Architecture Today was born out of a different attitude and a previous age – its previous tagline “written by architects for architects” said it all. But times have changed. Professional silos are old-fashioned members clubs we simply can’t afford.

Buildings.

According to estimates by Arup, the recent COP26 summit emitted around 102,500 tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of total average annual emissions for more than 8,000 UK residents, making it the highest emitting United Nations environmental summit to date. So was it worth it? For architecture, and for the construction sector as a whole, the answer rests on our collective willingness to listen to lessons learnt. To commit to making the changes needed to realise our net carbon obligations. To resist the urge to revert to business as usual. To accept that every individual and organisation has its part to play.

On pages 6-7, Nigel Tonks, Arup’s climate guru and a member of the UNFCCC High Level Climate Champions Built Environment Team, summarises the actions that need to emerge from COP with the warning that the construction industry’s ability to accelerate decarbonisation is dependent on a culture of “radical collaboration” – a sector-wide willingness to share data, knowledge and expertise. Professional silos are old-fashioned members clubs we simply can’t afford.

Architecture Today was born out of a different attitude and a previous age – its previous tagline “written by architects for architects” said it all. But times have changed. In the last issue, we invited readers to express their interest in joining Architecture Today and Medite Smartply at the COP26 House to share their experience of embedding sustainability within practice and education. The offer was taken up by engineers, environmental engineers, academics, students, trade organisations and manufacturers as well as architectural practices of every size. We were overwhelmed, not just by their breadth of experience and knowledge, but by their intellectual generosity: their readiness to trade information, troubleshoot problems and, crucially, admit mistakes.

The profession is at its strongest when it adopts the spirit of constructive criticism that characterises education at its best. To adapt at the pace that is required, we must all become students. Questioning assumptions. Being open to new knowledge. Refusing to stand still. The students who visited the COP26 House were the toughest critics of all. Fluent in the fast-changing language of sustainability; au fait with facts and figures that are changing by the day. Challenging preconceptions. Demanding answers. Shattering any illusions that the role of education is for the current generation to bequeath its knowledge to the next.

We have more to learn from the emerging generation of practitioners than they will ever learn from us.