Reframing Sustainability

I like the idea that Mostafavi is challenging architects to rethink the way we design our buildings and our cities. In his book “Ecological Urbanism”, Mostafavi reframes the idea that sustainability is something to tack on to a building to try and negate energy consumption, into an idea that we can incorporate design strategies from the ground up. He mentions that LEED certification is beneficial for individual buildings but has little to no effect over the infrastructure of a city. I believe that as architects it's our jobs to spread this idea that sustainability is more than a couple louvers and a water collection strategy. We can educate and convince more people to rethink how we think about our cities. I especially loved the example of the Eco Boulevard project, reframing the city center as an “air tree” that houses lots of community activity with shade while also doubling as a source for collecting energy. It was adapted specifically to meet the needs of the local climate and to function as a tree when the community couldn’t afford to wait 25 years for natural trees to give the same benefits. These sort of design opportunities that address the ever increasing climate crisis are what Mostafavi believes should be the moments that we try to educate and design with sustainability from the ground up.