Scale: Part 1 - The Cities of China

No research, visual or statistical, prepares even an architect for the scale of China’s cities. Compared to the United States, China has nearly the same land mass (3.7 million square miles to 3.6), with similar latitudes. The great difference – and ultimately a key difference – is that 40 percent of the United States is cultivatable land compared to only 10 percent of China. Population statistics are also quite incomparable. As of the end of 2012, China had over 19 percent of the world’s population at 1.354 billion people; today, the US has less than a quarter of that at 4.46 percent at almost 316 million. The people of China are concentrated along the east coast and three major interior rivers, and seven cities have populations that exceed the largest city in the United States. Looking at the panoramic view from a hotel room in the center of any of these cities shows a surrounding skyline that is vast, continuous and overwhelming.

China’s economic policies of the past two decades have led to mass migration from rural villages to urban centers. Relocation programs, either due to building the Three Gorges Dam requiring the relocation of 1.3 million people or for personal advancement, has prompted massive construction projects. The national government has invested heavily in urban infrastructure with elevated highways and mass-transit systems to move people from the fringe housing developments to business and manufacturing centers. Unfortunately, the “magic mile” of walkable communities is interpreted as a crowded subway commute of a “magic hour.”

Developers have converted historic city courtyard housing and aging five-story apartment buildings constructed by the Soviets in the mid-twentieth century to 20 to 30 story concrete apartment buildings. Taking a single design, 10 or 20 buildings are erected simultaneously in clusters reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s Radiant City concept. Of course, he never imagined that the occupants would dry their laundry on the balconies and stick HVAC units on the wall outside their bedrooms. The flats are unfurnished and include no doors, finishes, cabinets, appliances or fixtures leaving that expense to the new occupants. Typically, even new developments look like vertical public housing slums. Scandals over bribery and the corruption of construction inspectors provide little confidence that structural designs for seismic activity were followed.  

Socialist policies mean that housing, education, medical and retirement needs are subsidized. Documented workers are entitled to these services; undocumented people, if unneeded for menial labor, are involuntarily shipped back to their villages. Car license plates are rationed, electricity is expensive, and the Chinese spend four times their annual per capita on food when compared to the United States. Advancing through the educational system depends on passing rigorous exams to enter middle, high school and the university. The country’s hope for an expanding middle class is based on graduating 6 million students annually of which 1 million enter the Communist Party and work as civil servants running the government. These exams test students on three critical areas of study: Chinese, mathematics and English. The taxicab drivers may be illiterate, but the professionals speak English.

Site Analysis

Green field sites don’t exist. This term does not refer to a landscape, but to what undeveloped land is called. Even if a site being considered for development has no evidence of prior human use, it is already occupied ecologically. Standard techniques for mapping existing conditions are inadequate given the complex and ongoing environmental operations. Field surveys document grade change on topological drawings, which are made by identifying point elevations and interpolating them as flowing elevations lines that indicate designated vertical intervals. Hachuring is another drawing technique that shows land form where lines are drawn perpendicular to slope with steepness indicated by the distance between the lines.

The situation of a site is not limited to the legal property boundaries and surface shape. Below the surface are soils of varying types. Structural evaluation through core boring samples provide the information needed to design footings, but that test also gives archeological evidence of past activity. Land once near coastal areas has soil mixes that differ from places near mountains formed by geologic activity. Biotic material is testament of previous forests, and the height and depth of water tables alert designers to the long-term likely success or failure engineered measures. Before H. H. Richardson designed Trinity Church in Boston, built between 1872 and 1877, he drilled thirty feet below the surface in a grid that allowed him to map the structural character of the earth in order to locate the heavy stone piers. The building will stand for centuries.

Site analysis also calls for above-surface observation. Wind rose diagrams chart prevailing breezes at various elevations, but can’t note the carried scent of salt air or the nearby presence of a sewage treatment plant. A wind topo would mark direction, quality and intensity, for the day/night cycle as well as for seasonal variation. The acoustic footprint also requires documentation in a sound topo that notes how noise swells and dissipates with commuter traffic, or over-head flight paths, or outdoor sporting events. A temperature topo might acknowledge the role mature deciduous shade trees play cooling summer air, or stands of evergreens that hold snow and provide what 19^th century landscape architects called “winter interest.”

These are often fleeting aspects of the site that belong to its context and are only borrowed. Temporally and spatially present, an alert designer engages them in design. Attractive or unattractive views are either framed and revealed, or concealed, and this is now considered the viewshed and one of the “charactering defining features” of a place that receives historic preservation protection. A watershed is the term for hydrologic circumstances. What if there were also windsheds especially important for sustainable buildings that generate power from wind turbines, or soundsheds for controlling levels deemed acceptable for human comfort in dense cities, or feltsheds that mandate shady paths for public places in hot climates, or sunsheds for paths and places in cold climates and to protect the access needed by photovoltaic panels to the sun? The point is to realize that the prospects of any design depend on the richness of understanding its site’s aspects.  

