Symposia
Building a Planetary Solution: Regenerative Architectural Strategies for a Planet in Crisis
The lifecycle of the built environment—the production, operation, and, ultimately, disposal of buildings and infrastructure (and their aggregation as towns and cities)—currently accounts for nearly half of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, more than half of solid waste generation, and nearly three quarters of energy consumption. But these statistics fail to capture the range of systemic challenges we face as a consequence of our unique but ubiquitous capacity to produce and consume the artifacts of our industriousness. As we approach this critical planetary threshold, what scientists describe as a “climate tipping point,” how can we, as architects (and with our colleagues in the building sector) mitigate or even reverse the ecological and atmospheric impacts of our work? What if, instead of continuing to deplete and degrade our planet’s natural ecosystem—its forests, peatlands, wetlands—the making of global buildings and cities could become a force to incentivize their restoration, reverse climate change, and enhance biodiversity?
Over the course of a three-day symposium organized by Alan Organschi, a diverse array of leading thinkers and makers from the climate, ecosystem, and construction sciences, from industrial ecology and manufacturing, design and engineering, finance and policy will convene to examine, debate, and discuss the materials, means, methods, and potential benefits of a new regenerative paradigm for the building sector.
Symposia at the Yale School of Architecture are supported in part by the J. Irwin Miller Fund.