Seven (7) Points for EcoMetropolitanism Mari Fujita + Matthew Soules Nowhere does high density urbarésm exist in such close proxim- ity te nature as in Vancouver. Rapidly growing and unfettered by history, the city provides a glimpse of = potential new form of ‘twenty-first century urbanism, Incorporated in 1886, Vancouver Is the youngest of North. America’s large cities. Its populationroughly doubled from1.2 mI- lion in 181 to 22 milion in 2008 and is predicted to surpass 3 millon by 2020, The collateral effect of this growthis a dansity of 442,000 people/sq. mile in the core, placing it second only to Manhattaris 65,060 people/sq. mie among Canadien and ‘Amarican cities. This density isall the mora remarkable in relation, to other relatively recently established cities on the continer such as Houston (Inc. 1837), with 3.00 people|sq. mile, and Denver (ine. 186), with 3,600 people/sq. mile, Vancouver is an ‘anomaly ina continant whore the age of acity is typically directly correlated density: the younger the city, the less dense. This, unlikely concition is the product of a fortutous alignment of local planning initistives with global real estate development and migration trends. The city’s 1991 Central Area Plan, designed to encourage the residential densification of dovintown, rapidly ‘became a realty when it inadvertently coincided with an influx of immigrants from Hong Kong \Vancouvarism, a term coined by planners and erchitects in the late 19905," has come to describe five basic principles for the city ‘Center: high density housing; provision of views: alarge amount of ‘green end recreetion space: gener cus spacing hatwaen buildings; and amale civie amenities euch as community centers and public art. The essential concepts underlying Vancouveriom are density and liveblity, In the opening ines of Dream City: Vancouver and the Global Imagination, Lance Berelowitz writes, “Vancouver has ‘emerged as the postor chidof urbanism inNorth America’ some ertics havegoneso faras toclaimthat Vancouveriem has replaced ‘Mariattenism as the apotheosis of contemporary city builling + The formal specificity of Vncouverism is defined by the domi: nance ef the podium toner, the proliferation of variously scaled ‘green spaces, and an emphasis on view corridors. The pacium towers typology that places one to four residentia point towers entopof « podium base that generally includes townhomes, com: mercial space, and amerity programs, This configuration ersur 2 significant spacing batween towers, thareby mitigating crowd: Ing end affording views. Zoning guidelines erharce these effects by limiting tower floor plates to 6000 square feet for shorter tow= ers and 4500 square fest for tallertoners, The city's greenspeces result from both small scale interventions and large acole plan ‘ing: the agaregation of individual green softscapes creates a patchwork of recreation spaces nthe city; the long sea well encir ling Vencouver’s central cove includes @ mult-lane pathway for pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, and oketere, At the most macro scale, the planning department defined twenty-seven view cones! thet preserve what are determined to be sicnificant vistas. These ‘geometrically defined air spaces start from a specific point and project in plan and section toward the mountains that rise en the ‘aty’s North Shore, aesthetically interlacking tha city with tho sur rounding wilderness. The cones configure how the city relates to ita exterior by determining the form ofits interior. \Vancouvarism can also be understood asa stretegy born of the: city’s unparalleled natural contoxt: Metropolitan Vancouver ‘extends into meuntains to the north, an area covered with vast ‘expanses of temperate rain forest beginning less than five miles from the central core. Thase forests contein large erees of old- Growth troos and aubstantial black bear and deer populations. Steniey Perk, North America’s third largest city-owned park, sits directly edjacent to the central core and supports a diverse wild- life papuiation that includes coyotes, beld eagles, raccoons, and Great Blue Herons. (The heron pepulation, forinstanco, is cons! fered to be one of the worlc’s largest and most successful urban wildlife conditions.) The parks department monitors fourteen eagle nests as part of its effort to support urbven eagle habitats The waters surrounding the city are populated by an array of ‘marine life, including milions of salmon that annually migrate to eet eFTLTLTLULTl lSpraxis 10 Fruita and Soules: EcoMetopoltenism 27 Metropolitaniem EcoMetropelitanismFults and Soules: EcoMetropoltanism 28 spawning grounds inthe metropolis rivers. An estimated popula: ‘ton of over 200 coyotes roems thravahout the city. Collectivey, these animals extend their reach directly into the urban erwiran: rent 8 part of their routine feeding end habitation petterns not of density ie rationalized in part a5 2 technique of land preservation and reduced resource consumo: ‘ton; view preservation connects city dwellers to the surrounding Vanecuverism's vilderness; the proliferation of sofescapes bring exterior ecolo: ies into the city core, But these are, in large part, passive and cobjectifying strategies that reveal Vancouverism's falure to fuly Ccapitalze on its natural anvirorment. At the edge of large scale North American settlement, Vancouver's dramatic local context cf forested mountaine andorean inlots andbayspplacos ttindirect contact with