted as a most serious obstacle? The ‘Bad talk’ turned people away from investing and back to standard gas and electricity?! Very few bought the system! My boss of the time was only interested in selling. “Don’t mention the faults in the plumbing, Robin. Just sell the stuff... If there are any problems later - well... we’ll come to that if...” ----Some occasionally wise government intervention and the popularisation of alternative systems and techniques influenced from abroad and seen here on and in the new-wave immigrants’ homes have made loans and subsidies possible for the use of tack-on systems such as photovoltaic panels, lower-consumption Air Con (including winter-time heating) and more, and especially in the area of materials and their applications. Business of ‘Tack-on’ or ‘retrofit’ didn’t work with solar hot-water systems back in the 80 ’s. Why? Because bad rumours abounded. One fundamental reason for this was the deplorable plumbing. It was almost always ill-installed totally ill-conceived for the purpose. Pipework plumbing systems in those days were installed with no insulation and were of a high diameter bore with rough interior, galvanized iron tubes and buried in the cement of walls! Water-born calcium salts were a major enemy which – later - implicated the additional purchase of water-softening systems. A new wave of lower-cost devices hit the market and gained yet one more round of bad rumours. Redoing the plumbing was therefore so often, totally out of the question. Unfortunately - and inanely - building techniques never caught hold of the mistakes. No-one properly understood the issues and no-one wished to fight the cause of good sense in design. Architects, themselves, were solely engaged in what ‘looked good’ and was functional as a ‘sculptural concept’ rather than a ‘functional dwelling’ and aimed mostly at the aggrandisement of their own personal fame and businesses. Interestingly, exactly five minute ago, today June 26th, 2012, a friend of mine, an English plumber and ex-client to whom I sold the house in Garcia prior to George buying it from him, phoned me to meet me in the village. We met and commented on the present high temperatures and Page - 5
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE the behaviour of the old walls in my Orifice in Santa Catarina. This jumped the conversation to solar hot-water systems. He mentioned that, now, it is compulsory to install solar hot-water systems on all new building. He told me how his neighbour (a Portuguese immigrant from France) who had installed his system, facing East! Brian asked him jokingly why he was only interested in ‘Lunar hot water’ to which the man scoffed ignorantly, saying: “I only need a little hot water...” Well; ain’t that just typical!? Spend without the prospect of amortising then later complain that the system doesn’t work! Yes, this is typical. The authorities do not properly enforce a prior project for the final installation with all the details which should result in optimal functionality. They make a noise but nothing often follows and this, maybe, only happen years later by which time too many faulty installations have been installed incurring loss of money invested and a new wave of cynicism, mistrust and no further spending on guessing. ----If you read my details on building and ‘BAD BEHAVIOUR’ lower down here, you will note that when I presented my own project I anticipated future thinking and legislation for European countries in energy usage. Please read my invention and description of my ‘TEEAC’* system. It is conceived for integration into my ‘DAC’** system. This leads me naturally and inevitably to the new-wave phenomenon in the availability of superior materials and superior building techniques using specialist and traditional materials in new ways and with appropriate application. In the past and with the power of wealth, buildings could be erected which had superior quality in terms of materials used, decoration and standards of finish. Unfortunately the same wealth was also used to overcome many of the shortcomings of these buildings. High ceilings are fine in the summer but a disaster in the winter. Fireplaces are a disaster in their high consumption of fuel and waste of heat energy. These incur very high operating costs. Maintenance costs are also very high due to the ways in which these buildings were finished. Many ‘high-tech’ ‘Eco-friendly’ buildings erected during the twentieth century, all over the world are often horribly lacking in elegance and suitability in their ‘visual environment’. This is presumably on the pretext that their visual qualities were of lesser consequence; that in contrast to what they offer in terms of their economical and ecological advantages, visual harmony is relatively unimportant. I believe that this is erroneous. I believe that a successful synthesis is possible and can be beautiful to behold as well as good to live in. I have endeavoured to synthesise the wisdom of new thinking with tradition and to synthesise as many aspects as I can, of the building’s life and behaviour into a successful workable whole. ---------------------------------
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE
‘Casa Nostra’ This house was conceived to be - ‘lived’ - all year through with the fullest enjoyment of its interior spaces and its surrounding areas. All these are so precious to those of us who intend - or have already decided - to create a New Life in the Algarve. ------------------------------
BAD BEHAVIOUR!
