My Sunday wish for you: appreciate the old.
I was in Bahrain this weekend. Bahrain is a kingdom of islands in the Arabian (or Persian depending where you live) Gulf connected through a causeway with Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain has a growing and impressive new financial district. High rises, offices and hotels compete with each other in height and originality.
Some are aesthetically pleasing, some are intriguing, some are simply big.
But it felt cold, a bit lifeless, glossy but superficial.
In contrast to that, the Suq buzzing with people and energy, the Pearling Path speaking of Bahrains long history of pearl diving and trading, small streets, old buildings.
And not to forget that all the new construction - buildings, streets, structures - has a huge CO2 impact and have massive energy needs. What if we could learn from the old and build in a way to reduce our artificial cooling needs?
In our rush to modernize and build the future, I hope we remember the old. And that we don’t bulldoz it down, but restore and integrate it.
Because the old is not only beautiful. It’s full of life, learning and lessons.
So my wish for us: preserve and appreciate the old.
Image 3 green highrise towers on an island surrounded by the sea in the same green hue.
#LearnFromHistory #Foundation #Tradition #Resilience #futureCities #smartCity #sustainability
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