ARCHITECTS IN TRAINING How we design, build and refurbish the built environment is core to tackling the climate emergency, and the next generation of architects has a vital role to play. John Carter and Alison Pooley introduce inspiring designs from recent student projects, illustrating how architecture can support a more sustainable future for all. CAT’s Masters in Sustainable Architecture MArch course strapline is “doing architecture differently”. What we mean by this is that architecture must be sustainable in its construction (and de-construction), in its use, and in its reason for being. Think net zero-carbon architecture that has been designed to be healthy and uplifting, and which addresses climate change and biodiversity loss. These essential qualities form the foundation stones of the Final Design Projects, which are the culmination of our current final year students’ studies. Each student selects a site and develops a brief that allows them to explore sustainability concepts within architecture through the political, social and environmental challenges facing contemporary society and the built environment. Students develop their projects through detailed design proposals and a technical report during the final year of the two-year course. This is a challenging piece of work, and especially so for this cohort who, since March 2020, have mostly undertaken design tuition via distance learning because of the pandemic. As usual, our students have risen to this challenge, and we are extremely proud of them. Here are a few selected examples of their Final Design Projects.
Adele Huelin – A biodiversity centre for Jersey Adele’s starting points for her Final Design Project were her native island of Jersey and its fragile ecosystems. She has designed a biodiversity research and study centre on the south-western tip of St Ouens Bay, sitting atop a World War Two sea wall. Touching the earth (and thereby the fragile ecosystem of this part of coastal Jersey) lightly is an important aim of Adele’s design, as is the use of natural materials throughout.
Leah Davis – A community retrofit centre for Stroud Leah chose to base her project in her hometown of Stroud. Part re-use of existing buildings and part exemplar new-build, her project explores the challenges that we face in retrofitting our existing buildings, especially our housing stock, to net-zero carbon standards using low-embodied energy materials. In so doing Leah also aims to ‘repair’ an unloved site close to the centre of Stroud and, in the housing part of her project, show what can be achieved if we think more communally and more sustainably. Clean Slate 11
