Celebration, collaboration and conservation

Australian architects declare climate emergency

On 25 July 2019, with thirty founding signatories, Australia was the third country in the world to launch Architects Declare and the first to include reference to Indigenous peoples. The global movement was initiated in the United Kingdom to raise awareness of the climate and biodiversity emergencies facing our planet. With the building and construction industry accounting for almost 40 percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions globally, a transformation is required within the industry’s practices. The technology exists for this transformation to begin now and the Architects Declare movement seeks to mobilize collective will.

Signatories seek to “evaluate all new projects against the aspiration to contribute positively to mitigating climate breakdown, and encourage [their] clients to adopt this approach.”

“Challenging times demand strong responses,” said Architects Declare Australia spokesperson Caroline Pidcock. “Today, a group of Australia’s acclaimed architects are putting up their hands to be instrumental in creating the future we need. We hope many more practices and individuals will follow their lead.”

More than 550 signatories, including most of the country’s large architecture practices, have now joined Architects Declare Australia.

Bringing together two worldviews

At the 2019 National Architecture Conference, it was clear: Australian architecture urgently needs to rethink its relationship to Indigenous knowledge. “Engagement with the First Nations people of Australia is not only a necessity but a way to