Green Triple Decker Pilot Program - the catalyst

we needed a catalyst, something to get us moving in the right direction or maybe something to get us to pull the trigger, to spend money, and to do the most sustainable project we could afford.  most great projects and ideas need a catalyst.  as you may recall, the Bo01 project in Malmo, Sweden used the European Housing Exposition as it's catalyst for masterplanning the Vastra Hamnen neighborhood and specifically constructing the European Village (note: if you are bored reading my description which was a combination of amazement, awe, and excitement, read this more down to earth, fact filled description).  our Jamaica Plain condo upgrade catalyst started out casual and became very real very fast.

a casual meetup on the front porch over a beer got the deeper conversation started about sustainable living and fixing up our house(s).  every one of the owners (one condo owner per floor) wanted to do something significant to improve each unit as well as the property overall.  this meant coming up with individual strategies as well as thinking about overlap and shared strategies.  in the end we wanted our individual condos to be more comfortable, efficient, and livable and we wanted the whole building to be a great place to call home.  we immediately started talking about the building envelope, about super insulation, and about reduction of energy needs and energy use.  everyone agreed that energy efficiency and sustainability were important, but we didn't know exactly how we would take it to the next level.

one of our crew stumbled upon an announcement from the City of Boston about a "Green Triple Decker" Pilot Program, orchestrated by the BRA.  this program was exactly the catalyst we were looking for to get us going forward.  the City of Boston (along with the energy utilities - NSTAR and NGRID) was offering up to $30,000 to deep energy retrofit approximately 5 triple deckers in Boston.  according to the rules, there would be a preliminary application to narrow down the candidates.  once selected, representatives from the City would work with the homeowners to develop a scope of work that attempted to achieve a HERS rating of 65 or better.

HERS is a system that started in California in 2006 and is now respected across the globe as a method to attach home value (price) to energy use and consumption.  HERS (home energy rating system) basically takes a baseline (bare minimum) typical, wood stud, pink insulation home from 2006 and calls that 100 (as in 100%).  that typical house uses 100% energy.  a worse house (energy wise) uses more than 100 and a better house uses less.  according to this scale, a zero energy house scores a ZERO on HERS and a typical 2006 house scores 100.  an energy star house is 85 (15% better than a typical 2006 home).  the program we were applying for through the City of Boston aimed at 65 (35% better than a typical 2006 home).  our house existing 1000 sf condo, built in 1905 without insulation, would eventually be measured by an official HERS rater.  our unit topped out at 135 (35% worse than a typical home).  going from 35% worse than a new home to 35% better must be a piece of cake, right?

HERS, a scoring system developing and implemented in California in 2006, is the first successful system to tie home energy use to home value.  the system scores 0 as a zero energy home and 100 as a new "typical" home in 2006.  according to the Green Triple Decker Pilot Program sponsored by the City of Boston, we needed to achieve a HERS rating of 65 or better to receive the grant (35% better than a new home built in 2006). 

as soon as we discovered this potential cash inflow to jump start our sustainable makeover and aim us toward specific energy goals, we flew into production mode.  we drafted an essay for the submission including resumes and appendices.  several members of our condo association had previous experience in sustainable design and construction both in practice and in theory.  in fact, half of us had worked on the 2009 Solar Decathlon project for the BAC/ Tufts zero energy 800 square foot solar home, called curio.  that project could be a blog all to itself, but if you are interested in learning more, check out the department of energy's description of curio.

we applied for the program, ended up on the short list, and eventually were awarded one of five grants to deep energy retrofit our 1905 Jamaica Plain condo.  the next part was the hardest part.  we knew the windows and doors were terrible, that there was virtually no insulation, and that the systems were old and wasteful.  we just needed to figure out what to do, how to do it, where to invest, and how to stretch as far as we could...


to be continued...

a dip in the Oresund Strait before sunset

the day after I took a walk along the western edge of Daniaparken in Bo01, I stumbled across a series of people jumping (or dipping) into the ocean.  when I arrived at a stepped stonework area that led directly into the ocean, I knew this was the place.  the water must be cold, but if they are doing it, I try it too.  I pedaled home as quickly as possible.  even me, a crazy person who is willing to jump in the cold waters of Sweden, knows that scary monsters inhabit the ocean after dark.

