Greater London, with a population close to that of New York City and with an unbelieveably primitive and leaky water supply system, nonetheless uses only one-fourth as much water as in consumed in New York. The reason is a biomorphic* one.
The water supply of London was laid out according to the following rules:
- If an artery divides into two equal branches, these branches come off at equal angles to the main stem
- If one of the branches is smaller than the other, then the main branch or continuation of the original artery makes with the latter a smaller angle than does the smaller or lateral branch
- All branches which are so small that they scarcely seem to weaken or diminish the main stem, come off from it at a large angle, from 70 to 90 degrees
In spite of marginal losses, this represents a biologically stable system. New York City’s water supplier, by contrast, is a right-angled grid. This looks beguiling on paper (especially to engineers) but works less efficiently, creating turbulence and frictional losses.
Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, Papanek, 1984.
*biomorphism = a style that employs abstract shapes based on forms found in nature, especially those from the animal and plant worlds
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