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Sustainable development has become a major issue
for our society. Socio-economic changes oblige
us to take a building’s complete lifecycle into
account, from its design to its construction, its
usage, and all the way to its demolition – or better
still, its renovation and re-use. Not only must we
consider energy performance in connection with
thermal comfort but also present and future envi-
ronmental impacts, management of resources and
risk management (including health risks), air qual-
ity, subsequent recycling of materials, etc., and by
approaching, in as objective a manner as possible,
concepts such as well-being and the harmonious
integration of the structure into the site.
Current developments in the built environment,
however, are characterised by a great deal of disorder
and arbitrary decisions, first and foremost in cities.
Philippe Samyn believes that it is necessary not only
to stop urban sprawl, but also to reduce and better
structure cities’ footprints, albeit in a non-dogmatic
manner. Developing, for example, residential towers
with mandatory central cores is a questionable given,
and the architect should take part in this debate. Urban
development involves organising spatial coherence and
managing technological dependency. In this, the archi-
tect’s role is to anticipate upcoming trends. In 1988 for
example, during the renovation of the Madou Tower for
Olivetti and prior to the development of the internet,
all of the computer networks consisted of coaxial
cables placed in false floors. Having learned that
at
&
t
and British Olivetti were developing thin ‘twisted pair’
telephone cabling to replace their coaxial predeces-
sors, Philippe Samyn had to overcome a great deal
of scepticism to incorporate this fact into his project,
which would allow cabling to be placed everywhere,
Sustainable development
and regulation
Figures 58: Laboratory building
for
az
-
vub
, Brussels (01-409/2)
58
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