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Dialogue
Clean city, healthy city
Are sustainable urban design and health-promoting design one and the same? Marc Sansom talks
to Dr Ken Yeang, pioneer of ecological architecture and masterplanning, about his visionary ideas
Malaysian-born Dr Ken Yeang has been at the forefront of ecological design for more than 35 years. Principal
of Kuala Lumpur-based T.R. Hamzah & Yeang, and chairman of its sister company Llewelyn Davies Yeang in
London, he has a global influence on the way our cities are being shaped, with a particular expertise in
“deep green” masterplanning and a whole-habitat approach to sustainability. Yeang’s “bioclimactic skyscrapers”, such
as Singapore’s Solaris (below), have been particularly influential – towers reimagined as vertical landscapes, with
natural ventilation, rainwater harvesting and copious vegetation. His work has particular resonance with emerging
economies, for whom there is the opportunity to avoid the unsustainable way in which many existing cities have
developed, and create a new, more holistic model that can positively influence the health of citizens.
The 8th Design & Health World Congress & Exhibition, to be held in Kuala Lumpur on 27 June-1 July, will explore
such ideas in depth, and Yeang will deliver the event’s keynote speech to open that dialogue. Ahead of the Congress,
Marc Sansom spoke to him about his work.
Marc Sansom: What is the theoretical basis for your work around ecological design – and where does ecological
design intersect with salutogenic design (ie, design for human health and wellbeing)?
Ken Yeang: The theory of ecological design is derived from the environmental biologist’s “ecosystem model”. This is
expressed symbolically as a general systems “interactions matrix” of the consequences of human activities and the
human built systems on the biosphere, over their entire life cycle. The objective is to achieve a benign and seamless
biointegration with the natural environment. Salutogenic design is based on the fundamental premise that human
health is ultimately dependent on having clean air, clean water, clean food, clean land and a clean built environment.
MS: As a pioneer of ecological design, how far do you think the world has come in the last 40 years in
understanding the critical relationship between the built environment and
the natural environment? And how far do we still have to go?
KY: Clearly, eco-design has advanced significantly in the last 40 years, largely
influenced by the global recognition of the urgent need to redress man’s
negative consequences on the natural environment. While significant progress
has been achieved, we are still wanting when it comes to holistically resolving
environmental issues in totality. Considerable changes remain – those effected
on our societal systems and ways of life, our national economies, the industrial
complex, transportation systems, and the rehabilitation of our existing cites
and built environments into eco-cities that are “living systems”. Our current
generation of designers, architects and engineers are burdened with learning
how to apply eco-design principles in their work (not having acquired these
skills and knowledge in their earlier tertiary education and training), whereas
it is likely that the next generation will design and build sustainably as second
nature. They can then return to focussing on what architecture could do to
alleviate the human condition, creating effective pleasurable but sustainable
spaces, places and forms that enhances quality of life for all.
MS: With the speed of urban growth set to increase, what opportunities
and challenges face urban designers in emerging economies such as those
in Asia and South America?
KY: The opportunity for emerging economies will be in avoiding the mistakes
of the developed world – by designing and building new eco-cities from
scratch using state-of-the art clean technologies, eco-technologies and IT
systems, with appropriate integrated green eco-infrastructures. This will run
14 January 2012 | WORLD HEALTH DESIGN www.worldhealthdesign.com