Due to seismic movement in the Algarve, civil engineering practice determines that structural safety in building necessitates a reinforced concrete structure into which and around which the body of the building is completed in the Algarve and are, in fact, a relatively ‘new tradition’. But their nearly ubiquitous presence in all kinds of buildings, often has very serious shortcomings. To newcomers the serious problems are largely unknown. These problems are a mix of: 1. during the winter months, possible health hazard to those with allergies to mildew and damp atmosphere; 2. also, during this period, unsightly dark area on parts of internal walls; 3. and, possible destruction of wardrobe contents, wall hung works of art, etc., musical instruments and books caused by damp accumulation in them, behind them and in the atmosphere around them; 4. therefore; there is often a need for annual and even more frequent maintenance and treatment; 5. between seasons, horizontal and other types of cracks and fissures in the interior and especially exterior walls; 6. but repairs seldom work for sufficient time and inappropriate paint types such as emulsion paints are wrongly used for exteriors, requiring overly frequent patching up and repainting! 7. loss of respect for Portuguese builders, architects, engineers, town halls and their regulations – and usually in that order! 8. loss of property value in such cases; 9. and maybe the occasional desire or need to cheat a potential purchaser by covering up techniques and even falsification of the knowledge about these structural problems. 10. guarantees rarely – if ever – work. Withholding of a final security payment on completion practically never resolves the BAD BEHAVIOUR ‘built into’ your house!
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE Without blowing to many whistles and blowing too many blasts on my trumpet, I believe fervently that I have found and successfully worked on solutions to the above problems.
Some Solutions... The most important cure for the majority of the problems listed above resides in a study of and a good understanding of the ‘Dynamic Behaviour’ within a dwelling-house or other building in which human beings spend much of their time. The Dynamic Behaviour manifests itself with what happens outside and what happens inside and the interaction of atmospheric conditions over time. But in discussion with builders and many engineers, the time factor is often completely overlooked. Day and night ‘temperature-plunging’ and ‘-rising’, reacting against average temperatures along with the changes in atmospheric conditions of changes in humidity and interior air-transfer over periods of days, all play their part in this natural game and very frequently have their disastrous effects! To reduce the resulting BAD BEHAVIOUR as described above, wall construction methods and other features must take this Dynamic Behaviour seriously into account. Very extensive photographic material and drawings of the construction of Casa Nostra show very clearly how this has been done upto this time and should continue to be done during completion. (The phrase; ‘should continue to be done’ – implies the aspect of making seriously thought-out investment in building with wisdom and experience.) Photos are available for viewing and a small selection is shown on my web-site. I am happy to advise on this or any other building work envisaged... -------------------------------
(Ventilation is partly covered in the section on the TEEAC system.) Economy in heating is also a feature which has already been embodied in the insulated timber ceilings in all divisions excepting the living-room. Trap-doors in each of these sections allow for the flowing out of warm air in the summer which then escapes through the apex-ridges of each of the roofs through ‘Control Ports’. These ports are easily opened once in summer when required and closed again for the cold season. (They have not yet been inserted in the three, four-hip rooftops.) The insulated 2m70cm high ceilings (with e traps closed) conserve heat in the cooler periods and significantly help to reduce heating bills. Page - 8
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE There is ample and very comfortable loft-space above these ceilings. All roof-cover sections are insulated and tiled with traditional tiles, and all are secured with ‘tile-hooks’ to obviate the ‘slippage-effect’ which is problematic in traditional building with traditional-style Roman tiles. The additional weight of cementing tiles together is completely unnecessary and prevents natural aeration of the fabric of the already completed roof water-proofing and insulation. -------------------------------
WALLS As part of the solution to problems with damp, heat-loss, cracks in walls, a unique system of ‘brickwork-to-structure-connection’ was employed in the construction of the exterior walls of the house. The extensive photographic record shows details of this. The brickwork-to-structure-connection was accomplished by using a thin layer of insulating film which was methodically wrapped around all exterior concrete work. External and internal brickwork was laid against this membrane, using 70mm width pots to accompany the pillars and all external, upper and lower ring-beams. All other parts of the walls were built, using 110mm and 150mm pots, leaving a 70mm cavity. ‘Wallmate’ was fixed internally to the cavity of the interior leaves using stainless-steel wall ties brought specially for England. This left a breathing space between the insulating slabs and the interior of the external walls. ‘Breathers’ have been built in, at high and low points, adjacent to each of the pillars on all exterior walls. These were conceived to be adjustable with grills according to weather conditions and to ventilate the cavities to obviate development of humidity and mildews and to optimize temperatures in this part of the walls. Another virtue of the brickwork-to-structure-connection is the possibility of sliding movement which may take place with changes in atmospheric temperatures between concrete and brickwork. This is notorious for causing cracks in the neighbourhood of the structure caused by differential of expansion in the use of differing construction materials near the exterior surfaces. ---------------------------