I returned with a backpack loaded with a towel and an ice cold 50 cl (500 ml) Swedish beer.  I leaned the bike against the concrete wall, stripped down to my suit, carefully removed my flippie floppies, and waded ankle deep onto the wooden platform.  I stood for quite some time, skeptical of the temperatural (yes, that is definitely a word) effect of the sea on my body.  finally, after courage came and went several times, I swan dived into the icy blue water...

the aftermath of a dip in the ocean before sunset, as evidenced by flip flops and beer

nothing solves the world's problems like taking a dip in the ocean at sunset and drinking a cold beer.  

sunset in Vastra Hamnen

as the sun began to dip lower in the sky, I made my way along Ribersborg beach, aiming back toward Vastra Hamnen.  I stopped several times along the way to admire the kite surfers.  or are they called wind surfers.  judging by the amount of wind along the Western Harbor, this must be a great place to surf, regardless of what it's called.

if you google kite surfing while in Sweden, "kitesurf Sweden" comes up second, behind only the wikipedia page.  clearly there is a lot of wind here, even if Malmo is not listed as one of the hotspots.

as the sun went down, I walked along the boardwalk at Daniaparken in Vastra Hamnen on the edge of Bo01.  the weather was mild, maybe 64 degrees and the wind was not fierce.  as I walked along the boardwalk I saw many people eating bread and cheese, drinking wine, and sitting atop the wooden planks on the water's edge.

people eating, drinking, and watching the sunset on the western edge of Daniaparken in Vastra Hamnen

I passed by wooden steps leading down into the ocean and admired the platform, complete with a ladder into (or out of) the ocean.  the waves calmly lapped over the metal grating and splashed softly against the lowest steps of the wooden descent.

wooden steps leading into the ocean in Vastra Hamnen along the westernmost edge of Daniaparken.  in the summer this is, according to locals of Malmo, the best spot to jump into the ocean in all of Skane. 

I continued along the boulevard, admiring the quantity of people who were enjoying the setting sun, the mild air, and the light breeze.  it tasted like a perfect combination of summer and fall, neither too hot nor too cold.  people were sitting out at the restaurants, sipping wine and eating dinner.

people eating dinner as the sun set in Vastra Hamnen along the edge of the Oresund Strait

I passed by the corner building of Bo01 that houses Salt Och Brygga, a well known eatery anchoring the restaurants along the waterfront's western edge.

one of the most notable buildings in Bo01 is the building that houses Salt och Brygga (salt and bridge), a well known restaurant marking the corner of the first phase of Vastra Hamnen, easily picked out in photographs due to the giant wall of solar thermal "panels" on the southwest corner of the building 

this building is known for two things besides the restaurant: 1. it is the least energy efficient building in Bo01 according to post occupancy studies.  2. it has a giant vertical solar thermal array that ended up being slightly under efficient because its evacuated tubes partially shade themselves.

sunset along the Oresund Strait with the Bridge to the left

as I continued north along the water's edge, I stopped to capture the sun as it dropped lower in the sky and highlighted the Oresund Bridge.

Finnlines ship sliding along under the setting sun in Oresund

a Finnlines ship, which seemed to arrive in the harbor at least once per day, slipped under the sun toward the north harbor, the only area of the harbor that remains industrial in the 21st century.

Finnlines ship passing just north of Vastra Hamnen

Turning Torso: the anchor of Vastra Hamnen

you can't spend several weeks in Malmo and not take pictures of the Turning Torso.  in fact, many would argue you can't spend several hours in Malmo and not take pictures of it.  you may even recall that I took a picture of it the first night I arrived in Malmo.  once the tallest apartment building in Europe, the Turning Torso twists upward 54 stories and 623 feet, the top floor at a 90 degree angle from the ground floor.  the Torso was envisioned by the government of Malmo as a new beginning, a fresh start, and a much needed strengthening of the skyline to the north of the city center.  it rises 2 times higher than Kronprinsen, the previous tallest building in Malmo.

