Sharon Giffen, head of design at Earls Court Development Company, discusses the sustainability of tall buildings, highlighting their role in addressing urban challenges.

Are height and sustainability mutually exclusive, or are they pieces of the same jigsaw? As matters of environmental, social and economic sustainability loom ever larger, both in public consciousness and in industry-based debate, the question of height and whether it can be truly sustainable, increasingly comes to the fore.

 

Cities are struggling with complex equations of land use, societal needs and economics, all underscored with a pressing need to address the climate emergency. 

 

Post-pandemic, the importance placed on access to green and open space has increased. In cities, land is at a premium; the need to house and educate citizens,to facilitate economic development, and provide access to amenity is exceptionally challenging. Bringing forward well-designed,sustainable tall buildings is a critical part of the solution.

 

Delivering height frees up ground area for public uses –outdoor space that is craved and needed for social and environmental sustainability. Height requires less space for the infrastructure needed to support it; a smaller amount of servicing can meet the needs of many, lessening environmental impact.

 

Tall Residential buildings can also provide a range of housing types, tenures and price points –again helping address the housing crisis. As society’s needs change, for example, with an ageing population, there are greater opportunities for designing in ‘lifetime homes’. 

 

When designed and managed well, taller buildings can be a moment of pride on the landscape and an enabler for bringing people together through passive and active engagement. The provision of amenity, within and without the building, becomes more viable and deliverable with taller buildings, given their denser populations. All of this supports social and economic sustainability by increasing usefulness over the long term, mitigating prevalent issues of loneliness and other mental health issues. 

 

Tall buildings are also increasingly multi-functional, combining workspace, residential, hotel, or all three. This mitigates the vagaries of economic cycles, creating life at differing times of the day and year. Environmentally,this facilitates the use of sustainable energy systems, taking advantage of multiple uses within one building or cluster. At the same time, this multi-purpose approach keeps urban spaces vibrant and attractive, improving the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of the places in which tall buildings are located. 

 

Environmentally, whilst tall buildings require more materials to construct than low-rise rise, per person, it can be more efficient. The key is to design and build with as low embodied carbon materials as possible. Designing clusters to ensure sufficient gaps between tall buildings and their neighbours, addressing air quality, heat island and overshadowing issues. Larger gaps mean better air flow, increasing the dispersal of particulates and dissipating localised heat buildups. But the real benefit is the external space that is freed up for wider societal benefits—urban greening and nature, cultural or healthy living. 

 

Successful delivery is a finely tuned balance of many factors; design and build at height carefully, then environmental, social, and economic benefits can become a natural outcome.