Group 60

Change the Little Habits

There’s no problem in designing green buildings, but if we don’t educate ourselves to live sustainably in our houses, there won’t be significant change. We believe a major way to tackle the climate emergency is to design buildings that influence society to act more sustainably to positively change the world around us. It is not solely the role of the architect; if individuals change their actions they add up to make a massive impact. The greatest changes come from small habits.

A sustainable Wakaf

Bamboo Playground: Malaysia, 2016 by Eleena Jamil

Bamboo is an abundant material that can be found in Malaysia. Since it is a local, renewable material, it is cheaper, reduces transport costs, can be reused, decomposed, and replanted. This project uses local weaving and joining techniques which employs the skills of the local people. Rather than building one large structure, it’s built as smaller modules which makes it easier to transport and requires less machinery to assemble. The space is a series of ‘Wakafs’ – a community resting place. It encourages people to come and appreciate the use of bamboo which isn’t a common construction technique in Malaysia.

Museum of Tomorrow

One of our precedents is the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro designed by Santiago de Calatrava. From this project, we specifically looked at the educational part as the museum is devoted to addressing issues such as climate emergency through a concept where science and tech meet art and culture. Apart from that, the building’s sustainable design includes solar panels that move with the sun, passive ventilation and water management. Given the waterside location, passive cooling is introduced, which helps the building itself to keep the interior’s temperature at a comfortable level. In another word, the energy and costs for thermal strategy could be saved. This is another way to make the full of water resource from nature and respond to sustainability. The museum then becomes breathable in the backdrop of climate change.

The BedZED Village

Designed by Zedfactory Architects, implements various facilities and strategies which aim to meet the UK’s zero carbon goal. However, the highlight of this building may not solely come from its technology, but the community which inhabits the village. The first step in making changes that will matter, starts with our behaviour towards sustainable action, such as switching to electric cars, using renewable energy sources and looking after the environment around us. These small habits lead to a future where architects listen and respond with sustainable solutions which creates a healthy community.