Vernacular architecture and climate change
In the past, the built environment was shaped in closer correspondence with the particularities of each landscape. Construction techniques were designed to interact with their surroundings, relying often on local materials. Yet the expansion of globalization has resulted in a progressive homogenization of architecture. An iconic example of this is what in 1932 Philip Johnson and Henry-Russel Hitchcock defined as The International Style.[1] This style included a number of architectural movements that emerged in Europe after World War I, which spread later throughout the globe. Even when the value of this homogenization process is still controversial, the style put in evidence the tendency in modern architecture to make local particularities irrelevant. Decades later, identical skyscrapers, airports, malls and gas stations became icons of modern cities, dominated by orthogonal forms and concrete use.
However, the heterogenous effects of climate change are pushing architecture to recover its vernacular gaze. More frequent and intense catastrophes such as rainfall, droughts, floods, hurricanes – amongst other such events – are threatening cities in diverse ways. Governmental efforts to face specific hazards are resulting in the emergence of situated adaptation strategies. An example comes from responses to the increasing threat of coastal flooding in New York where floods are produced mostly by heavy rainfall, faster melting of snow and overflow of surrounding rivers. In response, decades ago a baseline was determined for construction within the city, signaling what came to be known as a Base Flood Elevation (BFE), which defined the minimum altitude in which utilities had to be placed.[2] In the 2010s, this line was moved two feet up to increase protection, yet allowing to build an additional floor in compensation.[3] As a result, a waterproof ground level and a light upper floor may become a key feature in flooding zones across the city. Additionally, green infrastructure to expand water infiltration and to reduce flooding is being implemented within the city, along with changes in coastal defenses. Also, in the US, the resilience strategy in Greater Miami contemplates the construction of coastline protection, including sea walls to curb flooding due to sea level rise.
Similarly, in Da Nang, Vietnam, coastal sea walls are planned as well. According to current scientific prognoses, precipitations will increase 4% by 2050 in the area, generating a cascade of cyclones and tropical depressions that will result in further flood damage and water shortages. Unlike the US, the strategy, in this case, is based on predicting the most vulnerable zones to help relocate residents.[4] Moreover, new envelopes and specific construction detailing of houses are being installed to reduce housing damages. The growth and planning of the city – as well as of its architecture – is being defined by future floods.[5]
Yet, droughts and heatwaves are also contributing to define future architecture. In Cape Town (South Africa), the near-exclusive dependence on rainfall for fresh water supply makes droughts catastrophic events. As a result, lawns and water-sensitive plants are being replaced with alternative local species adjusted to the dryer climate.[6] Concerning overheating, recently Paris, France, experienced one of the worst heatwaves of its history when over 700 residents died. A relevant aspect contributing to this urban heat effect is the abundance of concrete and asphalt in cities. Due to this, a program signed in 2017 aims to convert 761 schools – an area of nearly 70 hectares – into green islands, allowing to reduce average city temperatures significantly.[7] As in Paris, in Tel Aviv, Israel, overheating is also a persistent threat. Because of this, local policymakers are promoting strategically emplaced pilot projects to reduce the overall temperature by 2080 based on scientific predictions of the most exposed areas to heat impacts.[8]
The cases mentioned above represent examples of locally sensitive policies that other cities around the world may emulate. Yet, in mirroring the sea walls in Miami, the waterproof podium in New York, the new envelopes for houses in Da Nang, the water-sensitive vegetation in Cape Town, or the cooling spots in Paris and Tel Aviv architects and urban planners should keep in mind that strategies need to be designed for the particularities of each place. Climate change – undoubtedly brought on faster by globalization – is forcing architecture to rethink situationally its relationship with its near environment, which necessarily requires leaving the precepts of modernism and returning to a new vernacular architecture, namely one that is ecologically attentive to the heterogenous effects of climate change.
***
[1] Hitchcock, H. R., & Johnson, P. (1997). The international style. WW Norton & Company.
[2] Aerts, J. C. J. H., & Botzen, W. J. W. (2011). Climate change impacts on pricing long-term flood insurance: A comprehensive study for the Netherlands. Global Environmental Change, 21(3), 1045–1060.
[3] NYC Planning. (2016). Flood Resilient Construction. (Department of City Planning, Ed.). New York City.
[4] Da Nang People’s Committee. (2016). Resilience Strategy for Da Nang, Vietnam. 100 Resilient Cities.
[5] 100 Resilient Cities. (2017). Cities Taking Action How the 100RC Network is Building Urban Resilience, 1–73. Retrieved from http://100resilientcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/WEB_170720_Summit-report_100rc-1.pdf
[6] Cape Town Resilience Strategy. (2019). 100 Resilient Cities.
[7] Paris Municipality. (2018). Paris Resilience Strategy. 100 Resilient Cities.
[8] Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality. (2017). The Strategic Plan for Tel-Aviv–Yafo. 100 Resilient Cities.
***
Eduardo Wiegand is an architect. He completed the Wood Program at Aalto University and a Masters in Interdisciplinary Design for the Built Environment at the University of Cambridge. ewiegand@uc.cl
Cristián Simonetti is a Master and Doctor in Social Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen and teaches at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. csimonetti@uc.cl