I enjoyed preparing and running through some rapid-fire slides on ‘Preparing for Change: Design Responses’ in a short CPD course for about 200 Architects. My presentation covered current climate change projections, learning COVID-19 and what COP26 means for South Africa.

It noted the shift in emphasis from incremental technological change to the societal transformation that is starting to come through strongly from the IPCC and in COP26. This means that broader, more radical approaches are required.

Architects can support societal transformation by integrating approaches such as the 15-minute city, the circular economy, net-zero buildings and passive environmental control in new projects.

This will be needed to maintain the downward trajectory in South Africa’s carbon emissions reported by ClimateActionTracker.