WORLD DAY OF ARCHITECTURE 2009 - Better city, Better life

WORLD DAY OF ARCHITECTURE 2010
Better city, Better life - Sustainable by Design

On October 4, 2010, the International Union of Architects will celebrate with architects worldwide, the World Day of Architecture at the same time as the World Habitat Day initiated by the United Nations. Better City, Better Life is the theme shared by both Organisations and the UIA has added to this Sustainable by Design which is at the core of a strategy to be developed during the next UIA Congress in Tokyo in 2011.

UIA Sustainable by Design Strategy was launched by the UIA during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009 - COP 15. It is now being investigated and discussed by a Committee of international experts, together with the UIA Member Sections, who will define the Sustainable by Design Mission, as an extension to professional ethics, practice and training that enable the development of buildings, cities and landscapes that meet today and future global requirements and challenges of human kind.

UIA Sustainable by Design: Strategy

Sustainable by Design begins with the earliest stages of a project and requires commitments between all the stakeholders: clients, designers, engineers, authorities, contractors, owners, users and the community.

Sustainable by Design incorporates all aspects of construction AND future use based on full Life Cycle Analysis and Management.

Sustainable by Design optimises efficiency through design. Renewable energies, high performance and environmentally benign technologies are integrated to the greatest practical extent in the project conception.

Sustainable by Design recognises that all architecture and planning projects are part of a complex interactive system, linked to their wider natural surroundings, and reflect the heritage, culture, and social values of the daily life of the community.

Sustainable by Design seeks healthy materials for healthy buildings, ecologically and socially respectful land-use, and an aesthetic sensitivity that inspires, affirms and ennobles.

Sustainable by Design aims to significantly reduce carbon imprints, hazardous materials and technologies and all other adverse human effects of the built environment on the natural environment.

Sustainable by Design endeavours to improve the quality of life, promote equity both locally and globally, advance economic well-being and provide opportunities for community engagement and empowerment.

Sustainable by Design recognises the local and planetary interdependence of all people. It acknowledges that urban populations depend on an integrated, interdependent, and sustainable rural-urban system for their life support systems (clean water and air,food, shelter, work, education, health, cultural opportunity, and the like).

Sustainable by Design endorses UNESCO’s statement that cultural diversity, as a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature.