Trend Watch November 2019

What is the Future of Concrete in Architecture?

According to Lucy Rodgers at BBC News, “if the cement industry were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter in the world – behind China and the US. It contributes more CO2 than aviation fuel (2.5%), and is not far behind the global agriculture business (12%).”

At the UN 2018 COP24 Climate Change Conference in Poland, it was highlighted that in order to meet the requirements of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, annual cement emissions must fall by 16% by 2030.

Experts and activists at the Architecture of Emergency climate summit in London in September called upon architects to fight climate change by ditching concrete.

Niall Patrick Walsh writes in ArchDaily that designers may not need to avoid concrete altogether – but support innovations to make it more climate-friendly. This includes:

• Reducing the amount of cement in concrete mixtures.
• Integrating bio-based materials.
• Layering structural concrete with materials to encourage the growth of CO2-absorbing moss and lichen (‘bioreceptive concrete’).
• Glass fibre reinforced concrete (GFRC).
• 3D concrete printing, to minimise material use while maximising surface area.

Read the full article on ArchDaily.

Seoul Tore Down Its Central Urban Highway: Could Other Cities Follow?

City highways do not have to be immovable, writes Alex Marshall for CityLab.

Cheonggyecheon is a 10.9-kilometre-long public park in downtown Seoul, South Korea, built on the former site of an elevated highway that had cut through the city.

This transformation in Seoul represents a drive to reorient cities toward people, says Marshall.

“As depicted in the recent and excellent documentary film The Human Scale, it’s a movement that now stretches from Melbourne to New York City, from Copenhagen to Chongqing,” he writes.

The “new changes can be seen as a course-correction to what cities did to themselves in the 20th century to accommodate cars.”

Marshall suggests three flaws with the idea that there are no alternatives to urban highways:

• If highways are not there, people may take public transport or bicycle to work, they may work from home or move to the city.
• Big highways can decrease mobility – removing them may improve the circulation of traffic.
• The US, he says, is in the midst of a cultural shift away from the love of cars – with Americans driving fewer and fewer miles per capita each year.

Read the full article in CityLab.

Long Beach Designers Swap Hardscape for ‘All-Water’ Courtyard:

How do you activate apartment units buried under an imposing seven-story structure surrounded by a concrete jungle?

Californian landscape architect Urban Arena has designed a resort-inspired central space for residential and mixed-use development Oceanaire, in the coastal city of Long Beach.

Units looking onto this space now sell for more than ocean view units on the seventh floor, the designers say.

“Instead of laying out an array of podium planters only to be enjoyed through visual appearance at different points of the site, [we designed] one large, equally imposing space to be seen, felt, or heard no matter where you are,” they write.

“The crazy thing – it really wasn’t that much more cost to do all water versus all the raised planters and typical courtyard amenities.”

Timber decks constructed in the middle of the water aim to create a relaxing gathering experience. The fountain and pool is accessible to all residents.

The development also includes a dog park and outdoor fitness area.

Photos: Urban Arena.