Flooding, parking and lack of green spaces are only few challenges our cities face. And with the climate change we are likely to face growing numbers of cloudbursts. The young Danish architectural office THIRD NATURE, founded by Ole Schrøder and Flemming Rafn Thomsen in 2012, aims to adapt cities to the consequences of climate changes.

By stacking water reservoir, parking facility and urban space, the project POP-UP solves three challenges at once. As heavy rain falls, storm water fills the underground reservoir and the parking structure will pop up in the cityscape, highlighting the adaption to the forces of nature. THIRD NATURE has exemplified POP-UP in St. John’s Park in New York.

“With POP-UP, we have a humane response to man-made problems, that by combining multiple challenges in one overall solution shows the world how climate adaptation, mobility and urban development do not have to be each other’s opposites in the viable cities of the future.”

– says Ole Schrøder, partner in THIRD NATURE.

Climate challenges force many cities to establish large and very expensive water reservoirs under existing roads and squares. With POP-UP, THIRD NATURE wants to create added value by making use of the expensive reservoirs and establishing underground parking facilities, with urban spaces or public features on top.

The round shape of the parking facility and the water reservoir makes the parking facility lighter and thus helps the buoyancy. The spiral-shaped ramp of the parking facility makes it possible to drive to and from the parking facility on ground level, regardless of the water level in the water reservoir.

“POP-UP is an example of a radical thinking, where design and complex engineering is applied to face challenges imposed by climate change and the need for sustainable urban living,” says Tommy Olsen, Project Director at COWI, one of the engineering firm that has contributed to the project with structural modeling and economic calculations.

Instead of constructing a rainwater reservoir that will be empty 99% of the time, a monofunctional parking facility – often too expensive to build underground where it does not occupy space, and an active urban space fighting for m² in the dense cities, THIRD NATURE suggests POP-UP. A climatic, vibrant and innovative solution that meets all three needs in one solution, which makes it an attractive solution in an overall economic perspective.

“Cities are in extreme situations where billions need to be spent on climate mitigation solutions and the equivalent amount on handling densification of the cities, especially the conflict between cars and urban spaces, so for us it is natural to think of the solutions together,” says Flemming Raft Thomsen, partner at THIRD NATURE.

In September 2015, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the City of Copenhagen’s Technical and Environmental Administration signed a cooperation agreement to develop innovative climate adaptation solutions. THIRD NATURE, together with engineering firms COWI and RAMBØLL, have participated in a number of workshops in New York, with the aim of developing scalable solutions based on experiences from Copenhagen’s climate adaptations.

POP-UP has the inherent potential to be scaled and adapted to other big cities facing similar issues of climate adaptation and parking challenges. The project has been developed and refined for locations in Copenhagen and St. John’s Park in New York (where the illustrations are from).

POP-UP can therefore contribute to the development of a compact metropolitan area based on a decentralized and design-integrated climate adaptation strategy. The co-operation between THIRD NATURE, COWI and RAMBØLL shows how design and climate adaptation can be integrated into a strong business case, with optimized investments that make space for more buildings and attractive urban spaces.

Location:

St. John’s Park, New York City, USA

Project Data:

• Architect: THIRD NATURE
• Engineering Firms: COWI and RAMBØLL

The post POP-UP Parking Aims to Revolutionize Climate Adaptation in Major Cities appeared first on Archipreneur.

This week’s interview is with paper planes e.V., the initiative behind the project Radbahn.

The team behind paper planes e.V. consists of architects, urban planners, cultural managers and entrepreneurs. Their goal is to develop Berlin into a bike-friendly city by transforming the forgotten space underneath Berlin’s famous elevated subway line “U1” into a bike path connecting Bahnhof Zoo in the west all the way to Oberbaum bridge in the east. The vision of Radbahn is not only to create space for contemporary mobility, but also for innovation and leisure.

The team has just produced a 140-page book proving that the implementation of Radbahn is possible. Right now the people behind paper planes e.V. are engaging with decision makers, current and future partners and other coalition members to ensure that Radbahn will be build in the near future – we sure hope so!

