Will the buildings industry get their say on “Deep Decarbonization”?

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Conference on Architecture this year prompted me to think about the scale we’re living in, and whether we’re doing enough to anticipate the shocks that will come with stronger climate impacts.

It all started on Wednesday with my tour of the Red Rock Visitors Center, a passively energy efficient structure that is nestled perfectly at the foot of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada's Mojave Desert. Only a short ride from the lights of Las Vegas, this beautiful ecological park is known for its colossal geological features such as towering red sandstone peaks and the Keystone Thrust Fault as well as Native American petroglyphs and panoramic vistas. The building itself and the exhibits are interconnected and introduce visitors to climate-specific architecture, water harvesting, gray water irrigation, and the use of shade, humidity, and air movement to temper outdoor space.

Being there got me thinking about the beauty of the building’s many passive, climate-specific architecture for cooling and heating, including its water harvesting, gray water irrigation, and use of shade, humidity and air movement that are more ancient than they appear to be in a "modern" building like this.

Thinking about the Anasazi cliff dwellings in southern Colorado, where simple strategies such as deep roof overhangs and thick thermal massing helped these buildings moderate ambient temperatures and enabled the ancestral Pueblo people to thrive in the southwestern climate.

Alternatively, even the iconic houses of Santorini, which drew upon their remote location to incorporate many passive design strategies like roof systems that gather rainwater into cisterns, and the white color of their exteriors constructed to maximize solar reflectance and keep the houses cool in the middle of the vast Aegean Sea.

While my inspiring tour was underway, a much bigger meeting was happening back at the convention center. A group of more than 50 architects, including Marsha Maytum, a principal of San Francisco-based Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE), were holding a membership-wide vote on “Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action.”

Building on previous resolutions, this year’s call to action which passed with 4,860 delegates voting in favor and 312 against it, provides a framework for action on three key actions:

1. Declare an urgent climate imperative for carbon reduction

2. Transform the day-to-day practice of architects to achieve a zero-carbon, equitable, resilient and healthy built environment

3. Leverage support of our peers, clients, policymakers, and the public at large

The main objective of this resolution is “to provide a framework for the AIA to prioritize and support urgent climate action to exponentially accelerate the ‘decarbonization’ of buildings, the building sector, and the built environment.” (Read the full text below).

Though the AIA board of directors must still approve this resolution before adopting it in official AIA policy, it is an indication that architects will be relentless in pursuing zero-net carbon practice as the accepted standard practice of the AIA membership.

Back in February of this year AIA officially published its support of Congress’ “Green New Deal” plan, and a growing movement within the architecture ranks will continue to raise climate change adaptation with “the clients and communities members serve; federal, state and local policymakers and governing bodies; other professional organizations and affiliates, and the public on climate action through a multi-year strategy for education, practice, advocacy, and outreach.”

As if this climate action resolution meeting hadn’t been momentous enough, then later in the conference Mary Ann Lazarus, FAIA, with the Cameron MacAllister Group, one of the resolution’s sponsors, also hosted an extraordinary education session on “The Fourth National Climate Assessment: What it Means for You.”

Mary Ann is one of the report's Review Editors on the Climate and Security Review team, and intimately familiar with both Chapter 11: Built Environment, Urban Systems, and Cities and Chapter 28: Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions in the government’s 2018 climate assessment report. The report is widely considered the authoritative source on climate impacts and risks and has been an excellent resource for me in working through understanding what our collective buildings industry can do to meet these well researched and documented challenges.

Mary Ann’s session used digital polling tools and drew lots of engagement at the prompt of probing questions such as: “What actions are needed to add value and address these urgent issues?” Below are the results of some of the audience’s responses:

We briefly discussed the report’s findings, and afterward, I drilled down to chapter 11’s three key messages:

1.      IMPACTS ON URBAN QUALITY OF LIFE: The opportunities and resources in urban areas are critically important to the health and well-being of people who work, live, and visit there. Climate change can exacerbate existing challenges to urban quality of life, including social inequality, aging, and deteriorating infrastructure, and stressed ecosystems. Many cities are engaging in creative problem solving to improve quality of life while simultaneously addressing climate change impacts.

2.      FORWARD-LOOKING DESIGN FOR URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE: Damages from extreme weather events demonstrate current urban infrastructure vulnerabilities. With its long service life, urban infrastructure must be able to endure a future climate that is different from the past. Forward-looking design informs investment in reliable infrastructure that can withstand ongoing and future climate risks.

3.      IMPACTS ON URBAN GOODS AND SERVICES: Interdependent networks of infrastructure, ecosystems, and social systems provide essential urban goods and services. Damage to such networks from current weather extremes and future climate will adversely affect urban life. Coordinated local, state and federal efforts can address these interconnected vulnerabilities.

For those of us who live in metropolitan areas, climate change impacts will intensify all the well-known challenges of urban life such as access to fresh food and water, sanitation, transportation congestion, heat island effect, and more. The sad part is that significant investment in upgrading urban infrastructure is not likely to come proactively, but instead in reaction to catastrophes and disasters. Nonetheless, no matter what the trigger for redeveloping and “future-proofing” our urban infrastructure, it is vital to leap forward into climate scenarios that will produce much higher performing buildings than those that we design and build today. Local, state, and federal efforts will need to incentivize and stimulate the transformation of markets and industries that support forward-looking design for urban infrastructure at the same time that investors will need to demonstrate their preference for risk-abated development with climate adaptive capital projects.

On the topic of “reducing risk,” chapter 28’s five key messages should significantly resonate with the triple bottom line to ensure people, planet, and prosperity are in balance under the constraints of a climate aggravated environment:

1.      ADAPTATION IMPLEMENTATION IS INCREASING: Adaptation planning and implementation activities are occurring across the United States in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Since the Third National Climate Assessment, implementation has increased but is not yet commonplace.

2.      CLIMATE CHANGE OUTPACES ADAPTATION PLANNING: Successful adaptation has been hindered by the assumption that climate conditions are and will be similar to those in the past. Incorporating information on current and future climate conditions into design guidelines, standards, policies, and practices would reduce risk and adverse impacts.

3.      ADAPTATION ENTAILS ITERATIVE RISK MANAGEMENT: Adaptation entails a continuing risk management process; it does not have an endpoint. With this approach, individuals and organizations of all types assess risks and vulnerabilities from climate and other drivers of change (such as economic, environmental, and societal), take actions to reduce those risks, and learn over time.

4.      BENEFITS OF PROACTIVE ADAPTATION EXCEED COSTS: Proactive adaptation initiatives—including changes to policies, business operations, capital investments, and other steps—yield benefits in excess of their costs in the near term, as well as over the long term. Evaluating adaptation strategies involves consideration of equity, justice, cultural heritage, the environment, health, and national security.

5.      NEW APPROACHES CAN FURTHER REDUCE RISK: Integrating climate considerations into existing organizational and sectoral policies and practices provides adaptation benefits. Further reduction of the risks from climate change can be achieved by new approaches that create conditions for altering regulatory and policy environments, cultural and community resources, economic and financial systems, technology applications, and ecosystems.

Though my first intention here is to share some broad insights around my thinking about and immersion into climate adaptation research and solutions, the next article in this series will take a look at the expanded solutions matrix I'm working on and how our building industry can help our clients best anticipate "deep decarbonization" construction needs.