{"70214":{"#nid":"70214","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Architecture Students Commended for Clever Design and Construction in International Sustainble Design Competition","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EStudents in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Architecture won second place overall and first place in the creativity, presentation and coordination categories in \u201cBuilding the Tower of Babylon: What on Earth is Sustainability,\u201d an international competition held by the Global Alliance of Technological Universities (GlobalTech).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESeven participating teams, from architecture universities in China, India, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, constructed a tower using only local materials to create a symbol of sustainability for their region, country, city and university.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u2019s answer to the call was a \u201cplastic palace\u201d\u2014twin structures, one consisting of plastic bottles and the other a field of plastic hangers suspended from above. \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lBOES8u-Pi0\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EView video showing concept to completion.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe selected this concept because it combines two aspects,\u201d said architecture professor Daniel Baerlecken. \u201cFirst of all, it creates awareness about two products of our everyday life: plastic bottles and coat hangers. We see how many bottles are consumed on campus on one day and we see how many hangers are wasted during one year at one local department store. The installation gives trash a spatial presence. We can see invisible data.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBaerlecken continues,\u0026nbsp; \u201cBut at the same time we see how waste can be highly aesthetic. The installation creates a series of spaces that inform different perceptions of the surrounding space through color, light and configuration of parts with variable connections. The project shows how waste can be up-cycled rather than down-cycled.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe jury commended the Georgia Tech team for the concept\u2019s societal relevance and clever construction techniques. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJury member Rajendra Shende, Paris-based diplomat for the United Nations Environment Programme, called the use of the hangers \u201cinnovative,\u201d and added, \u201cRelating the quantities used in the tower to the campus activity is creative and impactful. The way it is communicated is also good; striking design and structure indeed.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe tower designs are highly impactful, both as beautiful, aesthetic designs that can be studied and experienced from multiple physical perspectives, but also from multiple content and conceptual approaches,\u201d remarked juror Vibeke Sorenson, chair of the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University. \u201cThe rubber bands are a simple and elegant solution to assembly. The modularity is excellent, and the scale of the two projects is impressive.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe competition was a first-of-its-kind event organized by GlobalTech, a network of the world\u2019s top technological universities that aims to address global societal issues to which science and technology could be their solution. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe problems of the world today, such as sustainability issues, cannot be solved by a single solution. However, by pooling resources and knowledge in top-class research in science and technology, done by both undergraduates and researchers, multiple solutions to tackle these issues may be found,\u201d Prof Su added. \u2013 There is no mention of this person previously, so you need full name and title.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe \u0022Grand Challenges\u0022 identified by GlobalTech include biomedicine and health care; sustainability and global environmental change; energy, water and food supplies; security; and changing demographics and population.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETech\u0027s \u0022plastic palace\u0022 consisted of twin structures.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27213","created_gmt":"2011-09-26 08:24:55","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:14","author":"Teri Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"66148":{"id":"66148","type":"image","title":"Tower of Babylon 1","body":null,"created":"1449176916","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:36","changed":"1475894587","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:07","alt":"Tower of Babylon 1","file":{"fid":"193280","name":"tower_of_babylon_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tower_of_babylon_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tower_of_babylon_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2338560,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tower_of_babylon_1.jpg?itok=CiIeDR0R"}},"66150":{"id":"66150","type":"image","title":"Tower of Babylon","body":null,"created":"1449176916","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:36","changed":"1475894587","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:07","alt":"Tower of Babylon","file":{"fid":"193282","name":"tower_of_babylon_3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tower_of_babylon_3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tower_of_babylon_3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1966819,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tower_of_babylon_3.jpg?itok=TyoP3rwK"}},"66152":{"id":"66152","type":"image","title":"Tower of Babylon 5","body":null,"created":"1449176916","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:08:36","changed":"1475894587","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:07","alt":"Tower of Babylon 5","file":{"fid":"193284","name":"tower_of_babylon_5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tower_of_babylon_5.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tower_of_babylon_5.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2455987,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tower_of_babylon_5.jpg?itok=rHqhlaNf"}}},"media_ids":["66148","66150","66152"],"groups":[{"id":"1221","name":"College of Design"}],"categories":[{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"926","name":"College of Architecture"},{"id":"14412","name":"daniel baerlacken"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"11044","name":"greenbuzz"},{"id":"167177","name":"School of Architecture"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:teri.nagel@coa.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETeri Nagel\u003C\/a\u003E, Georgia Tech College of Architecture\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}