In June of this year, a national climate emergency was declared by the Canadian House of Commons. As people working in and around the construction industry, we can no longer afford to be cavalier about our decisions around design and development. We’re no longer designing for aesthetics; we’re designing for survival.
According to the World Economic Forum, if we collectively place global focus on creating sustainable infrastructure, we can boost growth, reduce poverty levels, improve air quality for the masses that are intrigued by life in metropolitan centres, create more jobs, and craft economies around low-carbon and climate-resilient practices. Making the transition has the potential yield $26 trillion between now and 2030.
Sustainable infrastructure will inherently drive economic growth by facilitating environmentally-friendly manufacturing, services, and trade. Its implementation will also enable more frequent purchase of local goods and services, enhanced quality of life, the protection of natural resources, and more efficient use of financial resources.
Building green
When it comes to green or smart construction, there needs to be an equal focus on energy, water, land management, green areas, smart tech, and the use of building materials that are both sustainable and durable – the result is a holistic point of view.
Overall, our ways of life will change dramatically, and there will be a greater amount of co-dependence. Governing bodies will have to have a greater regard for social, financial, and political issues. There will also need to be more attention given to overall public health and well-being.
Our transport systems will need to be smarter, faster, and more geared towards mass transit. Gasoline-powered vehicles will need to be left behind and replaced by electric vehicles.
Multi-family dwellings will need to be higher, greener, and more energy-efficient. Cities are already a huge draw for many, but urban growth will require proper planning, the interest of myriad and diverse stakeholders, and the focus will have to be on sustainable building practices.
Read more on this notion here.
Giving form to the future
Bjarke Ingels is a world-renowned Danish architect, and the Founder of the Bjarke Ingels Group. He strongly believes that any design project evolves through generations of meetings, and that only the best ideas can survive. At times, a sub-species branches off from these meetings and even when a design doesn’t seem like it can work at that time, it can have a new context found for it as the right answer to a different question.
For a number of years, he’s been an advocate for sustainable infrastructure, and had a direct impact on design and development practices having to do with it. In his April 2019 TED Talk, he speaks about the Danish concept of “formgiving,” which is essentially giving form to the future, or that which does not exist yet.
He and his team designed a waste to energy power plant in Copenhagen. Not only does this massive manufacturing hub not emit any pollution from its chimney, but it also provides recreation to the public in the form of an alpine ski slope. Prior to this, people in the capital that enjoyed skiing were having to drive about six hours to the nearest ski hill, which has its implications in terms of pollution. Now, they don’t even have to leave the city to practice winter sports they enjoy.
The water that flows into the Copenhagen waterfront is so clean that people can swim in it – they’ve extended it to have a public space where people can enjoy a swim safely away from all of the port activities.
Ingels believes that we have a collective human superpower. Not only can we adapt to change, but we have the tools and knowledge at our disposal to truly give form to our future.
Khadijah Plummer Consulting 