I am a registered architect. As an active contributor to one of the most damaging industries to our climate (construction & building systems), I often daydream about pivoting careers into something more productive for the planet. I’m not talking about stuff like green washing or ~LEED accreditation~. Even sustainably-focused jobs are hard to come by and usually pretty regionally specific. Architects have a broad set of skills, and it’s not always clear where I can take those skills and put them to better use.
Any thoughts/insight would be appreciated as I hop into my mid-life crisis before 30.
- architectural programs and regulations in EU are a lot more focused on sustainability (and even for foreigners, education is MUCH cheaper in EU than US if you want to upgrade your degrees)
- Passive House / Passivhaus
- passive solar building
- natural building
- A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander
- The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs
- Lo-TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism, Julia Watson
- Architecture Without Architects, Bernard Rudofsky
- Sprawl Repair Manual, Galina Tachieva
- Architecture for the Poor, Hassan Fathy