Our environment challenge are many, but design can provide opportunities for positive change. The build environment can help achieve a new global wellness.
Addressing the climate crisis is more important the ever and resilient design enriches the human experience and ensures safety.
“We have an obligation to improve the impact of the built environment in the path toward carbon neutrality”
Strategies for climate resilience and rethinking the built environment and prepare for a changing world.
Reuse buildings, spaces and materials that already exist.
Extending the life of existing structure can reduce embodied carbon compared with new construction. The flexible design of new building can also extend a structure's lifespan with an enhanced abiliti to easily adapt to different uses. Using a standard size grid and open floor plan will help projects to adapt to future functions without heavy demolition. Deconstruction rather than demolition, often saves 85% of a building's materials which have up cycled through building for centuries.
A building's performance is primarily influenced by its size, shape, orientation, massing and fenestration. Adding to a building's existing footprint to increase functionality while maintaining the original structure.
Optimizing the physical form of a building is one of the greatest opportunities to minimize embodied and operational energy. Details like incorporating sun shades, overhangs and other solutions that improve performance. Considering the size, shape, location and number of opening. Right sizing of building only as much space as needed to function effectively. Orientation and positioning a building to work optimally with sun, wind, views and entire urban context. Optimizing a building's surface to volume ratio to improve climate impact and resource efficiency. Also, placing a building to connect to community services and reduce transportation related energy.
Materials vary their impact. Using locally sourced materials to create a multifunctional space for community residents. All raw materials are used for buildings and we must make conscious decisions about how we source, construct and finish our buildings. The longer that materials are used in buildings, the more time they have to amortize. Obtaining materials from local sources can reduce construction related emissions.
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