What is the future of sustainable home and office?
It is quite exciting to see more and more examples of architecture that marry sustainability with design. Since I also professionally combine these three areas, it made sense to me to comment or point out the key messages I read in this year’s Artico report on future of the sustainable home and office.
There is no doubt that the circular economy is gaining in importance. The well-known 3Rs of circularity (reduce, reuse and recycle) are followed by a second set of 3Rs (remediation, restoration, and regeneration), which shift the focus to the positive impacts of reversing the world’s degrading ecosystems.
In the future, our appliances, furniture, and systems will all need to conform to circular principles, serving more than one purpose. And many examples already show how creative we can be to solve the sustainability issues around where we live and work.
More bio-based and composite materials (from new cement alternatives to the use of natural materials, including timber, hemp, and straw, instead of steel or concrete) are used in buildings. Technology is enabling the next generation of energy efficient homes and offices. We are encouraged to use local resources. We are introducing green spaces inside and outside our buildings. We have smart rooftop gardens and solar panel facades. Chargeable wooden flooring, paint that cools buildings, 3D printed and solarpowered houses as well as net-zero houses. We have biodegradable packaging instead of bioplastic, more sustainable textiles, furniture made from waste materials and much more.
There are really many ways for our creativity and for all of us to contribute positively to the state of the planet. The future is now.