the Turning Torso approached from the southern main access road to Vastra Hamnen from the city center.  the Torso, designed by Santiago Calatrava, rises 623 feet and 54 stories.

the Kockums crane (Kockumskranen) which was sold to a Korean company in the early 2000's was the last and highest symbol of the working class city of Malmo's shipbuilding industry.  it's last duty was to assist in the building of the Oresund Bridge, the lifeline connection between Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden.

looking up at the Torso from the street

in the years leading up to the decision to construct the Turning Torso, there were three major focused objectives of the city of Malmo, partly in an effort to move forward after the financial collapse caused by the shipbuilding industry abandoning the city (among other financial challenges), partly to jump into the 21st century, and partly to recreate and rebrand the city and its identity.  the three objectives were, at first blush, quite simple:

1. improve education and heighten the focus of the city on advanced education
2. strengthen connectivity and interconnectedness of Malmo within the region of Skane and beyond
3. use sustainability and sustainable initiatives as a method to advance the city and its planning

these three objectives were simultaneously addressed starting in the 1990's and moving into the first decade of the 21st century.  though the Turning Torso was not, in itself, a cornerstone of any of these three specific objectives, it played a significant role as a new symbol of Malmo, the city of the future.  the Torso is an excellent example of how cities use architecture (tall, unique, or important buildings, often designed by famous architects) to promote an agenda and "put themselves on the map" as Malmo has been doing for the last 15-20 years.

Turning Torso in Vastra Hamnen, Malmo as seen from the neighborhood

the three most obvious physical manifestations of the three objectives are quite powerful, and together have helped shaped Malmo as a growing, changing city with an eye toward the future.

1.  one of the brightest examples of the city of Malmo putting a new focus on higher education was the creation of Malmo's first University, Malmo Hogskola.  the University, now a central hub of the Dockans neighborhood adjacent to the central train station and Vastra Hamnen, has grown to more than 24,000 students in just over ten years of operation (the school opened officially in 1998).  the school has many disciplines and areas of study, including several in sustainability such as master's degrees in "Leadership for Sustainability" and "Sustainable Urban Management".

the style has been called "structural expressionism" and is most evident in the exposed structural elements on the building exterior 

2.  the most obvious physical manifestation of the idea of interconnection in Skane and beyond is the Oresund Bridge and the improvements in the train transportation into Malmo.  the Oresund Bridge, completed and opened in July 2000, has created amazing opportunities for growth in Malmo as well as the opportunity for people living in Malmo to commute easily to Copenhagen.  besides the construction of the bridge itself, Malmo created new and improved train stations and rail lines from the bridge through the city center (called the City Tunnel Project) that simplify, enhance, and speed up travel to and from Malmo as well as through it up the western coast of Sweden and beyond.

the Turning Torso sits in a pool of water at the base (the parking complex in the background contains a sustainable grocery store and restaurant on the ground floor)

3.  in terms of sustainability, the list, as you may have seen from earlier entries in this blog, is endless.  I would argue that the most notable catalyst for the physical manifestation of making sustainability part of the city's future is Bo01, brought about as part of the European Housing Exposition in 2011, and evidenced in the European Village as well as the surrounding neighborhood and corresponding infrastructure.  this neighborhood, anchored on one corner by the tallest building in Scandinavia, is a beacon of hope for the future of sustainable cities and neighborhoods.

the Turning Torso as seen from the neighborhood school.  the top is 90 degrees twisted from the base.

bike repair in Malmo - Part Two - "the cycle kitchen"

if you missed the exciting beginning of the story of the flat tire, here's Part One.


Part Two:

so the all day conference on Monday ended at 17.30 and I hopped on the train in Hyllie (by the way, it's not pronounced "hill e" as I was saying for the first few days when I arrived here in Malmo.  it's actually pronounced "hill you" in a kind of french manner where they roll the tongue during the you part).  I was home in less than 35 minutes after a quick train ride and a quick bus trip.  the transport was free because the conference gives every participant a 72 hour free public transportation card!  imagine that... the conference you are attending in a city offers a free method to use public transportation.  what a nice idea... thanks Malmo!

