PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: To what extent will the pandemic slow down vertical progress and how will new waves and mutations of the virus affect the perspective of high-rise construction?
Hiroki Matsuura: I do not yet notice a significant impact of the pandemic on the vertical development of architectural forms. Most of the new issues that are directly dictated by the situation are focused more on the search for technical solutions — the introduction of modern ventilation systems, contactless devices, space separation, etc. However, on a macro scale, the consequences may be global. Many people begin to doubt the necessity of physical presence and gathering of all employees in one place for the work process. Now we understand that a significant part of our work can be performed no less efficiently from remote locations. This doubt naturally leads to a review of the possibility of renting / buying large areas in the city center. And, obviously, this leads to a fundamental question: are you really willing and able to build a skyscraper?
Hiroki Matsuura, architect, founder of MADMA urbanism+landscape studio and MASA architects. Photo: Maksym Drobynenko
PM: How justified is high-rise construction in the center of the city? Is it permissible to "stand up for the blue line", and if so, in what cases?
H. M.: Each city must independently determine the rules of the city skyline. Morality in this matter depends on the historical and characteristic background of each city. The worst situation is when the city authorities lose control over height regulation without knowing what should / should not happen in their city. To be honest, Kyiv now falls into the category of similar cities, and this needs to be corrected.
The project of reintegration of the post-industrial territory with the creation of a residential quarter in Kyiv. Image: Masa Architects
The project of reintegration of the post-industrial territory with the creation of a residential quarter in Kyiv. Image: Masa Architects
PM: Can the vertical growth of cities solve such urgent problems as heavy traffic, shortage of affordable housing, deterioration of the ecological situation? Or, on the contrary, will it aggravate them?
H. M.: The densification of cities really helps alleviate such problems as traffic jams and lack of affordable housing. And indeed, it helps preserve the nature that remained outside the existing city limits. But we must realize one important fact. Compacting the existing city is not the same as building skyscrapers. Such vertical zeal is only one of the methods of densification of the city. Among other methods, this is the worst in terms of sustainability and environmental protection. Compaction of the city can also be achieved by reconstruction of existing buildings, not just demolition and subsequent construction. Unfortunately, everywhere you can very often see that a lot of new skyscrapers are being built, while there are enough empty old ones in the city. And another good way to consolidate is the allocation of vacant plots of land in post-industrial areas in the city center for new construction. UNIT.City is a good example of that. There is only one simple solution to increasing affordable housing that countries like the Netherlands have used for centuries. City authorities must establish the percentage of inclusion of affordable (rental) housing in any new residential development in building regulations.
Hiroki Matsuura. Maxim Drobynenko
PM: Why didn't the predictions of the futurists of the early 2th century, who predicted that the second industrial revolution would lead to the emergence of multi-level cities, come true? What will be the skyscrapers of the future in 5-XNUMX decades?
H. M.: Why didn't this happen? Simply because it was easy to say (draw) and difficult to do. And, perhaps, there was no special meaning in this, but one way or another something similar had already been implemented. For example, cars still drive on roads on black rubber wheels, and not fly in the air, as many people once expected.
The skyscraper is one of the most iconic architectural / economic typologies of the XNUMXth century, based on an almost religious belief in the "ever-growing economy" model. Nowadays, this theory is revealed to all of us as utopian. I assume that this typology will slowly die out during the next century. But in the foreseeable future, towers decorated with greenery and "green" in all respects await us, and there will be more and more wooden structures, since the typology of skyscrapers, of course, requires serious justification and compensation in order to exist in the new world era.
