Archinect - News

Aluminum wrapping helped one cabin withstand the Caldor Fire

2021-09-09T11:33:00-04:00

Jennifer Diamond, a spokeswoman for the team fighting the Caldor Fire, wasn’t sure who wrapped the Phillips Tract cabin but said she’s helped cover a historic backcountry building with foil in the past. Aside from historic buildings, firefighters might choose to wrap a remote cabin where property owners have already cut back vegetation, cut down overhanging trees and cleared roofs and gutters of debris.

The cabin was among many in the South Lake Tahoe region to adapt a temporary version of an adaptability approach that has become increasingly popular during a year that has already seen over a million acres scorched in California alone.

The ongoing Caldor Fire has destroyed more than 700 homes as of this week and is still only about 50% contained. One problem facing homeowners who attempt the wrapping method is the labor involved: a typical structure takes several people a minimum of five hours to install using an army of 15,000 staples. A 200-foot roll of the material retails for $687.

Hotel workers were among those left to prepare structures for the fire. The San Francisco Chronicle has a look at the wrapping method here.

Tulane School of Architecture, Fay Jones School, and Carnegie Mellon University are the first academic institutions to sign on US Architects Declare

2020-10-07T18:57:00-04:00

In the summer of 2020, U.S.-based practices took action and signed on to join the international pledge for climate action. With the U.S. Architects Declare movement growing since May and over 284 signatures added to the list, three architecture institutions have signed on to the movement.

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

Tulane School of Architecture, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, and Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture are the first architecture programs to sign on to U.S. Architects Declare pledge. A movement initially starting in May 2019 in the U.K., firms, and studios worldwide have pledged their efforts to fight climate change and biodiversity issues.

U.S. Architects Declare is led by a group of volunteer architects and designers throughout the country. Their site states, "All built-environment/construction-industry professionals ...

U.S. architects join international pledge for climate action

2020-05-27T20:21:00-04:00

The Architects Declare movement has spread across the globe as over 20 countries have joined the fight to address climate change and biodiversity issues. The United States has announced its pledge to join. With 92 signatures collected from U.S.-based architecture practices like Perkins Eastman, Inaba Williams, SHAUM/SHEIH, and many more have expressed their commitment to taking action.

Although the current COVID-19 pandemic and other political and economic issues have made headlines these past few months, the architecture industry has made its mark during the crisis. With the battle to mitigate climate change still ever-present, the United States has finally joined the fight.

Initially launched in May 2019 in the U.K., Architects Declare aims to use the voices of architects to "galvanize the profession and provide a platform for advocacy and for sharing information and strategies for change." Initiated by NY-based non-profit The Architectural League, the U.S. branch of Architects ...

Europe considers imposing "carbon tariffs" on climate dawdling nations

2019-12-13T19:14:00-05:00

Potential carbon tariffs have been an active topic at the United Nations climate conference that wraps up this weekend in Madrid, where nearly 200 nations have been at odds over how to counter the continued global rise of greenhouse gas emissions. And some diplomats say it’s inevitable that governments will turn to trade barriers in the effort to fight climate change.

Politico reports that as international cooperation toward achieving global carbon reduction goals falters in the face of a climate change-denying American presidential administration, European countries are considering implementing carbon tariffs on imported goods to force a change.

The United States recently moved to exit the landmark Paris Agreement.

Speaking to climate-denying countries in a statement to Politico, European Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans struck a combative tone, saying, "If you take the same, or comparable, measures there will be no need to correct anything at the border," adding, “If you don’t, then of course, at some point we will have to protect our industries.”

German architects, including GRAFT, Kéré, join global climate emergency declaration

2019-11-22T14:03:00-05:00

Architects from around the world are continue to sign onto the Architects Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency call.

The most recent national delegation to join the call comes from Germany, where at least 38 firms—including GRAFT, Kéré Architecture, Max Dudler, and ACME—have pledged to "strengthening our ways of working so that architecture and urbanism can emerge that have a more positive impact on our world."

The German group joins architects in Australia, the UK, and New Zealand, among others, in calling for the transformation of the building industry and architectural education toward environmentally just focuses.

Included among the many demands the groups are making is a push for transforming design to become "more regenerative" so that designers can create "an architecture and urbanism that goes beyond zero-carbon standards."

Mayors of three Nordic capitals declare their commitment to cleaner construction site practices

2019-10-23T02:00:00-04:00

The push for cleaner construction methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution on building sites has increased in recent years due to the worsening climate crisis. Nations across the globe have expressed their intent in finding better solutions for addressing the negative impacts the architecture and construction industries have on the environment.

Earlier this month, the mayors of Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm made a public pledge to enact various policies and regulations to ensure the following issues are addressed. According to a press release from C40 Cities, the mayors promise to:

Purchase biofuels and emission-free machinery for the city’s own use
Demand fossil-and emission-free solutions in public procurement and city supported projects
In Oslo, all city-owned machinery and municipally-owned construction sites will operate with zero emissions by 2025

Executive director of C40 Cities, Mark Watts, shares in a statement, "The world’s cities are growing fast, wi...

New Zealand architects join international climate emergency declaration

2019-09-28T15:00:00-04:00

New Zealand architects have had enough. With the effects of climate change impacting the globe, several nations have declared an urgent international climate emergency. After UK architects issued the Architects Declare initiative in May 2019, several other countries such as Italy, Norway, Canada, and Australia have joined the movement.

According to New Zealand's ArchitectureNow publication, "The declaration takes the form of an open letter and states, The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time. Buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions whilst also having a significant impact on our natural habitats."

Banding together architects express their efforts to make changes that will help reinforce better design practices, the open letter urges architects to work with their clients to states “commission and design buildings, cities and infrastructures...