At this event, the programme associated with the Call to action on sustainable urbanisation in the Commonwealth was launched, under the leadership of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Commonwealth Association of Architects, the Commonwealth Association of Planners, and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, with support from The Prince’s Foundation and the Rwandan Ministry of Infrastructure.
This event was co-hosted by the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture and Urbanism (INTBAU) and focused on local and traditional methods of designing and building from across the Commonwealth. Adapted to climate and context, these methods are naturally sustainable and low carbon and can be easily adapted to meet 21st century needs.
Co-chairs: Harriet Wennberg, INTBAU, and Peter Clegg, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.
Panellists:
- Yasmeen Lari, Architect and founder of the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan
- Peter Rich, Architect, Light Earth Designs
- Lauren Shevills, Architects Climate Action Network and Architects Declare
- Inhee Chung, Global Green Growth Institute
- Fatou Dieye, SKAT Consultancy
The event attracted over 242 attendees from 39 countries, with approximately 23 attending via the Vimeo livestream.
Questions to the panel, together with expressions of support, came from a variety of sources including Brenda Kiraboa, an architecture student from Uganda, Manalee Nanavati, a young architect and researcher from Mumbai, and Samson Olanrewaju, a member of the CAP Young Planners Network in Nigeria.
Key messages
- Climate-responsive architectural and urban design need to be delivered at scale, which means professional knowledge and capacity will need to increase substantially, rapidly, and globally.
- We need to redefine our architectural and engineering curricula to align with Sustainable Development Goals and ensure greater integration between built environment professions.
- Sustainable development will only be delivered through working with local communities, using local and replenishable materials, and developing local construction skills.
- The climate crisis requires supportive policy frameworks to work together with increased, improved, and consistently updated environmental and construction standards that deliver safe, resilient, and adaptable buildings.
- Architects will not achieve climate-responsive design on their own. Engineers, planners, policymakers, clients, and wider society all have roles to play.
- There is a great deal of appetite in the next generation of architects to work for the 99% and for the environment. Education and professional opportunities need to keep up.
- The Commonwealth encompasses a rich diversity of climates, materials, and techniques, which can learn from one another, particularly as local climates around the world are changing.
- The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the global economy and construction sector could provide an opportunity for design that is low-cost, easy to build, and adapted to climate and context.
- Key to upscaling delivery of climate responsive design is the upscaling of knowledge sharing through virtual platforms, exchange, and hands-on experience.
