topos 112

green technologies

to po s. no 112

2020

DEEP GREEN – Designing the post-anthropocentric world: Microbiological landscapes and cities as super-organisms 24

UPSTAIRS NEW YORK – Postulating a shift in thinking about roofscapes according to their ecological and recreational opportunities 46

94 MAPPING THE FLOOD – Using mapping as a green tool for social justice and resilience in vulnerable areas

green technologies

to po s. no 112

2020

T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E V I E W O F L A N D S CA P E A R C H I T E CT U R E A N D URB A N DE S I G N

Contents

THE BIG PICTURE

CURATED PRODUCTS

Page 8

Page 102

OPINION

REFERENCE

Page 10

Page 106

TALE NT VS. MASTERMIND

E DITOR’S PICK

Page 12

Page 108

METROPOLIS EXPLAINED

Page 14

WRAP IT (UP) IN GREEN: MUNICH GETS A DIP OF GREEN

Page 18

DEEP GREEN

Designing the post-anthropocentric world: microbiological landscapes and cities as super-organisms Page 24 DEEP IMPACT

Animal-, Plant- or Insect-Aided Design as techniques to mitigate stress on urban non-human species Page 32 SOLAR CITIES

How do we use solar energy effectively to promote the development of liveable and sustainable cities?

Page 38 "I CALL FOR A LITTLE MORE COMMON SENSE IN PLANNING"

Thomas Auer on KlimaEngineering, robustness in architecture and the power of low-tech Page 42 UPSTAIRS NEW YORK

How could the way the city uses its rooftops evolve within the next 20 years?

Page 46 MACHINES LIKE US

What if AI was a relevant actor to have an impact on sustainable urban development?

Page 52 FACTS & FIGURES

Page 56 CO-DESIGN VIA APP

The digital engagement platform CoDAS strives to enable participation in community design and management Page 58

006

topos ISSUE 112

GREEN TECHNOLOGY IN THE SMART CITY

Vincent Mosco on what actually qualifies a smart-city technology as genuinely green Page 64

BACKFLIP

"SO MUCH OF OUR EDUCATION IS BASED ON THEORIES..."

ESCAPE PLAN

David Sim on the Soft City and its emphasis on simple, low-tech, small-scale, human-centered techniques Page 66 FUTURE PROOF GARDEN CITIES

Are Garden Cities underrated in terms of addressing current and future urban and rural challenges?

Page 72

Page 110

Page 112 EDGE CITY

Page 114 IMPRINT

Page 113

PLANTING ROBOTS

Pixel farming as a way to support food security in the countryside and also in an urban context Page 78 SUSTAINABLE HEDONISM

BIG's waste-to-energy plant “CopenHill” shows how to combine fun and function Page 84 "EVERY CITY IS UNIQUE – THIS IS WHY WE NEED MORE AVAILABLE DATA"

How to sustainably improve the air quality of our cities through AI-based data processing?

Page 90 MAPPING THE FLOOD

The social justice dimension of green technologies: How does mapping reduce vulnerability and injustice?

Page 94 CONTRIBUTORS

Page 100 DEEP GREEN

Page 24

Illustration: MVRDV / Antonio Luca Cocco (above); Photo by NAARO (HORTUS XL Asthaxantin.g)

WRAP IT (UP) IN GREEN

The Green Dip: MVRDV and t?f study the implementation of green in different climates throughout the world Page 18

OPINION

Marc Miller Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at The Pennsylvania State University

“BLACK LIVES MATTER IN LANDSCAPES.�

There are implicit and explicit relationships between landscape, power, and race; and designers need to identify visions that are more inclusive.

The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota requires us to reflect on how we can create diverse and equitable spaces, and these are questions with international implications. The impact of the events of 25 May 2020 reached well past the American Midwest and triggered moves to make public spaces more accessible to Black people and those who experience racial inequality globally.

010

topos ISSUE 112

Opinion

Is it possible to imagine Black people in public spaces without derivative stereotypes? Can open spaces be transformed to reflect the needs and visions of Black people? Are there different ways to bring this idea into the public, and are there broader implications? Can the long history of systemic racism be challenged by reclaiming public space?

The answer to these questions resonates in the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter,’ which is both a statement and an activist network. Founded

by Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi the organization seeks to make equitable spaces for Black people internationally in social and political realms. Implicit to these goals is imagining and creating spaces that acknowledge Black people's presence through design and other methods of creating place.

After the murder of George Floyd, the phrase was used in a manner akin to tactical urbanism to claim space across the United States, but with a focus on the impact of race and identity in public space. One of the boldest applications was in Washington, D.C. where the mayor mandated that two blocks perpendicular to Lafayette Park be renamed "Black Lives Matter Plaza," and the phrase itself was painted in large yellow block letters on the street. The street selection was of great significance given its immediacy to the White House.