Practical Neighborly Infrastructure

Sustainable design depends on three things: engineering, energy and architecture. Sustainable engineering building systems requires properly sizing mechanical equipment for ventilation, heating and cooling, choosing efficient electrical light fixtures, and separating plumbing systems of potable, gray and black water, and retaining and using stormwater on site. Sustainable energy can be supplied by solar, geothermal, or wind turbines, but more often it comes from power plants fueled by renewable resources (and not non-renewable resources such as oil and coal). Sustainable architecture is oriented to take advantage of light and prevailing wind for natural daylight and ventilation, is made of sustainable materials that interact with systems to provide comfort and convenience. New projects should try renovating existing structures or be located on remediated brownfield sites. Cities should fight to keep the little remaining green space, revitalize public space, and support development that is close to mass-transit.

This is a long list. Municipal infrastructure has development in populated areas replacing the need for individual wells with hand pumps for fresh water and septic fields for sewage disposal. Natural or propane gas, and oil have replace wood for cooking and heating. Instead of investing in private wells and fields, people pay utility bills. This is preferable so long as power plants are non-polluting and efficient. Only recently have some property owners been given a choice about their power supplier accepting higher costs for “greener” operations.

There is an historic precedent that suggests an alternate scale of sustainable operations between individual and regional responses. People had horses before they had cars. At that time, developers built rowhouses in cities such as Washington with back alleys. Rear yards were for kitchen and laundry functions not yet relieved by labor-saving appliances, rather than for gardens and recreation. Horses needed accommodations too, but it was expensive for every family to have a stable and employ people to take care of them. Many blocks took a collective approach and shared the expense of a stable with operators in the public alley.

Perhaps there’s a lesson here for sustainable design. Instead of tax-credits for individual upgrades taking buildings “off the grid,” or paying the high cost for power plants to switch to renewable resources for power generation (which still lose a significant portion of their energy in transmission) people could work together at the neighborhood scale. Some places with mature shade trees are well suited for stormwater collection swales while unshaded structures are ideal for solar voltaics. Buildings that are close together can channel and intensify breezes, which small spinners or twirling equipment can capture for wind-powered energy generation. When streets or alleys are re-surfaced, this is the opportunity to dig for block-scaled geothermal heating and cooling systems. Schools are permitted in residential zones because it benefits the community to educate their young children nearby, and these public facilities can contribute to the energy needs of the neighborhood. Changes to attitudes regarding sustainable construction and operation need not be a solo or regional effort. It can be practical and socially-reinforcing to share sustainably-generated energy infrastructure.

The Contemporary Beautiful

Ken Smith gave a presentation at Dumbarton Oaks on his design for the newly completed Santa Fe Railyard Park. His design transformed the formerly degrade site into play areas for children and quiet areas for relaxing. Drainage ditches were cleaned up to allow the stream to thread its way through shady places, historic rail lines were preserved, and utility poles for light fixtures were cleverly designed as glu-lam posts that concealed the electrical conduit. The surrounding areas are responding with new stores and cafes. I’ve been there, and it projects a sense of place unique to Santa Fe: sunny, rugged and industrious. I asked Smith a question that he and John Beardsley the moderator were unable to answer. Was this park beautiful? I suppose it was a trick question because after looking at a presentation of gorgeous landscape photography, the stage was set for thinking about the park as a picture, or an image of an object. My intent was not to challenge the representation, but to question what can be beautiful in design today, and I wondered if these two imaginative innovators had a thought.

The contemporary beautiful is ecological health. This park design had taken a derelict place and returned it to be a contributing member of a vibrant environment. New graded land forms shaped distinct places within the park, shady plants and trees grew in their naturally-occurring forms, flash-flooding was oriented toward channels that could accommodate the occasional inundation without damage, and people had places to walk, sit and play.

The park was hard to photograph. No single vista beckoned or artificial composition of “features” begged to be captured as a “photographic moment.” My memories are less visual and more recalled feelings of experiencing gradations of light and shade, movement and rest, activity and interesting details. Most think of the beautiful, as opposed to the sublime, following Edmund Burke’s 18^th century definitions. Beautiful objects were to be small, smooth with gentle variation of form, and delicate with soft colors. Smith’s aim was not to create the beautiful using these attributes. Nevertheless, the park was beautiful even according to Burke, because it fit.

Fitness as an aesthetic attribute has been part of design principles - firmitatis, utilitatis, venustatis (strength, utility, grace) - since at least the treatise of Vitruvius in the 1^st century, CE. The underlying foundation for all three principles is fitness. Strength comes from using the right material and method of construction that are appropriate to the site and intended purpose. Utility is often summarized as satisfying a list of operations of which the network of natural processes and human activities must fit together to be sustainable. Grace, the most difficult to interpret, can be reduced to the design’s pleasing and elegant appearance, but it can also be considered to be the design’s full perceptible vitality as a dynamic part integrated into networks of ecological operations. What could be healthier than experiencing a design that is well-made with local materials thoughtfully employed, performs well for all users human and otherwise, and is intellectually and emotionally engaging; what could be more beautiful?     

