Winter Newsletter 2022

Publicado el 13 December 2022

Environmental awareness awakens the moment you understand that each of your actions has an impact on your surroundings and that the sum of individual impacts is threatening our survival on this planet.

Our built environments account for approximately 60% of global emissions, and as architects and builders responsible for these processes, we have a duty to advance beyond energy efficiency and zero consumption—two aspects that are highly regulated and accepted by most of society—to move toward resource efficiency and zero impact of our buildings.

Each phase in the construction and use of a building has an impact, from the production of construction materials and their installation to recovery and reuse at the end of their useful life. However, the impact of a building throughout its entire life cycle is not only measured in CO2 emissions, but also includes emissions of other greenhouse gases, as well as effects on ecosystems and on human health.

All these impacts will begin to be regulated in Europe by the end of this decade through new ecological construction directives. In fact, some countries such as Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and France are already implementing regulations that limit emissions from new construction.

The regulation of emissions and impact in the construction sector will lead us to a necessary change in the way we build. Noble, natural, minimally processed, and locally sourced materials will move to the forefront, while polluting materials or those whose production processes generate high CO2 emissions, such as steel or concrete, will need to adapt to new regulations or face extinction.

At Slow Studio, we have been committed for years to minimum-impact construction in harmony with the planet and with people, but this effort extends beyond our studio. This year, we joined the board of the Architecture and Sustainability Association of the College of Architects of Catalonia, working in the decarbonization group alongside distinguished professionals in the field of sustainability, where we act as a pressure group to demand urgent regulations to control emissions in our sector.

This outreach and active participation in all areas of our profession is our way of fighting for a decarbonized future that preserves survival options for future generations.

#otraformadeconstruiresposible

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