Stapelbaddsparken building (underneath where ships were pushed out to sea from the shipbuilding port, Dockan) is now a hub for local non profits in Malmo, including cykelkoket, the cycle kitchen

I was home just past 18.00 and the cycle kitchen was open until 21.00.  I hopped on my bike with the wheel in my hand and pedaled over (five minute trip from northern Vastra Hamnen to Stapelsbaddsparken) to the center of what was once one of the largest ship building areas in the world.  this area (also located north of the city center) is in Dockan, on the edge of what is now called Vastra Hamnen (western harbor).  this used to be the home of Kockums, the center of the shipbuilding universe for much of the 20th century.  they don't make ships here any more, but guess what they currently make.  that's right: wind turbines!

cykelkoket (the cycle kitchen) in Dockan where free tool time combined with volunteer bike experts leads to an amazing experience

the building is sloped from about 5 meters to nothing where it meets the ground at the new skate park and served as the location where giant ships were pushed into the ocean when this area was a shipbuilding hub.  the area below the slope has been converted from a workers area for Dockan into an incubator/ center for local non profits (called Stapelbaddsparken) including cykelkoket (the bike kitchen).

"creative space" in cykelkoket which sits immediately adjacent to the bike repair area.  looks like a great spot for lounging when there are no bikes being fixed.  it was empty when I was there because everyone in the shop was working on bikes or bike parts.

I arrived at the bike kitchen and went down some stairs into the depths.  I talked with a very nice guy about my situation.  he told me all of the tools were free to borrow and he would help me if I needed it.  as it would turn out, I needed help and about two hours to get to the bottom of this seemingly simple flat tire...

work being done to fix up a Swedish military bike which are surprisingly common in Malmo.  the guy fixing it up comes to cykelkoket every monday night to work on it.  he bought it on Craigslist.  he was riding it around the city with no brakes for awhile.

Bert (Bertil), who helped me off and on for the entire time I was in the shop, is a volunteer at the kitchen.  I asked him how it worked and he said basically some people pass away without a will or relatives and their money goes to the state.  the state divides the money into a wide range of non profit organizations that help people in communities.  the cycle kitchen is one of those organizations.  it uses the money from the state to pay to rent the space, keep the lights on, and buy tools as necessary.  all of the people working in the shop are volunteers.  pretty neat!  Bert said that there are other cycle kitchens opening up around Skane (southern Sweden) including places like Goteborg (the second largest city in Sweden).

some of the free tools available for use to fix up your bike.  the shop also collects and fixes up old bikes that have been confiscated by the city or abandoned.

so my flat was a complete pain.  I will not bore you with all of the long drawn out details, but I will tell you what happened anyways.  if you are bored by bike talk, skip the next two paragraphs or simply look through the pictures.

most common style of valve stem in Sweden is actually English, called the Dunlop valve.  in the US, almost all tubes have a German or Italian style (Schrader or Presta).  I had never seen this English version before.

the wheel was a very old 26" (which was actually somewhere between a 26" and a 700), but the tire was a true 26" so it wouldn't come off without a special "heavy duty" Park Tools tire lever that Bert had to get in the back of the shop.  because the wheel was not a real size, the tube we had didn't properly fit, but we decided to use it anyway.  the rim was so old and rusty that I decided to scrape it with a brush to get off the rust burrs and then wrap the rim in homemade rim tape (really just duct tape ripped to the right width and stuck on).

desperate first attempt to replace the flat tire involved using a special heavy duty tire lever to remove the tire, sanding off the rust and burrs in the rim, lining the rim with makeshift (duct tape) rim tape, and two grown men manhandling the tire to get it back over the rim with the new tube.  let's just say that this method failed and we ditched the entire wheel for another one (after about an hour of effort).

after struggling (the two of us plus some other folks who were there fixing their own bikes and volunteered to help as well) to get the tire back on over the tube and rim, we inflated with a foot pump.  slow hiss.  sad face.  after fiddling around some more we decided to ditch the wheel altogether and find another used wheel that was a true 26" to replace it.  we pumped it up and it was good to go.  Bert even took the time to take apart the hub and lube it up so that it ran smoother.

