Archinect - Features

Architects take Climate Action! Archinect speaks to practitioners and educators taking on the challenge of adapting to the climate emergency

2020-10-12T10:53:00-04:00

The IPCC, backed by the UN Secretary-General, issued a warning in fall 2018 that there are just 12 years left to take action on the climate emergency before triggering a global environmental and economic crisis. ‘Architects Take Climate Action!’ Part I investigated how, catalyzed by inertia in the construction sector, architects have self-organized to call for change and launch targeted campaigns. Major industry bodies, including the AIA, have now confirmed their commitment to support urgent climate action and exponentially accelerate the decarbonization of the built environment. How can architects bring about the deep operational change required across the construction industry in the 10 years which remain?

In Part II, Archinect explores the work of practitioners and educators striving to embed climate principles into their practice and organizations. Matthew Barnett Howland and Dido Milne from CSK Architects, a UK Architects’ Declare signatory firm, explore the opportunities and c...

Architects take Climate Action! Archinect talks climate emergency activism with built environment groups taking a stand

2020-10-05T08:45:00-04:00

The first ‘climate emergency’ declaration by a constituency of suburban Melbourne in 2016 was an early signal that public opinion on global heating and biodiversity loss had shifted from a feeling of concern to that of crisis. Architects and built environment professionals around the world have since joined forces with their colleagues and youth groups in a global climate movement calling for urgent action and pragmatic solutions. In recent years, the visibility of these campaigns has intensified, in part due to the release of an alarming 1.5ºC report from the IPCC, articulated by young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Today, over 1777 local authorities across 30 nations have declared a ‘climate emergency’, yet, according to the UN Environment Programme’s latest Global Status Report, building construction and operations remain the largest CO2 emitter by sector, accounting for 36% of global energy use and 39% of global energy-related CO2 emissions.

The first of our two-part series, ...

The Paris Model: Adapting and Creating Public Space as Cities Get Hotter

2019-10-03T05:00:00-04:00

This July, Paris recorded an all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit).

The Parisian authorities quickly introduced measures to cool people down, including an app to point people towards 922 “Urban Islands of Coolness.” The measures included the installation of misting machines, water fountains, late night opening of parks and pools and the mapping of cultural spaces. Through absolute necessity, a whole new network of public spaces has been created, adapted or highlighted in the city via new technologies in reaction to soaring temperatures.

Let's explore some of those approaches.

Environmentalism Matters for Architects — With or Without the Paris Agreement

2017-06-02T13:00:00-04:00

Yesterday, amidst the roses, magnolias, crabapples and Littleleaf lindens that populate the White House Rose Garden, the President announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the landmark international climate agreement made last year and signed by every country in the world except Syria and Nicaragua.*

When a building is not the answer

2017-05-17T06:31:00-04:00

In between the rush from here to there, have you noticed that we’re living in the ‘inbetween’?

While technology enables unprecedented levels of connectivity and inclusion, fragmentation abounds as our sense of community, belonging and traditional business models are turned on their heads.

Designing For and With the Landscape: an Interview with MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

2017-04-19T13:02:00-04:00

In a way, the work of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects stands out in that it fits in. That is to say, while so many of their contemporaries orient their work around attention-grabbing icons, the Halifax-based practice led by Bryan MacKay-Lyons and Talbot Sweetapple strives to make buildings that bring attention towards, rather than away from, the landscape.

Architecture 2030's Ed Mazria outlines an environmentally-responsible plan for the architecture and design industries

2016-11-21T13:17:00-05:00

A Sleeping Giant Awakens
The election of Donald Trump, and a hastily composed (and later retracted) post-election statement by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), has galvanized the U.S. design community. After much soul-searching prompted by anxiety and anger, architects and our allied design and planning professionals have articulated a vibrant vision for themselves and their profession.

Screen/Print #9: Sean Lally's "The Air From Other Planets"

2014-03-04T11:18:00-05:00

Screen/Print is an experiment in translation across media, featuring a close-up digital look at printed architectural writing. Divorcing content from the physical page, the series lends a new perspective to nuanced architectural thought.

For this issue, we’re featuring Sean Lally's The Air from Other Planets.

Do you run an architectural publication? If you’d like to submit a piece of writing to Screen/Print, please send us a message.