As COP26 continues in Glasgow, a new virtual reality exhibition has debuted, highlighting the built environment’s role in the current climate crisis. Appropriately titled ‘Build Better Now,’ the project allows the public to view 17 sustainable building projects from around the world, with a tree-top eco-dome serving as the hub for the exhibition.
Each of the 17 projects have been selected for displaying exemplary efforts to reduce and in some cases, reverse, their footprint on the environment. They also serve as demonstrations for the opportunities buildings have in tackling climate change.
Alongside this exhibition, Build Better Now will also be hosting an event series comprising tours, talks, keynotes, panel discussions and other downloadable content that will be free to the public. With these, Build Better Now hopes to educate and inspire the built environment industry, and the general public, to act now and deliver inspired climate solutions at scale.
“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.”
Build Better Now, A Call to Action for Built Environments
The projects on display at the Build Better Now exhibition were chosen through a rigorous selection process by a panel of industry leaders across the world. They are also scalable and replicable, exploring themes of resource use, climate mitigation, adaptability, resilience and biodiviersity, owing to Build Better Now’s goal of climate stewardship.
Such pioneering projects include a cultural center in Sweden that will be the largest timber building in the world; the largest certified Passivhaus building in the Southern Hemisphere in Australia; a 100-hectare innovation district in Italy powered by 100% renewable energy sources; and an energy-positive office building in Norway that powers neighboring buildings and electric buses with its energy surplus.
The Natural Capital Library Project, Scottland.
Sara Cultural Center, Sweden.
Elsewhere, local materials lend themselves to the construction of a UK University building made entirely from thatch and reed; a school in Indonesia built with bamboo; and the first 3D-printed sustainable homes made entirely from raw clay.
The exhibition also highlights government-funded research into retrofitting Scotland’s iconic but hard-to-heat tenement homes, as well as a Brazillian favela and affordable and sustainable housing solutions in the UK, New Zealand and Pakistan.
Instituto Favela da Paz, Sao Paolo, Brazil.
All 17 projects are available for exploration now, through the virtual pavilion landing page. To keep up to date on available resources and events surrounding COP26 and the Build Better Now project, readers can also visit the Build Better Now website.
