Bas Smets, “Changing Climates”

Event Description

The exhibition Changing Climates explores how built environments can be transformed into urban ecologies. Producing an enhanced micro-climate, each of these ecologies has the capacity to augment the resilience of the urban condition under the challenges of the climate crisis.

A city can be understood as the juxtaposition of many artificial micro-climates. Buildings change wind patterns and sunlight exposure, while streetscapes modify runoff and soil permeability. For each man-made micro-climate, a comparable natural condition can be found. The study of its living organisms informs the introduction of vegetation as an agent of change into the artificial environment.

The city thus becomes a second nature and an active laboratory. Similar to plants that have gradually transformed their environment, and life in general that has been shaping the form of the earth, these urban ecologies have the force to transform the very nature of the city into a living organism. The built environment becomes an intelligent interface between an uncertain meteorology and an underused geology. Positioned between the above and the below, cities develop into a true zone of life.

In this lecture, Bas Smets will explore how these new urban ecologies can be conceived and constructed through a selection of projects featured in the exhibition. Varying in both scale and program, these projects show how to develop solution-based design through science-based research.

A reception will follow in the Druker Design Gallery.

Speaker

Bas Smets has a background in landscape architecture, civil engineering, and architecture. He founded his firm in Brussels in 2007 and has since completed more than 50 projects internationally with his team of 25 architects and landscape architects.

His realized projects include the Parc des Ateliers in Arles, the park of Thurn & Taxis in Brussels, the Mandrake Hotel in London, and the Himara Waterfront in Albania. In 2022, he won the international competition for public spaces around the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Each of these projects is part of interrelated research into the possible role and ambition of landscape projects. The aim is to invent “augmented landscapes” by using the logic of nature. These augmented landscapes produce a new microclimate and, thus, new atmospheres. The collaboration with artists and scientists takes a central role in this research. He has received many awards for his unique approach, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2019.

Bas Smets was appointed Professor in Practice at the Harvard GSD in 2023. Through his design studio, he explores new ways to transform the city into an urban ecology capable of producing cooling microclimates to counter climate change.

Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

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