The Build Better Now virtual pavilion opened to the public during COP26, showcasing seventeen sustainable projects that demonstrate the built environment's opportunities for addressing the climate crisis. The initiative, run by UK Green Building Council, comes as a global call for climate action, highlighting the AEC's industry's commitment to sustainable practice on a worldwide stage, particularly since this year the COP26 dedicated a day to buildings and cities.
Designed by AECOM in collaboration with Install Archive, the virtual pavilion features a series of dome-shaped exhibition spaces showcasing exemplary projects selected from an international open call. A central 3D installation created by Make Architects highlights the potential to implement a circular economy, illustrating opportunities for reuse and recycling within the built environment. Alongside the exhibition, the pavilion will also host a series of talks, keynotes and tours, raising awareness on the relationship between the built environment and climate change.
We are coming together for COP26 to spotlight the built environment as a solution to climate change. This is the most visible and coordinated the industry has ever been at a climate summit of this calibre. Build Better Now provides us with an opportunity to learn how sustainable building practices are having a positive impact on people's lives. We must ensure that the world listens to the steps needed to create sustainable buildings, which means building and renovating with Whole Life Carbon principles, embracing a circular economy and creating people-centric, healthy buildings that are resilient to the effects of climate change. - Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council
The selected projects have a tangible impact on their context and feature scalable and replicable solutions to issues such as natural resources, climate adaptation, resilience. The highlighted designs engage with a variety of themes from sustainable materials, renewable energy, local materials, or protecting nature. Among the projects are White Arkitekter's Sara Cultural Centre in Sweden, one of the world's tallest timber buildings, Powerhouse Brattørkaia by Snohetta, an energy-positive office building in Norway, TECLA sustainable home by Mario Cucinella Architects, a clay 3d-printed structure in Italy, Favela da Paz, an urban ecovillage in Brazil, or Modulus Homes in Pakistan.
