Here's how you can innovate sustainable design to tackle climate change and promote sustainability.

Embrace biomimicry by drawing inspiration from nature to create sustainable designs. Study how plants and animals efficiently use resources. For example, mimic the structure of a leaf to develop more efficient solar panels. Look at termite mounds to inspire natural cooling systems in buildings. Biomimicry turns nature into a source of wisdom, not just materials. For instance, the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe uses a cooling system inspired by termite mounds, reducing energy use significantly. This approach leads to innovative, sustainable solutions for tackling climate change.

1. Energy Efficiency: Designing buildings that mimic the passive cooling and heating strategies of termite mounds to reduce energy consumption. 2. Water Management: Creating water collection systems inspired by the Namib Desert beetle, which harvests moisture from the air. 3. Material Innovation: Developing biodegradable materials modeled after spider silk, which is both strong and sustainable. 4. Circular Economy: Implementing waste processes that replicate natural nutrient cycles, ensuring that materials are continuously reused. These biomimetic approaches can lead to innovative, sustainable designs that mitigate climate change and enhance environmental sustainability.

Circular Economy Embracing the circular economy model encourages reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling resources in sustainable design practices. It promotes longevity and efficiency in material usage, contributing to reduced environmental impact and enhanced sustainability efforts overall.

During my stint in Shapoorji Pallonji Group, our office was located on the seafront in Mumbai near the iconic Gateway of India. During the monsoon season, high tides with significant waves hitting the shore were common sight. Tapping energy from this, along with the historical and cultural significance of the Gateway of India and surrounding architecture, would have been greatly beneficial for the structures coming up/rehabilitated. The following design applications came to my mind: 1.Rainwater Harvesting: Given the heavy rainfall in Mumbai during the monsoon season, the building employs a rainwater harvesting system. 2.Aesthetic Harmony: The building's design can be inspired by the iconic Gateway of India incorporating historical elements

Cradle to cradle is a worthy goal. But it is often challenging. Think of that closed loop as not just a circle but a spiral: “cradle to adjacent cradle”. Demolition not as dumpsters going to landfill but a bank of reusable materials positioned to be part of the next project. There are European organizations cataloging the material contents of buildings slated for demolition in the coming decades. This is fostering a marketplace for existing materials to fill the procurement needs of future building projects.

Absolutely agree to have some policies in line to support Circular economy. The manufacturing should be taking back their products and reprocess it and again supply in the market to reuse.

The cost of virgin plastic will remain (>15y) below the cost of recycled plastic (~cost prohibitive). Levelling the playing field between both stream (~taking into account the societal long term cost) is a key (~tax) in this much talked about transformation. Also a case could be made to set the acceptable amount of plastic used per volumetric unit of containers or foils. This can be envisioned by, for instance, making a clear guideline as to what amount of plastic (~weight) is acceptable for a given volume. To illustrate, today, many ISBM PET bottles carry excess plastic material for the purpose of creating cool marketing shapes, with material demanding stretch ratios (oval) and design features, capturing material in corners and edges.

Absolutely, the transition to a circular economy represents a paradigm shift in architectural practice as well. As architects, we play a crucial role in embedding circular principles into the built environment. By prioritizing adaptive reuse, designing for disassembly, and selecting sustainable materials, we can significantly reduce construction waste and extend the life cycle of buildings. Integrating these practices not only enhances environmental sustainability but also drives economic resilience and innovation within our industry. Embracing the circular economy in architecture means creating spaces that are not only functional and beautiful but also future-proof and regenerative.

It is possible to design products that are easy to prepare and can be refurbished. It is only a question of willingness and of prioritizing the environment over profits.

Incorporating smart materials not only enhances energy efficiency but also fosters innovative design opportunities. By utilizing materials like self-healing concrete or color-changing glass, we can create structures that are both resilient and visually dynamic. These materials enable buildings to respond actively to their environment, improving occupant comfort and reducing maintenance costs. As we advance in our understanding of smart materials, the potential for integrating them into urban landscapes expands, paving the way for truly responsive and sustainable architecture.

Implementing eco-friendly manufacturing processes involves using sustainable materials that minimize environmental impact while maintaining high efficiency and productivity.

Smart materials reduce energy consumption and carbon production. For example, phase change materials (PCMs) release or absorb energy by transitioning from solid to liquid state or, in reverse, reducing heating or cooling demand to help maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. PCMs bolster conventional thermal mass, like concrete or masonry, and are especially useful in climates with significant day and night temperature differentials, as they help reduce peak cooling loads and annual energy consumption. PCMs have been used to develop building materials like PCM drywall and ceiling tiles with higher thermal energy storage capacity. Research shows PCM-incorporated gypsum plasterboard decreases the cooling demand of buildings by up to 35%.

Estamos diseñando un tipo de alumno con una aleación con grafeno que actúa como un material inteligente, ya que se amolda perfecto a los cambios de temperatura y relléna los puentes térmicos que pueden darse.

