Importance of the Living Environment

CLIMATE EMERGENCY FUNDAMENTALS

Recorded by Sofie Pelsmakers, images by Essi Nisonen

KEY READINGS 

• Pelsmakers, S., Donovan, E., Hoggard, A., Kozminska, U., Designing for the climate emergency, a Guide for Architecture Students, RIBA (2022).

• Holistic Housing,

• The Housing Design Handbook, David Levitt and Jo McCafferty

IMPORTANCE OF THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT

We often focus on prestigious one-off buildings, but it is the everyday architecture such as housing that is crucial in designing for a more sustainable world, and tackling the climate emergency. This is because people spend a lot of their time in their homes, and significant energy is required to use the spaces. Living also does not take part in the dwelling alone, but takes place in the housing block and in the neighbourhood, i.e. in the wider living environment. And as such we must consider these interconnected scales to ’lock in’ sustainable and healthy lifestyles with reduced impacts on the planet. This is why designing, and getting the ‘everyday living environment’ right, matters. And this must be inclusive and accessible to all.