Building for the Future Series 2015

Emmanuel Benbihy
 

We are always told to treat our bodies as temples, but what happens when we start treating our temples as bodies? With this question in mind, distinguished guests gathered to speak at Arup Associates Shanghai space on November 24th. Presented by Green Initiatives and Arup Shanghai, this speaking and networking event entitled “How Can We Realize the Dream of ‘Healthy Buildings’?” focused on the possibilities and benefits of a more subtle approach to the way we construct our urban environments.

Where architecture and urban planning once focused on appearance and logistical considerations, there has been a movement recently to pay more attention to peoples’ unconscious reactions to the spaces they are in. In other words, the effects of things like temperature, air quality and white noise. As scientists understand more about human psychology, designers have become more adept at influencing our mental and emotional wellbeing. Planners are now more than ever, attempting to determine and provide the optimum conditions needed to maximize things like the productivity and success of workers, or the feelings of shoppers inside a mall, even the happiness of residents inside an apartment building.

Venue host Arup Associates is no stranger to this topic, having has designed such renowned and iconic spaces as the Bird’s Nest in Beijing and Hong Kong Station, it was only appropriate that Founder and Principal Architect Antonio Ng was among the guest speakers. Ng offered his breadth of experiences and thoughts on “Health & Wellbeing in the built environment”. Also among the guest speakers was International Film Producer Emmanuel Benbihy, who spoke about the necessity of the media to raise the populations’ awareness of (and engagement in) urban issues. Rounding off the talks was Raefer Wallis, Founder and CEO of GIGA, who gave those in attendance his predictions for a future filled with ‘smart spaces’ that can communicate with one another, suggesting that they will someday do just that to ensure the health and wellbeing of all urban space dwellers.

人们总是被教育成要像敬奉神殿一样对待自身健康，而当我们逐渐开始对待那些神殿如同自己的身体一样时又会发生什么呢？11月24日在奥雅纳工程顾问公司的上海空间，各位贵宾带着这个问题齐聚一堂，参加了由绿色倡议与奥雅纳上海分部开展的题为《我们如何才能实现’健康建筑’的梦想？》的演讲和交流活动，聚焦于通过用一种更为巧妙的方式为我们构建更好的城市环境的可能性和益处。

过去的建筑和城市规划往往都注重于考虑外观和组织方面，而最近出现了一些转变，对于人们对他们所处的空间产生的无意识反应给予了更多关注。换句话说，比如温度，空气质量和白噪音带来的影响。随着科学家越来越深入了解了人类的心理，设计师也变得更加擅长做如何影响我们精神和情感的健康的设计。规划人员也更多的尝试，最大限度地判定和提供如生产率，工作者的成就感，或者消费者在商场里的感受，甚至公寓楼内的居民的幸福感所需要的最佳条件。

会场主持奥雅纳协会对这个话题已不陌生，已经设计了享誉盛名的标志性建筑如北京的鸟巢和香港站，协会创始人兼首席建筑师 Antonio Ng 是最合适这次活动演讲嘉宾之一。Antonio Ng根据自己广泛的经验和体会提出了“健康与幸福的建筑环境”。国际电影制片人Emmanuel Benbihy也是本次演讲嘉宾之一，他探讨了通过媒体提高群体意识和参与到城市问题的必要性。给这次活动画上圆满句号的是GIGA的总裁兼首席执行官Raefer Wallis，他给在场的参与者提出他的预测——未来会充满可以相互沟通“智能空间”，他表示他们终有一天会做到确保所有的城市居民的健康和幸福。