Wall Rendering To this end, all exterior walls have been conceived to be rendered with totally maintenance-free materials and techniques, using earth colours which have permanent light-fast qualities, in the very nature of their source in the earth. They will be pattern-textured to my custom-developed design. The cost of this is relatively high but it should be understood that it has, also, an extremely high level of permanency - almost never requiring any kind of work or painting - and always keeping a
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE special quality, even improving during ageing. Therefore, investment in this technique is an investment in the method of ‘building for life’. ----------------------------
!!!!!!!!!!Valley Guttering!!!!!!!!!! With maintenance-free techniques and related features in mind, the custom-constructed valleyguttering was made in stainless-steel to my design. It was installed with great care and has proven to be perfectly water-proof in the heaviest rains. Please see photos. The invisible channelling is 29cm in width and 12cm in depth having wide flanges along all sides, fixed under the lower runs of tiles at each edge of each of the meeting roof sections. Thus it lies securely between each of the four hip roofs. It will eventually drain into external, extended guttering, later to be suitably constructed and securely fixed to the outer edges of all the external roofs slopes, allowing successful drainage of rain-water into the water-filtering and already existing water-storage system by the side of the house. An existing borehole automatically supplies ground water from a depth of 100m to the cisterna (subterranean water-deposit). The cisterna capacity is c.39,000ltr.. Garden irrigation works on a timer, keeping some of the fruit-garden trees well watered in the hot season. The borehole has never failed. It was installed by me and suspended at a depth of 100m on two strong stainless-steel cables connected with stainless-steel tensioners and fixings to the body of the stainless-steel body of the Grundfos submersible pump. -----------------------------
-----Water-filtering System----Approved and yet to be constructed between the side of the cisterna and the house and set flush to the level of the terracing, the water-filtering system uses natural methods for part of the purification and mineral removal process which will save household equipment and the irrigation system from major and normally costly and very tiresome problems. Lime-scale which has plagued households and businesses in the Algarve for very many years and still does - brings with it substantial cleaning burdens and often the need for repairs and replacement. For example this may be electrical immersion-heater elements, tap and washing-machine inlet filters! Good and effective water-softeners are very expensive. So; the natural and well-proven technique, employing gravels and sands and a minimal annual maintenance is looped into a solar powered circulating system which involves collection of terrace rain-water, roof rain-water and the permanent but everchanging contents of the cisterna plus the planned and approved ‘Water-Mirror’. It serves in a very simple and low-cost method in drastically minimizing and reducing problems of clogging and coating of equipment and their working parts with calcification. Page - 10
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE ----------------------------
>>>>Water-Mirror>>>> The Town Hall approved the entire project including the ‘Water-Mirror’ which will double as a small but convenient splash-pool and water collection reservoir. Its primary function is to reflect low-sun angle, winter-light into the main sitting-room area through the 4m wide, sliding doubleglazed doors. In the wet season, rain-water falling on the terracing will drain over gentle runs, directly into the Water-Mirror and the neighbouring water-filtering system and contribute to the contents of the cisterna. Water from there will be used for irrigation in the dry season, for showers and bath, lavatory flushing and kitchen uses. It may not be suitable for drinking due to poor flavour but with appropriate filtration could well be used in cooking. Circulation of this water would be powered by a small PV system with or without battery backup. Minimal power from the house electrics will take over automatically if there should be too little solar gain to keep the circulation pump functioning during very cloudy days. Battery backup would be a viable option for consideration but may not be essential since circulation does not need to work continuously. Dust and sands will accumulate on the floor of the Water-Mirror so some maintenance will be necessary from time to time. The water-filtering system and constantlychanging water-content in the total system will take care of maintaining general water clarity and health so that no chemicals should ever be used. Remember that water will be taken out of the total system on a daily basis so this will ensure that water content is changed by the influx of water from rain and/or borehole. --------------------------
‘TEEAC’ System- (Torre Efeito Estufa Acumulador Calorífico) Greenhouse Effect Heat Accumulator Tower (in English & American!) The architectural project is wrapped around an invention by Mr. ROBIN KENDRICK MARSTRAND, owner and architect of the works, based upon the well-known physics principles of the greenhouse effect which were adopted in the famous patented invention in the ‘70’s by the French engineers Michele and Trombe, given the common and widespread name of ‘Trombe Wall’. There are examples of many variants which have been built in many countries around the world, especially in the warmer zones.
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE In this instance, I made very substantial improvements on the Trombe Wall design principles. These include the use of easily obtained materials and special concepts with the use of glass bricks. The yet-to-be-built three towers (TEEAC’s) will occupy spaces which are external to the habitational areas and for this reason permission was sought from and granted by the local council to build outside the allowable, regulatory limits of the existing, building footprint. The TEEAC system was conceived to cool the air within the house during the summer warmth and to achieve the opposite result during the cold season; that is, to warm the air during the cooler period. Insulated, large diameter, underground conduits have already been laid, prior to the construction of the 200m2 reinforced, concrete foundation slab. Later, upper conduits will be housed in insulated and reinforced connections between the tops of the towers and the southern walls of the house. These conduits will make flexibly-sealed connections to a further set of six, narrower-bore conduits. The latter conduits have already been completely installed in the insulated floors of the loft spaces and in the flat roofs over two of the rooms in the house. The interior surfaces of all the conduits are made of an inert coating which will have no ‘chemical content effect’ on the atmosphere within the interior of the house in terms of chemical emissions breathed during permanent occupation. The function of the conduit system is to carry air - which is either warmed or cooled – and is forced* to circulate gently and unobtrusively through rooms of the house. In summer, air is collected through large inverted funnels called collector funnels. These are furnished with filtration panels against ingress of insects and other small creatures. The air flows in from the north side or any other well-shaded areas around the house where there are lush areas of well-irrigated garden and drought resistant and good trees for shade such as the ubiquitous carob tree, noted for it excellent shade characteristics. These areas enjoy much lower air temperatures due to the respiration of fully grown verdure and ground cover. Temperatures may be around 6º C lower than those measurable in arid areas, elsewhere in the surroundings to the house. *forced... The TEEAC’s act like pumps due to the natural effect of convection caused by the heat that the dark coloured stone-cores accumulate and store from any solar radiation through the insulating glass bricks in three of the walls in each of the towers. This specially conceived glazing faces east, south and west and maximizes solar gain throughout a much extended period of the day than any of the typical Trombe Walls built into the sun-facing façades of buildings in other parts of the world. (This aspect of the TEEAC system constitutes one of the major improvements introduced by Robin’s invention.) By convection - the air is made to rise over the accumulator in each tower. In summer, warm air from the interior is ejected into the outside atmosphere via small, adjustable Ejection Ports at the top of each glazed wall. This is made possible by virtue of a simple Switch-over Valve in the House-venting System that controls the direction in which the air may flow in the ducting – this will be done, according to seasonal conditions and required, personal preferences and comfort.
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE Thus; in summer, air is drawn from the shaded, cool garden verdure through Collector Funnels, directly into rooms and then out, via the ducting (along with used house air) to the tower Ejection Ports. (The collector funnels will carry fine filtering against entry of insects and small creatures.) In winter, however, air is circulated (with only a limited extraction from the exterior air - 1) and flows round and around, constantly gathering warmth from the tower cores – Thermal Accumulators – thus warming the environment, day and night, as desired and for reasonably protracted periods. Thermal Accumulator autonomy depends on the specific heat of the rock-built cores. The cores measure about 1m2 in plan view and are about 3m in height – a substantial mass for insulated storage during – at least - the most part of a night in cold weather, continuing to give of their accumulated heat all night. The Thermal Accumulator cores are to be built upon reinforced concrete slabs of the same plan dimensions. Insulation against heat-loss to the ground below is effected by four, very strong Support Clusters for each tower. These are to be fashioned from circular bundles of thin-walled, stainless-steel tubes, tightly bound together with stainless-steel straps. This technology bound-together tubes is well proven as being immensely strong for vertical pressure and highly resistant even to lateral stresses and forces. Stainless steel is also well knows as a being a fairly poor conductor of heat (hence the design and mass manufacturing of modern teapots, spoons and like domestic products which are comfortable in the handling!). So I chose this highly suitable material as an insulating support to the Thermal Accumulators. The Support Clusters are set in individual foundation slabs beneath the ground. Drainage to remove rain-water will run from the lowest point of each of these stanchions via a single, accompanying French Drain to fall out at a lower and suitable point on the land. 1-
