Claim the Smart City!
The term Smart City has been buzzing around the field
of architecture and urbanism for a while now, and yet it
remains a complex subject to grasp for designers. But its
relevancy is clear: new technologies are being fitted in the
urban fabric in which we are planning interventions. How
do we as urban designers deal with the fast developments
of the smart city?
There are well-known smart city examples such as Songdo
and Masdar, which were designed smart, but they are known
for the criticism on them as well. So the question remains what
really makes a city smart. The aim of making cities smart as
defined by Faena Sphere: Smart cities propose an urban
development that efficiently uses information and technology
with the goal of raising the quality of life for its inhabitants. At
Buro Lubbers we have an idea of what quality of life means and
how we strive to achieve it for future users in our plans. We are
learning more and more about gathering information from the
urban environment, and how technology is introduced in the
city. Nonetheless the concept smart city remains vague.
This vagueness emerges most clearly in city councils, who
struggle with this as well. In the vision statements for their
own smart city often generic information is given, concluded
by generic goals. These are clarified in catch-all terms such
as sustainability, mobility and circular city. Cities try to be at
the forefront of the smart city movement, but do not have a
clear idea about how their city would benefit from being smart.
All in all on paper most cities seem to be much talk and little
action. Of course there are examples of projects where cities
are involved, ranging from smart grids to electric busses.
But, what often characterises these projects is that they are
initiated by tech companies, rather than on the demand of cities
in response to a problem. This results in a sprawl of uncoherent
projects, which sometimes seem implemented just for the sake
of technology. Cities allow this as they are in a race to the
newest technologies but seem to forget technology is not the
goal itself.
At this moment tech companies are furthest in the knowledge
about smart cities, as they are the developers of the
technology. Their focus as a company lies on the proper
functioning of a product, exploring its possibilities and weighing
ethical dilemmas, but they lack knowledge about urbanism or
Written by Joost van Gorkom for magazine ViaVia Stedenbouw (Faculty Urbanisme, TU/Eindhoven), 2016.
architecture. Rem Koolhaas expressed this shift well: ..the
city used to be the domain of the architect, and now, frankly,
they have made it their domain. Together with cities living-
labs are set up to experiment with new technologies, which
is an interesting method of developing as it happens in actual
city life. But they only investigate parts of the whole, without a
vision of what the city could be.
City councils do not have a clear overarching vision, so the
market determines in which direction the city evolves. The goal
of the smart city is a better living environment and a better
quality of life for its inhabitants. Something as important and
complex as quality of life calls for an integral approach. In itself
a lack of a fixed final image of the smart city is not a problem.
A trend in urbanism is creating a set of rules, which new
developments should follow, instead of designing a completely
finished masterplan. The design then focusses on a firm
framework for public life that coordinates new developments,
rather than it dictates what should happen where. This leaves
room for new initiatives, which are unknown at the start of a
process. In a coordinating role urbanists can combine new
smart technology with urban knowledge accumulated over
centuries.
With growing populations in cities urban designers and
architects stand for a challenge and we need to think differently
about our cities. We will need the help from creative technology
in order to solve urban issues, but need to keep in mind that
not all smart solutions are necessarily high-tech. We already
have smart ways to improve quality of life, by thinking about
biodiversity, rainwater infiltration, green roofs and walls,
community gardens, flexibility and so on. Buro Lubbers actively
implements this in projects such as Anton en Gerard and
The Green Village in Delft. We think that with the combined
knowledge of designers and tech-companies the smart city can
become real and concrete. In other words: we need to get a
hold on these developments and start creating the smart city.
The vagueness that surrounds the development of the smart
city calls for someone to take the lead. Urbanists and architects
(re)claim your position in the smart city!
 Analog Smart City Solutions by Buro Lubbers

water buffer

CO2
reduce pollution NOx
PM10

produce oxygen
O2
increase biodiversity

o
cooling the city C
Anton en Gerard, Strijp-S, Eindhoven

The Green Village, Delft

area-specific plants

flexible infrastructure
increase biodiversity

portable green
Rieteiland Oost, IJburg, Amsterdam

smart society
Cruquius, Amsterdam

When the term Smart Cities is mentioned ideas of a hightech urban environment pop up: electric-autonomous cars, big data steers
people in the right direction and packages are delivered by a drone. But in this exciting world of tech-toys it is good to remember that
Smart City does not always equal hightech. Smart solutions can be analog as well! Buro Lubbers has a lot of experience in using
smart techniques in our projects. Ranging from green roofs to rainwater infiltration, from portable trees and temporary structures to
flexible frameworks.

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