Architecture faces an array of challenges in its quest to become sustainable – from the lifetime emissions a building will emit through energy use, to the embodied carbon that contributes to its construction.
In this panel, Barnabas Calder, historian, lecturer and author of the groundbreaking new book Architecture: From Prehistory to Climate Emergency, engages designers working across architecture, engineering and urbanism to rethink the sustainable design process within the built environment. Joseph Daniels, Tara Gbolade, and Ling Tan discuss the radical innovations they are taking to disrupt climate complacency in the field. From building with recycled materials to building less, from designing energy-efficient homes to designing homes in collaboration with nature, these designers are rethinking architecture from the ground up.
Over the course of an evening, they show that the impact sustainable architecture can have on our lived experience goes beyond the environmental, but can also create more socially inclusive cities, better health and more egalitarian economies.
Speakers:
Dr Barnabas Calder
Barnabas Calder is an architectural historian and author of Architecture: From Prehistory to Climate Emergency (Pelican, 2021). He is head of the Architectural and Urban History Research Group at Liverpool School of Architecture, where he is Senior Lecturer in Architecture.
ecoLogicStudio
ecoLogicStudio is an architecture and design innovation firm specialized in biotechnology for the built environment. Co-founded in London in 2005 by Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, the studio has built a unique portfolio of biophilic sculptures, living architectures and blue-green masterplans.
Joseph Daniels
Joseph founded Etopia in 2015 aged 23, having experienced the struggles of homelessness first-hand. His ethos is ‘everyone deserves a comfortable, sustainable home, regardless of income, that has minimum impact on Earth.’ He now advises financial institutions, governments, and international corporations developing an aligned approach to global sustainability, whilst leading Etopia’s expansion.
Ling Tan
Trained as an architect, Ling is a multidisciplinary designer and artist working within the field of social engagement, technology, citizen participation, and politics. Her work uses technology and participatory methods to explore citizens’ interaction with the built environment and our collective agency and responsibility in tackling complex issues surrounding our cities.
Tara Gbolade
RIBAJ Rising Star Winner, Tara is Co-Founder of Gbolade Design Studio and the Paradigm Network – a professional network championing Black and Asian representation in the built environment. Architect by trade and Passivhaus designer by passion, her expertise in design and planning policy saw her lead the Harlow & Gilston Garden Town Sustainability Strategy. She is also part of the Architects Declare steering group and the advisory committee for the Guys & St Thomas Charity Impact on Urban Health initiative.