The construction industry is responsible for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere. These are figures to which Polish architectural firms are not indifferent. On Tuesday, October 6, a meeting will be held in Warsaw's Zodiac at 18:00 on the reaction of the Polish architectural community to this problem. Its orgaznizer is the Sustainable Architecture Circle, operating within the Warsaw branch of SARP.
The meeting will be attended by architectural studios that are signatories to the Architects Declare declaration, including JEMS, JSK, Kurylowicz & Associates, WWAA and WXCA. The topic of the meeting will be the steps taken by designers and their studios to implement the declaration. They will talk about the new design strategies and standards created by their offices, as well as the difficulties of sustainable design. After the meeting, the organizers will give the floor to the audience. This will be an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. This part will open the field for discussion about what goals the construction industry should adopt for the coming years and how to implement and verify them.
architects declare
Architects Declare is the response of Polish architectural firms to the twin crises of climate collapse and biodiversity loss. Currently, these are the most serious problems of our time. Increasingly, scientists are posing the question not of what the next decades on Earth will look like, but whether there is any future here at all. Experts stress that a rapid response is needed not only from the level of individuals, but from corporations and industry - including the construction industry.
The declaration reads:
For everyone working in the construction industry, meeting social needs without violating the Earth's ecological boundaries will require a paradigm shift. Together with our clients, we will have to design and realize buildings, cities and infrastructure as indispensable components of a larger, continually regenerating and self-sustaining system.
concrete actions
The first signatories of the declaration are JEMS Architects, JSK Architects, Kurylowicz & Associates, Maćków Pracownia Projektowa, WWAA, WXCA. The crux of the declaration is real and rapid change. Among other things, the signatories promise to strive to spread awareness of climate and biodiversity risks and the urgency of action among clients and contractors, share knowledge and research on an open-source basis, move faster to low-carbon materials and minimize resource waste in architecture and urban planning. They emphasize that:
We already have the research and technology to enable such a transformation, but until now the collective will has been lacking. Faced with these facts, we pledge to strengthen in our work the aspect of creating such architecture and urban planning that will have a more positive impact on the world around us.
critical mass
The declaration can be signed by all designers and offices that agree with its assumptions and want to join in climate action. This can be done at: Architects Declare Individual actions are the basis for gathering a critical mass that will tip the scales and stop the ticking clock of climate change.