recycling at the cycle kitchen

all in all it was under two hours of exploring, talking, and learning about the place as well as fixing the flat and replacing the tire altogether in the end.  Tamara got back a new (used) wheel with a smoother hub (a better feeling roll) and a more common sized setup (so if she ever gets a flat again it will be easier for the next person to fix).  I got to learn about this cool and amazing place in Malmo where community building, sustainable practices, and education are taking place.  it reminds me quite a bit of one of my favorite Boston non profits that connects people, communities, and bikes for the betterment of the local area as well as for people all over the globe.  it's called Bikes Not Bombs.  maybe you've heard of it?  if not, I highly recommend you read a little about what they do.  if you are in a giving mood, they stretch dollars (and all kinds of currency) quite far.  it is a fantastic organization!

Bert, a volunteer for cykelkoket, helped me solve what turned out to be a very complicated flat tire (I don't think I have ever heard the words complicated and flat tire in the same sentence)

thanks very much to Bert and the crew at Cykelkoket (in Swedish) and the other folks who were there fixing their own bikes (including Joakim) in Stapelbaddsparken in the Dockan (also in Swedish) area of Malmo, right beside the skate park.

food scraps = energy in Malmo: the food grinder

it's 6.30pm and you just arrived home from work.  it's time to make dinner.  it is a simple meal.  pasta with veggies and sauce.  you pull out the cutting board and your favorite knife.  you scrub all of the terrible pesticides and toxins off your vegetables, hoping that this shiny red pepper is not the one that puts one nano gram too much of whatever you don't want in your body.  you chop and cut and chop and suddenly you are sauteing it all in a pan.  the water is boiling for the pasta and voila! you have dinner.  it's delicious, by the way.

cleanup in this kitchen is almost as easy as making the mess.  you finished the pasta sauce so you splash some water around in the jar and dump it down the drain.  you open the door under the sink and deposit the jar into the clear glass recycling bin.  the scraps of vegetables go into the food grinder (what we used to call the garbage disposal).  you splash a little water on the plates and silverware and put it all in the dishwasher.  you always win the clean plate award so there are no scraps on the plate, but if there were any scraps or anything else that could be ground in the food grinder, you'd dump them into the sink and wash them "away" as well.

kitchen sink in the apartment.  pretty "normal" looking.  the silver button on the upper left turns on the food grinder.

then the magic starts.  you turn on the water and press the little silver button.  a loud gurgling sound emits from inside the sink drain, gradually getting more uniform and higher pitched.  when the last of the food remnants are gone, you press the silver button again and it's done.  your "wasted" food is on it's way to becoming energy.

it's a titan.  food grinder.

a separate piping system takes the water and ground food waste to a nearby storage tank.  it's surprisingly simple.  sedimentation allows the liquid to skim off the top inside the tank and join the rest of the waste water on it's way to a treatment plant in the harbor.  what settles at the bottom of the tank is pumped away to a nearby plant where they tank it all back together in a specific method that turns this "waste" into something called biogas.

pipes from both sink drains joining to go separately out of the building to a sediment and storage tank where the food waste separates and is pumped offsite for transformation from food waste to biogas

biogas, as you can imagine, is just like other gases that you know.  it can be burned like natural gas to heat your home boiler or hot water.  it can be refined into fuel to power your car.  it is basically like oil except we didn't have to dig for it or destroy anything like forests or water supplies or the environment to get it.  it is a natural byproduct of human consumption.  oh, and in case you are wondering (which I am sure you are) it is:

• "clean" (meaning that the stuff that goes into the food grinder is food, not plastic or other undesirable items that dilute or destroy the biogas process)
• hygienic for the inhabitant (what you put into the grinder is what you have already touched)
• natural (no cleaning products, chemicals, or other stuff needs to be added)
• simple (press a button and it's done)
• cleaner burning (biogas is much lower emission and cleaner burning than many other fuels, especially oil based fuels such as gasoline and diesel)

if you are looking for an alternative to oil to power cars, buses, and other transportation, biogas could be a very successful option.  we've all seen how much food goes down the drain (which is, in itself, an area that needs some improvement).  the city of Malmo is making great strides to use food waste to produce energy and hopes to have the entire city bus fleet on biogas within ten years.  there is also a campaign to collect compost style food waste in all neighborhoods of the city as well as using the new grinder method.

