Group 10

In order to challenge the climate emergency, we believe that the overall quality of education should be increased and implemented throughout the curriculum. Materials that are locally sourced or recycled should always be encouraged or incentivised throughout the design and construction process. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar could be used in the creation of materials or in the construction process and can be implemented into the design. Alternatively, Carbon taxes in addition to regulatory policies could be implimented as an effective tool to drive necessary investments to achieve the 2030 and 2050 climate-neutrality targets within the built environment.

Sustainable Building Material - Polycare

Next to water, sand is the most commonly demanded material for building construction especially concrete. However, sand is running out. Not the type of sand that can be found in desert, but ones that are being extracted from seabeds, coastlines, quarries and riverbeds. This is due to the increasing demand in building construction, almost tripled in the last 20 years.

Polycare, a company that designs an alternative type of concrete block, polymer concrete, which uses local desert sand and recycled plastic has tackled this issue. These dry construction blocks are easy to build, similar to that of Lego. This allows for local or low experienced human resources to be able to quickly erect a house. This dramatically decreases the embodied carbon of the building. The operational carbon is also addressed through insulation being embedded in the blocks.

Sustainable Construction

Sustainable construction aims to limit the negative impact of architecture on its environment while creating sustainable habits and lifestyles for its occupants.

Central Park Sydney is a prime example of sustainable construction: the built-in features limit CO2 emission, the roof distributes heat as well as generates solar energy. Plants are used as a visible statement while acting as insulation, trapping heat and cold. They are watered by rainwater using a hydroponic system.

Similarly, the Pixel building was designed to be self-sufficient in its energy consumption, and water apport. The material used further reduces the carbon footprint of the building.

As the Wikkelhouse modules and the Paper Logs House effectively demonstrate, using construction material such as bamboo or cardboard allows an infinite renewal of the material source while ensuring the buildings are biodegradable.

Finally, partial deconstruction could reduce drastically the waste that is predominant in architecture. Upcycle studio succeeded by recycling concrete, double glazing and discarded flooring boards.

Community Based – Druk White Lotus School

Druk White Lotus school is a masterplan design strategy located in Shey, Ladakh in Northern India. Designed by Arup, the project aims to celebrate and preserve local values, enhance and supply contemporary education and consider the climate emergency through the use of sustainable and local building materials.

Through the vision to enhance the quality of education, Druk White Local school provides access to over 800 local students, with 40% living on site on its residential block for local families. The school has also provided opportunities for sponsorships for first generation students and continues to encourage them through to further education.

In order to maintain traditional construction techniques whilst encourage sustainable building methods, the school has incorporated many effective strategies. These include the use of local materials such as soil from nearby sites to construct inner cavity-wall mud bricks for insulation, outer-wall granite bricks, passive solar energy to generate electricity to the whole site through solar panels, trombe walls and pit latrines for ventilation and south-east facing windows for optimum natural light. They have also encouraged the conservation of water through recycling melted snow in an aquifer site for drinking and irrigation.

Urban Agriculture – Urby Apartments

The apartment hosts the “Rabbit’s Garden”, a 5,000 sq ft. urban farm that produces a range of natural products and is chosen here as an example of social and environmental sustainability. The occupants’ control over their own grown produce returns, in part, their ‘right to the city’, affording them a measure of community sovereignty- or power over their own living environment. Care of the herbs, flowers and vegetables on the farm allows community members to develop a pastoral knowledge than can be shared and passed on to future residents, increasing community ties and social sustainability. Community-led agriculture encourages seasonal produce, increases consumer awareness, and increases the quality of food, while the reduction of food miles works to avoid an unsustainable future of ever-rising transport emissions. Small scale urban agriculture can only help a limited number of people but the degree to which it helps those is profound.