CITY Issue 56

ARCHITECT TOSHIKO MORI’S SYRACUSE CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS HEADQUARTERS IS A MODEL FOR AMERICAN BLUE DESIGN. / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / ///// EVEN IF ONE BUILDING IS ABLE TO SAVE ON WATER USAGE, IF THE NEXT BUILDING DOES NOT FOLLOW THAT PRACTICE, IT REALLY WIPES OUT ANY AND ALL OF THE EFFORTS A nd so what of the est of the wo ld? Wate issues a e not sequeste ed to Down Unde : F om Japan to Ge many to the United States, a chitects a e esponding at va ious paces. Stateside, a chitect Toshiko Mo i, p incipal of he eponymous a chitectu e ﬁ m and chai of Ha va d’s Depa tment of chitectu e, is a cautious pionee . He ﬁ m ecently ga ne ed a top awa d fo its Sy acuse Cente of Excellence in Ene gy and Envionmental Systems Headqua te s. The building is not only p og essive in te ms of its blue sustainability but will also se ve as a living labo ato y in which the wo ke s will be outinely tested to monito the eﬀects of changes to the indoo envi onment. The Sy acuse Cente ’s blue p ope ties include ga dens along two lowe oo ops to sto e and collect wate ; a system in which ain and melted snow collected f om a towe oof will be used as g ay wate fo ﬂushing toilets; and a geothe mal “bo eﬁeld”: holes each d illed feet deep a ound the site, into which liquid is ci culated via i igation to enhance cooling in the summe months and heating in the winte months. Mo i is clea ly p oud of the p oject, but when asked about the a chitect’s ole in wate conse vation, she maintains that these issues needs to be dealt with at a policy level. “Even if one building is able to save on wate usage and able to euse it,” she says, “if the next building does not follow that p actice, it eally wipes out any and all of the eﬀo ts. It [needs to be] a city-wide and even egion-wide initiative.” Some skeptics will a gue that the planet is simply at a vulne able point in a natu al cycle that will change cou se with time, but most expe ts acknowledge that man-made design initiatives a e impe ative to help counte man-made p oblems that the envi onment p obably can’t self-co ect. In a ecent state56 CITY TY ment, the Wo ld Wate Council decla ed: “It is all the mo e c itical that inc eased wate use by humans does not only educe the amount of wate available fo indust ial and ag icultu al development but has a p ofound eﬀect on aquatic ecosystems and thei dependent species. Envi onmental balances a e distu bed and cannot play thei egulating ole anymo e.” Will all the new sustainable o “blue” pa amete s change the a chitect’s fundamental t aining and way of thinking? Will we be able to t anslate the sustainable small-scale blue ules into la ge buildings? Mo i thinks yes. “The e is a lot going on in te ms of edeﬁ ning the pedagogy, int oducing mo e science and technology in design cu iculum, and coo dinating a chitectu e landscape and u ban design and planning disciplines,” she says. “I call it a t iambulate app oach of scientists, enginee s, and a chitects o designe s teaching togethe .” (Indeed, if Paul Mo gan we e a student today, his education would be conside ably diﬀe ent.) In the meantime, can putting Mo gan’s ciste n in ou homes, adding one of Mu cutt’s specially slanted oofs, o , like Pea ce, mining ou sewe s make a diffe ence to ou su vival on the planet? Possibly, but even if we do implement these changes, the e a e othe ve y eal issues to conside , p ima ily human ove -consumption and st ess upon the wate supplies. Renowned ust alian a chitect Pete Stutchbu y is an optimist: “Finding eal ways of c eating sustainable technology amidst a constantly changing envi onment keeps the buildings in a state of continuous eﬁnement. The challenge is ep esenting that eﬁ nement logically and as pa t of an unfolding sto y.” Ultimately, going blue, like going g een will equi e an active app oach that sta ts not just on the a chitect’s sketch pad, but in the ave age pe son’s kitchen sink.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 56

City Issue 56 Contents Letter from City: Re: Design Our Friends: The Faces Behind the Stories Action: What's New, What's Hot, What's Now Wanted: Olympic Bound? Button Up City Moment: The Writing’s on the Wall How We Live: Concrete Jungle Fast Food: Bites of Spring The Amused Bouche: Blueprint Special In Rouge: Hero Worship Fashion: Welcome to the Boys’ Club Travel: My Pod Architecture: Out of the Blue Design: Home Remedies Tokyo Rising Zen and the Art of Catholicism Think Big Face Value Runaways Intimate Relations Where to Buy It: Store Locations Icon: The Infinity Pool

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