Back in 2021, the landscape for environmental considerations was shifting and finally the government in New Zealand was starting to take notice. Many regulations were finally being updated and the reality of the effects of our industry was being more widely understood.
As many of former my colleagues can attest, I have been quietly promoting, sharing and guiding a view towards considered architectural design that factors in environmental sustainability at all stages. Often, costs are a limiting factor in many design decisions but many others are integral to good design.
One of the things I find most important in this world is not to hold knowledge tightly for personal or commercial gain, but rather to share it with others so that together we can improve the environment and the futures for our children, and theirs.
Through writing this document back in 2021, I sought to share strategies for environmental design in architecture that could be used by all staff at CCM and could be shared with clients to work out the best way forward. Alongside this ‘short’ 50-page report of sustainability strategy I was keen also to find a way to select materials for building that might be good options from the start of their creation, to the end of their usable life. My research began a large spreadsheet, which grew and looked at the selections we most often question in architecture – timber types, concrete, steel, aluminium etc. I have a feeling that in the future, what seemed like an impossible task at the time, will be able to be streamlined through computer database analysis and AI. Let’s try and use this technology for good!
If you are looking at how to integrate sustainability in your industry, I am happy to help!