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Countdown to COP26: Getting back to nature should be the first consideration of sustainable design

By 2021-07-15T05:00:00

The Water Garden Project small © Refolo Landscape Architects - 1

Source: The Water Gardens development in Paddington, west London, was named joint winner of the small-scale

There are many challenges when building in an urban setting, but resolving them using on-site natural resources is good for the environment and good for the wellbeing of those who live or work there

In recent months, I have focused on the policy and financial drivers of sustainable design, and, while these are an essential part of how we achieve net zero carbon in the built environment, it is also important to consider how we use the natural resources offered by the sites that we build on to minimise the carbon impact of the environments we design.

One of the key themes of COP26 is adaptation and resilience, and both present an opportunity to prioritise nature-based solutions – natural measures and processes that solve design problems. These include using rain gardens as part of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) strategies, using ponds and lakes for natural driven evaporative cooling and using tree canopies for shading during heat waves.

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