public realm as sustainable design

Public Realm as

Sustainable Design

HMD Design . www.hmddesign-china.com . 12 April 2012

The Public Realm is: • Any place, space or facility accessible to

all members of the community

whether publicly or privately owned.

• It includes parks, public plazas, civic

buildings, sporting venues, town

squares and roads and streets.

Historical Perspective • Between the 1860’s and 1930’s

public open space became integral

to city planning as a reaction to the

squalor of cities of the era

• Foundations laid in America by

Olmstead and other landscape

architects after the Civil War

• Public open space was seen as

‘hygienic’ and available to all; not

just the wealthy

• Practicality and beauty were key

considerations

• It was a social and democratic ideal

founded on social reform

Sustainable design is:

•Socially stable

•Economically successful

•Environmentally responsible

social

economic

environment

• A different perspective…

Social Sustainability • Equal access for all

• Serves the relevant demographic profile

• Community participation

• Community identity

• Human contact and activities

• Healthy lifestyle

• Represents local culture and history

• Safe, friendly environment

…access for all?

• Higher property values

• Higher tax revenues

• Higher standard of living

• Lower social costs

• People care about their community

• Lifestyle attracts higher level jobs

and industries

• Lower maintenance and capital

costs

Economic Sustainability

Environmental Sustainability

• Water

• Energy

• Ecosystems

• Waste

• Conservation

• Preservation

Examples

Central Park, NY • Serves all socioeconomic groups

• Equal access to all

• The lungs of the city

• High real estate values

Living Waters, Chengdu • Educational

• Unique environmental attraction

• Open and usable for everyone

• Mitigates river pollution

• Provides useable space for all

residents

• Tourism attraction

Post-Sydney Olympics • Functionally sustainable

• Economically sustainable

• Environmentally responsible

• Valuable post-Olympics community asset

•640-hectare site Homebush Bay •Ideal for picnics & bike riding •Numerous parks •Bicentennial Park:

oLake Belvedere oBBQ facilities oChildren's playgrounds oBoardwalk o8 kilometres of paths and cycle ways oWalk your dog oBird watching oBike hire

•Sydney Olympic Park: oThe Sydney Royal Easter Show oSydney Festival oBig Day Out oRugby Union oNational Rugby League oAustralian Football League oAustralian Rugby League oGames at ANZ Stadium oAthletics and Swimming events

Athletes Village - Newington • Purpose built 90 hectare new town with

retail, office and residential zones

• Residential was athletes village and is

now housing

• Each home with 12 PV panels on the

roof sufficient to power all 2,000 homes

• Passive energy saving through

orientation and landscaping

• Proximity to public transport

• Dual water source – one potable and

one reuse with wetland recycling

• Construction recycling of 90% of hard

waste and 60% of soft waste

•Restored and protected more than 15 miles of continuous waterfront along the Parramatta River and Homebush Bay •Produced over 4,600 mega liters of recycled water over 7 years, providing irrigation and grey water for the parklands. •Treats contaminated soils. Roughly 35 mega liters of leachate have been collected and transferred to a waste treatment facility. Groundwater contaminated with 750kg of hydrocarbons, including 430kg of benzene, has been successfully degraded by microorganisms •Provides habitat for more than 180 native species of birds. The once-endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog population in the parklands is now one of the largest populations •Provides venues for 2.5 million people annually, primarily those from Sydney’s western suburbs. Visitation grew from 750,000 in 2002 to 2.3 million in 2007. •Provides educational opportunities for nearly 20,000 children annually, with 18,600 students participating environmental education programs

Environmental Remediation

HMD Projects

Guizhou, China Sustainability Goals:

• Cultural context

• Education

• Tourism/economic

growth

• Water conservation

• Ecosystem protection

• Wildlife habitat

• Locally sourced

materials

Guizhou, China Project Program

• Hotel/conference center

• Bird watching

• Hiking

• Landscape reflective of the local

character

• Treat all wastewater on site in a

natural system

Master Plan

Sections

Perspective

Huang Shan, China Sustainability Goals:

