Designers have incredible agency and influence over how we make the world. For architects and interior designers there is ample opportunity for impact, as the built environment accounts for nearly 40% of global emmissions. If you are interested in taking climate action through your work, these resources will help you begin your journey.
Also be sure to check out our Getting Started Guides starting with What is Climate Design?
Given the built environment’s large portion of global emmissions, there is a lot of attention on the sector. It’s an exciting time for architects with huge potential for impact.
Buildings require a huge amount of carbon to produce, from what is embodied in the materials themselves, to the construction and the energy use throughout a building’s life. The opportunity for architects and builders is huge and varied, including material innovations and substitutions, how we design, how we build, retrofit over building new, and deconstruction over demolition as levers to decrease carbon impact.
The impact of the built environment also goes beyond buildings and calculating carbon impact. The built environment impacts how humans and the natural world live and interact day to day. By integrating regenerative principles, architects can work towards healing ecosystems, fostering community connections, and civic resilience in the face of climate change.