Regeneration

The idea that human habitation can be used as a tool to regenerate ecology is finally coming into its own after experimentation with projects all over the world. It's not a zero-sum game, it's a way of bringing together all the environmental and engineering factors together in a place such that it renews natural processes instead of destroying them. It takes a great deal of skill, knowledge and experience to work out the systems that result in the creation of place that interconnects all these factors. Many major corporate engineering, design and development firms are investing in think tanks to take this to the next level, such as Arup, a global design, planning and engineering firm.

Jerry Yudelson's moderation of a panel at Greenbuild 2011, hosted by the Green Building Council in Toronto, centered on a discussion of Ecodistricts. An ‘ecodistrict’ is an urban planning term for a specific section of an urban area, whether a neighborhood, school campus, industrial park, etc. that can operate as a self-contained and self-sufficient entity, while remaining connected to other adjacent ecodistricts. This concept is widely used throughout Europe and parts of Asia, but is still relatively unknown here in North America. The ecodistrict concept brings technologies such as district heating, decentralized wastewater treatment, and local food production down to a manageable scale, both for construction and financing.

Howver, many of our college, university and school campuses in the USA are designed with this fundamental concept as a basis for infrastructure design because of the efficiencies involved. The use of ecology as part of its inherent function is the more advanced and recent application of the "green" ethos. Shared resources and local sourcing go beyond just the idea of energy conservation or LEED buildings, since systems and supply chains are integrated with biological systems to regenerate the local ecology. Major firms have developed this expertise, for example the Bioengineering Group, which is entirely about solving these kinds of challenges.

Urban areas are capable of tremendous regeneration, as well as becoming a node for this kind of intelligence in managing ecologies for the better. These nodes of density can also be nodes of regeneration given that the systems are synergistic and balance off of each other. The World Futures Council has developed an outline policy that can be used as a template for this kind of organic, metabolic pattern of habitation.

Thus regeneration is necessarily the paradigm of the future, and it doesn't need to be a bleak vision of dense boxes and rigid limits. Life is abundant if it is handled intelligently and reverently, something our mechanistic societies have taken thousands of years to figure out. Limits are the fount of creative thinking and living, and decisions made by a society for its best integration with natural systems and bounds will provide the needed resources and balance with natural environments. Our best engineers and designers are entirely capable of creating these systems if the will to make regeneration a priority exists in our societies.

Chapel Notre-Dame du Haut

 

Experiencing an iconic project such as this one, designed by Le Corbusier in 1955, is an exercise in understanding its purpose and meaning as well as the execution of form, light, color, siting and the play of spaces that intersect with each other. This one is a masterful exercise that challenges the perceptions of inside/outside, silence/performance, form evoked in light/dark, explosive color/white austere form with "the hat". There are many, many layers of form and meaning here; it is to be experienced as part of a setting that is part pastoral, and part of the actual assembly of many people within the broad expanse of landscape. The larger part of the structure is actually not "there", an ineffable statement that says the human recognition of the sacred is an act of profound significance.

This presentation is an exceptionally good one, with some description of the design program as well as an exemplary video showing the parts of the site that generally don't show up in the architectural mags. This kind of work in a shared spiritual place is a rarity that underscores the necessity of open, peaceful space and the work of nature that quietly informs its purpose.

The place, the structure, its myriad meanings and the natural world are integrated as one.

Setting an Equilibrium

The Nash Equilibrium, named for the Nobel Prize winning economist John Forbes Nash, is an important concept  for developing a framework of international cooperation on action to counteract climate change. Nash's equations demonstrate that if one party takes an action unilaterally for its own benefit then the overall benefit to all parties will decline. This is an important principle that needs to guide global cooperation in reducing carbon emissions and controlling the human impact on the environment. There should no longer be any tolerance for countries that flout global guidelines and proceed with their own energy and resource consumption methods that produce unsustainable carbon emissions.

The vision that nature needs rights as well as the entire spectrum of human habitation is crucial to this balance and its success, otherwise a flawed agreement will doom efforts to reduce the impact of human activity on our planet. The world needs an agreement that includes the natural processes and resources of the earth, and all humans need to internalize its key principles if the planet, and we, are to survive. Unlimited human growth is not a viable model for life on this planet.


