The High Rise As A Response To Tomorrow’s Growing Urban Population

The High-rise As A Response To Tomorrow’s GROWING URBAN

POPULATION

By Yvonne Asiimwe For every one minute that passes, 150

babies are born and for every three people, two live in a dense urban environment. The exponentially growing population will expect an increase in food production -twice as much to be preciseby the year 2050. With 55% residing in urban areas and 2050 [1] the an expected human race’s increase to survival will 68% by have to depend on their urban environment, nature and infrastructure in order to survive. But, how will

the architecture and urban fabric itself respond to an exponentially growing population with more than 9.7 billion mouths to feed?

The beginnings ofthe highrise: A 20 th century technological revolution

Vertical expansion could be an

answer. Typologies such as the high-rise could serve as a field to incorporate new technologies that can be used a means to take advantage of renewable resources. The High-rise became common in late 19th and early 20th century due to technological advance in steel structure and technological innovations, such as the elevator. Technology transfer in architecture is not uncommon, particularly in the 20 th century with advancements in steel, iron and especially the elevator. Developments in this area facilitated the high-rise which eventually became iconic in New York and Chicago during the American

technological revolution (fig. 1). The initial attempts were driven by the exuberant profits made during the 20 th century which fuelled ambitions to touch the sky as High-rise buildings increased in height in order to accommodate a growing number of workers and residents moving into urban areas during America’s economic boom. [i]

High-rises today –however- have financial burden on the increasing become a number of people who are relocating to urban

areas. According to Daniel Denvir, it is becoming apparent that “housing construction is failing to keep up with growing populations in the most desirable cities, pushing rents upward.” [1] They have also been identified as a significant contributor towards carbon emissions especially during the construction phase. The lifetimes of these buildings in comparison to low-rise structures- has been considerably detrimental to the environment. “Researchers at UCL's Energy Institute have found that electricity use, per square metre of floor area, is nearly two and a half times greater in high-rise office buildings of 20 or more storeys than in low-rise buildings of6 storeys or less.” [2]

Therefore, taking into account the contradictory nature of the high-rise, the initial question would require rephrasing; How can architecture

and urban environment respond to the growing population? Is the high-rise building a typology that can still answer this question?

William Le Baron Jenney. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Figure 1: Chicago’s Home Insurance building (1884) by

The Sustainable High-rise, From Construction To Use The high-rise typology can be sustainable. Using locally sourced materials and construction methods is one way to achieve sustainability. Using what’s available often eliminates the need to import and export thus cutting down on energy expenditures which would reduce carbon emissions.

Another method would be to exploit renewable resources and incorporate them into high-rise buildings in order to minimize the detrimental effects these typologies have on non-renewable energy sources. It cannot be overly emphasised how beneficial renewable energies have become when it comes to architecture. Many high-rises are often faced with high energy costs during the lifetime of the building. Designing in such a manner that considers aspects such as orientation, solar harvesting and wind directions could allow one capture the energy from renewable sources and cut down on the energy harvested from nonrenewable energies. The BIQ house( fig.2) in Hamburg Germany –for example- illustrates the potentials of experimenting with renewable energies on a high-rise. The facades take advantage of solar energy, algae and existing fuels such as biogas to meet the infrastructural needs of its users such as hot water supply.

Could Vertical Urban Farming be a possible answer? Agricultural urbanism outside cities Using local materials and renewable energies –however-does not entirely respond to the dilemma at hand. Contemporary architecture should always be able to meet the demands of a growing population which would mean understanding their agricultural needs within an urban setting. There are several examples of architectural interventions that incorporate agriculture effectively that have been applied recently. They often highlight systems which integrate sustainable production and farming into communities in a way that allows one to build around the production and processing of food. This could prove that agriculture can be merged within a metropolitan area while addressing issues such as affordable, healthy and locally grown products.

Many of these experiments however were implemented on the outskirts of cities. The south-lands project (fig.3) for example (in British Colombia) showed potentials by integrating agricultural practices within the already built communities and effectively included small farms, shared gardens, markets and processing centres. The promise shown by these projects like many other similar projects, however, appeared to only work if implemented along the countryside.

Examples ofVertical A gricultural Urbanism today. The vertical forest The vertical forest by Stefano Boeri is perhaps amongst the most significant implementations of greenery within a city. It merges both the high-rise with agriculture in an already established urban fabric. This idea is a promising prototype for a new building typology within growing cities. It not only focuses on the human aspect of the architecture but harmonizes other living species with the residents while advertently supporting biodiversity. A few years after the construction of the two towers in Purta Nuova in Milan “the Vertical Forest has given birth to a habitat colonized by numerous animal species (including about 1,600 specimens of birds and butterflies), establishing an outpost of spontaneous flora and fauna recolonization in the city.”

The ideas brought forward by Stefano Boeri have proven to tackle both issues of sustainability by contributing towards the fight against C02 emissions while incorporating greenery and agriculture within a vertical structure (as shown in fig.4). His ideas suggest the potential that may see farming and living merging together well in order to address the future demands of an exponentially growing population where 2/3 people will be likely to live within urban settings.

germany . Image: hamburg Figure 2: BIQ house in https://www.buildup.eu/en/practices/cases/biq - house first - algae - powered - building - world

Figure 4: The vertical forest by Stefano Boeri. Image: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334408677_Mitigation_Strategie s_for_Reduction_of_Embodied_Energy_and_Carbon_in_the_Construction_S ystems_of_Contemporary_Quality_Architecture#pf4

Urban Figure 5: Design strategies in sunqiao village: http://www.sasaki.com/project/417/sunqiao urban - agricultural - district/

Urban village: sunqiao Figure 6: Design strategies in http://www.sasaki.com/project/417/sunqiao - urban agricultural - district/

The Sunqiao Urban development projects Another proposal not yet implemented that tackles urban farming within cities is the Sunqiao Urban development project idealized within Shanghai, china. The project addresses the large population within the area and its limitations when it comes to farmland and agriculture. It uses sustainable techniques together with new technologies. Some of these include aquaponic systems, rain water collection and solar harvesting methods in order to satisfy the energy demands of the building (fig. 5 and 6). The project focuses on merging vertical farming systems such as hydroponics within an urban environment. Their proposal prioritizes growing popular vegetables consumed by the majority such as lettuce which make up a large portion of the area’s diet. Although the specific project has not been implemented it suggests the possibility of high-rise buildings successfully merging farming strategies, sustainable approaches and living within an already established city. The High-rise: A Potentially E ffective Response To The E xponentiallyGrowing P opulation. The Sunqiao Urban development project and Boeri’s vertical forest have shown the potential that lies in farming within a highrise. The latter has been implemented while the other theoretically drafts methods to merge farming with existing urban environments using highly sustainable methods. The high-rise can be a promising solution to the problem of urban overpopulation that will persist. However, it can only be effective when viewed holistically from construction to use. That means, taking advantage of sustainable techniques used in design and technological advancements in order to tackle a rapidly growing urban population could in fact be an answer to the dilemma presented.

[1]UN report,2018) [1] (Denvir, 2015). [2](Philip Steadman, 2017) [4] (https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti. net/en/project/vertical-forest/ ,2019)