Climate champion architect in summit on design in the age of emergencies

Duncan - Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture and Design - will discuss potential solutions to the existential problems posed by current wasteful building practices at a virtual summit organised by the Architect's Journal, entitled Design in the Age of Emergencies.

The summit takes place on 25 March, beginning at 14.40 GMT.

Duncan has practised, researched, and taught around issues of sustainable development and closed-looped systems for more than 25 years, and is the author of the groundbreaking book, The Re-Use Atlas. He recently founded the Baker-Brown Studio to champion architectural design and practice that “consumes less, wastes nothing, and finds value in the overlooked” in a world where climate change issues fuse with post-COVID ones.

As well as helping create the multi-award-winning Brighton Waste House (built using over 85% 'waste material'), Duncan has recently designed a new building for Glyndebourne Opera that will be constructed from waste flows and organic materials grown on site. Duncan is also currently working on schemes for Net-Zero Carbon social housing with Brighton & Hove District Council, where he has led on the drafting of the Council's forthcoming Circular Economy Route Map.

Duncan Baker-Brown

The Brighton Waste House

Writing for the RIBA Journal in 2019 about the key role of architects and designers, Duncan said:

“During the design of a building, we make hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions about what our buildings are made of and how they should be constructed... We need to become ‘urban miners’ and re-work/re-use previously made buildings, components, and material sources. We need to mine the anthropocene (the human-made geological layer surrounding planet Earth) rather than send humans underground to dig up new material.

“Architects already have the ability and tools to design new buildings that will run as carbon neutral or carbon negative entities, but they can also be material banks for future buildings. This concept simply requires architects to design buildings that can be de-constructed in the future.“