ralatively pristine natural ecologies The danse, compact, and proararmatically varied central core is in fact jux: teposed and intertwined with ective and vibrant ecologicel sys tome, This intorrelationchip is an onticing provocstion to o-think ‘our understanding of urbanism, ‘With Vancouver and Vancouverismas points of departure, how can landscape architects, architects, and planners reinvigorate the act of city making by generating nw possibiltis for hybrid inhabitations that produce a diversity of desired effects? How can the making of bulcings and cities move beyond @ passive relationship to ecology and actively ergage it as an exciting ter rain upon which to orchestrate and construct new pocabblitics? What is EcoMet? If Vancouverism isthe model of density and diversity within a kv able framework, EceMet{ropelitanism)is an accelerated version. Ecalfet increases density and livablity while amplifying and exploiting the relationship to the natural environment by synthe: sizing the production of metropolitan culture with that of ecolog}: cally designed architectural environments, From these tonete, the EcoMetropats emerges: the hyperdanss, super diverse, and radically optimized ty. Inthe production of metropolitan culture EcoMet borrows from Delirious New York and the work of OMA in that it celebrates a Culture of Congaetions in which design decisions sre made to “oprerate density, exploit proximity, provoke tension, maximize friction, organize in-batweers, promote filtering, sponsor iden: tity, end stimulate blurring.” Where Koohaes' metropolitanism is focused en human oxporience, EcoMat brings an expanded popu: lation of non-human organisms into the mix: proximities and tert sions are devaloped betiveen programe sacificto this expanded definition of population. The neecs of plants anc animals access, nourishment, domicile, ight, precipitation, etc) within the urban envirenment are considered equsl to human considerations such as entertainment, roer: tion, and economics. In these terms EcoMet is the heichtened programmatic diversification and den: sification ofthe city in which mutually bereficial agjacencies ere pursued. For instance, « podium roofscepe might be designed to accommadate the specific nesting needs of an at-risk bird spe- clas, thus providing important habitat ooportunities while offer ing a dynamic programmatic adjacency to the towers’ human ‘residents, By intermingling ecological systems within the urban fabric, EcoMst gonoratee a more intense urbanism that preduces fxpariences for an expanded range of inhabitants simultaneous. (0 more traditional goals of sustainability Ike habitat preserva tion and biodiversity. This optimized city is made possible because the nation of density is extanded into ecclagieal terme: ‘and the value assigned to ecclogy is extended into urban terms. Report 63 February, 2005) 28. Available at: ht/Mweurbentutures.com/ 2 Trevor Bed interven by Je Bogdanowir,n Yoncouverem ie Vancouver, 4 ule Bogeanoniezand Rebin Andersor, 2008 Pasacena Architectural {3.Lanco derlonitz, Dream City: Yencouver end te Global ineghnetion Ianceuver Couglat andWelntyre, 2004) 4: Trevor Body "Vancouvera vs, Lower Manha:tanior hoping the HighDersity City’ ArchlVewsNon.con, Seotamber 20,2005, apllenevarchronenon comifonturelFasture77 Hrs 5.RemKoohaas, Otirous New York New Yer. The Monacal Press, 994), © Remkootas, SMLXL, (New York: Monell Press, regs}. 69 {cig page bettie Tanena ‘Stermnealentonard ping ertiesPOINT 1 > Make ecoMAX EcoMet first requires that we reconsider received definitions af density. While common measurements suchas FAR and human population densi nocoseary, they are insuffi EcoMet, with its expanded reach and intarasts, requires indices hal represent a broader spectrum systems and inhabitants that include the quantification of plant and animal life. GPP, FPA, FI, and WMP rovoal amore diverse ond dense city by systen atically measuring inhabitants thatinclide humars, flora, and fauna. Correlations between discrete datasats—such as FPA bird populations, and human density—revealinterreletionships between arimal and human populations, enebiing designers ard fects plamers tormodulate factors topradice desired (increasing one popuiation while keeping ancther constant, for example). Acareful interplay between accounting and modula y, thus achieving ecoMax City’s current GPP ie 0.3% and Vancouver's |s 0.5%, via operations such as optirrizing podium roofscapes. 2s park space the EcoMetropolls couldreach a GPP of 9%. POINT 2 > Invert the View Cone EcoMet extends Vancouver's view cone eystem by propos four new types of view cones that start at @ new scale and orientation: Urban Habitat Cones, Urban Agricuiture Cone ~ id end within the city y Release Cones, end Mixer Cones, Urban Habitat Cones and Urban Agriculture Cor ieually interconni particularly prominent zones of these programs ire pure residential density. Density Rel Cones function speci ically to provide ar space adjacent toa hyper dense nade or ed; nterp the very open allows for even greater densities. Mixer Cones through the city strategically to reveal the Giversity of ts programs andinhabitants; reorienting the view cone so that the Urban enwiconment itself (and not only the mountains beyond the city) are valued serves to frame andregister tho 1g the very dense with sity and foster density, Naw YorkCity Vancouver Density (DEN i a Ethnic Diversity index (EDI) Green Per Person (GPP): m0 oe Food Producing