Localizing Ideas | Keefe Chang | TEDxSoongChingLingSchool
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC29pVN6CT8 Video ID: zC29pVN6CT8 ============================================================ [Applause] what do you think was the future when you were small what do you think of the future now those are the questions I asked some foreign teachers a few months ago some said that when they were small they thought that the future would be like the Jetson where there's high-tech facilities others thought that houses could talk to you just like the one in the short story there will come some soft rain Ru by the great fire author R badbury many thought that houses would serve you and do any chores automatically those examples did not come true because that local conditions have changed the cost is much more than the benefit for equiping a house with advanced technology earning for fancy technology is no longer the majority's demand as climate change becomes increasingly destructive houses were designed to adapt to more extreme weathers last summer I went to an arch exural firm to conduct research for their project the future house at first I was like the future house a house from the future then they told me that it was to design a sustainable house that the UAE will use for residential areas a suitable house that the local citizens will use to adapt to the Future environment and climate challenges but currently the houses in UAE are mostly made by the same architectural models from Europe and America however this D direct adoption may lead to many flaws the Europe has a much cooler climate than the UAE so it often uses less efficient cooling system thus the UAE houses with European architectural models put a lot of pressure on Cool Air Generation often resulting in a waste of power after realizing my failures I deconstructed the conception of universal ideas and reconstructed on how I should localize them I soon duck deeper into UAE by the access of sight weather traditions and religion the UAE has a hot climate no not just hot but hot and dry the UAE brings IR on sunshines with temperatures that are super hot the average temperature there is about 45° C but in August the temperature has highs up to 50° C therefore houses in UAE use two smart tricks to remain cool Courtyards and wind towers do anyone of you have a courtyard in your house then you'll know that a courtyard um a courtyard makes your house cool and fresh without using a lot of energy on the other hand a Wind Tower makes your house also cool and fresh without using a lot of energy too in addition I also learned about many etiquet that the UAE that the people in the U UAE practice in UAE taking a tea in one gulp isn't polite you should also not wear or put shoes inside the house often times the people there like to take Seafood inside the kitchen directly and traditionally when men enter the house they would say in a loud voice hood hood a sign that women could draw their velds and the woman would reply with hea to inform that the men that they could enter because of those different Traditions the houses in the US must tolerate such Traditions if taking a tea in one Gulf isn't polite then a tea table must be important however we're not throwing a larly decorated Baro style tea table into the room instead it should contain Middle Eastern floral designs to take off your shoes a Moroccan shoe rack should be placed beside the entrance because the people that are like to take Seafood into the kitchen directly an additional entrance should be placed beside the kitchen so that they could enter easily and maybe consider isolating part of the house from the public so that they could enter easy presenting my findings to the architectural firm revising the plans together I was shocked to see the final result it is not what some people thought a future house would be like it cannot fly cannot swim cannot talk to you however it is able to cut off the National Grid and be self-sufficient I looked at this design and I was proud of myself proud because they recognized the importance of my research and used it to localize ideas that are suitable for the U climate and respectful to their Traditions from this research experience I started noticing that not any idea will work well in anywhere as I walk through the streets of Shanghai I wondered how Shanghai is different from the UAE the Shanghai houses and UA houses both have Courtyards however the ones in Shanghai are often made by plants because it is cool and humid whereas those in UAE are often made by water fountains because it's hot and dry just that by that we can tell that different weather conditions affect the different facilities used since Shanghai is much cooler than the UAE a Wind Tower is even unnecessary just spending half a globe there are already so many differences between the houses in Shanghai and UAE although the firm did not win the competition I was glad to be part of the experience to realize an important lesson that not just applies in architecture but also numerous Fields ideas should be localized without considering the localizing ideas ideas that work elsewhere will not have the same effects without familiarizing ourselves with the environment we will only make it worse exacerbating climate change without learning the traditional and religions more ethnical culture might disappear and possibly more cultural conflicts will occur in the future a wor spreading idea spreads across the world but please don't be hurry to absorb it completely pause and take a moment to put it in your own context and think if it needs any modifications only by adapting ourselves with the local or personal environments ideas will truly become alive thank you [Applause]