want more info?
a company called vasyd is a main stakeholder in this process.  their (vasyd) website is also very informative (and has english translations).  I met with Mimmi Bissmont from the vasyd Malmo office.  she was extremely helpful and supportive.  thanks Mimmi!  her work focuses on connecting action, behavior, and sustainable efforts.  for more info on improved use of energy through behavior, check out this post on the psychology of energy reduction or this post about energy reduction through feedback loops.

kids playing in Vastra Hamnen schoolyard

I know this has little if anything to do with sustainable design, but I was riding my bike by the school in Vastra Hamnen and a bunch of kids were at recess.  I am always intrigued by children and how they interact and often wonder if their relationships and interactions have anything to do with culture and/ or the society into which they grow as they get older.  when I saw the kids playing I stopped to watch for a minute.  what I saw was amazing.

kids playing at the Vastra Hamnen school during recess

I realized almost immediately that I needed to take a picture of the scene because it was so interesting.  the kids were rough housing in the sand in a way that was absolutely amazing.  I'm not entirely sure if it was a game or just kids being kids, but I've never seen anything like it.

the kids were rough housing and knocking each other into the sand.  it was madness and mayhem

basically a kid would run up to another kid and shove him off his feet onto the ground.  then another kid would do the same to that kid or someone else.  it seemed random.  boys were knocking down boys, boys were knocking down girls, girls were knocking down boys.  it was a free for all.  yes, the teacher was standing about 10 meters away watching (to the right in the first picture).

the aftermath right before the end of recess

and yes, it was awesome.

better look at our courtyard in Vastra Hamnen

here's a quick better look at the courtyard in Vastra Hamnen on Riggaregatan.  basically you can see three of the four sides of the courtyard.

east side of the courtyard looking down onto the pergola and public benches.  note the grills under the pergola and the diverse vegetation as well as the simplicity of materials

the bike parking is under the green roof.  the metal cylinder in the courtyard is connected to the food waste to biogas conversion process.  I don't have a definitive answer yet on whether it is where the waste is settling before it is pumped or if it is connected to some kind of fan to keep pressure from building up.  I will keep exploring and get back to you on that.

a better shot of the green roof bike parking.  it's just a little corrugated metal tray with thin sedum laid down almost like sod.  nothing complicated.  keeping the bikes mostly dry. 

the balconies in this area are all different, but most apartments have balconies and the ones that do not are seen as less desirable.  in fact, supposedly one of the biggest weaknesses of getting a place at the turning torso is that there is no outside to access.  you can only open the windows a tiny bit and you cannot directly access the outside without going down to the base and walking out the front door.

balconies are all treated somewhat similarly but with plenty of variation in terms of specifics.  most people have a place to sit and a little table, some have indoor and others outdoor funrniture, such as the comfy couches.  some people bring up their bikes and lots of people have plants (one place even has astroturf).

south/ southeast side of the courtyard looking out toward newest construction happening in Vastra Hamnen.  mostly standing seam and green roofs in this direction although you can also see some serious solar thermal on a roof in the distance about two courtyards past this one.

I must say that I do not see as many people spending lots of time in the courtyard as I thought I would.  there are personal grills under the pergola and lots of people walk through to their apartments or to get their bikes, but in general not many people actually set up a picnic or play lawn games.  maybe you don't want to spend lots of time in a place where lots of people are looking down on you?  a little rear window ish?  maybe more people are out in the summer?  there are definitely people out on their balconies all throughout the days and evenings though.

vine just starting to grow up tension cable, planted below balconies on the western side of courtyard

tub not sealed to the wall...?

dear people (who have stumbled across this blog and mistakenly started reading it, only to find out that I don't use capital letters at the beginning of sentences and I talk mostly about food and beer instead of sustainable design and architecture),

can anyone explain this one to me?  the tub, which stands on four legs but has sides so it looks like a tub set onto (or into) the tiling, is not, in any way, sealed to the wall on either of the two sides that touch up against the tile.  the hot and cold pipes come up between the tub and the tile on the short side, in plain sight, touchable (and conceivably hotter than you'd want to accidentally touch).  when one is taking a shower, water bounces off the body, off the walls, and off the curtain and falls behind the tub on two sides onto the tile floor.

