Third Industrial Revolution

Sustenability is a term that has significantly expanded over the last ten years. However, according to my own experience, few people realize what this word actually means or understand the problems we face. Buildings and the activities conducted within them consume almost half of the energy we generate in the industrialized world and are responsible for half of the carbon dioxide emissions—while the rest is almost evenly split between transportation and industry. Sustainability requires us to face this equation and think holistically. The location and function of a building, its adaptability and lifespan, its orientation, form and structure, its heating and ventilation, and the materials used—all of these factors together impact the amount of energy required for construction, maintenance, operation, and travel to and from it.

These questions have occupied my thoughts since the earliest beginnings of my practice. Thirty years ago, we considered the individual elements that would contribute to energy savings. Soon we advanced to thinking in terms of entire systems at the building level. As we became increasingly aware of the interconnection and integration of energy quality systems with the environment, we began to address this issue at the community level—taking into account whole urban neighborhoods. Finally, and just recently, we have progressed to this thinking at a regional scale. I would like to briefly outline this development here, pointing to several projects that have allowed us to develop sustainability methodology and consider some current and upcoming issues we face (and will continue to face) due to the rapid growth of the global urban population and the transformations of our cities.

Willis Faber & Dumas Headquarters, Ipswich (1975)

When we designed the Willis Faber & Dumas building (1971-75), the idea of wrapping the site in a triangular glass skin with a free form came from a conversation with the late Buckminster Fuller. 'Climatroffice', as the project is known, proposed a new relationship between nature and the office. The location of the garden created a microclimate within the energy-conscious skin. In 1970, we did not have the technological means to realize it within the time we had available. However, today there are sophisticated computer programs that enable the design and creation of complex structures in a fraction of the time it would have taken then.

Moving forward in time a bit, the number of projects in Germany has provided us with opportunities to push the boundaries of environmental design in a variety of contexts. When we transformed the Reichstag in Berlin (1992-99) into a new home for the German parliament, we demonstrated how sustainability strategies can also function on an older building—once a massive energy consumer and a significant source of pollution. Before the new modifications were introduced, the building consumed as much energy annually as would be sufficient to heat 5,000 homes. Increasing the internal temperature by just one degree in the middle of winter required as much energy as would be needed to heat ten homes for a year.

Reichstag, Berlín (1992-99)

Today, the building burns clean renewable bio-fuel—refined vegetable oil—in generators for electricity production, which is a much cleaner method compared to burning fossil fuels. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by 94 percent. Excess heat is stored in the form of hot water in collectors deep underground and can be pumped for heating the building or to operate cooling devices for producing chilled water. It is remarkable that the energy demands are now so modest that the building itself generates more energy than it uses, and can thus also function as a mini power station in the new governmental district. If a nineteenth-century building can be transformed from an energy guzzler to a building so efficient that it can now provide clean energy to others, how much easier is it to design new buildings that responsibly use scarce resources?

Freie Universität, Berlín (1997-2005)

The new building of the Faculty of Philology Library at Freie Universität Berlin (1997-2005) realizes many of the ideas present in the Climatroffice. Its four floors are set within a naturally ventilated, bubble-like skin covered with aluminum and glass panels and supported by steel frames with radial geometry. The building’s double skin functions not only as an air duct but also as a thermal buffer, while the mass of the structure serves either for heating or cooling thanks to the possibility of tempering concrete. The shutters on the outer skin can be either open or closed depending on the temperature. Concrete tempering can also be adjusted to provide heating or cooling depending on climatic conditions. These and other temperature regulation systems are coordinated using the building's electronic control system. As a result of these measures, natural ventilation is utilized for over 60 percent of the year, and there is no need for complete air conditioning or humidity control. All these elements together create energy savings of 35 percent compared to a conventionally modern library.

Commerzbank, Frankfurt nad Mohanem (1991-97)

Commerzbank in Frankfurt am Main (1991-97) is a building that is symbolically and functionally 'green.' Although the climate is artificially controlled, it utilizes natural ventilation to reduce energy consumption, making it the first eco-friendly high-rise in the world. The tower is a prominent feature of Frankfurt's skyline, but it is also well integrated into the lower urban fabric, thanks to the renewal and sensitive reconstruction of peripheral structures reinforcing the original urban block scheme. These buildings include shops, apartments, and a banking hall and help forge connections between Commerzbank and the wider community. At the heart of the design is a public gallery with restaurants, cafes, and spaces for social and cultural events, which has become a popular main pedestrian thoroughfare. The project stems from the understanding that sustainability requires us to think about more than just reducing a building’s energy consumption demands: if we want to reverse the wasteful model of people commuting from the suburbs, we must create an urban environment that is an attractive place to live and work.

