Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency (2019)
Emmanuel Berrod / WIPO, via Wikimedia Commons
Adopted by: UK Architects Declare, a network of architectural practices originated by Steve Tompkins and Michael Pawlyn and launched by the then 17 UK Stirling Prize recipients; now a registered charity. Wider umbrella: Built Environment Declares. · Kind: Voluntary pledge · Scope: Regional (United Kingdom, with international variants under Built Environment Declares) · Adopted: 2019
Launched on 30 May 2019 by the then seventeen UK recipients of the Stirling Prize, Architects Declare is a pledge signed by individual architectural practices rather than by institutes or states. Its twelve commitments are concrete enough to change a firm's scope of work: whole life carbon modelling and post occupancy evaluation as part of basic service, upgrading existing buildings rather than demolishing whenever there is a viable choice, open-source sharing of knowledge, and a shift to low embodied carbon materials. Over 1,400 UK practices have signed, and more than 8,200 across 28 countries under the wider Built Environment Declares banner.
Architects Declare began on 30 May 2019, when the then seventeen United Kingdom recipients of the Stirling Prize launched a declaration originated by the architects Steve Tompkins and Michael Pawlyn. It is not a professional institute's code and it is not a state instrument. It is a pledge that individual practices sign, and that distinction shapes everything about how it works.
Its framing is short and quantitative. The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time; buildings and construction account for nearly 40 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions while also significantly impacting natural habitats; meeting society's needs without breaching the earth's ecological boundaries will demand a paradigm shift in behaviour, in which buildings, cities and infrastructures are commissioned and designed as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system. Its diagnosis of the obstacle is one sentence: the research and technology exist to begin that transformation now, but what has been lacking is collective will.
Twelve commitments follow, and several of them bite in a way that professional declarations usually do not, because they describe what a practice does rather than what it believes. Signatories will seek to include life cycle costing, whole life carbon modelling and post occupancy evaluation as part of their basic scope of work. They will upgrade existing buildings for extended use as a more carbon efficient alternative to demolition and new build whenever there is a viable choice. They will share knowledge and research on an open source basis. They will accelerate the shift to low embodied carbon materials in all their work, minimise wasteful use of resources both in quantum and in detail, and adopt regenerative design principles aiming beyond the standard of net zero carbon in use. A twelfth commitment, added in 2021, is to support those working for climate justice and to strive for equity and an improved quality of life for all.
The network states its own limits more honestly than most such initiatives do, and that honesty is worth preserving rather than editing out. It describes itself as being about encouragement. Every signatory organisation is expected to self-govern its progress. A firm no public blame and shame policy is in place, on the stated basis that no single architect is currently meeting every part of the radical commitment to change. In its own words: no one can claim they've arrived. There is no external audit, no sanction and no removal mechanism. A signature therefore evidences stated intent, not delivered outcomes, and signature counts should be read accordingly.
The spread has been considerable. Over 1,400 practices across the United Kingdom have signed, and under the wider Built Environment Declares banner the declaration has reached 43 groupings across 28 countries with more than 8,200 signatories, as engineers, contractors and other built environment disciplines adopted variations of the original eleven points. The stated vision behind all of it is a built environment planned, constructed and operated within planetary boundaries to deliver environmental justice and to support the flourishing of all life for all time.
Key provisions · 18 provisions
Framing
The twin crises of climate breakdown and biodiversity loss are the most serious issue of our time, and buildings and construction account for nearly 40 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions while also significantly impacting natural habitats.
climate · biodiversity · emissions · data
Framing
Meeting society's needs without breaching the earth's ecological boundaries demands a paradigm shift in behaviour, in which buildings, cities and infrastructures are commissioned and designed as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system.
planetary-boundaries · systems · regeneration
Framing
The research and technology to begin the transformation already exist, and what has been lacking is collective will.
diagnosis · will · technology
Commitment 1
Signatories will seek to raise awareness of the climate and biodiversity emergencies and the urgent need for action among their clients and supply chains.
awareness · clients · supply-chain
Commitment 2
Signatories will seek to advocate for faster change in the industry towards regenerative design practices and for a higher government funding priority to support it.
advocacy · regenerative · policy
Commitment 3
Signatories will seek to establish climate and biodiversity mitigation principles as the key measure of the industry's success, demonstrated through awards, prizes and listings.
measures-of-success · awards · culture-change
Commitment 4
Signatories will seek to share knowledge and research on an open source basis.
open-source · knowledge-sharing
Commitment 5
Signatories will seek to evaluate all new projects against the aspiration to contribute positively to mitigating climate breakdown, and encourage clients to adopt the same approach.
evaluation · project-appraisal
Commitment 6
Signatories will seek to upgrade existing buildings for extended use as a more carbon efficient alternative to demolition and new build whenever there is a viable choice.
retrofit · demolition · embodied-carbon
Commitment 7
Signatories will seek to include life cycle costing, whole life carbon modelling and post occupancy evaluation as part of their basic scope of work, to reduce both embodied and operational resource use.
life-cycle · whole-life-carbon · post-occupancy
Commitment 8
Signatories will seek to adopt more regenerative design principles in their studios, aiming to design architecture and urbanism that goes beyond the standard of net zero carbon in use.
regenerative · beyond-net-zero
Commitment 9
Signatories will seek to collaborate with engineers, contractors and clients to further reduce construction waste.
waste · collaboration
Commitment 10
Signatories will seek to accelerate the shift to low embodied carbon materials in all their work.
materials · embodied-carbon
Commitment 11
Signatories will seek to minimise wasteful use of resources in architecture and urban planning, both in quantum and in detail.
resources · sufficiency
Commitment 12, added 2021
Signatories will seek to support those working for climate justice and strive to ensure equity and an improved quality of life for all.
climate-justice · equity · amendment
Stated vision
The network's vision is a built environment planned, constructed and operated within planetary boundaries to deliver environmental justice and to support the flourishing of all life for all time.
vision · planetary-boundaries · environmental-justice
Stated accountability model
The organisation states that the initiative is about encouragement, that every signatory organisation self-governs its progress, and that a firm no-public-blame-and-shame policy is in place on the basis that no single architect currently meets every part of the commitment.
accountability · self-governance · honest-limit
Reported scale
The organisation reports over 1,400 UK signatory practices, and more than 8,200 signatories globally across 43 groupings in 28 countries under the Built Environment Declares banner as other built environment disciplines signed variations of the original eleven-point declaration.
scale · spread · self-reported