In the construction industry, we’re no strangers to the effects of climate change, and, in more recent years, it’s becoming more palpable than ever. Whilst we’re all making a concerted effort to come together and tackle the global issue with innovative design processes, reducing our carbon footprint and designing around nature (a concept explored in this month’s portfolios in the form of a creative natural burial ground. Turn to page 16 for more), we’re also endeavouring to address the damage that has, unfortunately, already been done.
Last month, the UK took a battering from two destructive storms, Dudley and Eunice, the latter of which bore gale-force winds of a whopping 122mph in the most exposed areas of the country. What’s more, at the time of writing, we’re expecting a following undesirable visit from these two storm’s successor, Franklin, towards the end of February/beginning of March, which promises to produce more annihilation as environmental agencies issue hundreds of flood alerts across the UK. In the aftermath of these climate occurrences, what’s unmistakably evident is a pressing necessity to evolve the workings of our urban environments to help mitigate the, potentially life-threatening, dangers associated with this new breed of more frequent violent storms and flash floods.
Aptly, in this month’s edition, we’ve talked to Martin Lambley, Stormwater Management Product Manager, North West Europe, UK and Ireland at Wavin, about the requirement of updating the drainage systems in our urban environments, some of which date back to the Victorian era, to keep up with this new demand of water management. In this dedicated article, he explains how sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) can help alleviate the pressures on our built environment. Turn to page 28 to read the full article.
ON THE COVER:
An innovative landscape intervention for a new ephemeral burial model, based on nature, has been revealed by Bar celona-based creative architecture firm Batlleiroig.
Rebecca Kemp
Editor
rebecca@redhutmedia.com
