February 3, 2012
Feb 3rd, 2012 by amilop
Today, on Friday, February 3rd, we finally had the chance to meet Laura Sand, the manager and horticulturist at the UBC Greenhouse, to give us a tour at two of the greenhouses at UBC. They are located at the rooftop of Biological Science Building North Wing. She was very helpful, and even let us to visit the greenhouse anytime we want. Here are some of our findings:
- Sunlight catchment is very important for greenhouse as it is the primary source of heating, and is essential for photosynthesis. Since the KSSP greenhouse will be built close to the main building, by checking the sun trajectory of Vancouver, the greenhouse will be shaded by the dome after 3pm throughout the year. Therefore, we need to maximize the catchment of sunlight by placing the slope of the roof towards southeast direction.
- In the greenhouses, some sodium lightings are installed to mimic the light intensity of sun. Laura mentioned 1 or 2 lightings will be sufficient for 1.6×2.2 m2 greenhouse, and be turned on according to the needs of the plants. Each lighting fixtures will cost approximately $60. Even though it’s not the main purpose of the sodium lightings, they also contribute to the heating of the greenhouse. The temperature in the greenhouse was about 28 degree Celsius.
- As for air circulation, a manually operated vents and electric fans were installed in the greenhouses.
We also came up with some decisions during our regular class meeting on Monday, January 30th. These are the highlights of the group meeting:
Materials:
- We decided on galvanized steel frame (little maintenance required, low cost, almost completely recycled / recyclable) and glass (recycled / repurposed product, traditional aesthetics, highly transparent allowing lights to come in).
- Did you know that bubble wrap can also be used for insulation? Just smear a little water on the window, lay the bubble wrap on it. Once the water dries, the bubble wrap will stick there and retain the heat.
Interactivity: Considering that the majority of visitors are kids around 9-13 years old along with their parents (Source: Science World media kit), we came up with 2 interest points for the greenhouse.
- One is a transparent pane of glass along a plane bed put near the glass wall to allow small kids to see the soil profile, plants’ roots and hopefully some potatoes or carrots that are growing underground.
- Second, screens and fixed panels with pictures can be installed for adults to be engaged with the greenhouse while their kids are busy getting fascinated with the soil profile. The screen and panels will include facts related to sustainability, local food production, or perhaps, a calculation breakdown about how much money and greenhouse gases can be saved by growing your own food.
And finally, to make the greenhouse more appealing, colorful plants such as purple cabbage, capsicum, tomatoes, carrots, herbs, and edible flowers can be planted.
Charles seems to be enthusiastic to learn more about greenhouse, and he’s setting up another meeting with expert, David Kaplan from UBC Land & Food System Faculty, for a tour of another greenhouse. We are looking forward to it and hopefully can learn more about designing an efficient and sustainable greenhouse.
Cheers,
Matthew
This is looking great!
Since the project should be finished within 3 weeks or so, I have a few questions for you to consider.
How to your accomplishments to-date compare with the work-schedule you have set? Are you giving yourselves a little wiggle room in case you hit a snag? Are you planning on contacting the client to confirm your ideas (i.e., constraints, negotiable design criteria, and non-negotiable design criteria) before you start your conceptual design?
Keep up this excellent work!
—SN