Architecture has a new responsibility. The energy used to build and maintain our homes and buildings is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions, which are responsible for climate change. Human constructions alter the natural environment due to the extraction of necessary materials and raw materials, but also because they can alter the landscape, posing a threat to the habitats of various species and to biodiversity. Much has been done to mitigate these damages, mainly at the technical level, with a strategy of material selection and energy efficiency. However, focusing only on matter and energy means accepting a limited understanding of ecology and its relationship to architecture.
Sustainable development, a development that can ensure the well-being of the present generation and future generations, is a goal that requires a new perspective. It's not just about optimizing the use of resources or choosing natural materials, but about changing our relationship with the ecosystem we inhabit.
Architecture and engineering in the past were one of the ways in which humans imposed their domination over nature and other people: since buildings have the ability to define relationships, relationships were those of opposition (inside-outside, we-them, man-nature) that led to dynamics of exploitation and domination, no longer sustainable.
It is the relationships of connection and cohabitation that represent the path towards well-being, for people and for the planet.
