Pictured above: The International Commerce Center in Hong Kong, China. Image courtesy by WikiMedia Commons.
By Helen Gloege ’23
Staff Writer
To meet goals outlined by the Paris Agreement, a measure of energy inefficiency called the “energy intensity” per square meter of buildings requires a 30 percent increase by 2030, according to the World Green Building Council. Climate change is at least partially considered in most building codes, as buildings around the world are designed to withstand natural disasters. Yet it is often up to individual builders and contractors to go beyond codes for improving building performance and minimizing environmental impacts. Working with architects, both old and new cities are making eco-friendly enhancements.
Cities tend to be the center of carbon emissions and are more susceptible to the consequences of climate change. Despite this, urban areas have the capacity to make improvements through land use, zoning, transportation, energy policy and green space.
Around the globe, several of these environmentally focused urban development projects have been completed or are in progress. Copenhagen, Denmark, is working on employing wind power and becoming the first carbon-neutral city by 2025. SCAPE, a landscape architecture company, is working on a plan that was first presented before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce in 2018 to transform 47 miles of shoreline into increased open space to protect the city from future flooding events.
In Bilbao, Spain, a plan to open the Deusto Canal in order to turn the Zorrotzaurre peninsula into an island was drafted in 2004, revised in 2007, approved in 2012 and completed in 2018. Now the canal and banks allow the river to flow through, which has reduced the water level by a full meter.
Meanwhile, in San Diego, California, city officials are launching a campaign to better prepare the city for climate change threats including severe wildfires, droughts, flooding, sea-level rise and extreme heatwaves. The plan will include an equity element in helping particular neighborhoods like those where air conditioning is scarce during heat waves. It will be presented to the City Council by the end of the year. While many cities are making environmentally conscious improvements, only 18 percent of cities with populations over 1 million have plans to relocate in response to climate change.
Hong Kong provides examples of sustainable architecture with a specific focus on skyscrapers. The city is home to more skyscrapers than anywhere else in the world. The buildings consume 90 percent of the city’s electricity and contribute to 60 percent of its greenhouse gases. The International Commerce Center, a 108-story building standing at 1,590 feet, is in the top 10 percent of energy-efficient buildings around the globe. The property’s management team is able to use building data to shut down certain facilities when they are not in use. The data also helps prioritize maintenance before energy is wasted. Through the various energy-saving measures, the ICC building has conserved 15 million kilowatt-hours of energy. This is equivalent to the total annual electricity consumption of over 4,000 three-member households, reducing 10,000 tons of carbon emissions. The ICC hopes to install solar panels to generate renewable solar energy, place wind turbines outside and use a battery system to store the renewable power.
Another building in Hong Kong, One Taikoo Place, was designed to prioritize human health standards. Instead of a team of people, the building uses an artificial intelligence system called Neuron which analyzes datasets to improve building systems and enhance energy efficiency. The building also has a waste-to-energy biodiesel system that combines heating, cooling and power generation.
Built in 1983, the China Resources Building is another example of sustainable infrastructure. During a retrofit in 2012, the building’s facade installed a glazing system that permits 5 percent of solar energy to be transmitted indoors, reducing air conditioning needs. With the new features, the building saved over 10 percent of its original electricity expenditures, reducing its CO2 emissions by 1,370 tons.
Not all sustainable buildings are large-scale. Recently, a 3D-printed house was made in Italy that used locally sourced clay. The project came from architect Mario Cucinella’s School of Sustainability and the 3D printer manufacturer WASP. The aim of the project was to address issues around housing emergency, affordability and sustainability. The 3D printer used can print various materials with a speed of 300 millimeters per second and a maximum printing area of 50 square meters per unit. The walls were designed to prevent the house from needing heating or air conditioning through clay waves in an otherwise hollow structure. This design makes the walls lightweight, resistant and highly insulated.
While most of these changes are occurring in preexisting cities, some designers are creating new cities entirely, like the Toyota Woven City in the foothills of Mount Fuji. This city is powered by hydrogen fuel-cell, geothermal and solar energy. The city design focuses on retrofitting the streets and making more room for nature.
Architects and urban planners must create buildings and city plans with climate change in mind, aiming to significantly limit carbon dioxide levels. These changes involve architectural creativity and innovative technology to either create new buildings and make older ones more sustainable.