The circular economy, including the reuse of building materials, is fast becoming a key component in the fight against carbon emissions. This involves designing to minimize waste and utilize materials that can be reused at the end of the building's life. On the opposing side, the reuse of materials from partially or wholly demolished buildings can also reduce waste and carbon emissions that would have resulted from using virgin materials. Sustainability purposes aside, the reuse of building materials has a centuries-old history, both for symbolic reasons and simply out of necessity.
During the Time Space Existence exhibition, organized by the European Cultural Centre in Venice, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Alejandro Aravena and his firm ELEMENTAL unveiled a full-scale prototype for a new approach in incremental housing solutions. Titled the USB Core, standing for Basic Services Unit housing prototype, this proposal aims to demonstrate how efficient construction can provide all the essential housing components in a minimal space. The prototype is also the result of a collaboration between the architecture office and concrete manufacturer and researcher Holcim, and is built out of a newly developed type of net-zero concrete mix. It also incorporates fully recycled aggregates, in alignment with circular economy principles. The collaboration aims to demonstrate a more environmentally conscious yet cost-effective way of providing essential services to at-risk communities without harming the planet.
While on site in Venice, ArchDaily's managing editor Maria-Cristina Florian had the chance to sit down with Alejandro Aravena and discuss the implications of this collaboration, the urgent need for housing, and the role of the architect as the coordinator of a process involving many actors.
The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 10 to November 24, 2024, amid a backdrop of escalating climate challenges. For cities, the epicenters of population growth, economic activity, and climate vulnerability, the outcomes of COP29 are particularly significant. As urban areas contribute over 70% of global carbon emissions and housing more than half of the world's population, their consideration is pivotal in shaping global responses to the current crisis. In fact, cities are on the frontlines of the crisis, facing record-breaking heatwaves, catastrophic floods, and increasing economic losses from extreme weather events. In 2024 alone, urban areas worldwide experienced devastating climate impacts: flooding displaced millions in Africa, droughts crippled urban economies in South America, and storms caused widespread destruction in North America and Europe. The outcomes of COP29 directly affect urban planning, architecture, and sustainability efforts. From commitments to climate finance and carbon markets to renewable energy and resilience-building, the summit's decisions provide a roadmap for transforming cities into hubs of climate innovation and adaptation. Below are the key takeaways from COP29 for the built environment and urban spaces.
The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) takes place between the 11th and 22nd of November in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event proposes a global gathering of business leaders, governments, and civil society with the aim of taking effective measures to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. As the construction industry is responsible for approximately 37% of global emissions, the conference is of particular interest to architects, urban planners, and researchers in this field.
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Sketch of Bonnet Springs Park / Sasaki. Image Courtesy of Sasaki
“Landscape architects have started conversations about embodied carbon. There is a realization that we can no longer ignore the grey parts,” said Stephanie Carlisle, Senior Researcher, Carbon Leadership Forum and the University of Washington, during the first in a series of webinars organized by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee.
The grey parts are concrete, steel, and other manufactured products in projects. And the conversations happening are laying the foundation for a shift away from using these materials. The landscape architect climate leaders driving these conversations are offering practical ways to decarbonize projects and specify low-carbon materials.
In an effort to find effective strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, the Biden-Harris administration has released a draft of a new legislative initiative that strives to impose a National Definition for Zero Emissions Buildings. Overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the draft proposes a standardized and verifiable base for defining the common minimum conditions for such buildings, as well as pathways for transparent verifications by public and private entities. DOE has now launched a ‘request for information' asking for feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, and other stakeholders before finalizing the document.
For the opening of CAB 5, the 5th edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial,Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) presented an eco-friendly alternative to traditional concrete. Named the “Bio-Block Spiral,” the installation is at The Mews in Fulton Market in Chicago. The creation was developed with Prometheus Material, a materials company that provides sustainable building materials for a carbon-negative future.
Designed by Atkins, a new zero-carbon secondary school in West Sussex has received planning permission from the West Sussex County Council. The school will be created at Homes England’s new Brookleigh development near Burgess Hill and will offer educational facilities to 900 local children. The building is designed to generate its own renewable energy on-site, eliminating the need for any fossil fuels. It also aims to achieve Passivhaus certification, the highest standard od energy efficiency a building can reach.
The Saudi Arabian government has released visuals of a 170-kilometer-long skyscraper as part of the NEOM project. Announced by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, The Line is a reimagined urban development linking the coast of the Red Sea to the mountains and upper valleys of northwest Saudi Arabia. The compact structure, 200 meters wide, represents a social and economic experiment. The city aims to be zero-carbon, through the elimination of carbon-intensive infrastructures like cars and roads, and will operate on 100% renewable energy, including the operations of its industries.
