Musings

Sustainability is undoubtedly the word of our times. Everywhere we go, we hear of strives being taken to limit emissions, to improve living and to live without compromising the needs of future generations. Within architecture and building however, a new paradox has arisen, identified by prominent architectural writer, Peter Buchanan. In his 2011-2012 series, The Big Rethink, he posited that sustainability cannot fundamentally be achieved with current practice in architecture because Modernism is fundamentally “an energy-profligate, petrochemical architecture, only possible when fossil fuels are abundant and affordable.” (Buchanan, 2012)