Integrated Regenerative Design
Lesson 4 17/10
A. Healthy & living city
1. Siting and context
o First impression is very important > the site is a gift
o Understand the quality of the site
o Look for exceptions
• Specific element indication, and it shows also what is normal.
• When it’s boring > look at the different elements, what do we have?
o Make a thematic survey of the existing situation
• Indicate and preparing.
2. Change the microclimate
o We need to create a unique and livable climate on the site. Make it
comfortable, temperature, wind, sun, shadow etc.
o Even in Brussels/Belgium, it is necessary, for example: the wind, rain, fog etc.
o In every climate you need to use another kind of architecture: different
techniques, materials, knowledge… etc.
o Microclimate: every
climate is in a certain
way general. But
when you are on a
specific site itself, it’s
specially made for
the place, a climate
that’s unique.
o We need to stop
building new buildings that don’t enhance nature, climate etc. It’s just a stone
desert we build.
o Heat island effect is the
result: temperature of a
city is higher than the
surrounding because of
its buildings. We need a
new vision to counter
this.
o ALBEDO FACTOR:
indicates what your material is doing; is it reflecting or absorbing?
o It’s specific > design safe places.
• For example: in New York: ‘the Dryline’ (because of a hurricane) > the
city was first not ready for this climate impact. They tried to make a
massive green area around the city as a safe barrier.
o We have to study extreme climate conditions
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, 3. Enhance health & wellbeing
o What can I do as an architect to enhance health?
o The active city (walking biking)
• The old system was all about cars and mechanizing > try to think about
bikers and pedestrians now, and stairs instead of elevators. The same
amount of people who are traveling take so much less space if it’s
public transport, bike or pedestrian instead of with cars.
o Healthy buildings
• The building itself? It’s not a difficult formula > health has to do with
these parameters: temperature, noise, air, ventilation, lighting, water,
safety, dusts, moisture. These are the 9 foundations.
• Example is ‘healthy building, new city townhall Venilo’
❖ There is natural ventilation, noise reduction, temperature
control, solar chimney etc.
❖ Working together with engineers. Architect needs to
communicate all these elements to the engineers. A simple
scheme, ambition, mission statement in an explanation for
everyone.
o Provide contact with the rhythm of nature
4. Stimulate lee places > relaxation and recreating is so important!
o Mental wellbeing > low dynamic oases. A garden for example around a
building, without many elements, just simple and relaxing.
o Entrance is always narrow (don’t open it too much for noise and city
elements), keep it intimate, yet public.
o The places are green-blue, stillness is a rare quality,
• Paley park in new york
B. Connected city
Are we connected by oil? For example, if we would cancel oil, our world would fall apart >
clothing factories, transport, heating, production etc…
Because of oil we could create everything, but we also created an environment, where we can’t
live without it anymore. It’s not a circular system.
The connected city is about the search for new connections, connections that have everything
to do with proximity and the power of the place.
Our mobility is failing > Fifty years ago, we introduced motorways en masse in Europe. The
growth of mobile infrastructures has not stopped since then, on the contrary. Even today, we
continue to invest in the grey network, synonymous with pollution, fossil fuel and cheap
imports.
In this new era, we are rediscovering proximity, neighbors and neighborhoods and the power of
the place. Think global, act local permeates us.
How can we create an environment for people who walk and bike?
1. Use the 8 TOD prinicples:
o The TOD Standard is organized around eight core principles: Walk, Cycle,
Connect, Transit, Mix, Densify, Compact, and Shift. Together, these principles
form the foundation for transit-oriented development or integrated urban
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