Getty images (Getty Images)
In September 2015, news broke that Volkswagen (VW) had been selling cars in the US that had a so-called “defeat device” installed in diesel engines. It could detect when they were being tested and change performance to improve results.
The German carmaker admitted to cheating emissions tests and it soon became clear that this was not just about US car sales. VW later admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide had also been fitted with the same software.
Modifying an environmental test and masquerading as ‘doing the right thing’ will obviously have no meaningful impact on the environment. You would expect that everyone would have learnt lessons from the car industry’s shameful episode.
Ten ways in which architecture is addressing climate change
To honour Earth Day, we ve rounded up 10 ways architects are reshaping the built environment to benefit both people and the planet.
Architecture has a large environmental impact, with the built environment accounting for 40 per cent of the UK s carbon emissions in 2019, according to the UK Green Building Council.
With a 2018 United Nations report warning that humanity now has less than 10 years to slow down global warming, the architecture industry is one of many to have been forced to reassess the ways in which it works.
From reducing waste and maximising urban greenery to collaboration and lobbying for change, solutions to reduce pressure on the planet are now taking centre stage.
AJ Climate Champions: episode 8
AJ Climate Champions podcast – Steve Webb & Wilf Meynell: ‘We’re brainwashed into steel and concrete mode’
In this third episode dedicated to retrofit, Steve Webb of Webb Yates Engineers explains how to persuade clients to use more timber and stone while Wilf Meynell shares Studio Bark’s approach to Victorian house extensions
Webb describes what it will take to transform an industry fixated on concrete and steel, and outlines simple steps to decarbonise Victorian house extensions, while Meynell explains the budget challenges of low-carbon retrofit and why architecture is essentially political.
If you want to find out more about sustainability in architecture, the entire AJ Summit programme from March 2021 is free to watch on demand until June. More than 20 sessions capture thought leadership on whole-life carbon, circularity, building performance, community engagement, the adverse impacts of demolition and more. Also hear keynote speake