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With sustainability built into infrastructure, we can afford a greener way of life that is practical and effortless in developments such as Pavilion Genting Highlands
In June 2021 the heritage district of Amsterdam welcomed a new high tech resident, a 12m-long stainless steel pedestrian bridge spanning one of the city’s historic canals. MX3D is the world’s first fully 3D-printed bridge, a pioneering project that fuses a cutting edge and sculptural design with energy efficient offsite production methods. More than a dozen sensors in the structure monitor the weather, traffic flow and the performance of the building materials, enabling long term tracking and adaptive reuse of the structure as usage patterns emerge and evolve.
Sustainable living used to be synonymous with compromise. Buildings were designed around the constraints placed on them by energy efficient or renewable materials. As well as significant cost implications, living sustainably required a massive commitment, both in terms of time energy, and on the part of the occupants.
Over the past decade that landscape has shifted. MX3D is one example. H3, an office building in Bucharest, is an experiment in information
control and post-pandemic hygiene designed to give workers the confidence to return to office buildings as COVID-19 eases around the world.
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At the same time architects and planners are adopting ancient techniques in new developments, creating new urban templates that are more reactive and adaptive. These include buildings in India using evaporative cooling techniques to reduce reliance on HVAC systems and cutting energy consumption. In China, futuristic townships are being built using the ancient principle of stepped water terraces, increasing their resilience to flooding, retaining and reusing water rather than building complex concrete systems to channel runoff.
Developments like the Pavilion Genting Highlands integrated development are at the forefront of this new approach to building and designing sustainable communities. Communities that are built within the landscape rather than on it. That preserves natural land and ensures that its balance and biodiversity is not disturbed. Not only does this allow residents to access much needed green spaces for leisure and wellness purposes, but it helps to boost the environmental resilience of the district.
It also provides an opportunity to reduce our dependence on carbon-emitting motor vehicles. Zones designed with walkability and cycle paths cut down on the noise and air pollution that can affect both our physical and mental health. Proposed sustainable public transport initiatives, such as electric shuttles, allow inhabitants to make longer journeys without disturbing the tranquillity and air of the area.
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