Disrupt magazine

Shared thoughts with Disrupt magazine on the need to address industry interia on climate change and environment. One of the most dynamic architecture magazines on the global publishing scene, my thanks go out to Tania Ihlenfeld and the editorial team for the interview, which you can read here.

Interview extract:

Impact of Mass Production

“The reductionist approach prevalent since the Industrial Revolution, which has replaced localised problem-solving with mass-market solutions - is a significant problem.

"Different people need different solutions," she says with conviction, and yet we continue to exclude in the way we design and produce products.

This shift has permeated all aspects of culture, from architecture to dating apps, leading to a commodification of complex concepts that should be treated with sophistication. She emphasises the need to address these issues in detail, reminding us that, "Nature is diverse and its resilience stems from biodiversity.”

Highlighting the oversimplification of nature within architectural practices, she observes that many people design with nature through simplistic concepts such as the notion that it’s ‘collaborative’ not ‘competitive’ and that ‘green’ means ‘sustainable’ by default. But she warns that nature is more complicated than that, using the predator-prey dynamics in the wild to illustrate some of the harsher realities of natural ecosystems.

If incorrect statements and assumptions are not challenged, “There is a risk that, finance and money will go to the wrong places. For example, to projects that although professing to help, actually hinder efforts," leading to failures, such as targets not being met, or serious unintended consequences emerging. This misallocation could result in ineffective solutions being promoted and continued environmental degradation. Melissa describes a scenario: “Trees on rooftops may have an incremental capacity to reduce carbon. But, in a storm, they can blow over and off a building, and in the process turn into a projectile that crushes people or property below. How many green roof schemes have you seen that model such a scenario and that present possible means of mitigation? Without due foresight on the part of built environment researchers and practitioners, we risk yet more loss of public faith in experts and the institutions that govern their actions.”