virtual pavilion for COP26 highlights the built environment's role in climate change

BUILD BETTER NOW AT COP26

a virtual reality exhibition called ‘build better now’ has opened to the public as part of global climate summit COP26. the online exhibition features 17 sustainable building projects from around the world as well as a 3D installation conceived by make architects.

the immersive exhibits are housed in a virtual pavilion designed by AECOM in collaboration with install archive. the digital structure comprises a series of treetop domes connected by walkways.

the ‘build better now’ virtual pavilion

image © AECOM

A GLOBAL CALL TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY

the ‘build better now’ project highlights the built environment’s role in the climate crisis, an industry responsible for 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions and a third of the world’s energy consumption. the virtual exhibition acts as a global call for climate action and is supported by a coalition of over 100 partner organizations from the built environment industry.

‘with COP26, the world is ready to tackle climate change and the built environment has a crucial part to play,’  says julie hirigoyen, chief executive at the UK green building council. ‘we know why we must accelerate climate action and build better now shows how we can get there. everyone on the planet has a stake in our buildings and cities. I invite everyone to take inspiration from build better now as a global showcase of pioneering solutions to climate change and hope that it supports the industry to create more sustainable buildings, places and cities of the future.’

image © AECOM

an open call was launched in june 2021 to select the 17 exhibited projects. works were chosen for their immediate positive impact on the planet and people’s lives. the projects are both scalable and replicable – giving the potential to deliver far-reaching impacts and explore themes such as natural resource use, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature and biodiversity.

make architects was selected to design a sustainability-focused 360° installation and accompanying film that acts as a centerpiece within the pavilion. ‘the fountain of circular recovery’ highlights opportunities for recovery, reuse and recycling in the built environment to establish a truly circular economy.

image © AECOM

pioneering projects include one of the world’s tallest timber buildings designed by white arkitekter; the largest certified passivhaus building in the southern hemisphere in australia; a 100-hectare innovation district in italy digitally mapped and powered by 100% renewable energy sources; and the largest new build energy-positive office building in norway by snøhetta, which supplies surplus renewable energy to neighboring buildings as well as powering electric buses.

buildings constructed using natural local materials range from a UK university building utilizing thatch and reed; a school in indonesia built with bamboo and the first 3D-printed sustainable homes made entirely from raw clay – perfectly balancing ultra-modern construction techniques with historic, traditional materials.

heart of school by PT bambu in bali, indonesia

projects protecting and enhancing nature include a government-led eco-tourism initiative to restore a national park in rwanda and a high-tech rewilding project, restoring native forest and peatlands and reintroducing locally extinct species to 100 acres of land in the scottish highlands, which will form a template for similar nature regeneration globally.

as well as government-funded research into retrofitting scotland’s iconic but hard-to-heat tenement homes, the exhibition features a favela in brazil and affordable sustainable housing solutions in the UK, new zealand and pakistan. also included is an adaptable cross-laminated timber bridge concept designed for a circular economy, as well as an initiative to develop a sustainable mass timber building market building in east africa.

natural capital library, scotland, the UK

image © chris coupland AECOM

cristina gamboa, CEO of world green building council, said at the launch, ‘we are coming together for COP26 to spotlight the built environment as a solution to climate change. this is the most visible and coordinated the industry has ever been at a climate summit of this caliber.’

‘build better now provides us with an opportunity to learn how sustainable building practices are having a positive impact on people’s lives. we must ensure that the world listens to the steps needed to create sustainable buildings, which means building and renovating with whole life carbon principles, embracing a circular economy, and creating people-centric, healthy buildings that are resilient to the effects of climate change.’

alongside the exhibition, ‘build better now’ also hosts an events series comprising a program of tours and talks, keynotes, panel discussions and other downloadable content, to educate and inspire the built environment industry and public to act now to identify and deliver climate solutions at scale.

discover all 17 projects in the virtual exhibition here.

instituto favela da paz in são paolo in brazil

singita volcanoes national park in ruhengeri, rwanda

image © crookes and jackson

image © patrick degerman

monash woodside building for technology and design by grimshaw in melbourne, australia

image © michael kai

powerhouse brattørkaia by snöhetta in trondheim, norway

image © ivar kvaal

TECLA by mario cucinella architects in massa lombarda, italy

image © lago corazza

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university of east anglia enterprise centre by architype in norwich, the UK © BDP

hope rise by ZENPODS in bristol, the UK © ZENPODS limited

NCH2050 homes by studio partington in nottingham, the UK © tracey whitefoot courtesy of melius homes

pioneering a mass timber market in east africa in nairobi, kenya © buildXstudio

107 niddrie road by john gilbert architects in glasgow, the UK © john gilbert architects

milan innovtion district by carlo ratti, mario cucinella architects, piuarch, beema, LAND, MAD architects in milan, italy

ngā kāinga anamata by context architects in auckland, new zealand © context architects

modulus homes by open door design studio in karachi, pakistan © modulustech

bridges of laminated timber (BoLT) by arup in amsterdam, the netherlands

project info:

name: build better now – built environment virtual pavilion

event: COP26
design: AECOM in collaboration with install archive

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom