Cloud House

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Structure
The house is constructed as a discontinuous compression-tension structure. The hollow columns take all the compression loads. The roof structure is a modular composite beam, with a core of recycled plastic acting as insulating material, with the internal upper edge scalloped, to duct heated air from the roof surface so the roof can act as a thermal solar collector. This heat is sent to the thermal batteries. The upper surface of the roof is curved to shed water and matches the moment cross-section required for the span of the beam.

Heat pump and arterial heat circuit
A heat pump drives a thermal cycle in the building to collect, dissipate, store and redistribute heat for year round temperature control. The heat pump is mounted externally to avoid space wastage and to simplify access for repairs and upgrades, as on domestic airliners . It can also act as a battery charger for the electric car. An aerodynamic weatherproof body protects the mechanism. The system is rented like a TV or VCR. It is replaced if it malfunctions.

It is mounted onto a shock absorbing base and is located directly over self sealing quick couple connection points. These supply natural gas into the pod, electricity out of the pod and hot or cold air to and from the thermal storage system as required. The service pod has its own active noise suppression sound system. This can be used to radiate quiet through out the house.

The floors and roof act as a ducted heating and cooling system like a 'printed circuit' for moving heat and cold air. Ducts are cut into composite floor and roofing material. The air-duct circuit is specifically designed for the demands of a particular building and cutting is a computerised operation, done during manufacture. Heat energy collected from the roof is stored chemically within the 4 central hollow columns and reradiated through the floors as required. The system is reversed for cooling in summer. Movable internal walls are coated with exothermic paint to create large and efficient space heaters in winter.

Dry break mechanical coupling system for domestic services
A single integrated loom cables services to all domestic spaces. It uses "dry break"self sealing couplers [like the LPG hose at your local petrol station] to allow rapid connection to any service. This makes space more equipotential to allow any function in a given space, and different ones at different times. A living space can be cabled and serviced in a single operation. The loom is fixed in a channel in the floor. The loom contains sewage out, mains water in, electricity in, telephone and optical in and data through. Access ports can be added at any time positioned at any point along the loom. The self sealing couplers prevent spillage.

Mechanical vapour recompression bathroom module
This is a roll in, roll out bathroom module, extrapolated from aircraft toilet modules, designed around a mechanical vapour recompression water recycling unit. This bathroom is designed with a flexible "dry break" connection system for fast plumbing. All the fittings can be folded away to allow other uses of the bathroom space. The bathroom features are designed to minimise water usage. with contoured, efficient low profiles.

The mechanical vapour recompression unit recycles and distils grey water though an evacuated boiler. This system, pioneered in the dairy industry significantly reduces the energy need to distil water. Distilled potable water is stored in a 200 litre holding tank for reuse in the shower and hand basin and for flushing the toilet. The estimated energy requirement for the system is 1 kilowatt for every 20 litres of purified water.

The toilet is a dry toilet, using only a tenth of the water required by traditional fittings. The unit features a non mechanical system to liquefy solid waste for efficient disposal. Sewage plumbing cross sections can also be greatly reduced. The toilet pan and shower head retract into the bathroom module and the bath folds up into the shower recess. To compensate psychologically for the reduced water use, lighting is used to emphasise the presence of water, shining through the translucent fittings creating ripple pattens on ceilings and floors.

Credits

Design: Michael Trudgeon, Anthony Kitchener
Visualisation: Glynis Teo

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