Architecture and The Environment

Reid Building | Steven Holl Architects | Glasgow, UK, 2014

For over a decade, architects have been addressing issues relating to climate change and the surrounding environment. The push for sustainable technology has forced architects to rethink design decisions that relate to climate change. With this, multiple debates focus on architects thinking about the environment, mostly on how to address the exterior facade or interior quality of the space. The outer envelope is critical in determining the type of building that can affect environmental policies and social concerns. While the interior focuses on creating an atmosphere that can enhance the user experience and its interaction with nature. 

It is important to understand how the buildings we are designing today can affect the future. As technology continues to improve, we are able to address these concerns more quickly and with accuracy. With that, architects should be able to design with more thoughtfulness in mind by addressing both the exterior and interior spaces of a building simultaneously. Mohsen Mostafavi is very critical of the topic and how architects should be able to recognize good design in urban cities. It is up to the designer to determine what is important and how to design future buildings without relying on policies and organizations to gain recognition.