Perhaps the most transformative vision of public space was in Richmond, Virginia. Here Black people collectively gathered to claim Robert E. Lee park, named after the Confederate General. There is no explicit use of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ statement, although members of the organization were involved.

But the monument base dedicated to Robert E. Lee was transformed. Richmond residents applied graffiti to the monument's stone base, disrupting the park's historical and social messaging. Added to this was the inclusion of activities that respond to the needs of the community. In addition to informal recreational spaces, programming related to

health and well-being was located within the park limits, transforming the site from a place of a political memorial into a space of public well-being. There are two essential points to keep in mind when considering the transformation of this public space. The first is that the transformation of Lee Park is a grassroots effort, illustrating how collective action can be an equally compelling way to create public space without designers. The second and more significant point is that Lee Park was not transformed as part of the ongoing debate in the United States around confederate monuments. Lee Park was claimed in response to legacies of systemic racism, colonialism, and their continued impact on the lives of Black people.

This is important, because what started as a series of protests against police brutality and systemic racism in the United States has gradually fueled protests against colonialism and racism globally. In Bristol, England, a statue of Edward Colston, an individual who enslaved people for financial gain, was removed from its stone base and thrown into a river. Later, a statue of one of the protestors, a ‘Black Lives Matter’ protestor, was temporarily placed on the base as a call for a figure that represented modern struggles for justice and racial equity.

In all three locations ‘Black Lives Matter’ played an important part in reclaiming the space. In Washington D.C. it was used as political counter-statement and place marker. In Richmond, the goals of the organization were physically manifested in a space that was unwelcome to Black residents. In Bristol, England a sculpture of a protester who is a member of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ was featured as the first figure to transform a historic public space. However, we cannot forget that George Floyd lost his life in a public space because his presence was treated as a threat. As such, we as designers must find inclusive visions and practices to prevent further tragedies that are mired in ideas of race and privilege.

MARC MILLER is an Assistant Professor in the

Department of Landscape Architecture at The Pennsylvania State University. He is interested in television, speculative fiction, and world building as design mediums. He is also a member of the Black Landscape Architect Network (BlackLAN).

topos

011

green technologies

Will an all green city solve the issues related to climate change and pollution? This question inspires The Why Factory (t?f), the think tank of the Dutch architecture office MVRDV. Their concept “The Green Dip” provides possible answers. They propose increasing the integration of vegetation into the built environment to a radical and visionary level. MVRDV partner Winy Maas and Javier Arpa, Research and Education Coordinator of the Why Factory at the Faculty of Architecture of TU Delft since 2018, are the directors of the project at t?F and developed a software that visualizes hybrid city– nature structures. In their efforts, the directors are supported by students from TU Delft, UTS Sydney and the IAAC Barcelona among other institutions. Their work blurs the boundaries between grey and green infrastructure and attempts to realise as much as possible the potential of a symbiosis between architecture and vegetation. For MVRDV and t?f, green is the tool to master the challenges our cities are currently confronted with: the urban heat island effect, air pollution, sinking cities, noise pollution, more frequent extreme weather, decrease in biodiversity. Green has the capacity to increase biodiversity, cool surroundings and provide important assistance with water-related issues. The software, which bears the apt name “The Green Maker”, combines the knowledge of buildings with the knowledge of plants. Its basis is formed by predefined biomes from which representative plant species are selected and examined with respect to their properties and performance for a given eco-system. The resulting database of 4,500 plant species contains information about water needs, total weight, maximum height, oxygen production and CO2 absorption as well as specifications on the optimal placement of grasses, shrubs and trees on any kind of surface, whether in, on or around a building. How this knowledge can be used to transform cities is demonstrated by the visualizations that the students and their directors have crafted.

Among their model cities are Dubai, New York, Munich and Mumbai. If the visions of the future currently proposed by MVRDV and The Why Factory are realised, urban spaces will soon by covered by a thick layer of plants.

JESSICA MANKEL

018

topos ISSUE 112

Illustration: MVRDV / Antonio Luca Cocco

Wrap it (up) in Green

Green Dip Munich

topos

019

green technologies

New York City is one of the most densely populated places on earth and continues to spread and grow in height, whilst offering the lowest amount of green square feet per capita in the United States. Sparked by new laws governing future roof uses for environmental benefit, the architects Sebastian Bernardy and Vincent Meyer Madaus are looking at the transformation that is taking place above our heads, postulating a shift in thinking about roof spaces and their ecological and recreational opportunities. Using a visual projection, they uncovered how the building top would provide the infrastructure for solutions in exceeding density, climate change, and pandemic recalibration at once – research and speculation on how the city’s roof use might evolve in the next 20 years.

SEBASTIAN BERNARDY & VINCENT MEYER MADAUS

New York 046

topos ISSUE 112

Photo: Sebastian Bernardy and Vincent Meyer Madaus by Eventually Made for Urban Omnibus (The Architectural League)

Upstairs

In a dense high-rise metropolis like New York City, roofs and their refractive and reflective qualities increasingly play a key role in the fight against climate change.