this defies all seventeen years of BAC education.  water is the enemy.  water is violent and dangerous and should be locked up, caged, or otherwise incarcerated.  water is the ruination of all architecture (even Falling Water).  right?

because water is clearly the enemy, we should always seal, finish, control, and ultimately ship water the hell out of anything we build, right?  doesn't water create mold and promote wildlife and destroy the ozone layer?  was I sleeping all through school?  somebody, please explain these pictures.

thanks!
me

the tub does not touch the wall on either of the two sides where it could and there is a huge gap where the pipes come up on the short side

here's the corner.  you can see a large gap and a small gap and water droplets just relaxing there (because I am taking their picture).  as soon as I leave the room and turn off the light they drift down to the floor...

see, here is the water under the tub on the floor.  that white things is one of the four feet for the tub.

yes, this is the drain for the tub.  a hole in the tile floor with a pvc pipe going through it.  yes, since you asked, there is water building up all around the hole and I am pretty sure some falls down there to... somewhere.  no I did not test for mold.  I am just assuming that there is mold forming in there somewhere...

skate park!

skate park in Vastra Hamnen.  notice the (old) steel shipbuilding cranes in the background

so the government of Malmo asked the people what they wanted as they began further developments in the Western Harbor and all around the city.  a bunch of folks, mostly younger student types, said a skate park.  ask and ye shall receive.  the skate park was built very early on in the development of Vastra Hamnen, long before the building I am staying in was started, maybe 7 years ago or more.

kids on top of the skate park lining up for radness

teaching each other new tricks on top of the skate park in Vastra Hamnen

cool dude rolling through the skate park.  buildings behind the park (to the east) are now a university and some other businesses and used to be the site where they built submarines.

more skate park and skateboarding.  be glad I am only posting these few pics.  I took way too many.  skate parks and skateboarding are cool. 

kids are there at the skate park all the time.  they skate at night.  they skate during the day.  they skate when it's hot and when it's cold.  they even (according to a local source) skate in the winter.  supposedly kids are there plowing snow and breaking ice off the concrete so they can skate.  wow.

if somebody drops into the pool, you have to take a picture

besides the skate ramps and swimming pool and all of that, there is an area behind the park that seems to be where the local roller derby girls train.  I didn't stay for too long, but I did notice that the coach (tall blond in the red shorts) was speaking english to the team.

roller derby practice at the skate park in Vastra Hamnen.  awesome.

oh, yeah, and there's a rock climbing area too.  in my youth I would have shown that guy hanging upside down a thing or two about... probably nothing.  I would have likely fallen on my head.  luckily I couldn't get out there because I wanted to keep my camera safe from... the roller derby girls.

rock climbing at the skate park

anyways, this doesn't directly relate except that it is cultural and cool.  and in the background of some of these pictures you can see the old shipbuilding rigging and site.  guess what they build in that big old abandoned warehouse where they used to build giant ships...

yep.  wind turbines.

energy company builds (8) showcase apartments

imagine this: NSTAR (or NGRID or whichever energy provider) decides to build (8) showcase experimental apartments as one block, each unit utilizing a different source of energy and systems.  the goal: an experiment to see which systems perform better, how each unit interacts with the grid, and to learn valuable lessons about energy use.  it seems unimaginable, implausible, downright crazy.  crazy like a fox.

E.ON's energy provider experimental apartment complex with 8 units, each utilizing different methods of creating and collecting energy.

E.ON, a German energy company with a strong foothold here in Sweden, has not only proposed the idea, but bought the land and has begun construction on the apartment complex.  on my tour of Vastra Hamnen, Roland points to the building and explains the idea behind it.  "genius" I say.  "yes" he says.  this will provide key data for the energy company as it moves forward with providing energy to many people in Malmo.  this showcase will help support the company's choices as it decides how to provide energy to its consumers and what strategies the consumers can use to be most efficient.  genius.

E.ON builds 8 showcase experimental apartments in Vastra Hamnen in the Bo04 area across from the skate park