Climate effects on Innovation
It’s Melbourne. It’s Cold. 4-13 Celsius today. By Swiss standards tropical, even Bostonians might take off their scarves, but by Melbourne standards C O L D.
I am happy. Why? In my experience cold days (in doors at least) are the best thinking days. Our office has air-con/heating, but as we have 15 feet ceilings and a heritage sandstone building it is not obtrusive like the typical 8-10 foot foam-core ceiling tower.
Modernist Sins for innovation - no longer the Innovation Zeitgeist
One innovation in building design I don’t like is the Office Towers of the 50s-90s period. not all mind you, but the typical cubicle open plan. We have open plan desks, but then again our office is run more like a club for innovators than an office. The building is from the 19th century, a Gothic sandstone bank building.
Even we don’t always know what we are doing, but it’s fun and creative working environment at least!!!
But I digress … a blog digression… You make work in an office tower, with air-con in a cubicle. Do you ever have any good thoughts in there? If you’re like most people the thoughts are in the shower, in a cafe, in a seminar, walking the dog, in nature…
In other words YOUR INNOVATION is inspired by what is around you. Cube, boxes and grey don’t do much. Our office is different, and great for innovation…
Climate Effect on Inspiration
Your personal climate, the zone around you does not like extremes. Humans continually try to moderate temperature, because if it is too hot or too cold we can’t think… and as many of us do thinking jobs for a living these days…that’s a problem.
We can only regulate so much, even with our massive coal-powered consumption, so moderate climates tend to be preferred. There were a series of theories put forward about how civilization emergence depends a lot on temperate zones in continents, cities near bays and lakes or harbours. Beyond food & water, it speaks to shelter, and humans feeling safe and secure to innovate.
Innovation Hub Cities - The Macro Climate
Cities like Boston, New York, Melbourne, Paris, Vienna are all temperate places, albeit on the cold side of temperate. These places are and have always been leaders in artistic & cultural inspiration, along with countries like Italy, but also have great infrastructure to implement innovative ideas. Ranking of Global Innovation Hubs here
In our Global Innovation Review 2007 research we found time and time again that thriving cultural and art scenes happened in temperate climates.
Very cold cities or moderately hot cities did not have the same level of cultural engagement and creative output measured by artistic accomplishment, museums, arts events, cultural events and other signs of an evolved creative culture.
Innovation in your Micro Climate
The question for innovators what effect will global warming have on the ability of humans to moderate personal climate. Air-conditioning is the invention that makes skyscrapers possible, and cities like Tucson or Phoenix in Arizona possible. If global warming has severe effects in the short to medium term, do we have to rethink building height restrictions.
Personally I am a proponent of height restrictions that no building be greater than 7 stories. Height restrictions have contributed to both the beautiful Paris (stand and look from top of Georges Pompidou centre) and Vienna skylines, and these inspiring cities. For a long time Melbourne had height restrictions. Boston also has history in this area.
Buildings under 7 stories can be used without air-conditioning. Before we had neighbours we used to turn the air-conditioning off on our floor.
Another viable trend is Green buildings, my favourite is 30 the Bond, Sydney. It is the headquarters of Lendlease (a long-term former client of mine). One of the best designed buildings, and no air-con, 8 stories tall, with a bar/cafe in the middle of each floor. Fully open plan, which suits their business model. Excellent building.
Upshot for Innovation fo Climate Change
Cities packed full of skyscrapers would not be prime locations for innovation in a warmer world. However, it is worth noting that Manhattan consists of a variety of buildings of a variety of heights as do most cities, it is the very modern cities which are the most threatened by climate change affecting workforce and mobility of creatives.
We’d be keeping to low-rise buildings, expect their values to rise.
Christopher-in-the-2nd-story-of-a-low-rise-building
Speaker. Author. Editor-In-Chief. Executive Director of Innovation, 2thinknow.
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