It’s a tough time to be architect. Covid hasn’t helped, but I’m thinking specifically of our responsibility to mitigate the climate emergency. We all understand the need for change, but to make that change a reality the construction industry has much more work to do than most within it are prepared to admit.

Brownfield sites are invariably seen as more sustainable than greenfield. Where these comprise existing buildings, the conversation between developers and planners must rapidly move from “How much can we demolish?” to “How much can we retain?” This huge culture shift will be made more difficult by the fact that viability invariably demands a design to yield significantly more floor area than existed before. If we retain and reuse existing structures, another site will be needed to make up the shortfall. If that is also brownfield, the cycle will continue.

…