Bold by Design

The climate crisis is reshaping our profession. Every building we design today has a direct impact on the environment, on communities, and on future generations. That reality makes bold action essential.

This Green Building Week, the theme Be Bold on Buildings calls on our industry to face the climate crisis with conviction. Architecture is more than a finished structure. It is a tapestry of design, dialogue, and ambition woven together to create places with purpose. Every design decision we make carries weight, shaping carbon outcomes and influencing the climate impact of our buildings for years to come.

In order to be bold on buildings, we must first recognise the very real challenges the climate crisis brings to architecture. From resource scarcity to the need for designs that can withstand more extreme conditions, it is architects who hold many of the answers and who must help drive the change needed to prevent these challenges from escalating to catastrophic levels. The choices we make today will define whether our buildings are part of the problem or the solution.

Green buildings are more resilient assets and designing them now rather than later means they can actively contribute to climate action while delivering immediate benefits for the people who use them. Healthier indoor environments, reduced energy costs, and more accessible spaces are among the ripple effects that strengthen communities and improve everyday life. To be bold is to embrace these responsibilities and design with both present needs and future resilience in mind.

We’re not just applauding this discourse from afar but actively contributing to the Green Building initiative.  

For SPACE, to be bold on buildings is to design with courage, measure with honesty, and act with purpose. It means questioning the norms and making decisions that prioritise people and planet over short-term gain. We see boldness as a commitment to continual progress, ensuring every project contributes positively to the world we share.  

Our accreditations, including B Corp and Science-Based Targets, go beyond industry recognition. They are a way of holding ourselves accountable against the highest benchmarks of corporate responsibility, ensuring that our impact stands alongside the world’s most progressive companies.  

This commitment is reflected in the appointment of Catherine Sinclair as our first Head of Research, following her Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Northumbria University and Innovate UK. Catherine is leading new, bolder ways of working both within the practice and on the international stage. She has developed a whole-life carbon tool for architects, launching this autumn, and this week she joins global leaders at the World Design Congress in London to advance her research and share perspectives.

Most recently, we have committed to the Living Building Challenge, one of the most ambitious sustainability frameworks in the world. The Challenge is structured around seven performance areas, known as Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health and Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty. Each Petal sets bold targets that encourage regenerative design, from reusing materials and designing for disassembly, to eliminating toxic substances and restoring natural systems. By adopting this framework, we are testing our projects against some of the most progressive ideas in architecture and construction.  

More than a theme: Be Bold on Buildings is a challenge to architects and designers to question the way things have always been done and to hold themselves accountable for delivering change. 

So we leave you with the questions that matter most this week: what does green mean to you, and how will you use this year’s theme to be bolder in your decision-making around sustainable design? 

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