| Solar go-cart |
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The go-cart was a "zero-waste" project cobbled together by Peter Dawson from here and there, with the plan evolving as the project developed. BP Solar generously donated a photovoltaic panel which someone had dropped a hammer on. The frame for the go-cart was rescued from a tip. Wire off cuts came from a friendly electrician, and someone had an old battery. The sun came free. Sustainable architecture is only possible when the initial capital outlay is minimal. The high-cost autonomous house may be energy-efficient but it can never recover its capital cost. An autonomous house is quite different from a sustainable house. Autonomous housing is interesting, but not sustainable. The solar go-cart only had two speeds, "wildly out of control" and "dead". The "dead" phase was important, but you had to remember to park it in the sun. When you came out from a lecture on sustainability in an air-conditioned, artificially-lit, totally-enclosed lecture theatre you needed to go for a burn around the yard to feel like a human being again. The difficult part of the creative process was keeping hope alive. As soon as you begin doing something you attract experts and critics. Endless research based experts who had never actually built a solar powered go-cart said it could not be done. The friction was too great. The weight was too much. The ratios were not right. It was important, but sad, for Peter to discover that planners are people who stop things from happening. The first planes which were built did leave a lot to be desired, but if they had never been built the 747-400s which comfortably take academics to Europe in 24 hours to present papers to conferences would never have followed. The planning process assumes that you know where you are going to end up when you begin. Planners will never save the world from ecological collapse because they do not have the courage to walk out into the unknown. At each class we would discuss psychology rather than design. The importance of passion. The importance of commitment, tenacity. and keeping belief alive. Human frailty and our vulnerability to those who cause accidents by setting our nerves on edge. The importance of upporting others even when you cannot understand what they are doing. The University never contributed one cent to the project. When it came to Course and Careers Day the only cost of the display was a xeroxed notice to say that free rides were available. With success achieved, and a role model for other students to follow, the University archive could find nowhere to store the go-cart. It presented a challenge to the new corporate model of a University because it did not fit any of the boxes. You look in vain if you want to tick "love" or "laughter". The go-cart was destroyed because zero-waste projects challenge the consumer ethic which is bringing funding to the University while also bringing the world to ecological collapse. The laughter, the pride, the satisfaction, the sense of achievement, and the shower of sparks all died in the onslaught of Performance Based Research Funding. The memories however will never die because no one can take those away. |
At the Course and Careers Day those seeking a University education paid scant attention to the slick, expensive public relations Power-Point presentations. Instead they showed early intellectual promise by queuing up to take a ride on the solar powered go-cart.
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