SBS (Sick Building Syndrome) was a well-know phenomenon discovered in Scandinavia, Canada and some other northern hemisphere countries, many years ago. Symptoms of a respiratory nature were caused by stale and overused, over-circulated air within buildings. Many people suffered from this. At first, it was a mysterious not understood ailment. Sealing of buildings and removal of any kind of effective ventilation, sadly came as a result of a poorly researched quest for energy conversation – enforced through regulations by authorities in their lunging thrust for advancement. The Same phenomenon appeared in many countries in the northern hemisphere, including – notably – England where regulations went through a cycle of ludicrous contradictions concerning ventilation, Canada very advance in these matters, Germany and the Netherlands – doubtless others. Doubtless, also, is the possibility that the southern hemisphere has learnt from mistakes made in the northern parts of the world? Robin’s design overcomes SBS by the introduction of simple and better mixed air-change through pre-set mechanical limits in the switch-over valves. -------------------------------
(Old Portuguese buildings, built with cane and pole ceilings, do not suffer from this problem due to the complete (and sad) lack of insulation and any measure of sealing in roofs, doors and windows. BUT, as everyone who has lived here through winters and summers will know, these old Page - 13
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE style houses offer extremes of discomfort – too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer afternoons and evenings.) I coined a new term to be applied in architectural projects as a majorly important principle that I named ‘Design for the Aesthetic of Comfort’ (DAC). My own building programme was conceived to fulfil this extremely important need and I believe, should be used in all new dwellings…. ---------------------------
BUILDING MANAGEMENT for COMPLETION. An ACCORD INVOLVING the ABOVE DESIGN PRINCIPLES Robin Marstrand offers his full service to manage the completion of the building programme employing the building techniques, design and experience gained since the 1980’s here in southern Portugal. ----------------------------------
I moved here to start a small business in November, 1983, making my own design of a security system firstly based upon ultrasonic technology then later, based on Infra-red, pyroelectric heatchange detection technology. It lead me into many aspects of property with which I have since always been involved and passionately interested. I gleaned an understanding of building characteristics, both good and bad and always sought to encourage owners, builders and engineers to learn and lean more toward the good and sometimes totally unknown, unexplored concepts that I brought to my work. Of course, this knowledge and experience may be very beneficial to the new owners of Casa Nostra and form a basis of a contract with me if this should be desirable and required. It could take a form which would determine and state that no charges or fees would be made for the service of management. Should there be – in the first place - a fixed sale price agreed by me as part of the purchase contract for the property, it would make this a viable and valuable proposition. I would like to see my project fully and successfully realised and for my clients to be happy! ----------------------------
Finally; attention is drawn to the important document issued by the European Parliament and the European Union council, a clause of which is quoted here. The full version of this was presented in a timely fashion to the then President of the Town Hall of Tavira in order to invigorate the thinking of those who make the decisions and to stimulate the right and justifiable decisions concerning new Page - 14
A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE building concepts envisaged in my architectural project. The project was presented shortly following this one of several and important approaches that I made to the town hall of Tavira.
The original Portuguese title and the most important clause (8) for this country is:-
“DIRECTIVA 2002/91/CE DO PARLAMENTO EUROPEU E DO CONSELHO de 16 de Dezembro de 2002 relativa ao desempenho energético dos edifícios (8) A Directiva 89/106/CEE do Conselho, de 21 de Dezembro de 1988, relativa à aproximação das disposições legislativas, regulamentares e administrativas dos Estados-Membros no que respeita aos produtos de construção (6), impõe que a obra e as instalações de aquecimento, arrefecimento e ventilação sejam concebidas e realizadas de modo a que a quantidade de energia necessária à sua utilização seja baixa, tendo em conta as condições climáticas do local e os ocupantes.”
In short; this means that a building and its all-year environmental comforts must be conceived in such a manner as to incur a considerable and responsible decrease in excessive energy usage. My house was designed prior to this EU directive and very specifically for low-maintenance and to give all-year-round health and comfort with the very lowest-cost energy bills.
