Sustainable Buildings Initiatives - Illustration

Carbon emissions and energy consumption involving the built environment have a lot of negative impacts on climate change, and architects are fighting together to control this through their building design and planning. This image shows what climate change does to our environment, which is on the right side. Global warming, sea-level rise, glacier melting, drought, storms, etc. are caused because of greenhouse gas emissions. On the left side, an architect is trying to stop it by trying out net-zero energy, and other sustainable building design strategies. But this is just a fraction of what needs to be done. Although this is just a fraction of what needs to be done, it could slow down the process at a rate that people hardly realize.

The report “Buildings & climate change: a summary for decision-makers” explains the buildings’ contribution to climate change and what architects can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable building practices. Buildings contribute to 40% of global energy use and 30% of global greenhouse gas emission. If we do not implement proper measures to slow it down, then greenhouse gas emissions will keep increasing in the long term. The building sectors need to follow the climate change strategies locally and globally to mitigate CO₂ emissions.

The podcast: “Fighting climate change, one building at a time” also discusses this problem and the possible solutions. Today’s buildings can use technologies that require less energy for heating and cooling. It can reduce the amount up to 90 percent. The latest materials can be used for new buildings, but older buildings could also be retrofitted or upgraded to achieve the greenhouse gas emission goals. However, it is challenging to bring all the changes even though architects are getting more and more aware of this situation because of the neglect of the world leaders, unaware clients, and greenwashing marketing organizations. Architects can only do so much. We all have to work together in this process to fight climate change.

Architecture and Labor - Illustration

The illustration is showing an architect working in her office. She is working on a building project and creating diagrams, drawings, and 3D models for a real-life building. It takes a lot of time and dedication to produce this amount of work, which is shown by using illustration of clocks. Architects work full-time or even overtime to meet the deadline. This illustration also shows that the architect is considering the building structure, systems, and its context while designing and producing drawings for the building. It depicts the idea that architects are creative workers, and they deserve to get recognized for the efforts they put into a project.

In the Architecture and Labor TED talk at TEDxCalArts, Peggy Deamer mentions how practicing architecture is hard work, yet architects do not see themselves as workers. She talks about the issues and the possible solutions. The first problem is that we think “architects don’t do work.” We only design buildings and do creative work, but do not produce a product or provide services like people from other professions do. We have failed to consider our work as “work.” We get paid less compared to other workers. Secondly, we think “design is not work.” The division between design and production makes us think that we are designing for others to build them, hence they do the work. We have less control and risk, and so we get less reward. Architects also try to please their owners instead of educating them. Because of all the contracts and ownership, we let slip many opportunities. Here we have something to learn from the artists. Artists believe that “art is work.” We should learn from them and understand that the production of drawing is also work. Any kind of creation should be considered as labor. Architects need to cooperate and integrate their work with other parties and share the risk and reward collectively without having to worry about getting sued. There are so many processes required to get the final product and we do it. Therefore, it is work and it is the right work.

 

The Three Ecologies - Illustration

 

The three ecologies by Felix Guattari explores the concept of the three interconnected ecologies that are important for the reconstruction of our society. The image above illustrates the idea of the transversality of the three ecologies that need to be developed to find solution to the capitalistic world. The three ecologies are social, mental, and environmental ecologies.

Our world is at risk because of the “Integrated World Capitalism” that is worsening the climate issues, deteriorating social relations, and manipulating individual and collective subjectivity. The mass media is also responsible today for damaging human relationships between “the social, the psyche and the nature.” Technological advancement and machine development are damaging our environment.

The number of ecological crises we are facing today should be solved on a global scale and we need to question the capitalistic power that is forming globally. Guattari argues that we need a reorientation of our thoughts and understand our social relations, natural environment, and human subjectivity. We need to use our technology toward more human goals instead of allowing it to determine our future. We need to be liberated from capitalistic manipulation and understand the transversality of the three ecologies to find solutions. If we understand how all three ecologies work together, then we can create social equity and a sustainable world.