Architects Declare Ireland Reaches 100 Practice Signatories

Architects Declare is a voluntary community of Architects working globally to unite the profession in taking the necessary measures to tackle climate breakdown and biodiversity loss, two of the most serious issues of our time.

In September 2018 the IPCC declared there are only 12 years left to limit climate change catastrophe and to maintain global warming to ‘well below 2 degree C’. Buildings and construction have a major part to play, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions whilst also impacting our natural habitats. Recognising the immediate and systemic change that is now required, Architects Declare was launched in the UK in May 2019.

The initiative was started by all seventeen living winners of the Stirling Prize. Since then it has grown to be a global network of architects from over 25 countries around the world with almost 5000 practice signatures. The 11-pledge declaration calls on architects, and other members of the construction industry, to commit to the paradigm shift required in practice and sector wide. This means working together across different disciplines and sectors to create the ambition, knowledge and tools to deliver a built environment suitable for the future.

Architects Declare Ireland was set up in September 2019. Over 100 Irish architectural practices have now signed the declaration, expressing their commitment to the pledges of the declaration and the desire for change across the industry. The signatories represent practices from all over Ireland, with diversity in practice size, region, specialisation, sector (private and public), and architectural education. 

We believe we are in a time of not only crisis, but also of great opportunity. Whilst the current global circumstances have forced everyone to stop and reflect on what the post pandemic world should entail, the pause of ‘business as usual’ has proven to have a positive effect on climate change and biodiversity. We now need to put in motion necessary shifts to maintain these positive effects as we move forward to a new, better, normal.

The first phase of Architects Declare Ireland has been to gather momentum and process ideas of the necessary tools to act on the points of the declaration. We are now stepping into the second phase of mobilizing action amongst architects and the construction industry in Ireland. We have recently hosted a number of meetings, both with the signatories of the declaration and with RIAI members, to introduce the initiative, including the current context, our proposed action plan for 2020 and a call for support. One of the key takeaways was the need to grow further momentum; ‘one person adhering to social distancing has little impact, but one million people can ‘flatten the curve’ - it will take all of us to also play our part in flattening the climate curve.