In the race to zero carbon buildings, the practice of architecture needs to shift, deeply and fast. After declaring a climate emergency in 2019, the Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) published the Australian-first Architecture Industry Decarbonisation Plan, which sets out carbon targets for policy makers and provides practical guidance for the profession.
The National Construction Code’s 2025 update and delay of further updates until 2029 leave significant gaps to science-based trajectories while the manufacturing and construction industries lag far behind in providing low and zero carbon services and products, which impedes the delivery of low and zero carbon buildings. The onus is thus on architects to help clients meet their needs in smarter ways, understand risks and opportunities and lead the project process through smarter design, greater adaptive reuse of existing assets and closer collaboration with consultants such as structural, façade, services and ESD engineers.
This is reflected by the update to the decarbonisation plan and the roll-out of education, resources and a push for a cultural shift in the profession to move from sustainability as a technical specialty to core business for architects, driven by the RAIA’s National Climate Action and Sustainability Committee.
This presentation will lay out the urgently needed cultural shift in practice and education, showcase the critical skills of architects going forward and discuss strategies to move the architecture profession towards leading a sustainable zero carbon future.