This summary includes:
- Summary of the powerpoints
- Lesson notes incorporated into the summary as well as the examples given in class
- Final, shorter summary on the syllabus at the back
1st semester, 2023, lesson 1 - 7: Luc Eeckhout, 8: Jan Wurm, 9 Johan Cordonnier, 10: Kathleen Mertens, 1...
Integrated Regenerative
Design
1_The Design
One planet thinking – Club of Rome
Introduction: Code red for humanity
• We did too little, too late
• Sustainability is not enough
o Architects have a responsibility to consider the impact of our work on the environment.
We must take time to educate ourselves and gather as much information as possible
o Scientists have been warning us about the dangers of climate change for more than half a century
There are stil those who refuse to acknowledge the severity of the problem
o Effects of climate change
Rising sea levels
Extreme weather events
Loss of biodiversity
o Architects can make a difference
Design energy-efficient buildings
• Use better materials
• Minimize environmental impact
Advocate for policies and practices that promote regenerative design
• Latest science on climate tipping points
o 16 main system risks
Systems regulate the climate on earth
• Have been stable and resilient for 10 000 years
• Within each system is a tipping point
o Push them too far and they will irreversibly shift from supporting humanity to undermining
humanity
• Today the majority of these systems are showing signs of destabilization
At 1.5°C we are likely to cross four tipping points
• Now we use 1% every month of our remaining carbon budget
• Breaking boundaries: the science of our planet – David Attenborough
o Tells the story of the most important scientific discovery of our time
Humanity has pushed Earth beyond the boundaries
Take what you need: for free
• The exploitation of our planet without any limits is growing
o We take more than we need and never give anything back
Our planet is a generous system: every day we receive almost everything we need
We use our planet on a daily basis
• Water, energy, materials, food, space, fresh air, …
, • Anthropocene – Mongrel Media
o A cinematic meditation on humanity’s massive reengineering of the planet
Documentary film
• What if each extraction means less planet?
o Then our future is self-destruction
Produce and create a market to sell as cheap as possible
• The exploitation of people
o Too many people work for unfair minimum wages
• We produce as cheaply as possible
o In locations with large numbers of workers
• Manufactured landscapes – Jennifer Baichwal
o A feature length documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky
Large-scale photographs of manufactured landscapes
• Quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines, dams.
Civilization’s materials and debris
But in a way people describe it as stunning or beautiful
• Raises questions about ethics and aesthetics
o Follows Burtynsky to China
Travels the country photographing the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution.
• Ex.
o Three Gorges Dam
Bigger by 50% than any other dam in the world and displaced over a million
people
Factory flows over a kilometre long
Consume as fast as possible
• We make products that break down quickly
o This allows us to sell more
• We dump cheap products in the market in large numbers
o Fast consumption is the emphasis
Bad design quickly becomes waste
• Dump waste as cheaply as possible
o Our earth becomes a giant wasteland
o We dump literally everything in our environment
• What we have to offer our planet is waste, pollution, CO2 and foreign substances that unbalance nature
o What do we have to offer our planet?
o Do we ever give anything back?
o Or are we just exploiters?
• Clothes aren’t kil ing the planet, but mass consumption is.
o Our need to constantly change our look
A need created by the fashion industry
The only true victim to fashion is the climate
, o Now they say the fashion industry is changing for the better
But is it really?
• Collections that are more sustainable
o Stil encourages ppl to throw their sustainable clothes away when the new sustainable
collection drops.
To truly make a change for the better, we have to create sustainable lifestyles
• We have to make it stylish to not change our style every week.
o Create clothes that are meant to be worn a whole life
Quality
Looks
Become more beautiful the more you wear them, the more you repair them.
• The construction industry is the biggest polluter
o Waste is an important part of building.
The limits to growth - Club of Rome, 1972
• People are increasingly aware of the fact that our way of life is damaging our planet
o What we ask for on a daily basis is no longer balanced with the capacity of our planet.
• The limits of Growth
o Commissioned by the club of Rome
o Report that discussed the possibility of exponential economic and population growth with finite supply of resources,
studied by computer simulation
Used the world computer model to simulate the consequence of interactions between the earth and human
systems
o Conclude
Without substantial changes in resource consumption, the most probable result will be rather sudden and
uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity
o Subsequent work to validate its forecasts continue to confirm that insufficient changes have been made since 1972
• The origin
o Urged humanity to act
Its vivid and almost haunting description of the consequences of exponential growth
• Confronted with finite resources
Continuous economic and demographical growth will hit the limits of naturally provided resources
• Lead very likely to overshoot, collapse and radical decrease of most people’s standard of living
o Accompanied by international crises, conflicts and catastrophes
o Study was supported by the German Volkswagen Foundation
• Graphics
o Diagram shows the projected trends of five variables
Population
Food
Industrial output
Pollution
Resources
o From 1900 to 2100
o Based on the world computer model
Simulates the interactions between the earth and human systems
Standard run = business-as-usual scenario
• Assumes that no major changes are made in the physical, economic and social relations that have
governed the development of the world system in the past century.
o leads to a collapse of population and industrial output around 2030
Due to overshooting the limits of resources and pollution
, • 2010 review of the study
o The book has withstood the test of time and has only become more relevant
o With few exceptions, economics as a discipline has been dominated by a perception of living in an unlimited world
Where resource and pollution problems in one area were solved by moving resources or people to other parts
o The very hint of any global limitation as suggested was met with disbelief and rejection by businesses and most
economists
However this conclusion was mostly based on false premises
Our footprint is too big: we consume too much and too fast
• Our ecological footprint is indicating that the pressure on our planet is unacceptably high.
o Year after year it is stil growing
• Our ecological footprint – Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, 1996
o First academic publication about ecological footprints
o The ecological footprint and calculation method was developed as the PhD
dissertation of Mathis Wackernagel, under Rees’ supervision at the university of Britisch Columbia, Canada
Originally they called the concept ‘appropriated carrying capacity’
To make the idea more accessible, Rees came up with the term ‘ecological footprint’
• Inspired by a computer’s ‘small footprint on the desk’
• The ecological footprint
o = the impact of a person or community on the environment expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their
use of natural resources.
By means of ecological footprint analysis, it became possible for the first time to discuss sustainability
systematically.
• Earth overshoot day
o Computed by dividing the planet’s biocapacity, by humanity’s ecological footprint and multiplying by 365
Biocapacity = the amount of ecological resources Earth is able to generate that year
Ecological footprint = humanity’s demand that year
o Overshoot day the last 10 years:
2014: august 5
2015: august 7
2016: august 9
2017: august 5
2018: august 1
2019: august 3
2020: august 16 (corona)
2021: august 3
2022: august 1
2023: august 2
• Country overshoot day
o = the date on which Earth overshoot day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in that country
• Yearly ecological deficit
o In the sixties, there was stil an ecological reserve
Changes fundamental in 1970
After, the ecological deficit increases
o An important factor is the decreasing biocapacity
= the earth’s ability to produce resources and absorb waste
o An increase in global population can result in a decrease in biocapacity
Usually due to the fact that the earth’s resources have to be shared
• There becomes little to supply the increasing demand of the increasing population
o At this moment we are using more resources than the earth can regenerate
Leading to a depletion of natural resources and an increase in waste
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller freyademeyer. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $18.45. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