Amidst the many short-lived shopping crazes in New York City during the national lockdown in the Spring of 2020, gardening tools looked like an unlikely one. The appeal, it seems, was the benefit of a new pastime to hold over the isolation, learning a new craft that connects to the dearly missed outside, and the prospect to reap the fruits of one’s own labour. Should the planted vegetables help comb over any insecurity in food supply, all the better. This form of widespread hyper-local farming was famous first in the midst of World War II, when the country urged families to plant victory gardens as an initiative to support the need for food rations in wartimes. Now, without a government campaign, many city dwellers turn to growing a garden simply because the city’s already scarce greens currently grant limited access, in an effort to curtail congregating and combat the virus. On 1 April 2020, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the closure of all playgrounds in public parks. While green space remained open, many New Yorkers still opted to steer clear of possible contagion in the public realm. Instead, smallscale rooftop and backyard gardening opened up opportunities to supplement the city’s greens in private terrains.

Supplementing public greens in private The newly found outlet of opportunities on residential roofs comes as no surprise, as in 2019 the City Council passed the Climate Mobilization Act, which requires that all roof projects on current and future buildings install sustainable technologies.

This legislation does not include alternative uses for private roofs, or incentives to transform existing residential ones, but can be seen as an instigator into a newfound interest to make use of the above.

In light of these rules for the construction industry, the authors collaborated with Urban Omnibus, the online publication of the Architectural League of New York to research and speculate how the city’s roof use might evolve in the next 20 years. Since the

topos

047

green technologies

Co-Design What defines a smart city? Is it all about advanced technologies? In fact, it shouldn’t be. Many so-called smart city projects ignore citizens’ perceptions and their voluntary involvement in decision-making processes.

The digital engagement platform CoDAS (Co-Design Active Society) is an experimental project seeking to enable participation in community design and management in a fishing village in Thailand.

Ultimately, the design process could become an iterative process in which public opinion from potential user groups could help the architect and developer refine proposed design solutions.

HELENA HANG RONG, JUNCHENG (TONY) YANG

via App 058

topos ISSUE 112

In the design and development stage, the CoDAS platform engages community residents to contribute to community-building and collective decision-making.

topos

059

green technologies

Planting Conventional agriculture and monoculture farming has reached the limits of sustainability. New approaches to growing vegetables for human consumption that enhance synergies and support biodiversity are urgently needed.

Pixel farming is a current alternative that is data-driven and employs robots for its implementation, based on small, interconnected parcels of land called pixels. While such systems aren’t completely autonomous and require human control and intervention, they may yet offer a way to grow vegetables and support food security, not only in the countryside, but also in a non-rural context – otherwise unused, residual areas in the cities and metropolises of today and tomorrow. What are the pros and cons of pixel farming?

Robots 078

topos ISSUE 112

Photo: Lenora Ditzler

LENORA DITZLER

The future of agriculture: Robot One has been developed to do its work autonomously. It is equipped with sensors and cameras and is completely electric.

topos

079

green technologies

Sustainable

ALEXANDER RUSS

Hedonism 084

topos ISSUE 112

Photo: BIG_CopenHill_Image-by-Rasmus-Hjortshoj

A garbage incinerator that is used as a ski slope – is that really possible? In fact, the “CopenHill” designed by BIG shows us how to combine the two, making the case for a hedonistic sustainability. Is this hybrid, mixed-use structure that merges leisure activities and industry in the shape of a waste-to-energy facility a model for future architecture? Starkly contrasting Le Corbusier’s separation of functions that he propagated in his ville contemporaine, it quickly becomes clear that the building is a type of ville mélange in which typologically anything seems possible. Author and architect Alexander Russ takes a critical look at Amager Bakke in Copenhagen.

CopenHill is a 41,000 m2 waste-to-energy plant that turns social infrastructure into an architectural landmark offering outdoor activities and biodiversity.

topos

085

green technologies

Is there a social justice dimension of green technologies? One possible approach to strengthen social justice and resilience is to map areas at risk inhabited by vulnerable people. The South African city of Durban, prone to pluvial and coastal flooding, to heat and drought, serves as an example. Citizens live in hazardprone locations exposed to flood risk. Housing opportunities are limited due to poverty- and ethnicitybased vulnerability. Mapping that uses in-depth and community-based information can reduce vulnerability and flood risk in a timely and just manner.

LAURA VON PUTTKAMER

the Flood 094

topos ISSUE 112

Photo: This picture is public domain (https://www.piqsels.com/en/public-domain-photo-orjky/download)

Mapping

Cities such as Durban are highly vulnerable to climate change because of their location by the ocean. Flooding due to rising sea levels is a danger to settlements located close to the water.

topos

095