The International Union of Architects (UIA), representing approximately 2.3 million architects worldwide through 124 national member sections, has unanimously adopted the 2050 Imperative committing to environmental and social sustainability.
The historic declaration, presented on August 8th at the UIA World Congress in Durban, recognizes the urgency of the UIA and its member organizations, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA), in committing to a truly sustainable and equitable future. A delegation from the AIA, including AIA President, Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA, supports the declaration.
“We have made great strides towards a sustainable built environment, but we still need to advance the industry to make sustainable design the de facto standard for all construction projects,” said AIA President, Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA. “Sustainable design practices implemented by the world’s architects will mitigate climate change and ultimately save lives.”
Urban areas are responsible for over 70 percent of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, mostly from buildings, and over the next two decades an area roughly equal to 60 percent of the world’s total building stock is projected to be built and rebuilt in urban areas. This provides an unprecedented opportunity to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions by setting the global building sector on a path to phase out CO2 emissions by 2050, the declaration stated:
“Our responsibility is to influence ethical and socially responsible development throughout the world: to plan and design sustainable, resilient, carbon-neutral and healthy built environments that protect and enhance natural resources and wildlife habitats, provide clean air and water, generate on-site renewable energy, and advance more livable buildings and communities.”
By adopting the 2050 Imperative, member organizations have committed to advocacy and promotion pertaining to planning and design of carbon neutral cities, towns, urban developments and new buildings; engaging in research and setting targets towards meeting the 2050 goal and developing and delivering equitable access to the information and tools to deliver these objectives.
The full declaration is available to view here.
Related Stories
75 Top Building Products | Dec 12, 2019
Top Building Envelope Products for 2019
Sto's beetle-inspired exterior coating and Dörken Systems' UV-resistant vapor-permeable barrier are among the 28 new building envelope products to make Building Design+Construction's 2019 101 Top Products report.
Architects | Dec 10, 2019
Calling all emerging architects: Enter to win the $20,000 Forge Prize
This annual steel design competition will recognize three Finalists ($10,000 each) and one Grand Prize Winner ($20,000 total) for their novel concepts in steel-based structures. Entries are due Jan. 15, 2020.
Architects | Dec 9, 2019
Jonathan Moody promoted to CEO of Moody Nolan
New four-member Executive Team also named.
Big Data | Dec 4, 2019
AEC data's coming out party
AEC firms are finally putting to use project information they’ve been storing in their computers for years.
Building Owners | Dec 2, 2019
What building owners and AEC teams need to know about New York’s Climate Mobilization Act
On April 18, 2019, the New York City Council passed the Climate Mobilization Act, a suite of laws aimed to meet the city’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
| Nov 26, 2019
Steinberg Hart and Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture combine to elevate design, expand opportunities and strengthen client relationships
This union creates a national architecture firm with enhanced design capabilities and expertise.
| Nov 8, 2019
Philadelphia architecture firm EwingCole acquires Baltimore firm Gaudreau
Philadelphia architecture firm EwingCole acquires Baltimore firm Gaudreau.
Multifamily Housing | Nov 7, 2019
Multifamily construction market remains strong heading into 2020
Fewer than one in 10 AEC firms doing multifamily work reported a decrease in proposal activity in Q3 2019, according to a PSMJ report.
Architects | Oct 29, 2019
Top takeaways from the Lean Construction Institute Congress 2019
More than 1,600 Lean experts gathered in Texas this month for LCI Congress 2019. Here are key takeaways from the event.
Giants 400 | Oct 25, 2019
Top 50 Airport Sector Architecture Firms for 2019
AECOM, Gensler, HNTB, Corgan, and HOK top the rankings of the nation's largest airport terminal sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2019 Giants 300 Report.