courtesy architecture 2030
Ed Mazria sets an example for those competing in Architecture 2030’s Reverberate competition, which asked students to communicate the “No Coal” message through face- and body-paints.
the building sector to reduce emissions by 50 percent of regional averages in existing buildings and by an additional 10 percent every five years, so that by 2030 all new construction will be carbon neutral. As important as events like Pratt’s President’s Lecture Series are in reaching interested and receptive audiences, Mazria acknowledges that the urgency to address climate change will require getting the message out to colleges much more quickly. To reach an even greater number of students and faculty members, Architecture 2030 implemented a bold new strategy to increase ecological literacy among the next generation of designers. In early 2007, it issued “The 2010 Imperative,” which calls for accredited architecture, design, planning, and engineering schools to add an ecological requirement to all design studio problems so that each student understands how his or her designs impact the environment. Mazria expects this to cause a “snowball effect.” When students are presented with these design problems, he reasons, they will be required to conduct research to find new strategies and technologies that lessen the ecological impact of products and structures. The students will bring this information back to their classmates and instructors; thus, every presentation will have the potential to teach. Webcasting is another means that Mazria has employed to communicate his message to educators and students. By using a medium that is comfortable
and familiar to those in academia, he is able to reach large audiences at colleges and universities across the nation and the world—all at once. The most recent Webcast organized by Architecture 2030 was “Face IT,” part of a nationwide teach-in on global warming solutions that took place on January 30 and 31. Pratt’s students and faculty members participated in the two-day event that included Architecture 2030 and Metropolis magazine’s Reverberate competition, which urged students to use body paints and video to communicate the “No Coal” message.
It’s up to us to change the way we teach, to get ecological issues into the curriculum. Like most compelling presenters, Mazria tailors his message to each specific audience. To the students ready to take on tomorrow’s design challenges, he seems to be saying: Your professions, indeed your planet, need you more than ever. “When we design something, we set up its emissions pattern for the next 50 years, or however long a building or community stands,” the architect has said. Clearly, Mazria wants future architects, engineers, and designers to get it right the first time. If he has any say in the matter—which, of course, he does—they most certainly will. P 21