Design in the Age of Emergencies

As we emerge from the latest Covid-19 induced lockdown, and before we get back to some new form of ‘business as usual’, can I please ask you to pause and think back to 2019. 2019 was the year that 90% of UK local authorities pledged to be Net-Zero Carbon by 2030, and around the world over 814,000,000 people now live in regions that have declared a Climate & Ecological Emergency. So how do you square this philosophical and ethical position with the practice of architecture when the built environment is responsible for about 50% of all global CO2e emissions, consumes 50% of all raw materials harvested annually around the world, and is responsible for 60% (120 million tonnes) of the UK’s annual waste? Duncan will attempt to consider some solutions to these existential problems in this session.