Water in our Cities

Water in our Cities

Stormwater management in urban areas is not only a necessary infrastructure, it is also a valuable resource and opportunity to provide an aesthetic experience for the city dweller while furthering environmental awareness and citizen interest and involvement. Until now, civil engineering and urban planning have given no heed to the fact that rain water needs time and space to run off and collect. Rainwater is not a waste, it’s a high valuable life giving resource with a great beauty.

But how can we combine environmental technology and esthetics?

In order to counter the negative consequences and to emphasize the positive attributes of water, Atelier Dreiseitl are developing new concepts for handling water in public and private spaces. Important elements of design include the open drainage of rain water on the ground surface via gutters and a variety of water features, retention and cleaning of water in planted ponds, and on-site percolation. These measures improve the surrounding climate, replenish ground water, prevent flooding, and improve water quality. Furthermore, the cleansing, and recycling of rain water for toilet flushes, laundry use, irrigation, etc. has a significant advantage of reducing demands on drinking water supplies. 

However, this can only be accomplished if all capacities, city planners, architects, landscape architects and engineers work together in a team effort from the inception of the project to its completion. The magic word being "Interdisciplinary work".

A much talked about but all too rarely practiced approach.

For example retention and evaporation can already begin on the rooftop. Storm peaks can be reduced, the micro climate improved due to the cooling effect of evaporation, and the water purified and filtered by the roof surface.

In almost every project it’s quite simple to integrate storm water management as part of the landscape in the overall design. For example one can create retention and rainwater treatment as a pond or constructed wetlands combined with attractive water features. But in all cases, technical aspects should not overshadow the key requirement of a careful design well integrated in the urban fabric.

In summary, urban hydrology has to become part of an aesthetic urban planning process.

Water needs allowed back into the social consciousness of a responsible urban society.

Hence, its ecological and harmonizing qualities need to be acknowledged through a new aesthetic.

Herbert Dreiseitl

www.dreiseitl.com