Wk 4 - Cities for Low Carbon Living

In the decades to come, climate change means that 40'c weather will be the new norm. 

In March 2016, global temperature has its warmest record in history as average land surface temperatures reached levels deemed by scientists to constitute dangerous climate change when temperatures were 1.22 degrees above 20th-century average (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) With this alarming indicator, it is time to seriously reflect upon global mitigation plans in greenhouse gas emissions, this responsibility not only falls within the community but also the roles of an architect upon writing this blog entry. 

In doing my daily scroll through arch daily and built environment related web page, I came across an interesting article about the relationship between connecting cultures and low-carbon living. The architect then went into detail explaining the approach and attitude towards technologically-driven solutions. To him, sustainability is a means of reducing waste as much as possible to maximise resources for greater good. 

He believed that architecture is not about art, instead, it should be a form of a dialog between place and time to connect cultures of the past and present. The value of spatial quality between a community and urban connectivity are indirectly related to sustainability issues. For example, the connectivity between contemporary city dwellers to move freely without hindrance along the central elevated walkways in Hong Kong that promotes  interaction, emphasizing convenience and efficiency throughout the CBD without considering vehicular access. 

Subsequently, the sensitivity of scale towards the pedestrian domain encourages people to use and enjoy the space. By creating a sense of belong, communities tend to show a sense of responsibility towards the environment such as not damaging trees and littering - all these behaviors are essential in creating a low carbon living that is not dependent on some high tech technology. Therefore, the essences of low carbon living start from the appreciation of community towards resources and not just green it looks or how many square meters of trees. 

The architecture of HKSAR Government Headquarters that provides a sense of place instead of an object towards the pedestrian domain. (Source:  http://www.archdaily.com/644227/rocco-yim-reveals-the-key-to-developing-cities-for-low-carbon-living/5583a562e58ece09c20000ef-rocco-yim-reveals-the-key-to-developing-cities-for-low-carbon-living-image) 

Returning to the issue of sustainability, how a building interacts and portrays itself to the city influences the community towards a goal of  low carbon city.  I feel that there is a need to recognise that social justice towards the environment is inherently part of an architect's work because any decision by us inevitably becomes intertwined within the physical and social fabric of the city, regardless of it stylistic approach towards the design. 

Resources:

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/worse-things-in-store-steaming-hot-world-sets-more-temperature-records-20160419-goaf58.html

http://www.archdaily.com/644227/rocco-yim-reveals-the-key-to-developing-cities-for-low-carbon-living