Imagine a world where architecture is not one of the world’s most polluting industries, but has a positive impact on people and the planet. At Mashable, we’ve long celebrated architecture and design innovators, those who look to environmentally responsible and informed ways to build our cities and towns, restore and prevent damage, and repurposing materials.
In 2022, when climate-related news brings widespread anxiety and real disasters, we choose hope over despair. We seek inspiration from visionaries who take the road less traveled and dare to imagine, and then help build, a different kind of future. We talk to landscape architects who work with nature to improve our cities, showcase architects who are returning to ancient building practices, and celebrate the creativity of designers who push the boundaries of imagination through to make solar panel art, and capture carbon in…tiles.
Climate change anxiety: How to stop the spiral and make a difference
If you missed them, here are some of the most exciting ideas in architecture and design.
In 1997, Yu Kongjian, a young landscape architect and Harvard graduate returned to his native China and proposed what was then seen as a radical idea: that China’s monsoon climate is incompatible to the country’s adoption of Western urbanization models. Yu’s theory is that removing natural organic matter from cities, and swapping soil for cement, has turned cities into impenetrable forests that can lead to devastating flooding. The remedy he offers is simple: nature itself can help prevent such disasters, we just need it.
At the time, Yu was not taken seriously, but a terrible flood in Beijing in 2012 made local authorities rethink his ideas. Nowadays, the so-called ‘sponge city’ is a national policy, and although the origins of the idea are too old to be accurately traced, the term ‘sponge city’ is unique to Yu.
Last August, we explored the origins of Yu’s sponge cities, some of the architects who are applying the green city model around the world, and how efficient sponge cities are in dealing with change. or the climate. This particularly shows the story of the twin cities of Nogales, Sonora (Mexico) and Nogales, Arizona (US) – a striking example of the damage that rapid urbanization can cause.
Expanding city infrastructure can sometimes improve the environment. During the construction of the Elizabeth Line, London’s most ambitious railway, more than 7 million tons of earth were dug out of the ground. Instead of wasting this valuable material, Crossrail, the company that built the Elizabeth Line, donated about half of it to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). 3.5 million tons of soil was shipped from London to the Essex coast where it was used to create a bird sanctuary.
Thanks to this delivery, the RSPB is building sea defenses and restoring lagoons and mudflats that were once native to the area, but have been lost to agriculture, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels.
When talking about climate change and cities, we need to examine how city dwellers get their energy. In some European cities, whose historic centers function as open-air museums, large solar panels that obstruct the view are prohibited by conservation laws. This makes sense, because from their genesis, solar panels are thought of primarily as an invention of energy technology. Now that technology is advancing, it’s time to look at the bigger picture. If cities want to produce their own energy on a large scale, solar designer Marjan van Aubel argues, we need to rethink the look of solar panels too.
In September, van Aubel spoke to Mashable about the solar panels he designs, and how aesthetics can also be the secret weapon we need to change the appeal of solar energy.
What is good for the environment is often good for people. Diana Kellogg’s Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School, a proud oval building in the Thar desert, proves that. After his studio was commissioned to create a girl’s school in the city of Jailsamer (in the state of Rajasthan, India), Kellogg took an intersectional approach to sustainable construction in the harsh desert conditions. To create a naturally cooled building, he used locally sourced materials and collaborated with local artisans who helped him recreate the area’s ancient building practices, with a modern twist. Cultural tradition is very important, and Kellogg ensures that modest screens in the form of modified jali walls create a safe environment for students while also encouraging learning and play.
When it comes to energy production and consumption, the school is self-sufficient, thanks to another mix between modernity and tradition. While the roofs have solar panels, the grounds use regional water collection methods to store rainwater during the Monsoon.
In urban India, however, the concerns are different. A staggering 43 of the world’s 50 most polluted cities are here, mostly due to heavy traffic, greater reliance on fossil fuels, and tire and waste burning practices. Among many pollutants, black carbon (CO2e) is particularly harmful to human health and the environment.
At the same time, one of the important features of black carbon is that it contains particles that can be captured and prevented from entering the atmosphere. In an attempt to do just that, Mumbai-based studio Carbon Craft Design found a way to upcycle the pollutant by incorporating it into its tile design. According to the company, one tile can prevent about five kilograms of black carbon from entering the atmosphere – equivalent to the pollution produced by a car on the road for 15 minutes. And while design may not combat air pollution all at once, its small steps can be a giant leap if similar practices are adopted by the construction industry at large.
