Why Place-Based Design Matters in Climate Work

Day 421| 🏜 Reclaiming Desert Architecture as a 21st-Century Model For thousands of years, architects in desert regions built without CAD, renders, or Pinterest boards. They worked with site, climate, and culture—not ego. Today, we often label those structures “primitive.” But in reality, they were performance-driven buildings decades ahead of their time. 🏗 Why Desert Architecture Was a High-Performance System • Wind Towers → Passive ventilation and thermal stack effect long before mechanical systems. • Courtyards → Natural cooling, daylight distribution, and social hubs. • Stucco, Stone, Lime → High thermal mass + low embodied energy materials. • Mashrabiya Screens → Solar control, glare reduction, and privacy filters with zero electricity. This wasn’t nostalgia. It was data-driven architecture—built from centuries of iteration and real-world testing. ⚠️ The Current Risk Copy-paste typologies from one climate to another erases this intelligence. White boxes and full-glass façades look global—but underperform locally. 🌱 The Call to Architects & Designers • Stop treating vernacular as a “style.” • Start treating it as a performance toolkit. • Combine ancient passive strategies with new tech to reduce energy loads and increase occupant well-being. 💭 “Reviving tradition isn’t regression. It’s resistance to architectural amnesia.” 🔑 Bottom Line Let’s lead the conversation: From exporting Western models ➡️ to engineering place-based solutions. From impressing with visuals ➡️ to preserving with performance. #PassiveDesign #DesertArchitecture #TraditionalArchitecture #ClimateResponsiveDesign #ResilientDesign #CulturalSustainability #ArchitectsOnLinkedIn #ArchitectureThatListens #ReviveAndResist #HighPerformanceBuildings

The Nokha Village Community Centre by Sanjay Puri Architects shows how design can grow from its environment. 🌿 The centre serves 144 villages with a library, museum, amphitheatre, and gathering spaces. Its looping form rises around a shaded courtyard and carries a rooftop garden that insulates the interiors while offering a view of the desert. 📍 What stayed with me were the choices shaped by heat and scarcity: → Locally quarried sandstone carved into thick walls and patterned screens that filter air and light. → Southern facades protected by earth berms that cut down heat gain. → Grass-covered roofs that cool the structure and collect rainwater. → A design that reduces reliance on external systems and keeps the centre self-sufficient. For me, this is architecture rooted in necessity. Every detail works with the climate instead of ignoring it. P.S.: What project comes to mind when you think of architecture rooted in place? Let me know in the comments below.

Lessons from Hawai‘i: Climate Adaptation in Action At a time when federal funding for climate programs is being cut, the work of climate adaptation has never been more urgent—or more challenging. Yet, across Hawai‘i, researchers and community leaders continue to drive forward solutions that are place-based, equity-centered, and grounded in both science and Indigenous knowledge. My recent visit, along with Lauren Bataska, reinforced a critical truth: climate adaptation is not a distant challenge—it is happening now, in real time, in communities on the front lines of environmental change. At Pacific RISA, we worked with Laura Brewington, Victoria Keener and their amazing team, who are advancing climate resilience across Pacific Islands. Their work bridges science, policy, and community-driven solutions to address rising sea levels, shifting freshwater availability, and other climate-related challenges. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and deep engagement with local stakeholders, Pacific RISA is demonstrating what effective adaptation looks like in practice. Our visit to ʻIole with Todd Apo further emphasized the importance of place-based solutions. ʻIole is pioneering efforts to integrate Indigenous knowledge, ecological restoration, and sustainable land management, offering a model for how cultural and environmental stewardship can inform climate adaptation. Their work serves as a powerful reminder that resilience isn’t just about infrastructure—it’s about revitalizing relationships between people and place. Perhaps most impactful was the opportunity to meet with Naka Nathaniel and local community leaders working to address water challenges on Native Hawaiian homelands. Water security is a deeply complex issue, tied not just to climate change but also to historical land and water rights. These discussions highlighted the critical need for equitable water governance that prioritizes community-driven solutions, Indigenous leadership, and long-term resilience planning. Thanks to Amanda Ellis and Jody Kaulukukui for their hospitality and guidance on how ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory can meaningfully collaborate with and support our partners in Hawai‘i. These experiences underscored a pressing question: How do we scale these solutions while ensuring that communities remain at the center of decision-making, even as critical funding sources disappear? As professionals committed to sustainability, we must push for stronger collaborations between academia, policymakers, and industry. We need to accelerate knowledge-sharing and investment in adaptation strategies that are both effective and equitable. If you're working in climate adaptation, what strategies have you found most effective? How can we build stronger bridges between research and action in the absence of federal leadership? Let’s keep this conversation going. #ClimateAdaptation #WaterResilience #Sustainability #IndigenousKnowledge #Collaboration #Hawai‘i