It is also notable that Germany's progressive environmental construction regulations provided us with opportunities to focus more broadly and explore sustainability at the city level. At the request of the Renewable Energies in Architecture and Design Group (READ), which I chaired along with the European Commission, we prepared a study on the 'Solar Quarter,' an extensive urban area in Regensburg (1995). The aim was to explore the possibilities of renewable energy sources, primarily solar technology, and their use in an urban environment. Although it is not yet completed, our work in the 'rust belt' of Duisburg has also become a paradigm for a practice embodying a range of themes and concerns that are vital for finding sustainable solutions for living in the 21st-century city.

Microelectronic Centre, Duisburg (1988-96)

Our work here began twenty years ago at the Microelectronic Park. In this case, we incorporated buildings from companies engaged in new technologies into a densely populated neighborhood and created a new linear park nearby. With a focus on clean and quiet industry, this represents an opportunity to create an attractive mixed-use neighborhood where living and working spaces are blended. The foundational ideas of this project were reinforced by our master plan for the physical and economic regeneration of Duisburg's Inner Harbor, where we combined new construction with select renovations to create a connection between the waterfront and the city center, thereby establishing a new urban district with all the comforts of a modern city.

On a global scale, two scenarios for cities are currently evolving; together they have the potential to create a new kind of architecture. The first scenario is the explosive growth of cities: the future of cities is the future of society. The year 2008 was a milestone when, for the first time, more people lived in cities than at any other time in human history. By 2050, it is estimated that 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities. In many countries, the speed of this change is extraordinary. What took Europe 200 years is now happening in China and India in twenty years. Urbanization has accelerated tenfold.

The second scenario is the shift of dominance from so-called 'developed' to 'developing' countries. In 1939, London was the world's most populous city with 8.6 million inhabitants. Ten years later, it was still in the premier league of cities alongside Paris, Milan, and Moscow. Today, European cities have receded into a mini-league, surpassed by several mega-cities around the world with populations exceeding 15 million. This raises several questions: what are the models for these new cities; and how do we adapt existing communities to accommodate the growing population?

Masdar Development, Abu Dhabi (2007-13)

The Masdar initiative in Abu Dhabi has provided us with an extraordinary opportunity to create a new community and a model for future energy security within a wholly sustainable framework. Masdar has far-reaching significance on a global scale as it addresses this issue holistically. It is not about particular individual buildings, despite their possible importance. Instead, it pursues a broader scope—stemming from the recognition that the issue of energy consumption and carbon emissions cannot be separated from architecture and infrastructure.

When we look at what urbanization truly means in industrial societies, and further look at energy consumption, we find that transportation accounts for about 35 percent and buildings (construction and usage) about 44 percent of total consumption—the combination is therefore critical. If architecture determines buildings and infrastructure determines urban planning, Masdar brings them together as its central thesis—and this can only be done at the level of community planning. This is why Masdar is so important and progressive in a global context.

From an urban perspective, there is a fundamental relationship between energy consumption, carbon emissions, and population density. Cities with the lowest density, those that are sprawling, are enormous energy consumers per capita. At the other end of the spectrum are cities with very high population density and low energy consumption. Somewhere in the middle is an interesting balance—a city that is dense yet affordable. Such a city offers rich opportunities for use, is socially diverse, people live and work in the same locality, and it is also well served by public transportation, with pleasant pedestrian experiences.

Masdar Development, Abu Dhabi (2007-13)

Traditionally, such cities—Zurich, Geneva, Copenhagen—have become leading tourist destinations or attractions. In any quality of life survey, they will still rank at the top. How can we learn from these models? If we take new world cities like Detroit and compare them to old cities like Copenhagen, we find that the old has double the density and the difference in fuel consumption is tenfold. We must also consider the quality of life in downtown Detroit versus downtown Copenhagen. It is important to learn from the past when designing the future.

Sustainability requires building for the long term. Flexibility is key. Masdar was planned in 2008 and will be completed in 2018, so it will have the ability to respond to new technologies—the products of the third industrial revolution, which we can only dream of now—that will influence how we will live in the next ten years and beyond.

Crucial for harnessing the creative energy needed to envision the 'third industrial revolution'—and creating a sustainable future—is the belief that the outcome will be a better world. If Masdar—or any sustainability initiative—does not lead to a place that is great to be in, a more attractive place to live and work, if it is not a city that you truly want to visit, if it does not uplift the spirit, if it is not globally viable as well as locally compelling, then it will not fulfill the main part of its function.

Nonetheless, I am clear that as architects we have only as much power as we can advocate for. We are dependent on governments, politicians, clients, market forces, investment incentives, and new technologies that enable us to plan and design the cities of the future. Global climate change is a concern that unites the world and has a clear impact on how we envision new communities and modify existing ones to be sustainable. This goal we can and must achieve not just at the level of individual buildings, but much more broadly at the level of communities and regions. It is a matter of survival.