Philippine Onion Research Institute (PhilORIn) Complex: The Application of Bio-Eco Architecture in Research and Development Facilities
The Philippine onion industry contributes to the local economy by being one of the High Value Crops producing 134,169.92 MT and exported 3,571 MT of onions in 2013, but despite being a contributor to the economy, the industry still faces several problems that affect the farmers through production decline, and consequently, the consumers, through unstable market prices.
What was seemingly the cause of the decline are the effects of climate change on the certainty of weather conditions farmers can no longer rely on the traditional climate trends as their basis for planting, cultivating, and harvesting thus increasing the production losses. Realizing these issues, Sen. Cynthia Villar filed Senate Bill 311 in 2013, followed by Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Estrellita Suansing’s House Bill 1963 which both seek to establish a Philippine Onion Research Institute in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija.
However, considering the fact that research laboratories use 5-10% greater energy than typical office buildings, it is clearly going to aggravate the climate change. While it can indeed give solutions to the problems of the onion industry, it can also impart negative effects through greenhouse gas emissions, which will most likely worsen the climate change and, in turn, affect the industry making a cycle of variables goes on.
Hence, the study is aims to somehow stop the cycle by designing an agronomic research and development complex for the improvement of the onion industry that is sustainable, innovative and has productive research processes by applying Biomimetic and Eco-Friendly approaches on the overall design of the complex. Without PhilORIn, the industry will lose millions due to the lack of locally produced seeds, lack of improvement on farming mechanization and other postharvest losses by the year 2020.
By definition, Biomimicry is the “innovation process encouraging the transfer of ideas, concepts and strategies inspired from the living world, with the objective of designing human applications aiming at a sustainable development.” Therefore, the design will look into onion as a biomimetic inspiration for a sustainable development of a R&D facility.
An onion is a bulb-type of crop with concentric strata, or layers, of fleshy leaves that surround the short stems. Upon cultivation, the onion seed produce leaves which turn into flesh repeatedly in an outward fashion until maturity.
The onion layers will be the basis of the development of the complex wherein the facilities can grow in an outward fashion with the research spaces as the core, where the development division and techno demo-farms radiate, and surrounded by amenities and farmer services. Connection between these areas should be properly laid out for a more efficient output.
An onion can’t live without its roots the way the PhilORIn will not function without the researchers; hence why the residential units are laid out to resemble the onion’s moderately branching roots. The existing irrigation reservoir represents the core or the modified stem where the development began. The main, research and development building radiates from the core. The Research building and Development Building adapted the function of an onion’s auxiliary buds, which despite being almost separate entities are still considered as parts of a single bulb. The 3 buildings together mimic the form of an onion bulb which coincides with their function as the center of the facility
The stem, which grows from the core and connects the leaves to the roots, is represented by the circulation network within the site. The leaves, which perform photosynthesis using sunlight and wastes from animals to make food, are represented by the onion cold storage facility and Waste Management Facility which stores the harvested crops and transform farm wastes into energy, respectively. The onion inflorescence attracts bees for pollination the way the Multi-Purpose Irradiation Facility attracts businessmen and farmers to the Institute. Upon closer inspection, the floral diagram of a single floret reveals a hexagonal figure which can be parted into six parts.
Since its function is to produce seeds, the seed production farm adapted this form for layout.
These concepts will be translated onto the chosen site for the project.
The site is an approximately 16— hectare piece of agricultural land in Bgy. PaloMaria with a man-made reservoir within its property lines and is bounded by the tributaries of Upper Pampanga River. In terms of topography, the site is gently sloping towards the reservoir and the irrigation lines surrounding it. Since the site is located in the lower part of Bongabon, it is susceptible to flooding which can compromise the safety of the R&D facility. The complex will be using a lot of energy hence direct connection to the power grid and irrigation sources should be tapped to avoid energy and water shortage within the site.
Based on these analyses, the following strategies are employed:
One of the eco-friendly features of the site is the extensive green roofs of the main buildings. It extends roof life, absorbs sunlight, acts as sound buffer, helps counteract the heat-island effect, and improves air quality. The roofs are designed to slope down to direct the rainwater towards the cisterns for reusing. When strong rain persists, the surface run-off will be diverted to the public space that serves as temporary water retention facility to prevent flooding within the site. When the peak of rainfall subsides, the retained water will be let out in the nearby creek, allowing the public space to be dry and be functional again.
The irrigation system took advantage of the topography of the site. The water from the adjacent creek enters the site from its highest point and gradually flows downwards to the existing irrigation reservoir before it exits to the same creek which allows all the fields to be irrigated. When water is scarce, the irrigation water can be taken from the reservoir or can be pumped from underground through the use of windpump irrigation system located on the highest elevations of the site.
Aside from the layout of the buildings relative to the site, biomimicry is also applied on the floor plans of the main facilities. The layouts of the main buildings are inspired from the layers of an onion. The working areas are located in the core, traversed by a hallway, and have the outermost layer for circulation. With this, the core spaces are receded minimizing the exposure to direct sunlight and rain.
The ability of onion skin to protect the core from heat and retain moisture within, by applying this concept to the building façade, screens of perforated bricks can fill the expanse of the walls of public spaces of the main buildings to allow the breeze to enter, circulate, and exit the building. Tinted, low emissivity glass is also used for walls minimizing heat gain in the public areas while still allowing the sunlight to filter through the interiors. With these, there will be minimal artificial lighting and no mechanical cooling will be needed. The greenhouses and irradiation facility mimic the concentric layers of an onion when cut cross-wise. The irradiation facility took advantage of this form to keep the irradiation chamber in the core, surrounded by layers of reinforced concrete to shield the users from radiation. The microscopic view of an onion skin has interlocking cells forming hexagonal structures which were established as the base-form of buildings such as the residential units and other minor buildings.
To further increase the performance and sustainability of the buildings, the principles of Eco Architecture is applied. Based on the computations, the application of the Eco-Architecture through solar panels, natural lighting and ventilation, biomass fuel, wind-pump irrigation, rainwater harvesting and reuse of condensate water can minimize the energy and water consumption which does not only reduce the operations cost, but the greenhouse gasses emissions as well.
Through the application of biomimetic strategies and through integrating these eco-friendly techniques, the PhilORIn is expected to be a productive, environmentally sensitive, and an effective instrument to have a holistic development of the industry by creating something, that does nothing, but only positive things for the better growth of the Philippine Onion Industry.
MA. ELENA J. JAVIER
MELANIO L. MARTINEZ, JR.
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Philippine Onion Research Institute (PhilORIn) Complex: The Application of Bio-Eco Architecture in Research and Development Facilities
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