“We all have a responsibility to learn how to live and develop sustainably
in a world of finite resources.” Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, 2009.
W
ith more than half
the world’s population now living in
urban areas, design
has become an increasingly important tool to make cities more
competitive, attractive, liveable and
efficient. The World Design Capital
(WDC) designation is a city promotion project that celebrates the accomplishments of cities that have
used design as a tool to enhance
social, cultural, economic and environmental quality of life. In recognition of its accomplishments and its
ongoing commitments to use design as a tool for development, the
City of Cape Town (the first African
city) has earned the designation of
2014 World Design Capital
(www.wdccapetown2014.com/).
The City of Cape Town, now three
times the size of New York City and
home to an estimated 4 million
people, has undertaken the process
of redesigning itself. As South Africa’s oldest city and its legislative
capital, and having recently hosted
the first Soccer World Cup on African soil, the city now has first-class
infrastructure, a cosmopolitan lifestyle and is a much sought after
holiday destination.
For its WDC bid portfolio, the city
sourced numerous design case
studies. A prominent feature within
these case studies was the concept
of green design (the philosophy of
designing physical objects, the built
environment and services to comply
with the principles of social, cultural, economic, and ecological sustainability) and its importance in
mitigating the impacts of technological advancement in a resourcelimited age. What follows are but a
few of the green design initiatives
and strategies the city and the province have employed.
Nationally
About 60% of the world’s electricity
is consumed by the building
(residential and commercial) sector,
which is now the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. To mitigate the sectors’ impact on climate change, energy
costs are now becoming an increasingly important consideration in the
design of buildings and their surrounding landscapes. The South
African Constitution (section 24
[‘Environment’] of the Bill of Rights)
requires the protection of the environment for the benefit of all. Following trends in other countries,
the South African government has
passed legislation (e.g. the South
African National Standards (SANS)
10400–XA ‘Energy Usage in Buildings’ Regulation) focusing on improving the energy efficiency of
existing buildings (by ‘retrofitting’
them for energy efficiency), and
ensuring that new buildings are
designed to be as energy efficient
as possible. The regulations, for example, require that at least 50% of
the annual average hot water
should be provided by means other
than electricity (e.g. solar heaters,
heat pumps and renewable combustible fuel). Some other practical
considerations should include: the
orientation of the buildings; the
roof assembly, insulation and overhang; window positioning and glazing; and rainwater harvesting, storage and use.
Provincially
The rapid expansion in the Western
Cape with the associated clean water, energy, pollution and waste,