Design charrette primer: New urbanism

The world has changed, gone is the denial that our built environment has not damaged the planet’s climate and its eco-systems, as evidenced by the United Nations Environment Programme. This wide-spread acceptance has led governments and private business to seek to collaborate in an effort to find new and sustainable methods to shape and create the built environment. Indeed, that aim is reflected in our design charrette objective to showcase how sustainable construction methods can be incorporated in the design of an incubator building for Small or Medium Enterprises (SMEs),who are themselves trying to find an essential solution to our global climate emergency.

While there are many ways the proposed building could be designed, constructed, and lived within sustainably, new urbanism offers a holistic approach to achieve sustainability of the built environment. The term new urbanism was first coined by Stefanos Polyzoides in 1991 to give name and expression to the ideas that he and the other founders of the theory promoted. These ideas have since been enshrined in the Charter of the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and expanded in the Canon. In essence, these documents denote, that new urbanism seeks to bring people and their accompanying culture and economics, into harmony with our natural and built habitats once again. To do so, new urbanism advocates operating principles for urban development that “reestablishes the relationship between the art of building, the making of community, and the conservation of our natural world.”

While the Charter and Canon of new urbanism are both expansive and interpretable, the ideas that they promote have a family resemblance that give the theory an unmistakable character. This is best represented by newurbanism.org and its distillation of new urbanisms foundational texts into ten stated principles, namely:

1.   Walkability
2.   Connectivity
3.   Mixed-use and diversity
4.   Mixed housing
5.   Quality architecture and urban design
6.   Traditional neighbourhood structure
7.   Increased density
8.   Green transportation
9.   Sustainability
10. Quality of life.

While this is a succinct summation, Andreas Duany, one of the founders of new urbanism and a practising expert who may be able to participate in our design charrette, offers a more in-depth explanation in the video below.

New urbanism’s principles, Charter, and its Canon, clearly denote that the theory takes a holistic view with regards to how our built environment can be fashioned sustainably. In this sense, it moves sustainability simply beyond the material construction of the building and takes into consideration the impact that it may have on the environment once it is finished. For example, a building constructed using sustainable materials and zero-carbon emissions is counterproductive if it is remote from public transport and a civic hub, given the carbon emissions used to drive there would likely undo the purpose of building sustainably in first instance. This highlights the reasoning behind new urbanism emphasis on mixed use buildings, density and “pedestrian shed,” which refers to the distance to associated amenities that a person can reach within a five minute walk. Indeed, mixed use buildings, density and walkability are not only primary means to reduce carbon through minimising urban disruption to the ‘wilderness,’ but are also a means of freedom and methods to connect people to each other.

The sustainable application of new urbanism is clearly reflected in the EPIQ Tower which was designed by architecture firm BIG and developed by Uribe Schwarzkopf. 

The EPIQ tower, which BIG describe as a “vertical city” is in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It has 24-stories, provides a mixed-use space for residential homes, commercial enterprises, and traditional office space. 

The EPIQ tower incorporates local and traditional patterns of design, inspired by the nearby Old City area, which is a UNESCO world heritagesite and epitomised in the hue of the tower, a key reference to the salmon-coloured buildings that were built in the city during the 16^th century. The design therefore accords with new urbanism’s belief that architecture should be framed by local history and landscapes.

In addition, the placement of EPIQ tower, which is key to the tower’s s sustainability, incorporates new urbanism’s emphasis on pedestrian shed. EPIQ provides its occupants with the ability to engage in their daily lives unimpeded by traffic, which allows freedom of movement without over reliance on carbonised forms of travel, which are negatively impacting the planet’s eco-systems. 

The ground level of EPIQ demonstrates how multi-use space can be configured to incorporate specific areas for SMEs to operate. In essence, the combined characteristics of EPIQ allow it to seamlessly incorporate the quintessence of new urbanism by sustainably achieving harmony between the environment, economics, and culture.

In the New Zealand context, many of the new urbanist elements that influenced the development of EPIQ can be seen in the redevelopment of the former Herd Street Post and Telegraph Building into the Chaffers Dock Apartments. 

Tawera Group and Archaus Architects reimagining and reinvigoration of this historic landmark building on the Wellington waterfront is a homage to Carl Elefante’s statement, “the greenest building is…one that is already built.” Indeed, the CNU in support explain that “infill development within existing urban areas conserves environment resources, economic investment, and social fabric, while reclaiming marginal and abandon areas.”

This redevelopment and its accompanying revitalisation of the area, undoubtedly contributed to the restoration of the wildlife habitat and wetlands at the building’s eastern entrance. 

New urbanism’s reclamation of underutilised urban space can occur in harmony with the natural eco-system as this redevelopment shows. The Wellington City Council discusses this in the video below and note that the revitalisation of Chaffers/Waitangi Park area has encourage the growth of wildlife, created a focal point for people to gather and allowed for sustainable methods of waste-water drainage to be implemented.

New urbanism, as these two case studies demonstrate, is a suitable showcase green element for this project. New urbanism moves sustainability beyond the acquisition and use of sustainably produced materials, by broadening the term to include the long-term impact that buildings and those who use them will have on the environment. Accordingly, space is a critical concept for new urbanism as it seeks increased density to minimise human disruption to the natural eco-system. In doing so, new urbanism delivers a sustainable urban form that gives people the freedom to live their lives with a minimal carbon footprint. The emphases on redevelopment of underused urban space is not only a sustainable method of building but can also revitalise natural habitats. New urbanism, therefore, creates a vibrant urban environment that lives in harmony with the natural world and is a theory that can be applied to ensure our building is indeed sustainable.