Change Agent

Can design make the world a better place? Hashirin Nurin Hashimi looks at thoughtful architecture that empowers the communities the structures are built for

- Hashirin Nurin Hashimi

CLIMATE CHANGE IS ONE OF THE major threats in the world today, with carbon emissions in the built environment being a major culprit. Buildings in the US discharge almost half of the country’s carbon emissions, and they consume nearly 50 per cent of the energy produced. Architects are tackling climate change with sustainable or “green” design, which according to the World Green Building Council, “preserves precious natural resources and improves quality of life”.

Design has the power to do more. Besides addressing environmental concerns, it can also elevate and empower communities, or what author John Cary calls “dignifying design” in his book, Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone. “Dignity is to design what justice is to law and health is to medicine. It’s about making people feel valued in the spaces they inhabit,” Cary explains on the sidelines of the Brainstorm Design conference, during Singapore Design Week 2018 in March.

An architect by training, Cary dismisses the notion that design is a luxury, adding that the principles of design fundamental to the private sector can also be applied in the social sector to address the world’s most pressing issues. In his book, he looked at buildings that heal, spaces that enlighten and places that bring communities together. “More than just being beautifully designed, these projects have a measurable social impact—the number of jobs created, or people housed, among others—reinforcing the role design has in making people’s lives better.”