World Renewable Energy Congress VI (WREC2000)

© 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 549

Editor: A.A.M. Sayigh

THE INHABITED BORDER: A H U M A N S E T T L E M E N T

P R O P O S A L FOR THE "ALTA GUAJIRA V E N E Z O L A N A "

Adriana Herrera

Unidad Docente M.G.L + P. Facultad de Arquitectura y Disefio.

Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo 4011-A-526
Venezuela
Tel-Fax (58)61.233455,e-mail: a l b h e r @ e a n t v . n e t

ABSTRACT

In this paper a project for the creation of a human settlement based on the eco-village concept is
presented. As an eco-village, it is of sustainable character presenting activities involving
commercial, water treatment and permaculture, research and tourism, cultural, institutional and
border security issues, in a geographical environment with extreme climatic conditions and where
there are not availability of services and conventional energy utilities.

KEYWORDS
Ecourbanism; eco-village; sustainable.

INTRODUCTION
The region under consideration is located in the frontier between Venezuela and Colombia, which is
known as "Alta Guajira Venezolana". The land is practically flat being lightly higher and more
irregular toward the West presenting some hills. The extension of the coast presents lifted beaches,
reason for which this is a reef area on a riverside where dunes and swamps are alternated. The soil
presents a clayey texture, but they are basically saline and sodium, nevertheless in the Southwest
part deep sandy texture soils exist such that they possess the best conditions for a medium
agriculture potential. The vegetation is very dispersed and extremely scarce, it hardly possesses
vegetable coverings that protect the land as well as desert overgrowths, very dry tropical forests.
The climate is mainly arid and semi-arid, with strong evaporation and scarce rains, with wind
velocities of 7m/s and ambient air temperatures oscillating between 25°C and 32°C.
The concept of this settlement is given by the insertion form in the territory, Which is achieved by
the creation of two lines crossing, as they were Cartesian axes. These lines will touch the ends of
two important bodies of water of the location (Cocineta Lagoon and Gulf of Venezuela). One of the
lines is of territorial nature which function will be to accentuate the presence inside our ten'itory by
means of its direction, representing part of it. The other one is of spatial nature that escapes toward
the frontier and, without passing over it in a physical way, it creates a kind of invitation to break up
the border limit. When giving thickness to these two lines "The Inhabited Border" is tbrmed, which
in turn is conformed by two borders and an encounter where the settlement activities will be
developed, fulfilling different responsibilities: The Territorial B o r d e r and The Spatial Border.
550

THE SETTLEMENT

The Territorial Border:

It is formed by the housings of permanent use. These housings are located conserving a kind of
mesh, each 50 m, and among them with intermediate orientation, one more house, and so on,
starting in this way to create different relation of spaces among them. These housings will be built
using materials of the location such as coral, mud and wood. They present very simple thcades of
adiustable wooden openings allowing to the user to dh'ect the entering wind avoiding sand
accumulation. Their roofs have been designed in such way that they guarantee shading over the four
facades at the high irradiance hours. Each house will be equipped with its own PV modules
combined with power wind generators, and will obtain fresh drinkable water by solar distillation of
sea water and rain water collectors. The sewage water of the whole settlement will be treated in an
anaerobic tank that will separate the organic matter, for agriculture purposes, and the remaining
water tbr a dripping h'rigation system of the vegetation.
The road is proiected in a segmented form to follow the ah'eady established thrashes of the way into
the territory. This segmented road will give it different space qualities, movement and permanency,
ordering and location to the different housings. This differentiation is given by some road protection
treatments, beginning with a serie of natural tunnels tbrmed by the vegetation of the place,
alternating with spaces without any protection to win movement and to avoid permanency. Finally,
the landscape is built by a structure based on canvas and cables that will shape public multiple use
spaces. The public spaces are given at the ending of each segment and they tbrm small "cuj/es"
forests that will be "meeting places". This road is made with local sand that is kept humid by the
dripping h'rigation system, making pleasant the users transit despite those unprotected parts.
This border is lbrmed mainly by housings, which accentuate its territorial character.
SPATIAL BORDER
o

,BORDERS ENCOUNTER
.11:
TERR ITORIAL BORDER

Fig. 1 Settlement view and inhabited border

The Spatial Border

It is formed by the opening activities with characteristics of globalisation, namely research activities
related to renewable energy, oceanographic, hydro-biology, security, education, health,
telecommunications, trade, religion and the mixture of permanent and transitory housings. The road
in this border is proposed as a diagonal straight line that will allow the communication among
places. It is a road with movement and for this reason a homogeneous treatment is given, contrary
to the heterogeneity presented for the road territorial border. Also, in this border, wind power
generators are presented not only to supply the settlement energy requirements but to sell the
remaining energy to the adjacent areas.

