The Architecture Lobby (TAL) has put forth a set of guiding principles for architects to follow as debate over a potential Green New Deal takes shape across the industry. 

According to a recently-published memo, TAL is pursuing a four-pronged approach for envisioning how architects can contribute to the decarbonization of the built environment while also instilling socially-just practices across the profession. While noting the incredible financial and professional opportunity architects can expect from the transformative set of public works that will be required to achieve decarbonization, the organization warns, "architectural work for the Green New Deal must not become another conduit for accumulating wealth at the top."

Instead, TAL argues, architects should "embrace decarbonization as a social justice issue that calls for a reconstruction of our way of life," adding, "We must redefine sustainability to acknowledge the economic, social, racial, and class-based dimensions of the climate crisis."

TAL encourages architects to reshape their "understanding of technology and innovation as design tools, acknowledging the complex power structures inherent in their development and application," while also recognizing that "technology is not neutral" as they work to implement "passive and non-tech solutions alongside the high-tech in sustainable design." In an effort to build programmatic flexibility and future adaptability into new buildings, architects should also "design for the integration of continually changing technologies," while also ensuring that building knowledge and environmental best practices are shared between as many people as possible. Architects should also, TAL argues, be mindful of "extracted resources and labor used to produce a technology" when making design decisions. 

Lastly, the group compels architecture professionals to "transition from conventional forms of designing, constructing, and financing the built environment" by being "deliberate" about the use and impacts of automation and by advocating for programs that help to "reskill" workers whose jobs have been automated, while also ensuring that "Green New Deal projects addressing climate change do not become vehicles for exploiting labor within architecture and allied professions." 

For a full version of the memo, see The Architecture Lobby website.