The Enemy

Designing is a consuming activity. While the scale of the project matters, there’s no correlation between the project size and complexity. Clients and government permit reviewers and inspectors, schedules and costs as well as unforeseen construction conditions all present challenges that make tenacity a desirable attribute of any designer. Proficiency in working with people, program or scopes of work, and project execution is important; the enemy, however, lies elsewhere.

Those who criticize completed projects usually afford themselves blissful indifference to these frequent constraints. Judging the success of a room design, architecture, park or public space, or a new neighborhood seldom takes into account the difficulties of bringing a design idea to physical reality. What is then – and forever – open to judgment is the design’s quality. Protecting your ability to design well maps the contours of a professional life devoted to creativity because design is more than a business. The enemy is whatever compromises your imagination.

Design schools attempt to teach many aspects of design. Programs accept potential students based on portfolio reviews and personal recommendations trying to detect inherent talent and a ‘coachable’ drive for excellence. Students have numerous computer programs to master, technical information to understand, fear of presenting to overcome, juried critiques to survive. They often pride themselves on how little sleep they require knowing that their skill with fancy computer renderings may mask a less than full understanding of their proposal, and hope that a little charm will distract from any lack of clarity when presenting their work. I review students who usually work extremely hard and are thirsty for all the intellectual traction good teachers provide. They want to learn techniques for efficient research, methods for developing designs through increasingly strategic decisions, and persuasive graphic skills that convey their ideas effectively to others. What is often missing in their education is how to lead a creative life.

How can enthusiasm be sustained when a person is chronically exhausted? So get enough sleep. How can a vigorous inquiry be undertaken when a person has no energy because they eat junk food and don’t move their bodies? So eat fruit and vegetables, and exercise. How can you advocate for an immature design proposal just because of a deadline? So manage your time insulating your productivity from anything that distracts. How can you envision the invisible when your spirit is hammered by relentless constraints? So take a walk in a forest, gaze at an ocean or play with a child. Many philosophers, Bertrand Russell’s essay “In Praise of Idleness” is an example, suggest that it is only when designers step out of their normal, busy activities that creative thinking occurs. This does not mean catching up on sleep, email, chores or neglected family. Activities within your control: sufficient rest, beneficial diet and daily exercise along with time spent experiencing invigorating art will produce systemic benefits. The resulting positive feelings extend from your body to your mind to your work. Protect that, and you protect your curiosity and give yourself the opportunity to grow as a designer. Don’t let the enemy be you.

Roman Baths Today

The therapeutic and emotionally uplifting benefit of water is undeniable. Our bodies are 70 percent water, no one can survive long without fresh drinking water, any room with a view of water is valued, and then there’s bathing. Being in water may bring forth deep feelings founded on our first sensation of floating in embryonic fluids. Babies are calmed when fussy or stimulated when lethargic by splashing around in warm baths, and most people in developed countries enjoy daily cleansing and purification rituals.

Preserved ruins of bath complexes in Pompeii and descriptions from Roman times by Pliny the Elder and Vitruvius give us a good idea of their design and cultural significance. Two thousand years ago, Rome had at least one million people living in dense circumstances. Nine major aqueducts extending over 250 miles brought fresh water to the city servicing public fountains and baths, as well as tax-paying private homes. Pools of tepid, hot and cold water, and steam rooms were constructed with great concrete vaults, decorated with mosaics and frescos, and supplied by a network of sophisticated piped systems. The density of Rome would have been impossible without the scale of this water infrastructure, and these baths were a critical part of Rome’s social and business activities.

How do they compare to health clubs today? American ones have lap pools for exercise, sauna and steam rooms, and single or dual gender hot tubs. But the architecture? Mahogany locker doors and brass knobs are supposed to signal luxury, never mind the acoustic tile ceilings, wall-to-wall carpeting and plainly tiled walls. Recessed can lights are a poor substitute for daylight that bounces off water surfaces making dynamic reflections. Always too many mirrors. Most people would make better models for a Rubens painting than a Victoria Secret’s catalogue.

But the friendships come easily there, because, here’s the point: people feel good. Moving in water allows bodies to stretch and tone in a medium that relieves us of gravity. The verbs are flow and float, not force and impact. Bathing is more about feelings of well-being than physical appearances. Romans appreciated the relaxation and enjoyment, and were surely better able to live in close quarters because they felt better. Water has this ability. Nevertheless, it is important to know that there’s a lot to be worried about regarding water. Because it is both so ubiquitous and necessary, we often undervalue its worth and are wasteful. Buildings are just beginning to have dual piped water supplies that separate potable water for drinking, cooking and bathing from recycled water or stored rainwater that are suitable for other activities primarily flushing toilets and irrigating gardens. Regulations must penalize industries that pollute natural waterways, and coastal towns and cities that are periodically threatened or destroyed by storm surges are considering new land use practices. Big consumers – golf courses and outdoor swimming pools – are reducing their needs with better design and operating procedures. Of all the natural resources that man has commodified, water is the most critical. Supporting sustainable practices will insure that we not only have clean drinking water and food, but also that we aren't thirsty for a sense of well-being only provided by immersing our bodies in water.