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE More on the description... After buying the property and while the ruins still stood there, waiting for my decision and the money with which to do something in terms of restoration or to put something in their place, I began to develop the whole property and amassed a range of succulents from the Americas and the African continent with the intention of making gardens which would be beautiful, partly seasonal but always largely resistant to dry weather and predominantly employing plants which ‘knew’ how to survive in these difficult conditions. At that time, I drew all my water from a well in the valley below, using a photovoltaic pumping system to fill my large cisterna. It was the cisterna which I had built before anything else. At least, that way, I had water to play with, to use and enjoy for whatever purpose! In the following years I developed a fruit-tree garden where none existed before and planted a number of trees elsewhere on the property which give grace, shade and small crops to the occupants of the house of my future. I even had some comments of admiration from local farming folk as to how I had managed to do this. In recent years I have used vetiver grass in some strategic areas to perform advantageously as a subterranean-filter and principally as a water-retention system, operative exclusively to the roots of the water-loving trees such as citrus. Some years ago, I had success with four varieties of avocado trees but lost them due to excessive water in the winter. The underground wall formed by the vetiver grass’s deep-rooting system was the scheme to work during the dry season and to hold back and profit more effectively from the irrigation ground-water deposited during the timed sessions over that part of the land. During the winter with some varieties of trees this has act disadvantageously and some trees have suffered from too much water around their roots and developed sicknesses. The location and release of excessive ground-water held back is difficult to control but with very careful distribution of the Magic Grass some of the problematic aspects may be solved. In conjunction with a wise vetiver plantation strategy, those trees which suffer will be replaced by water-tolerant varieties... ‘Tudo na sua vez!’ More than eight years ago I installed an irrigation system using one inch pipework, submerged in small trenches between the trees and over the whole of the lower planted area of my land and partly in the upper area in front of the house. Some ‘ticker’ outlets are raised above ground and cover substantial areas indiscriminately, as it were! I chose this method as it is easy to see the performance and easy to service aswell as for some other good reasons. Some trees had spiral systems laid out beneath them with a volume-controlled ‘labyrinth drippers’ inserted at intervals which could be extended outwards as each tree grew a larger canopy over the years. Whilst this has advantages there are some disadvantages which make maintenance more tricky hence my partial change to the ‘tickers’. Improvements to these parts of the system should take place as a small part of investment in the building project for completion. ‘Everything has it time!’
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE My trees:Large, wild apricot sewn by me and fruiting well; two custard-apple trees also planted by me and giving some fruit in good years; a small California Pink grapefruit bought already grafted, still small and fruiting minimally at present but subject to improvements with the irrigation that it received and the nature of its soil; a wild grapefruit sewn by me and fruiting; a Feijoa tree, ‘Acca sellowiana’ grafted and fruiting with perfumed and high vitamin C concentration; Note quoted from: http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/fruit%20pages/feijoa.htm “Sometimes called the pineapple guava the feijoa, although in the same family is not a guava. Becoming increasingly popular as a commercial crop, the fruit has the taste and aroma of strawberry, pineapple, lemon, passionfruit and guava. The tiny edible seeds are embedded in a jellylike center. The spectacular purple, pink and white flowers have sweet delicious petals that make a superb ingredient in sweets and drinks. Trees are very attractive and can be planted to form beautiful flowering and fruiting hedges, screens or windbreaks.” ...a so-called Brazilian Cherry (not fruiting yet); two large peach trees, grafted and fruiting; guava; a fruiting peach tree; a wild pomegranate which I planted and gives fruit, a nice calamondin which gives copious amounts of small fruit; a New Zealand Tea Tree; grape vines, bay-leaf tree; a tall eucalyptus; a Pencil Cypress. I have a beautiful carob tree near the house which gives a good crop annually I planted a jacaranda, a Chinese pepper tree and two Neem Trees which, it is claimed, keep away mosquitoes; It was destined to replace the kiwi as a commercially extremely viable cropping-tree in Mediterranean climes, especially for its fragrant qualities and it’s nutritive richness. There is a thriving young fig tree of the variety Lampa Preta, a large dark-coloured tasty variety, due to its location to be a very successful tree in a few years’ time.
More on the house – semi technical... Underfloor Heating Among other systems for house warming, underfloor heating has been planned and quoted. Various systems and manufacturers have been considered including Devi, a Danish system, an Austrian system and a Portuguese system. The differences in cost are significant.
