Buro Lubbers

THE GREEN URBAN FUTURE

Cities are changing fast. The world is rapidly urbanizing and in the next ten years, city growth will be a major topic in urbanism. 2007 was a special year, since for the first time in history, more people lived in urban centers than in rural areas. In the upcoming years, more and more people will move to cities (Ritchie and Roser, 2018). As a result, cities become densely populated. As you probably are a student from Eindhoven, these changes have to be familiar to you. Eindhoven’s skyline is being filled with high rise buildings at a high pace.

The benefits of urbanization are recognized by most people. Short trade links, shared infrastructure, better social integration and high economic activity are just the tip of the iceberg of advantages. People love living in cities since in general, living standards are higher compared to a life in the countryside. But be careful! The environmental downsides of urbanisation, even in a well-developed country like the Netherlands, should not be underestimated. Air pollution resulting from both industry, and exhaust gasses from cars concentrates in cities. Flooding resulting from heavy rainfall occurs in most Dutch cities due to the huge amount of paved surfaces. The lack of biodiversity – occurring everywhere but particularly in cities – forms a huge threat to a healthy living environment. Also heat stress due to the absorption of the solar energy by the concrete jungle of buildings is more and more recognized as a problem.

At Buro Lubbers, we believe the environmental downsides of urbanisation can all be prevented when designing cities in the correct way. The most important tool? The one thing often seen as opposed to urbanisation: nature. Greenery is able to resolve all disadvantages described above. Plants and trees are able to reduce the amount of particulate matter in the air. They absorb water by creating a water buffer; They attract insects and other animals, contributing

to biodiversity. On top of that, they function as a heat absorber reducing the temperature in cities. A well-balanced mix of nature with cities results in sustainability.

An interesting thing is that a mix of greenery with cities comes into existence by itself without the intervention of people. Houtouwan, an abandoned Chinese village, shows how quickly nature enters the built environment with the absence of humans. The once thriving fishing village is now only visited by tourists as the mix of nature and buildings forms a beautiful environment. Of course, nature in cities cannot be left unmaintained as it would cause chaotic and unfunctional sites. But, the example shows how self-evident and beautiful greenery in cities should be.

What does greenery mean for our design strategy? It means to start the design process with nature, and fit in the rest of the program later. Space for flora and fauna always forms the base of the design. The conservative way of designing cities where fitting in greenery at the end of the design process belongs to the past, and the next ten years will focus on the opposite order of designing where nature comes first.

This is for example shown by the design for the neighbourhood Celsius in Woensel-West, where greenery is maximized. In the area existing of social housing, bringing in limited budget, a colourful impression is created by implementing bright coloured buildings and greenery with different flowering periods throughout the year. Every square meter of public space not being used as calamity route or not having subsurface infrastructure is occupied by greenery. All facades next to public space are overgrown by climbing plants, including firebreaks and alleys. The greenery forms an important instrument in order to make the neighbourhood climate resistant.

Celsius, Eindhoven

Also in the designs for the roof parks on the previous factories Anton and Gerard in Strijp S, greenery is maximized. In this case, greenery was implemented in an existing situation, having buildings which form industrial heritage, giving limited freedom to design. At a height of 32 meters on a roof having weight restrictions, a dense forest of birch trees and a park of plants attracting butterflies, bees and birds are created. The parks are great places to reside and have spectacular views on Eindhoven. The roofs function as water storage, air pollution filter, heat absorber and contribute to biodiversity.

Anton, Eindhoven Even in the most dense parts of cities where the implementation of nature seems to be beyond the bounds of possibilities, we show that greenery can be implemented contributing to a healthier living environment. The urban future will be green!

Stefan Dermaux Buro Lubbers