Nowadays, the role of architects exceeds the limits of construction, reaching fields that are often unthinkable, but which nonetheless demonstrate a close relationship with the profession. If we go back in time, the fact is that many buildings, houses, monuments and even cities have been built intuitively without urban planning or renowned architects. Undoubtedly, today's architects are facing a great challenge that goes beyond demonstrating our skills and knowledge and extends to other areas that involve us, but we still don't know it. So we ask ourselves, what will be the profile of the architect of the future?
Kiribati has a population of around 110,000 people and its economy is centered on fishing and agriculture. Comprised of 33 islands in the Central Pacific, its highest point is only 81 meters above sea level, which makes it potentially the first country that could disappear completely due to global warming and the consequent rise in sea levels. The climate crisis has been a hotly debated topic in recent years and terms such as carbon footprint, greenhouse effect, atmospheric aerosols, and many others, are already staples in our vocabulary. Another widely spoken term is “net zero”, or net zero emission, used as a goal for buildings in different industries and countries. Basically, it means that the energy balance is zero.
According to a 2021 Food Waste Index Report by the United Nations, 17% of global food production goes to waste, becoming the third biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. 11% of this waste is generated by households, not only contributing to the climate crisis, but also provoking large economic costs, biodiversity loss, and the rise of pollution levels at unprecedented rates. Therefore, considering the key role that architecture and design plays in providing more eco-friendly housing options, it is essential to adopt and enhance a more self-sustaining, zero-waste approach.
On a recent day in Santa Monica, California, visitors sat in the shaded courtyard outside City Hall East waiting for appointments. One of them ate a slice of the orange she’d picked from the tree above her and contemplated the paintings, photographs, and assemblages on the other side of the glass. The exhibit, Lives that Bind, featured local artists’ expressions of erasure and underrepresentation in Santa Monica’s past. It’s part of an effort by the city government to use the new soon-to-be certified Living Building (designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners) as a catalyst for building a community that is environmentally, socially, and economically self-sustaining.
Courtesy of Trent Basin, Nottingham, UK. Blueprint Regeneration, Martine Hamilton Knight
A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that global warming of 1.5°C (2.7 °F) is essentially inevitable in coming decades. The question now is whether the world can prevent further, more destructive warming of 2°C (3.6°F), or, even worse, 3°C (5.4°F), which is what current policies put us on a trajectory to experience. Our economies can only put another 420 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere if we want a good chance of keeping a temperature increase to 1.5°C instead of 2°C. At our current pace, the world’s carbon budget will be used up before 2030. We need to phase out fossil-fuel use, build thousands of new clean power plants -- and swiftly move to power our homes, offices, schools, and transportation systems with clean energy.
New Architecture by Kennedy Nolan. Image Courtesy of Finding Infinity
Australian research lab Finding Infinity has collaborated with architects, councils and investors to create a strategy that would turn Melbourne into a self-sufficient city by 2030. Building on exemplary case studies and scientific research, the initiative proposes a 10 step plan for the city’s transition from a consumer of resources to a zero-carbon urban environment.
A new six-story net-zero carbon office development in Vauxhall, London, UK has been granted planning commission by the city council to move further. Designed by FCBStudios, the timber workspace named Paradise, will transform an abandoned site on old Paradise street, and replace the existing disused roastery.
The concept of “decarbonization” has been in vogue recently in political speeches and global environmental events, but it has not yet gained enough attention in the field of architecture to profoundly change the way we design and construct the world of tomorrow. Buildings are currently responsible for 33% of global energy consumption and 39% of greenhouse gas emissions, indicating that architects must play a significant role if we are to stop or reverse climate change. With carbon acting as a universally agreed upon metric with which the greenhouse gas emissions of a building can be tracked [1], one of the most important ways through which this goal can be achieved is therefore the decarbonization of buildings.
https://www.archdaily.com/938866/urgent-issue-10-strategies-to-decarbonize-architectureLilly Cao
The 2020 UK Passivhaus Awards are free to enter for all certified Passivhaus & EnerPHit schemes that not only have architectural ambition but can also prove their impeccable eco credentials. We’re looking for ground-breaking schemes that will prove the Standard can tackle the climate crisis and create healthy environments.
Benefits of Entering: • The UK Passivhaus Awards are the only dedicated awards for Passivhaus in the UK. • All shortlisted projects in the awards will be promoted as exceptional examples of their sector through all the Passivhaus Trust marketing channels and the media. • The shortlisted projects will be featured prominently on
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