You can help turn this vision into reality by supporting their crowdfunding campaign! See more crowdfunded architecture projects here.

We spoke with one of the members of the initiative, Matthias Heskamp, an architect who studied under Álvaro Siza for 10 years in Porto and has led projects for David Chipperfield Architects in Berlin. As the head of the association, he now dedicates himself full-time to paper planes e.V.

Enjoy the interview!

You combined your knowledge of architecture, urban planning and development and business to make Berlin a better place – at least for cyclists. Could you tell us how you met and what your respective backgrounds are?

Initiative projects usually start with a problem. In our case the problem was detected by Martti Mela, an entrepreneur, on one of these rainy days in Berlin. He rang me up, asking, why it is not possible to ride his bike underneath the elevated U1? One day later we met with a group of architect friends to examine the situation and came up with an intriguing proposal.

The team quickly grew to eight members of different fields, a professional in campaigning with business background, a cultural manager, an expert of integrational traffic planning, an urban planner and various architects.

When did you come up with the concept for Radbahn? What inspired you?

The idea arose end of September 2014. We have been working for one year on the concept for Radbahn and then launched it to the public in November 2015.

The unused, predominantly abandoned space under the elevated listed U1 construction inspired us to come up with a unique solution for covered and save cycling, space for culture and leisure activities and most important: a testbed for innovative intermodal mobility concepts and sustainable energy use.

Your concept for the Radbahn has won prices and was mentioned in the press worldwide. Why does the Radbahn not exist yet, what are the obstacles?

We got worldwide recognition for the concept, which proves that the idea has been very convincing. We were aware that at the time of going to public in November 2015, it didn’t show, how we would imagine Radbahn to be build in detail and how to solve intersections with car traffic. We sensed not only the need to come up with detailed proposals for that but further to outline the vast field of possibilities and chances for Berlin going along with the realization of Radbahn.

The result is a comprehensive study called “Radbahn Berlin”, a book with 140 pages, which we have launched recently, end of May 2017.

You have just launched a Startnext campaign. What is your goal?

Raising 17,000 Euros would allow us to finally get the book printed and start sending copies of it to key politicians and other influencers in Berlin. This is, what we achieved already thanks to the amazing support we got so far. Our next threshold is to reach 30,000 Euro to make it possible to dedicate more time to push Radbahn forward over the next three month. If we reach our goal of 40,000 Euro, we will organize a public street party in fall 2017, obviously located under the U1.

What major problems and opportunities do you think cities face in the 21^st century?

The future of quickly rising cities is painted mostly negatively. Main topics are traffic congestion and air pollution. If we would see the chance in contemporary technology, which facilitates effective ways of intermodal mobility, sharing economy, energy harvesting we would be able to create amazing scenarios for sustainable cities, scaled back to human proportion. The trend of home office working make people tend to care about there districts they are living in. Local communities help cities to face global problems.

And how about Berlin?

Berlin is a city with low density, thus it does have a lot of space to allow for pedestrian and bike-friendly infrastructure. It furthermore is high in ranking regarding people who prefer to use sustainable means of transport. Generally Berlin has a young and open spirit, which would help to position the city to be the leading one regarding a modern mobility concept.

Do you have any advice for archipreneurs who are interested in starting their own business?

The idea and conviction for a project comes first. Bring potential stakeholders on board from the very beginning. Release early stages of a project on social media, to get a sense of public recognition. Networking will allow you to share work, and have a broader community to strive for the potential realization of your initiative.

How do you see the future of the architectural profession? In which areas (outside of traditional practice) can you see major opportunities for up and coming developers and architects?

Architects will have to assume more responsibility to influence tendencies of urban developments. If the driving force would only come from investors and authorities, we would lack the vision for a comprehensive understanding of chances for the cities of tomorrow.

About Radbahn/Paper planes e.V.

The team behind the Radbahn formed a registered nonprofit association called paper planes e.V. in summer 2016. Our goal is to research innovative social and technological concepts that make urban spaces more people-oriented and environmentally friendly for more livable cities.