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE Fireplace I designed a traditional-style wood-burning fireplace which is to be built upon the heavily reinforced concrete base-slab. There is an already inserted air-intake duct which will feed the combustion area with air drawn from the exterior of the house to avoid the usual problem with internally located combustions systems which, as they burn, remove warmed air from within a building and take it up the chimney! The fireplace embodies three simple innovations. These are all embodied in its structure but effective in three different locations. 1) One lies in its positioning in such a manner that it benefits the master-bedroom. The bedroom shares a partition wall with the living-room where the fireplace is to be located. By virtue of a large floor-to-ceiling convection channel air flows from floor to just under the ceiling while the fire is burning and creating convection. 2) The second innovation consists in separate ducting on the sitting-area side which induces warmed air to circulate within the volume of the sitting-area. 3) The third innovation includes a feature within the ducting on the bedroom side. It comprises a kind of ‘change-over valve’ in the channel. When moved into its summer position it will allow ventilation of air from this space to rise within the chimney. Air intake is simply effected via a partly open door or window. (This third innovation/invention has an obvious drawback yet to be overcome!) There are drawings of the fireplace structure which along with this description of its operation, help in the understanding of its maximised efficiency.
Free-standing Wood-burner Also included in the list of heating-sources is a traditional free-standing, cast iron, wood-burner. This is planned to be situated in the projected dining area as shown in the project 3D renderings.
Heat-recuperating sculpture I have partly conceived a heat-recuperating sculpture for the living-area... The concept that I have is to be used in the colder time of the year and used to draw down warm air from the upper part of this room. This is the only room in the house with a high ceiling! Warm air will accumulate naturally in the upper area, its benefit to the comfort of occupants is lost. At this point the idea suffers a simple drawback of requiring a small fan! I have to think further about solutions which avoid the use of man-made energy and mechanical devices. -----
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE
Some further details... Wooden dining-table with flush-to-surface, built-in grill which is coverable when not in use. Auto-lighting – this is lighting which forms part of the illumination throughout the house as a supplementary feature to be used interchangeably in conjunction with standard switchable lighting. My early work in infra-red movement detectors for security systems involved lighting of this kind in areas of dwellings here in the Algarve. In my presentation to electricians of the electrical schematics for the house I envisaged employing this technique to solve problems which occur when stepping into a dark area in a building! One additional solution of interest is to use a low-profile, low-light, night-light set near the lower parts of a wall in a bedroom so that an occupant in a bed who wishes to have a pee, could simply step out of bed and on moving of the feet set of the low-level, gently increasing illumination to light the way to the bathroom without disturbing the neighbours....
Doors and windows Doors and windows have been drawn up in designs by a company in readiness for quotation.
Exterior... An area of lawn is envisaged for the area under the carob tree on the west side. It is intended to be a shaded leisure-area in the future with easy access from the dining-area and kitchen. Also; it is planned that, as temperatures in the shade of a carob are normally lower in still air and the temperature over lawn areas may be reduced by about 5º C, one of the Collector Funnels for the TEEAC system would be located here. Satellite communications systems can be installed on the flat roof of the ‘office’ (or bedroom) which is located by the main entrance. A solar photovoltaic concentrator receiver (PVC) can be located on the roof over the master bedroom. Battery storage would be external to the house in a nearby protected location.
Roof Cover and Roof-ridge Ventilation
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A CHOICE HOUSE FOR CHOICE PEOPLE The roof cover is laid with very pale, Roman-style tiles, secured with tile-hooks to avoid slippage. Because the tiles are pale in colour they absorb very little heat and thereby aid in keeping the loft space cool in the hot weather. Roof-ridge ventilation is my concept which uses the principle know as the ‘Chimney Effect’ in which hot air rises through vertically or near vertically oriented spaces. This design concept allows warm air to flow up from under the timber ceilings and out of the rooms through the loft trap-doors in each of these ceilings, and up through the loft space. From there it will escape upward and out through vents in the ‘Roof-ridge Ventilation’ in each of the ridges of the ceilings of the three roofs. To this end, I had the builders use a softer mix of cement to facilitate the future removal of rooftiles and the insertion of simple vents which would be controllable via cords from a convenient location below each of these.
Loft Lift I have conceived a method of storage and securing in the loft space using a motorised ‘Loft Lift’. When not in use the lift platform is bolted closed - internally - to secure the loft space. Following this operation, an exit is effected through any one of the several trap doors via a removable, storable set of steps. An opening exists at the rear of the house, under an easily accessible corner of the roof-cover structure expressly intended for this contraption. ----------------------0----------------------
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