An example of the unilateral approach to growth and energy production at all costs is in China, with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. A description of the project in 2008 only begins to scratch the surface of the ecological impact of this dam. Increasing energy demands are driving higher carbon emissions as China relies more on coal and shale gas, as well as tar sand supplies of energy. This is partially due to the lack of projected rainfall by 40% that has reduced the anticipated power production of the Three Gorges Dam. This is how climate change impacts all of the projected costs and benefits of these major infrastructure projects. Chinese scientists predicted many of the effects of this dam, yet their voices were silenced in what the government claimed was the national interest. In multibillion-dollar projects, the national interest is often taken hostage by political prestige, bureaucratic power struggles, and the generous kickbacks of a bribery-prone industry. These vested interests need to be balanced and held accountable by a fully transparent and participatory decision-making process.


So the international framework that must be agreed to in the climate change discussions - which are ongoing - must be put into position recognizing the benefit that it will have for all human societies and the global ecosystems. The issue is becoming urgent.

Pay the Piper

This country has a global carbon debt in its consumption footprint that comes to about 150% of biocapacity, which clearly requires a rapid reduction in carbon emissions that is critical to achieving the balance in global ecology. The goal of achieving this Net Zero by 2030 is within reach, according to Architecture 2030. This is due to the response by the building industry of coalescing around the target of integrating natural processes into the structures and projects themselves, and abandoning fossil fuels.


The 2030 Challenge, shown here as a graph,was established in response to the climate change crisis by architect Edward Mazria in 2002. It was a recognition that the industry had no other option but to transform itself from a consumption model to a regenerative model, given the realities of climate change. This effort, among many models for reducing emissions and generation of local power sources, has been the underlying motivating force for the creation of the new model energy codes. It's anticipated the development of these codes because of the public policy established at the Federal level in October of 2009,when a commitment to utilize green technologies and alternative energy was made by President Barack Obama who issued the Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance Executive Order, setting sustainable goals for federal agencies, and also announced a $3.4 billion investment in a smart energy grid.

As a result, the military - including the Army - has established a net zero goal by 2030. Many cities and local regional planning entities have also moved ahead with their own planning models to achieve the reduction of their carbon footprint at the urban scale. Chicago's Decarbonization Plan is one of them. San Francisco has also made an early start in the regional planning game with its approach to "the Precautionary Principle" as a legitimate basis for making environmental decisions.

While the building industry, the government and many environmental groups are moving as quickly as they are able towards the Net Zero goal, we see at the global climate summits that even this goal will not be enough. Our country, because of its massive emissions over the last century, will owe the world's people a tremendous level of support in the reduction of global consumption and providing the necessary carbon sink through exerting its global influence. That's when our bill comes due.

Coherence is Intelligence

Dealing with the many aspects of climate change and at the same time drastically reducing carbon emissions into the biosphere may seem absolutely daunting. It has certainly eclipsed the ability of the global community to agree on carbon reduction strategies, particularly the Contraction and Convergence model that is necessarily an appropriate course.

Yet, the momentum is building to not only use technology to produce clean energy, but also a shift in the way that human habitation systems are built as well as how they are integrated into coherent systems. This kind of intelligence creates a synergy (greater than the sum of its parts) from interlinked hubs. There are many kinds of linked systems - nature is the biggest one - but in our built habitat there are many of them, such as: watershed, dams and pumps of the water companies; regional and local transportation systems; and in particular, distributed power systems known as "smart grid" infrastructure. An excellent example of this kind of infrastructure development is found in Denmark.

The flexibility of this kind of an approach allows the system to shift and respond to environmental conditions as well as document it over time. This reduces the demand, consumption and waste that are found in static transported utilites, in much the same way that computer systems have increased in power and miniaturized in accordance with Moore's Law. This kind of coherence, thus intelligence, is key to implementing the many strategies that are available right now to reduce our human demand on global resources. While many things can be undertaken immediately to address local climate issues, it's necessary to integrate these strategies into a coherent whole. The potential climate agreement by the global community will necessarily impact a tremendous number of human systems, as I've outlined here.

But it's the only way forward for the common survival of our living systems.