• Cultural context

• Tourism/economic

growth

• Ecosystem protection

and enhancement

• Preserve farm land

• Locally sourced

materials

• River protection

Huang Shan, China Project Program

• Sales center/future

restaurant

• Landscape reflective of the

local farmland

• Overland storm water

drainage

• Retain farm irrigation

• Simplicity of form/design

Site Photos

Master Plan

Sections

Tianjin, China

Sustainability Goals:

• Public open space

• Education

• Economic growth

• Green space

• Cultural relevance

• Health and fitness

activities

Tianjin, China Project Program

• Underground retail mall and

above ground public park

• Performance space

• Multi-purpose open lawn

• Fitness trail

• Botanic gardens

• Landscape connects to and

extends existing park open

space

• Capture storm water on site

Concept

Master Plan

Sections

General Techniques • Use a recognized rating system

• Locally source materials

• Water efficient design

• Energy efficient lighting design

• Heat island effect reduction

• Reflective paving materials

• Rain and waste water capture

• Increase in water quality

• Low maintenance design

• Landscape improves air quality

• Incorporate local context into planning and design

Rating Systems

•USGBC LEED

•UK BREEAM

•Green Globes

•China 3 Star

•Energy Star

•Japan CASBEE

•Hong Kong BEAM

•New Zealand NZGBC

•Australia GBCA Green Star

•LEED Brazil

•And so on….

Systems

Principles of Public Realm Design

Abu Dhabi Public Realm Design Manual

•Livability

•Identity

•Access

•Connectivity

•Place making

•Environment Stewardship

•Inclusive

•Activated

Advanced Guidelines

Community Rating System

Abu Dhabi Estidama Pearl Rating System

• Integrated Development Process 10

• Natural Systems 14

• Livable Communities 38

• Precious Water 37

• Resourceful Energy 42

• Stewarding Materials 18

• Innovative Practice 3

*All projects must meet at least the 1 Pearl Standard

Advanced Guidelines

Green Infrastructure Guide Cambridgeshire Council, UK

•Green corridors, such as hedgerows, ditches, rivers and watercourses, disused railway lines and verges •Commons, village greens, churchyards and cemeteries •Natural and semi-natural habitats for wildlife •Country parks and playing fields •Woodlands and hedgerows •Historic parks and gardens, historic landscapes and ancient monuments •Local Nature Reserves and County Wildlife Sites •Sites of Special Scientific Interest •Wetlands, including flooded quarries •Allotments •Public rights of way, cycle ways and other recreational routes

Advanced Guidelines

Rating System Positive Elements

•Assess the environmental impacts

•Provide rating tools for different land uses and building types

•Relate ratings to global, local and internal environments

•Allow regional variations

•Optimize performance

•Minimizing environmental impact

•Credible standards

•Global application

•Improves facility management practices

Rating System Weaknesses

•Complicated and convoluted

•“Points driven” ratings

•No accounting for social, cultural or historical elements

•Expensive to implement

•Wide variations between so called ‘equivalent’ systems

•Large gaps coverage

•No globally accepted minimum

•Most are voluntary not mandatory

•Difficult to compare across systems

Conclusions

Conclusions • The Public Realm adds significant

social, financial and environmental

benefits to modern society

• Equal access to public green space is

a right and not a privilege

• The educational potential of

sustainable design is significant

• Sustainable design methods should

override compliance with any rating

standard

• Public green space enhances quality

of life for all and builds community

• Use common sense in design

An observation…. • Recommend 20 SM of open

space per person

• Shanghai population is about

23 million

• At 20 SM per person, Shanghai

needs 460 million SM of open

space.

• Shanghai has less than 7 SM

per person poorly distributed

• Deficit of 300 million SM of

open space

…do you wonder why the parks

are so crowded?

What we have

What we need

HMD Design

www.hmddesign-china.com