The Borders Encounter

It is formed by the centre of the organisation, representing the origin of crossing of Cartesian axes
and in turn the emptiness existing at the end of each border. This centre is surrounded by the
common territorial and spatial activities, such as, education, health, religion and recreation (meeting
rooms, auditorium, cinema, disco, etc.). It is protected by a big structural canvas roof, which
 551

provides shading to this space during the sunshine hours and, because of its height, natural
ventilation through it and the border buildings. At this point the user can switch toward another part
of the settlement, either the spatial border or the territorial one.

BIOCLIMATICAL STRATEGIES GREEN ENERGIES

• The settlement road surfaces temperature reduction will improve comfort by decreasing the long
wave radiative exchange and increasing the indirect and direct air cooling of the air over the
surface.
• The vegetation usage in the whole settlement is the most effective element to protect roads and
outdoor spaces of the solar radiation impact.
• The treated wastewater is used to provide fertile land, irrigate crops, toilet flushing and dripping
irrigation.
• Fresh drinking water is obtained by solar seawater distillation.
• Solid waste management for recycling.
• The design of a big structural canvas roof with a ventilated air chamber (double canvas) will
remove the hotter air over all the surfaces. Its transmisivity will be close to 0.08, its internal roof
surface absorptivity will be 0.iO and the external surface of the internal roof will be
approximately equal to external air temperature.

@:
[]

power wind generator with 200Kw for

A D energy supply to the buildings during the night

big stuctural canvas roof ~..'.':i;.~4::

with ventilated air chamber [~..:!~ [] sidewalks with cold pavement for diminishe
for evacuate hot air over a I the surface _
L_.l'"l TMiI~
~".~'~'~
[] ~
. . . . . . . . . .
supenmal {emperalure t:)y eva porallon .[
,egetable windbrake for diminishe and filtration of the air
tveg I ~ ~

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~'...--'e..:. . . . . ~., ./:;:'.~,-4:'-:~.... ~ -!-: !
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:~:., I tr~ group for diminishe solar radiation impact . . . . . the h . . . .

I d dpping irrigation system for vegetabl . . . .

overhang ~for housing and outddors

I s°larprofecti°n"
t. . . .

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dripping irrigation system for cooling pavement
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Fig. 2 Settlement bioclimatic strategies

552

3p
lg for low solar absortivity
P.V cells to supply ele ~,rgy
ioverhang to shadow
thermal insulation to reduce conduction heat gains
warm air removal by conveclion
system of venetian blind as sunlight protector
and incoming ambient air control crossed ventilation to improve comfort

i elevatedfloor for cooling convection

Iw E

Fig. 3 Dwelling bioclimatic strategies

RENEWABLE SYSTEMS

For electricity supplies in the settlement it will be utilised a hybrid system composed by PV cells to
provide energy during the day and by wind generators tbr the nocturnal demand.
PV cells will be placed horizontally over the building roof intercepting in this way the maximum
direct solar radiation without being affected by tree or other buildings shadow. Seventeen PV
modules with 120 w of capacity, connected in series, with a pick power of 2 kW, are used for the
houses and 30 PV modules connected in series with a pick power of 3.6 kW are used in the public
buildings.
The fifteen wind power generators, each one of 35(i) kW of capacity collocated over the spatial
border will supply electrical energy to the settlement buildings during the night and the remaining
energy will be sell to neighbour locations.

CONCLUSIONS

It is possible to apply design bioclimatic concepts and renewable energy to a settlement located in
an extreme climatic and geographical situation allowing sustainable activities development
contributing to preserving the resources and environment conservation.
Using renewable energy to supply a population of 70() habitants the emission of 4550 kg CO2 is
avoided.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is grateful to Prot: Maria Machado and to IFA of The University of Zulia tbr their
support and advice in the realisation of this work.

REFERENCES

RUANO Miguel, Ecourbanism, Editorial Gustavo Gili, SA, Barcelona,1999.

HOUGH Michael, Cities and Natural Process, Routledge, London, 1995.
INSTITUTO PARA LA DIVERSIFICACION Y AHORRO DE ENERGIA (IDAE), Energia Solar
Fotovoltaica, Manuales de Energias Renovables, Tomo 6,Cinco Dias, Madrid, 1996.
INSTITUTO PARA LA DIVERSIFICACION Y AHORRO DE ENERGIA (IDAE), Energia
Eolica, Manuales de Energias Renovables, Tomo 2, Cinco Dias, Madrid 1996.
LA ROCHE Pablo, MUSTIELES Francisco, OTEIZA Ignacio, Vivienda Bioclimatica como
Dispositivo Habitable, Tecnologia y Construccion, 12 (I), 21-31, Caracas, Venezuela, 1996.