Buildings’ energy efficiency starts with apropriate planning. Obtain deep understanding of actual microclimate, use advanced digital modeling to predict future conditions and changes due to the construction itself. Implement high performing envelope and passive technics to make the most of what nature gives for free before you move to plan the mechanical systems to support everyday operation.

Energy efficiency is the most important impact in long-term sustainable design. For the past decades traditional design implements strictly feeding off the grid. While corporate energy has the means and methods of delivery, it’s not the most efficient, especially considering long-term environmental impact. Functional sustainable design will need to consider the grid as auxiliary systems to back up active/passive energy systems, and not the other way around. Our environments of spaces, whether it’s a home or commercial environment has to become locally self-sustaining in energy draw in order to make an impact in complete sustainability.

Not only improving the energy efficiency of the product at the same time improve energy efficiency during the manufacturing process and its supply chain

By using available technology and knowledge, achieving 40 to 65 percent building energy savings is entirely doable, while zero energy consumption is becoming the norm. Besides less energy use, advancements in renewable energy sources like solar panels, fuel cells, battery storage, and wind will provide the energy required to equip most buildings with self-sustaining net-zero, carbon-neutral energy efficiency. Net-zero design begins with aggressive, passive design strategies, like high-thermal insulated mass, daylighting and shading, and natural cooling and heating. Over the building’s life cycle, net-zero design will enable new and renewable buildings to produce as much energy as they consume while achieving zero carbon emissions annually.

Beyond using energy-efficient LEDs, effective and dynamic lighting control systems can significantly enhance energy savings. To minimise energy consumption, it is essential to optimally design the illuminated environment, considering natural daylight (being energy free), as well as the quantity and placement of luminaires, and their product design. This comprehensive approach ensures that energy is used efficiently while maintaining optimal lighting conditions and enhancing productivity.

Net-zero design requires reducing domestic water use to 50%, achievable through water recycling, rainwater harvesting, and stormwater retention. Excess runoff mostly originates from agricultural irrigation and surface stormwater. Increasing global water supplies depend on recaptured and purified wasted water sources through emerging, large-scale, high-performance concentrated solar still and desalination technology. Solar still purification is suitable for residential and single-building uses, where solar stills purify stored rainfall collected in a tank that evaporates by solar energy shining through a transparent collector. The pure water vapor condenses on the cool inside collector surface and drips into a domestic tank ready for use.

Stakeholder engagement is a vital part of human centred design, and any project that impacts the community will benefit greatly from community engagement. Not only do members of the community have important insight to how a project might succeed or fail, but bringing them along for the journey can give unique perspective to the design process and ensure more use and success post-completion.

Understanding community needs is invaluable to design because it connects the community to sustainable design concepts deeply rooted in place and culture. Livability and vitality improve through thoughtful placemaking enabled by participatory methods applied before design begins, which allows for exploring social, economic, and environmental issues. Charrettes, abstract modeling, and site studies involve locals in workshops to explore possibilities and identify priorities. Critics claim community involvement compromises design individualism and introduces untrained and non-architectural ideas that restrict innovation. Experience shows these opinions favor self-importance. Community engagement is a source of innovation, not a restriction.

One of the most crucial elements in achieving sustainability in construction is Lifecycle Assessment (LCA). To clearly understand how your project will impact the environment, you must consider the entire lifecycle of the building and the resources involved. Optimizing every process in the design, construction, and maintenance of the building without compromising its function, quality, or aesthetics, is essential for achieving true sustainability. Moreover, it's important to recognize that making the right choices during the early phases can prevent costly and difficult repairs later on. Mistakes or poor choices become exponentially more expensive and challenging to correct after a building is completed.

Climate Change: Nature-based solutions (NBS) could reduce global peak temperature and supress warming. — NBS should cover a combination of protection, restoration, management and creation of habitats. — NBS deliver many local ecological and socio-economic benefits. Mitigations Strategies at Local Level: 1) Green Roof 2) Rain Gardens/Bioretention 3) Vegetated swale 4) Permeable pavement, etc.

The world needs architects who can make buildings come alive in the minds of the populace. Design professionals who convincingly engage their audience by expressing architecture with broader context and appeal arouse, entertain, and inspire, and crucially demonstrate how the world is made better by sustainability prosper through public interest architecture. Sustainable design requires both design and communication skills. While many have excellent design skills, effective communication with public stakeholders is rare, and this is why experiential media is crucial in the public domain; it is a bridge-builder between designers and the community. from the book, “An Architect’s Journey—Mastering Future Trends in the Anthropocene.”

Me gustaría añadir que si nos centramos en ver la evolución de la especies y como la naturaleza ha dado respuesta al medio que tenemos avanzaríamos muchísimo más. Hay un ser vivo que saca su energía del sol y además nos da oxígeno….. no te digo que me mejores, solo iguálalo.