Lesson 5 practical innovations
Task 1. Work with a partner. Discuss some innovations in the sphere of architecture and construction. What environmentally friendly building technologies and materials can you think of? Use the Internet if necessary to help you find information.
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Task 2. Look through the text ‘Cork floors, old pickle barrels’. Check the meaning of the words in italic. Use a dictionary if necessary.
Task 3. Read the text ‘Cork floors, old pickle barrels’.
Cork floors, old pickle barrels
When the Chesapeake Bay Foundation moves into its new headquarters later this year, employees will use flushless toilets and wash their hands in unheated rainwater.
A system of computerized red and green lights will tell them when, in the interest of energy efficiency, whether they should open or close windows. Photo sensors will turn off the lights when there is enough natural light shining through the glass walls looking out over the Chesapeake Bay.
Rain that runs off the parking lot will be routed through two filtering systems and wetlands before entering the bay, at which time it is supposed to be pure enough to drink.
Those are just a few of the features incorporated in what foundation officials think will be one of the "greenest" office buildings ever built.
Chuck Foster, director of fleets and facilities for the foundation, said environmental criteria guided every decision, from the selection of building materials and office furniture, to landscaping, to the height of outdoor lighting, which is low to reduce the impact on birds at night.
"Every building material was looked at" with environmental questions in mind, Foster said. What was the recyclable content? How long was the life cycle? How far would materials be transported from the manufacturing site to the construction site? How much packing material would be used?
And, looking far into the future, the final question: "When it dies, can it be made into something useful again?" Foster said.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an environmental group that works to restore the health of the bay, has offices scattered in several locations around Annapolis. It spent several years looking for a site for a new headquarters.
It settled on a 33-acre (13-hectare) tract on the Chesapeake Bay in the community of Bay Ridge at the mouth of the Severn River, a few miles from downtown Annapolis. A $7.5 million gift from Philip Merrill, publisher of Washingtonian Magazine, The (Annapolis) Capital and four other newspapers, provided the major funding for the headquarters.
Tom Eichbaum, partner in Smith Group Architects, which designed the building, said residential development of the property would have had a more negative impact on the environment than its use by the bay foundation.
Eichbaum said it was fun to design what he called "this wonderful puzzle that is slowly emerging." One example of an environmentally friendly design element: using cork flooring throughout most of the building instead of carpeting, even though carpeting would have cost less. Cork is quiet, is a warm color and does not give off harmful gases as does some carpet. Plus, it is a renewable resource, Eichbaum said.
"You harvest cork and the tree remains alive. You're not destroying a forest," he said. The designers used wood from old pickle barrels salvaged by Foster to build sun screens that will reduce heat from the summer sun but allow sun to help heat the building in winter.
They used galvanized siding for the exterior walls. Foster said the siding has a high recyclable content, requires little maintenance, is manufactured within 300 miles (500 kilometers) of the site and "is flat and required minimal packaging."
Energy use got a lot of attention.
About one-third of the energy will come from renewable sources, including solar panels to heat water for showers and laundry and geothermal heat pumps operating in 300-foot (90-meter) deep wells to assist in heating and cooling the building.
Foster estimates the building will use only about one-third as much energy from conventional sources as a traditional office building.
Those flushless toilets, with wastes going directly into composting bins, will contribute to large reductions in water use. Foster estimates the building will use only about 10 percent as much water from wells or public water supplies as a conventional building.
All this environmental concern does not come cheap. The costs will be around $200 a square foot, considerably more expensive than a standard building but "not too far out of line with a very high-end building," Foster said. He estimates efforts to make the building as green as possible added about $50 a square foot to the $7.5 million project.
There will be some long-term savings from reduced energy use and reduced maintenance, but not enough to make up the difference, Foster said.
"Our board wanted us to set an example, to show people what can be done," Foster said.
Task 4. Answer the following questions.
1. What is so unusual about the new headquarters of the Shakespeare Bay Foundation?
2. On what principle were building materials chosen?
3. Where is the new building located?
4. What is an example of environmentally friendly design element?
5. What are the benefits of using cork flooring instead of carpeting?
6. What materials did designers use for the exterior walls of the building?
7. How much energy will come from renewable sources?
8. What are these renewable sources?
9. What devices can assist in heating and cooling the building?
10. Is this environmental concern cheap?
Task 5. Write a summary of the text. In no more than 10-12 sentences, express the main idea and the general content of the text.
Task 6. Express your own opinion of the text.
ACTIVITY.
Introduction.Our world is constantly changing and developing. New ideas, methods and technologies are emerging all the time and are so numerous that it is hardly possible to count them. And something that was modern a year ago may now seem not quite up-to-date and even old-fashioned. Innovations are extremely diverse and are present in all spheres of our life. Some innovations are really very useful and practical; some are more for fun and pleasure. Why not try and look for some interesting innovations?
Task.
Work in groups of 3-4 people. You are to find information about three different innovations (preferably in the sphere of engineering, technology or business). While looking for information you are free to use the internet sites given below as well as any other online resources.
Summarize all the information you have found and make a short presentation in front of the class. In your presentation you may speak about all the three innovations you have read about or you are free to concentrate on one particular innovation.
Resources.
Definition of innovations:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Innovations
http://www.webster.com/dictionary/innovations
Some sites where you can find information:
http://www.newscientist.com/
http://www.cnn.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.sciam.com/
Popular search engines:
www.yahoo.com
www.google.com
www.altavista.com
ADDITIONAL TASKS.
Task 1a. Answer the questions.
Can you think of any things we use in everyday life that are not very well designed?
Do you think there are needs that no one has yet filled with the appropriate invention?
Task 2a. Choose one of the following assignments and follow the instructions.
A. Find an item used at home, university, or another place you frequent, that is not designed well, and redesign it to make it easier for people to use. (Designs may be presented as drawings or physical mock-ups. Mock-ups may be made from any materials available. They do not necessarily have to work, just so they represent what the real item would look like, either full size or to scale.)
B. Think of a problem that hasn't been solved or a need that hasn't been met, and design an invention to provide a solution or fill that need.
Respond in writing to the following:
1. Define the problem.
2. Give causes for the problem.
3. Describe your solution.
4. Tell why your solution will improve the situation.
Task 3a. Prepare five-minute oral presentations.
UNIT 3