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| Dennis Pieprz, center, at SASAKI's Boston office in Watertown, Massachusetts. Courtesy of Dennis Pieprz |
By Ko Dong-Hwan
A key design leader at an American global architecture company says its work incorporates resilience to prepare for climate change ― and it does not cost more to do so.
Dennis Pieprz from SASAKI, based in Boston and Shanghai, has been witnessing the changes in the industry since he started working in it 30 years ago. And at times now, with global warming having an impact around the world ― rising sea levels, more severe typhoons and wildfires to name a few ― he has shifted gears to something edgier, survival and security.
"The impact of climate change affects most of our projects and certainly sea level rise is a reality we must plan and design for," Pieprz, chairman of design at the company, told The Korea Times.
"Whether regional plans, parks and public spaces or buildings and infrastructure, we design for resilience. In terms of cost, with smart design, resilient design is no more expensive. It is simply better."
His morphing perspective is in line with that of SASAKI, founded by Hideo Sasaki in 1953, and its 300 employees. From planning and urban design to building and landscaping, the firm now pays a lot of attention to ecological analysis and examines all the forces that must be taken into account. Such a practice forces the firm to look at problems and challenges from multiple points of view.
"Every project we work on is an opportunity to respond to environmental concerns," said Pieprz.
Because architects work for the interest and satisfaction of the mass public, their ideas must be for the long term. That is why he promotes sustainability ― not just environmental but also social and economic ― in his projects by collaborating with experts "to maximize the benefits for society and the organizations and entities investing in the projects."
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| SASAKI employees at its Boston office. Courtesy of Dennis Pieprz |
In December 2019, the Seoul city government invited Pieprz to serve on a jury for a competition to design a waterfront area next to Tancheon Stream in Songpa District's Jamsil area, part of Seoul's 2030 urban park development plan.
But one of Pieprz's more exciting and ongoing professional projects is a development proposal for Lakeview Village, a smart city-concept community on the shore of Lake Ontario in southeast Mississauga, Canada. Having reached its final planning, the proposal aims to transform 177 acres of a former coal power plant site into an eco-friendly habitat for neighborhoods around the lakeshore ― with state-of-the-art "smart designs."
The mixed-use community area on the outskirts of the city will integrate an array of dwelling types for 17,000 residents in 8,000 residential units, workplaces for innovation industries, retail and commercial destinations and cultural pavilions. It will also have a district energy strategy, a vacuum waste system, innovative storm water management systems and efficient building designs to achieve reductions in energy demand.
"I like to associate smart cities with smart design," said Pieprz. "Lakeview is a remarkable opportunity to build a new district that connects a network of parks, trails and streets to bring people to the lakefront, all made to encourage people from surrounding neighborhoods and communities to benefit from the presence of the lake."
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| The site where a coal power plant used to be in Mississauga, Canada, above, is now the site for Pieprz's Lakeview Village development proposal. Courtesy of Urban Toronto |
Now one of the principals at SASAKI, he has been around the industry since the days when people had to draw everything by hand. It was also hard to get information about a region, context and relevant data. For him, the changes have been manifest.
"The most fundamental change is the use of technology," Pieprz said. "It pervades everything we do. It provides tools to make our work better, more rigorous and more thorough. With so much access to resources, it is ever more important to be able to synthesize, think critically and conceive of ideas that are relevant and appropriate."
A Boston resident since 1983, Pieprz advocates the company founder's legacy ― an interdisciplinary approach, which allows the same problem to be looked at from many points of view.
"This is still a relevant approach for us," Pieprz said. "But now we have easy access to a remarkable amount of information and data."
