Design for climate: An interdisciplinary approach

Climate change is the biggest issue facing our planet. There is an urgency to act as designers and planners, and landscape architects have a key role to play in developing solutions that can be integrated into our projects. The dilemma we face is incomplete understanding of the key issues, a lack of clarity about how our work has negative and positive impacts, and the best ways to use our skills and tools in green infrastructure and regenerative design to tackle climate issues. By developing an interdisciplinary approach to this work, we can expand our role as designers by employing solutions that are effective, and grounded in research. Furthermore, scientists and researchers can find outlets for research with real-world applications and impacts. There is a renewed focus on these issues, and landscape architects need to shift their focus to investigate how designs can aid in mitigating the impacts, and can contribute solutions that can have significant benefits. This session uses Drawdown (Hawken, ed.) as a framework to map out the key solutions that are necessary for global change, and explores how to act locally to create benefits. It also links practice to research through exploration of evidence-based design solutions and ways science informs design. Through case studies, we can reveal actions, metrics, and strategies that can be integrated into all project types, and create a dialogue about challenge and opportunities, empowering landscape architects and scientists with information and actions to bring positive change to our communities and the world