Justice

FUTURE AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY

Recorded by Sofie Pelsmakers, images by Essi Nisonen

KEY READINGS 

• The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, Ghosh, A., John Murray publishers

• A New Concept for Good Architecture: Embodied Justice, Tucker, E., Metropolis, https://metropolismag.com/viewpoints/embodied-justice-2021

• Climate justice and the built environment, Klinsky, S. and Mavrogianni, A., Buildings and Cities, 1(1), p.412–428.DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.65

INSPIRATIONAL BUILT EXAMPLES

• Mass Design Group – Maternity Waiting Village, Kasungu, Malawi

• Elemental, Quinta Monroy, Social Housing, Iquique, Chile

• Shigeru Ban – Paper Log Houses; Kobe, Japan

• DRMM, Kingsdale School, London, UK

JUSTICE

Designing for the climate emergency is not only about focusing on direct impacts (i.e., reducing energy use and CO2 emissions), but responding to its symptoms, (in)direct causes and often unequal consequences. As architects we also hold a significant responsibility towards the public in our work: we are designing the spatial frameworks in which people live their lives and participate in society. As an architect you have a moral obligation to make better decisions, even if you are not rewarded for doing so. This requires a commitment to continuous research, conscious decision-making, curiosity, and creativity to innovate and to challenge the often damaging and unfair status quo. It also requires an in-depth understanding of questions of fairness and justice related to one’s own work.