S.A.F.E Project
After years hanging around in the rainforest with scientists, Arkitrek finally gets a research station to design. The site is on the boundary between a protected rainforest and an area newly opened for plantation. The SAFE Project (Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems) aims to understand how the impacts of forest modification ramify through the web of life.
The project will be challenging and tough questions will be asked. The design must address the logistical constraints of a remote site and like the nature of the SAFE project itself; we must face up to the reality of industrial systems replacing natural systems and find the most appropriate way for architecture to positively adapt and respond to this.
The field centre will accommodate up to 90 scientists, visitors and staff and will feature a number of materials innovations that we have been working with on other projects, such as walls made from lime:natural fibre composites or sandbags. Power will come from a diesel/micro-hydro hybrid generator.
As with many Arkitrek projects, the design process will be participatory and we will chuck architecture and engineering students in at the deep end to work hands-on throughout all stages of the project.
The following photos and videos are from our recent site inspection where we discovered the perfect site for the centre.
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Hi Ian,
I’m a scientist working long-term at the SAFE site. What are your thoughts on solar instead of generator or hydro? As you know, there have been huge advances recently in power output. Plus I really am tired of the sound of a generator humming away…
Cheers, Ollie
Hi Ollie. Solar is great where you have a grid connection and a feed-in tarif. Without a grid you need to combine solar with battery (or other) storage and that’s the limitation. Micro-hydro, diesel generators & solid waste burners can run at night. Noise can be engineered out.
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