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An anonymous architect comments on the need for ‘degrowth’ in detailed manifesto

2022-08-15T09:00:00-04:00

Environmentalist blog Treehugger has published an exchange between the author of an anonymous new Twitter manifesto that outlines in 25 points the need to combat the capitalistic notion that endless growth is the only option for modern industrial societies. Patrik Schumacher and others are mentioned as examples of the industry’s bad side, with groups like Architects Declare and thinkers such as Tim Jackson, Jason Hickel, and Open City director Phineas Harper being cited as the clarions of a movement the latter says is more or less inevitable.

"We use 'degrowth' because, as architects, we sometimes get to control the consumption spigot a bit," shares the author and architect, who wished to remain anonymous during their conversation with Lloyd Alter of Treehugger. "Someday architects may be called upon, first and foremost, to make spatial interventions that create value for society and for future generations—more like caretakers or repairmen, and less as heroic form-givers who functio...

The AIA releases 8 new principles responding to climate change

2017-04-17T12:25:00-04:00

"Architecture and design can mitigate climate impact while simultaneously reducing operating costs for building owners," says AIA President Thomas Vonier, FAIA, in a recently-released press statement issued in conjunction with Earth Day. ”We need the federal government to keep and even expand incentives that are already producing major advances in energy efficient design and cutting the carbon footprint of buildings."

The statement continues with eight principles geared towards how architects can mitigate the worst effects of climate change. It urges government bodies to act to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions. It also notes the huge expansion of jobs (2.1 million from 2011-2014) and economic growth (more than $167 billion in GDP from 2011-2014) that’s already accompanied energy-conscious construction:

The principles are:

The United States must lead the fight against climate change. The federal government must maintain America’s global leadership in the design and constructi...

New study suggests consumers, not producers, should bear responsibility for environmental impact

2016-02-29T19:14:00-05:00

We might think that most of the carbon emission come from the industrial sector and livestock, but a new study suggests that the real environmental problem is represented by the things we buy. [...] “We all like to put the blame on someone else, the government, or businesses ... But between 60–80 per cent of the impacts on the planet come from household consumption. If we change our consumption habits, this would have a drastic effect on our environmental footprint as well”.

You can read the full report, "Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption", published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, here.

Related on Archinect:

The ecological footprint of your Netflix binge

2015-12-16T23:07:00-05:00

The impact of data centers—really, of computation in general—isn’t something that really galvanizes the public, partly because that impact typically happens at a remove from everyday life. The average amount of power to charge a phone or a laptop is negligible, but the amount of power required to stream a video or use an app on either device invokes services from data centers distributed across the globe, each of which uses energy to perform various processes [...]

"Still, it seems weird that most people—most engineers building the platforms people use every day, even—lack the basic comprehension that different online activities have different energy impacts, or that an individual’s online activities have energy impact at all beyond a laptop’s battery life."