Water problems are already being witnessed in London and elsewhere in England, as evidenced by the ‘hosepipe ban’ coming into force this month.
However it is not all bad news. While the predicted weather conditions will be new to the UK, they are already a fact of life for much of the world and building precedents in Mediterranean countries could teach us how to adapt our cities to cope with increased summer.
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Flood-proof housing in the Netherlands & Venice, a ‘floodable’ city with solar protection. © Pelsmakers
While we can only speculate about how things will change and how ‘bad’ they may get, we can and should future-proof our buildings today by undertaking adaptation measures, which simultaneously support climate change mitigation efforts. Here are my simple top 5 key adaptation and mitigation measures to undertake, for both new-build as well as retrofit of housing
1. Insulating & increasing the airtightness of buildings helps buffer against cold winters and is also effective in assisting with warmer summers.
2. Incorporate sliding or inward-opening windows, which allow external solar shading to be closed, while allowing good natural ventilation (see also 3).
©The Environmental Design Pocketbook – inward opening windows with solar shading, allowing good, secure night ventilation through small top-opening windows.
3. Ensure good night-cooling and cross ventilation, while blocking unwanted summer-sun out. Thermal mass may also play a role in buffering against high summer-time temperatures as long as good, secure night cooling is provided to release built-up heat from the daytime. Failure to do so may cause overheating.
4. Increase greenery, permeable surfaces & water storage – both at micro and macro scale. These measures will help London and many other cities deal with increased risk of localised flash floods and also the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, which exacerbates summer overheating. Green spaces and water squares, which collect rainwater and act as an amenity for city-dwellers, can help reduce local summer temperatures by creating a ‘park cool island’ effect, with temperatures 2–3°C lower than the surroundings. The larger the green space, the greater the tempering effect, although this effect can still be felt with small spaces too.
5. Finally, provide light coloured external surfaces at micro & macro scale. Vernacular architecture in warmer countries show that light and reflective surfaces, when used on buildings and streetscapes, can keep buildings cooler and reduce surface temperatures by 10–20°C.