77 GROHE Magazine 1 WATER Water interacts with human life at so many lev els that its future will inevitably be entwined with that of architecture Though the challeng es of water supply drainage movement and defence are far beyond the scope of architec ture the Netherlands Special Envoy for Inter national Water Affairs Henk Ovink has given some clues as to where architects might focus their efforts Speaking at the launch of the Norman Foster Foundation he proposed what amounts to a sociology of water His own work combines high level diplomacy with on the ground problem solving bringing the lessons of his hydrologically challenged nation to other places where flood or drought risk compro mise human life Often dictating from above leads to idiocy such as building walls around Japanese fishing villages after the 2011 tsuna mi protecting the settlements from flood but preventing access to fishing grounds Expand ing wetlands is a far more efficient mitigation strategy A millennium ago waterways in what is now the Netherlands proved a magnet for disparate social groups Slowly they realized their long term survival depended on finding ways to share use of access to and responsi bility for water and its management Over time this set a precedent for the consensual and inclusive politics that characterize the country This is where architecture can make a differ ence Water gives pleasure in many ways which architects can enhance from access to seas lakes and rivers through fountains and pools to the sensory delights of bathrooms Architects are well placed to create aqueous visions to exploit regulate and distribute these benefits The first need is to separate good water from bad water often no more than water in the wrong place for example flood defences as well as adequate water capture and storage From that a social consensus could develop about how to distribute water and its pleasures fairly 2 AGEING HEALTH Between 2010 and 2050 the UN predicts that the global population will explode The re ally critical band is those between 65 until recently the standard age for collecting a pen sion in the UK and those in their 90s Two separate challenges immediately appear many of those people will need to work for at least part of that period there will be relative ly fewer young people and society will have to become far better at handling chronic con ditions and non communicable diseases that will hamper their ability to work and otherwise blight their lives Possibly the single biggest contribution that architects can make directly is to design environments and buildings that encourage their inhabitants to exercise Stair cases need to be visible and alluring so that people naturally use them for two or three stories some measures indicate that using the stairs to go up a single story adds six minutes to life expectancy External spaces similarly need to be enticing with shelter from sun wind and rain easy gradients and a cornuco pia of delights along and around them and the majority of necessary services within a short walk Homes will need to cater to residents with different physical conditions and possibly different generations Who will need doctors surgeries when your computer smartphone or lavatory will constantly monitor your heart rate blood pressure and insulin levels and inform you of what to do about them 3 CLIMATE ENERGY CARBON RIBA President Alex Gordon coined the phrase long life loose fit low energy which still outlines the agenda for responsible design now even as the science has advanced expo nentially In its first iteration energy efficien cy was all which moved into eco awareness and sustainability before finally by general consensus focusing around carbon use and emission Since then it has become possible for buildings to generate their own energy At its simplest form this means covering external surfaces with solar panels and adding wind turbines in place of chimneys But more so phisticated design and greater investment can enhance these passive means using shape to accelerate wind and capture moisture from hu mid air Building on aspirations by professional Steamers in the dynamic port of Sadarghat Dhaka Bangladesh P ho to A hr on d e Le eu w

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