April is Beancounter Month

It's the month of reckoning in the USA: taxes, filings and that great exchange between citizens and their local financial and accounting professionals. The only sure thing in life, death and taxes. And yet another element of coming to account has been laid on the table: a unified building code for sustainable practices in the USA and its properties and projects abroad, the 2012 International Green Construction Code. This is a mandatory model code which will be adopted throughout the country that supersedes a myriad collection of voluntary and local "green" standards, including the LEED standard. This overlay code came about because of the need for a common standard that complies with the requirements in the US and abroad for a means of requiring energy and water conservation and carbon reduction. As the American Institute of Architects puts it, this is a game-changer for the USA and the global community.

The International Code Council is an industry organization that writes and establishes the model codes (IBC) adopted in 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, NYC, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands. It has just issued the new IgCC for adoption by all jurisdictions. It's the response by the building industry to create a common groundwork that attempts to reduce the impact of the built environment on ecosystems by requiring green strategies to be implemented throughout the country.

The IgCC is the first model code that includes sustainability measures for the entire construction project and its site from design through construction, certificate of occupancy and beyond. The new code is expected to make buildings more efficient, reduce waste, and have a positive impact on health, safety and community welfare. The IgCC creates a regulatory framework for new and existing buildings, establishing minimum green requirements for buildings and complementing voluntary rating systems which may extend beyond the customizable baseline of the IgCC. The code acts as an overlay to the existing set of International Codes, including provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code and ICC-700, the National Green Building Standard, and incorporates ASHRAE Standard 189.1 as an alternate path to compliance. Adoption of this code is already going forward in jurisdictions that want to benchmark the attributes of sustainable construction, rather than trying to cope with many kinds of certifications, products and processes.

The new code also tackles water reduction and grey water, ventilation system design, and most importantly, it tracks measures which improve a building’s thermal envelope. Some LEED buildings have missed their energy goals, and a big reason is because neither LEED nor code looked closely at wall assemblies, windows, and doors. HVAC equipment efficiency is also boosted, which also now includes a section on evaporative coolers.

This model code is the new consensus measure of sustainability throughout the USA, and is another step forward in the recognition that the entire industry must be responsible in the development of the built environment and focus on preservation of natural resources and processes, as opposed to the old dinosaur model of burning up our resources beyond the planet's ability to support human activities.

Drylands Design

What are drylands? One of several kinds of ecosystems as defined by the United Nations University program, as is outlined here on its site:

Many of these dryland areas face severe land degradation, in which marginal areas are turned into wastelands and natural ecosystems are altered through destruction of surface vegetation, poor management of water resources, inappropriate land use practices, overuse of fertilizers and biocides, and disposal of domestic and industrial wastes. This, in the face of climate change, is endangering most of the land and its resources for ourselved and for future generations.This requires a comprehensive and strategic approach to regeneration of natural processes in order to preserve the earth that provides for us.

Many strategies have been developed that can apply to this problem. There are various ways of recycling water, conserving it, recharging aquifers, clearing out the toxic wastes and fertilizers that are polluting our water supplies. An open ideas design competition has been staged for a drylands approach to local ecosystems that's a call for solutions in an area located in California. The International Drylands Design Competition, was hosted by the California Architectural Foundation, AIA California Council, and Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University. It's officially this years' William Turnbull Competition in honor of his ideas for sustaining and improving the California landscape.

One of the best examples of this kind of overall planning in the competition received a Merit Award: Geeti Silwal, AICP, San Francisco Resource Infinity Loop: Watershed Urbanism in San Francisco, called "The Resource Infinity Loop" that contains a scalability toolkit for implementing its strategies. (pdf download here)

The A+D Museum, established and supported by the architecture and building industry in Los Angeles, is exhibiting the competition this month:

DRYLANDS DESIGN features work by architects, landscape architects, engineers, and urban designers responding to the challenges of water scarcity in the face of climate change. With a focus on the US West, the exhibition will presents a portfolio of adaptive strategies large and small, rural and urban, high tech and low-carbon. Since no single solution will meet the complex needs of the US West, the exhibition will explore a range of approaches for how buildings and parks, houses and streets, industry and agriculture, cities and neighborhoods might be adapted to face a drought-prone future. DRYLANDS DESIGN recognizes water scarcity as an issue of global concern, and challenges the industrialized world to take a leadership position with water-conserving, low-carbon design innovation for its own backyard.

This competition is an important step in recognizing the urgency of developing comprehensive solutions to urban problems that regenerate natural systems.