Sara Edmonds, Coordinator at Architects Climate Action Network

If your job, your livelihood, your family was under grave threat, you’d do everything you could to protect them. Wouldn’t you? As an industry, we should be well aware of the current state of climate and ecological emergency. The built environment contributes around 42% of the nation’s overall carbon emissions, meaning we have a critical role to play in the goal to reach net zero. Some say we are on a trajectory to catastrophe, that complete rapid transformation is required from industries if we are to make the necessary impactful changes. The fight so far has been focused on thought, analysis and research but the state of the emergency calls for a transition into an action space, but it is crucial that we follow up our statements with collective action. How can this work in practice? And how are collective action groups such as Architects Climate Action Network working towards a future where humanity can thrive within planetary boundaries?

At present, the architectural profession and other construction professionals are not doing enough in the journey towards a zero carbon future for the built environment. There is progress being made, but there is much more to be done in changing the way we approach sustainability in the industry. Many architects feel unable to exercise low carbon practices or source sustainable materials because they feel constrained by the demands of the client and supply chain, as well as worries over costs. As an architect, there are a multitude of ways to engage with action to address climate change that do not have to involve wholesale disruption as is often feared. But it would be remiss in our duties to be reductionist here. This isn’t just about singular practice choices, it’s about pivoting the way we practice, away from destructive and extractive practices towards regenerative, creative and socially just ways of thinking and working. Addressing your carbon impact as an architect can be an incredibly creative transformation, as it opens up to innovative, progressive behaviours and outcomes.  

Progress starts with education, and currently architectural education at large is not robust enough in addressing the climate challenge. The curriculum does not sufficiently respond to the climate emergency we face or how new architects entering the industry can incorporate sustainability into their working practices and this is not conducive to creating the deep change urgently needed. As a result, new generations of architects who face the burden of the climate emergency are choosing to opt out of traditional education and apathetic companies, as they do not meaningfully address the climate situation at hand. This will lead to long-term problems with staff retention, and possibly a lack of people choosing architecture as a career option. We should never underestimate the passion and creativity of this generation coming through. Frustrated by the lack of urgent action, they aren’t waiting for change. They are creating it. Scott McAulay, for example, developed his own architecture school as a result of feeling disillusioned with the standard architectural education model. His Anthropocene Architecture School pushes to bring the climate emergency to the forefront of design education requirements and is something that should be adopted more widely. 

Creating systematic change

Groups such as the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) are an example of how collective action can be used as a tool in the fight against climate change. We are a network of individuals within architecture and related built environment professions taking action to address the twin crisis of climate and ecological breakdown. We organise across multiple groups and create a range of campaigns tackling issues such as the government ban on alternative materials, lack of suitable retrofit policies and how to regulate embodied carbon. One such campaign is rethinking the way architects are educated. ACAN’s Education group welcomes new and experienced architects to come together and has designed a new educational framework that makes sustainable design and practice more central to their training.

ACAN’s Climate Literacy group has been running a series of events titled ‘Practice in Action’. Its purpose is for architects to come together and share their experiences in the industry, and how they incorporate sustainability into their work.

The Existing Buildings and Planning Policy groups recently published a Conservation Area Toolkit to illustrate how to identify retrofit opportunities within conservation areas. The guide will be available for purchase at Futurebuild this year. The purpose of ACAN is not to be antagonistic towards those who have been unable to engage in taking action against the environmental crisis but to highlight how we are privileged enough to be able to still consider to opt in or out of climate action. To participate in collective action and strive for a better industry is an opportunity, not a burden. 

Futurebuild is distinct from other industry events because it gives a sense of optimism and real action that others don’t. ACAN is attending Futurebuild this year and taking part in several panels, as well as hosting the materials stage on day three of the show. We plan to present the campaigns and actions we are taking and hope to inspire people to get involved and take action. We also plan to discuss the pressures an organisational group can face and how people can make their own changes. There is a tendency for individuals to feel less pressure to take action when they believe organisations are doing the necessary work to make an impact. ACAN aims to stress that we are representing the industry, but are not wholly responsible for making the change, as real systematic change has to be a product of every individual. Our objective is to facilitate and welcome the participation of people through collective action, and to support people in their journey to make changes, but they must be supported by the wider industry to create such change. 

Social activist and author, Toni Cade Bambara said “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible” and this is something ACAN and its members aim to embody in their endeavours. Environmental action is already starting to accelerate, and it is not a matter of if major transformation will take place, but when. The more industry members come together the more chance there is at success. If you feel the burden about your carbon impact, ACAN believes that taking action, no matter how small has transformative powers and architects are fortunately positioned for this, as we have been equipped with the necessary skills such as problem-solving, networking and sight of the bigger picture. In joining the campaign for an industry based on socially just, decarbonised, and regenerative practices, we do not have to say goodbye to creativity, beauty or inspiration. In fact, we must welcome and enhance them in even more innovative ways. 

Sara Edmonds is also co-founder of Studio seARCH and specialises in residential, retrofit and heritage projects. She will be in attendance at Futurebuild 2023 and taking part in the debate: Activism: Act now, or face extinction on 7^th March at 13:15. She will also be conducting a talk on Retrofitting schools on the 9^th March at 10:30.

Futurebuild 2023 will take place from March 7^th to 9^th London’s ExCeL. For more details and exhibitor enquires, visit www.futurebuild.co.uk

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