We believe that increasing urbanization brings with it great opportunities. If we manage to make the right investments in our cities, it will not only be possible to make our everyday environment more livable, but we can also tackle today’s major global challenges.

Our ‘paper planes’ are designed to inspire as many people as possible about the exciting opportunities of tomorrow. To make it happen, we develop concrete concepts, carry out comprehensive project planning and promote our ideas with convincing communication.

The post Radbahn for Berlin: Converting Forgotten Space for Contemporary Mobility and Innovation appeared first on Archipreneur.

It seems that tech incubators and accelerators are starting to directly target cities. Companies like Uber, AirBnB and WeWork already impact our daily lives without deliberately targeting urban conditions. We are witnessing a proliferation of apps and digital tools that promise to make our cities ‘smart’ by embedding technology into existing infrastructural networks and living units. Critics are voicing their concerns over the idea of cramming huge amounts of technology into every city intersection and alleyway, stating that the one-solution-fits-all approach practiced by most tech startups is not the best way of creating sustainable, smart urban environments.

Most tech startups are currently affecting urban environments without substantially effecting the most significant urban problems such as affordable housing, education and efficient public transport. It seems this is about to change, thanks to several startup hubs, incubators and accelerators that actively target urban issues by supporting young enterprises focused on urbanism.

#1 Alphabet

Alphabet, a parent company of Google, is looking to get into the field of urbanism by their company, Sidewalk Labs. The think tank partnered with DC-based, policy-making non-profit Transportation For America to implement better transportation policies across the country. The program will help 70 cities to reshape their transportation plans. The team has already launched the Smart Cities Challenge, which called for proposals for new transportation networks. Seven finalists will receive $40 million in total, though other proposals will also be developed in collaboration with the non-profit. The great thing about the initiative is that the solutions will rely on technology only as much as it is actually necessary.

#2 Tumml

Urban venture accelerator Tumml aims to support startups that address issues related to urban development. By establishing a platform for making a meaningful social impact, the organizers are hoping to help solve urban problems. Tumml was founded by two women who both have backgrounds in real estate, sustainability and local politics. This seems to be the perfect combination for supporting scalable companies and empowering entrepreneurs to make a real change in their cities.

#3 Y Combinator

One of the most famous startup incubators in the United States, Y Combinator, recently unveiled a new program that specifically targeted urbanism. The seed accelerator invests in companies and helps startups further develop their products, teams and markets, as well as refine their business models. Some of the many companies funded by Y Combinator (YC) are Dropbox, AirBnB, Reddit, and Coinbase. Its newest program “New Cities” will focus on the optimization and effectiveness of metropolitan areas, as well as affordable housing, transportation and policy-making. The first phase of this program will be a YC research project, the results of which will be shared with the public.

#4 Impact Engine

Impact Engine recently raised $10 million and went from being an accelerator to a seed fund that supports early-stage, tech-focused businesses in the Chicago area. While its focus is on startups working in different spheres – from health and education to economic empowerment – Impact Engine is also making an impact on urbanism by funding companies that promise to change neighborhoods and urban conditions. Effortless Energy, funded by Impact Engine, acts as a market maker between homeowners, energy auditors, contractors, grant programs, and financiers, while Meal Sharing brings people together over home-cooked meals, and connects communities across Chicago.

#5 Urban-X

Startup accelerator program Urban-X, developed by BMW’s Mini and venture capital outfit HAX, focuses on “intelligent cities, urban hyper-growth and society-scale challenges.” It backs 10 small companies each year and supports startups through legal, marketing, HR, mentorship and accounting assistance. Some of the main issues it aims to address are urban safety, the sharing economy and urban mobility, with a specific focus on startups in New York City. Efficient alternatives to recycling organic waste, developing geo-intelligence, public transportation sharing systems and modular urban farming are some of the most innovative areas the accelerator has supported in the past.

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While the jury is still out on the effects of the tech industry’s physical presence in neighborhoods, there are clear indicators that it is showing an increasing interest in urbanism and cities. These examples reveal that the tech industry might become a key player in developing workable solutions tailored to unique situations in urban areas.

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