Architects and Climate Change
These past 5 months have been a unique period, one of self reflection and setting priorities and goals for a healthier future. Bruce Fowle delivered a powerful call to action in the article Architects and Climate Change. He identifies our responsibility for solving climate change, pointing out that we can’t ignore that buildings produce more GHG emissions that any other single source. The path to making a difference, and one that would have enough impact, needs to be more than current base building regulations. Standards such as the Architecture 2030 Commitment is mentioned, as well as standards such as LEED and the Living Building Challenge, but most importantly Passivehouse are the way forward.
We have more knowledge and resources to build net zero buildings than ever and we know they provide health benefits for their occupants at little to no additional cost exists. We also know that developers who are building to passive house standards so it is becoming more marketable. The benefits, to the environment, health as well as financial are all there. An article on Brick Underground gives many successful, completed examples that are designed or certified to the Passive House standard.
New York City passed LL97 of 2019, the Climate Mobilization Act. The law will impose monetary penalties to buildings over 25,000SF that emit more CO2 than a specific quota according to their building type. The enforcement will start in 2024 to capture the worst emitters, in 2030 will capture most buildings currently built as the carbon limits drop lower. Thereafter restrictions continue to tighten periodically. At the NYPH Conference that we attended a few weeks ago we noted a graph which demonstrated, through energy analysis by the engineering firm JB&B, buildings designed to the Passive House standard will manage to be below the thresholds, code compliant buildings will not.
What I’m reading
Architects and Climate Change, NAD Now
NYC Passive House guide: Where to find eco-friendly apartments and townhouses that are healthy and quiet too, Brick Underground
CarbonPositive: Pandemic, Injustice, and Climate Change, Architect Magazine
Don't demolish old buildings, urge architects, BBC
Concrete, a Centuries-Old Material, Gets a New Recipe, New York Times
Dutch city swaps asphalt for trees to adapt to climate change, Dezeen
