Water as a Primary Building Material of the City as Second Nature

authored by

Andreas Quednau, Sabine Müller

Abstract

Human existence is tied to water. Lack of water, in the case of aridity, as well as too much water, in the case of flood events, have always been some of the major threats to mankind’s existence. With climate change, these water-related extremes are increasing. In face of a changed nature-culture relationship and of water-related threats, there is a great demand for ecological measures and design interventions to increase the resilience of human habitats. At the same time the almost inexhaustible atmospheric and social potential of water for the enhancement of the urban landscape’s quality can be further explored and actualized. Since water reacts sensitively and dynamically to the specific conditions of a place such as temperature, topography, soil conditions, unlike any other element it has the potential to promote the peculiarities of a place and make them tangible. The article demonstrates-by looking into planning and agricultural techniques-that embracing the flows and states of water can unravel the specific character of a place, make it tangible and even celebrate the resource. With the help of urban projects by SMAQ architects it exemplifies how water can become a primary building material of the City as Second Nature.

Organisation(s)

Section Urban Design

External Organisation(s)

The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO)

Type

Contribution to book/anthology

Pages

255-281

No. of pages

27

Publication date

04.05.2020

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Architecture

Research Area (based on ÖFOS 2012)

Urban design, Designing

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 13 - Climate Action

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3507-9_14 (Access: Closed)