Paragon Industries

Searching for a more sustainable future

The team:
- Morgan Butts:
Architectural Engineer
- Tyler Barnette:
Transportational Engineer
- Shomari Presswood:
Wastewater Operator
- Karina Mitchell:
Energy Consultant

Mission Statement:
We are at our best when We are working together.
We will try to prevent times when We are separate, not on the same page, divided .
We love to be creative and think outside of the box.
We will find enjoyment in our personal life through being friendly and enjoying
ourselves.
We will find opportunities to improve areas of society such as Transportation, Energy,
Architecture, and Water.
We can do anything We set our mind to. We will build the perfect city that is:
sustainable, efficient, visually appealing, and a model for others.
Our company sets out to make every city better for everyone, the environment, and the
economy.
We will be people who are nice, friendly, hardworking, intelligent, resourceful, creative,
thinking people.
Our most important future contribution to others will be to contribute ideas and
innovations to the future of our society.

Our company will focus on:

Our make our environment cleaner
Our make our society more sustainable
Our make our society more efficient
We will strive to incorporate the following attributes into our company:
Other companies and their products
Our clients problems and ideas
Our employees expertise and hard work

Overall goal:
It is our goal to make Southend by improving the environment, the economy, and
society.
Engineering South End Scenario:
The city is considering purchasing a vacant warehouse in a blighted section of town. The area was
once a busy manufacturing district along a riverfront near the downtown area. The city would like to
convert the warehouse to a facility that provides a community service. The goal is to encourage
redevelopment of the area.

What we did:
We designed a Business Center whose purpose is to:
Give themed job fairs every Saturday
Allow employers of large and small business get free advertisement and recruitment
Enable people from all over Charlotte (especially South End) can look for jobs
Provide Office rooms on second floor can be rented out for business meetings

Architectural Information:
2 Stories
40,000 square feet
200 x 200 x 23.5
Brick and Concrete outside (matches buildings beside)
Large windows provide max sunlight for office spaces
Movable walls change sizes of all rooms for any occasion
There is 11 feet of vertical space on each floor
Walls cost can range from $50-$300
(pictures

Transportation Information:

Map of South End

Plumbing Information:
Grey Water: In order to maximize the use of wastewater within the Paragon Business
Center, we decided to use the system of greywater.

Greywater is recycling water from appliances other

than the toilet to use for new purposes

Inside the Center, we have sinks and fountains from

which we will obtain the greywater
The soap inside the building would have
to be environmentally friendly- We suggest using
Earth Friendly Products

The water will be recycled into plants that are

kept inside and put back into toilets

Rainwater can also be captured and used to

water the indoor plants by either rain barrels, or linking
the gutters to the greywater pipes beneath the center,
filtering it using a rain drain
This plan helps reclaim water lost
in the industrial part of Charlotte

Because of the greywater we need to use crawl space

below our building

Greywater will save this building 30% of its total water

use

Energy Information:
We will install our walking power plates in the building to generate energy. See the
energy page for more information.
Other Architectural Issues:
From work to home to shopping and recreation, established buildings and areas
are sometimes underutilized. How can you revamp the current buildings and
resources in your area to better serve the public need? How can you improve the
sustainability of your area?

We found:
- Buildings can range anywhere from about one million to hundreds of
millions of dollars.
- There is a lack of knowledge and interest awareness about what it
takes to make a city or area sustainable.

Solutions:
1.) Incentives:
Offer financial incentives for property owners for either implementing renewable
energy sources into their building, or meeting an energy quota. We would provide
the money for these incentives using the about 5% of the money would save
using our different systems which would be:
4% from wastewater
1 % from transportation
2.) Create:
Community centers like libraries, theatres, and museums to draw more people
into South End. Reaching back to the roots of South end we could use these
buildings to also host events like art shows and science contests. We could use
these events to both make the community more environmentally aware, and
attract businesses.
Other Transportation Issues:
People need to get to and from work among other places. Traffic can be an issue almost
anywhere. How can you reduce traffic and gridlock? How can public transportation
better serve the residents of your area?

Solutions:
The Problems
- Gridlock in highly populated areas. Specifically the highways of South End
- The Charlotte Lynx Tram line not having enough accommodations for all of
South End

The Solutions
- The addition of 1 lane within all major highways of South End. Cost: $1
million
- The expansion of the tram line Cost: $503.5 million

The Design:

Real World Design

Basic Info
This design is great for efficiency as it is a fast moving train capable of
moving at speeds of 90mph and above (15 miles above normal) so people will
get to their destinations in a timely manner.
In my design the bullet train will also have ten cars accompanying what's
shown above so more of south end can get to where they need to be.
The tram will also have easy access to our business center as a stop will
be near.
Other Information
Reinforced Steel (2,130 feet for full tram $1.5 million
Bullet Proof Glass (PVB and $2 million
polycarbonate layers) 2,100 feet for full
tram

Tracks (With track gauge included) 1,935 $500 million

sq miles

Total Cost $503.5 million

Locale South End

Service Type Light Rail

Routes 10 local 1 express

Stops 36

Hubs 1

Stationss 6

Fuel/Engine Type Diesel, Hybrid

- Expanding the tracks

Because the Charlotte LYNX tram does not accommodate for all of South Ends needs
the tracks will be expanded to make up for this flaw, therefore more people can get
around in an effective fashion.
- Adding more cars to hold more passengers
10 extra cars will be added to the light rail to maximize the amount of people able to
access and ride the light rail at the same time. This will also allow for the train to gain
more revenue which will allow for more services to be added in the future
- more stations/stops to accommodate for the extra stops being created

Pros:
- Having easy accessibility to the train
- Easy transport throughout all of South End
- Less gas emissions
Cons:
- Less use for cars causing a downfall in the automobile industry
- Some passengers may not use the train or they may not find it accessible
due to disability or handicap
- Gas and natural gas industries will lose revenue
Other Energy Issues:
Issue: Residents expect to have reliable source of power at a reasonable price. How
can you improve the supply of power and make it more sustainable? What energy
alternatives could be used to improve services?

Solution: Walking power via piezoelectric technology

Piezoelectric- the ability of certain materials to generate an electric

charge in response to applied mechanical stress
Used in:

Sonar

Ultrasonic Cleaning
Ultrasound imaging
Speakers
Electric toothbrushes
Other Plumbing and Wastewater Issues:
Water is an essential service that must be delivered. How can you improve upon
the current delivery of clean water to homes in your area? How can the use of
water be made more efficient? How can you better use or process wastewater?

We found:
The main problem plaguing Charlotte plumbing is grease clogs.
Leading cause of sewer build-up
Spills occur virtually 5 times a week
Charlotte has over 100 clogs a year
Causes raw sewage to overflow into streets and
residential areas
Costs Hundreds of Thousands of dollars to repair

Solution:
Creation of a Vinegar integration system.

Containers are placed on corners of streets

Residential areas are most targeted
Refilled weekly by sanitation department
The Vinegar runs through water main and dissolves grease
clogs
White Vinegar is a natural herbicide
Apple Cider Vinegar works as antibiotic and
antifungal
Holds 100 gallons of Vinegar
Allows for 10 gallons to be released daily
Thats 0.654 cups every second
Vinegar is priced at about $2 a gallon
$200 to fill a container
$7,340 to maintain a year