Area (FPA): wa Urban Forest index (UF: |] Wild Mammals Per Person(WMPP):PRAXIS 10 Fut ond Soule: EceMatronaitarien St POINT 3 > Intensify Use Optimizing EcoMet necessitates that every formand surface. accommodate mutiple funetions incorporating agriculturo, wid lite circulation corridors, and habitats throughout the city. The Current manifestation of the Vancouver podium typology which ‘most successfully approaches this concition (whatishi termed the Intensive Block Podium cortains.an intornalized, elevated landscape which is simultaneously acircuiatienroute tothe townhouses that wrep the block's perimeter; arecreation andleisure spa 5 and an elevated, artifical col gy capable of supporting a range of plants and species. The ‘Aquazius, anintansive block podium designed by ames Cheng, Inclides.a fish-stocked lake on the podium. Thelake provides vities for thecity'sbirds of prey, pracucing the remarkable condition of fich taking rofu odio cent to the towers structural columns, next te residents entering the tovier.EcoMet proliferates this and similar conditions through the Eco-Intersive Podium Block Thisnew typology more aggressively o2cks opportunities well as inside the volume, of the podium tomar by juxtaposing theperformative demands ofan increased array of species pro- hunting op under evarhan Wg the surface, a8 grams: wildlife corridors slice through commercial spaces at ‘ground level; birde nest on floor thirteennext tothe workout room, and agriculture extends botweon tower one and tower threeto capture sunlightPOINT 4 > Exploit Co-existencepeaxis 10 Fujta ord Seube EeoMatropoltariom 23 POINT S > Broaden Structure Met augments structure and infrastructure’s extant fune tone of supporting humens by capitalizing on their potential to sorviee the city’s expanded population. Often a simple adjust ‘ment of existing configurations can transform a structureintoa poly alent component for multiple systems. The underwater piles supporting Vancouver's convention centre exper inpolt: tho pile systemwae designed to simuitareously the weight of the building and supnorta bioengineered structure for enartificial fish habitat. The’ Hak ofe bear Skirt consists ries of pre-cest concrete frames that supportconcrete stringor supporting stsire. cantral trough runs along the lenath of each slat toact as an artifical tidal pool The slats'rough surfeces are designed "to facilitate the effective subsequent long-termutilzation of the 0 of typical intertidal floraand fauna.” inits current application, the Habitat Skitis relegated tothe periphery ofthe convention center, but what it prolifer ‘ated anc’ looked for opporturitie bench habitat by a broad Isewhere? Bioengine ‘structurae can include programmatic roles for what ars other wise solely bulding structure forbald eegies and fish lad hus adding nesting locations $ for spawning salmon. * Rick Hoos tlonhone interion with MriFuita, Februnry 21.2008.POINT 6 > Maximize Envelope The thinness of Vancouver'sresidential towers comes froma ‘mandate to minimize shadowing and maximize separation and Viaws, butit aise increases onvelope-to-floor area ratio. The typical Vancauner podium tower floor patois half tho sizeof, for example, the Trump international Hotel and Tover at Columbus Circle. Vancouver's maximized envelope also ‘maximizoe the intorface betwaon the interior and exterior and therefore heightens interaction between what is thenormative exterior domain of natural ecologies and the interior spaces of metropolitan culture. The inhabitants of the podium tower live within an expandedinteriace with the exterior epace of plants ‘and animals In pursuing an accelerated maximization of envelope, EcoMet seeks toredeploy and rearticulate surface conditions to position aciversity of exterior soaces in proximity to, and in uxtapesition with, interior spaces: roof planesare folded down, curtain walls distorted inwards, and crevices subtracted to increase porosity. The use of energy ‘conserving glazing technologies combined with the energy ‘savings of day lighting can offset energy loss resulting from anexpanded envelopeFjta ond Soules EcoMetrocttarisn 35 POINT 7 > Ecologize the Interior The boundary between interior and exterior marks thelong car tested division between the artificial and natural. While recent architecture and urbeniam s earecially inventive in questioning this division interme of form, the underlying binary remains intact. Vancouver has unwittnaly subverted this oppositicn by generating what can be describedas interiorizedurban agricul ture on amassive scale relatively lenient drug laws and strong foreign demand for marijuana have rasulted in a covert domestic ‘agricultural industry. The City of Vancouver estimates that there 2are thousands ofthese operations in Metro Vancouver, produc: ing more than ¢5 billion in annual exports andmaking Vancouver arguably the most significant urban agricultural environment in the world, Basements, atties. and entire homes and apartments ‘re equipped with hydroponic technology inwwhich marjuane plants ore grown in a nutrient solution with the aid of special lighting. EcoMot seeks the mainstreaming of those interior eco: ‘pies beyond theilict drug trade to create productive environ ‘ments inwhich ving wallpapers are deployed for their aranic uclities as wellas their ablity to provide food: fresh tomatoes can beharvested from one's kitchen calling nan aver-changing environment of red, green, and purple organic pixels,