Recommended reading! Again from Canada Placemaking is a powerful instrument for building stronger, more equitable communities that goes beyond physical design to create spaces that meet human needs, strengthen community bonds, promote economic and cultural exchange, and enhance wellbeing. Community Foundations of Canada | Fondations communautaires du Canada, Canadian Urban Institute with PlacemakingUS, Quartier des spectacles international, and Bridget MacIntosh, explores this concept thoroughly in their new report 'Place: let's talk about place making'," featuring insights from over 100 professionals worldwide. The report is edited by Jacquelyn West and is highly recommended: well-written, thoroughly documented, and attractively designed! The publication examines various forms of placemaking including digital (integrating technology for engagement), creative (using arts for transformation), queer (designing inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ communities), eco (promoting biodiversity and climate resilience), and placekeeping (preserving cultural assets, particularly for Indigenous and BIPOC communities). It also provides comprehensive analysis of Return on Investment across multiple domains: * Economic: Increased property values, commercial activity, tourism, and job creation (e.g., Quartier des Spectacles in Montréal generates $400M annually) * Social: Strengthened community bonds, reduced isolation, improved health outcomes, and enhanced civic engagement * Cultural: Increased cultural vibrancy, stronger place attachment, and preservation of local identity * Environmental: Greater urban resilience against climate change through green infrastructure and sustainable design The report emphasizes practical applications through collaborative models that balance top-down (government-led) and bottom-up (community-driven) approaches. It addresses challenges like gentrification while highlighting the importance of Indigenous perspectives in designing meaningful public spaces. Key practical recommendations include prioritizing data collection to measure impact, integrating interdisciplinary staff within municipal organizations, developing progressive policies, empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, and implementing technology solutions that enhance community involvement. COVID-19 revealed historical underinvestment in public spaces in disadvantaged communities, underscoring the need for equitable placemaking initiatives. This publication offers urban practitioners both theoretical frameworks and evidence-based strategies with actionable steps for community transformation. #Placemaking #UrbanDesign #PublicSpace #ROI #CommunityEngagement #Placekeeping #DigitalPlacemaking #CreativePlacemaking #QueerPlacemaking #EcoPlacemaking NHL Stenden Ruimtelijke Ontwikkeling

As the climate shifts, working conditions are becoming tougher. But are the workplaces of craftswomen built to withstand these extremes? A timely report by SEWA Cooperative Federation x Urban Design Square maps the informal home-workspaces of women artisans in Ahmedabad—where embroidery, stitching, jewellery-making, packaging, and creativity continue against the backdrop of extreme heat and erratic rainfall. 📍 Gujarat, in western India, is among the 50 most climate-vulnerable regions globally. 🧵 These artisans work from their homes and shared centres, such as the heritage property SEWA ni Haveli, often located in low-income neighbourhoods with poor ventilation, unreliable electricity, and sparse cooling infrastructure. The report captures the lived experiences of women at the Abodana Handicraft Cooperative, revealing how rising temperatures over time are making their work increasingly difficult. 📉 For every 1°C rise above 25°C, productivity drops by 2%. The data speaks—and so do the women living through it. What stands out is the framework the report proposes: a replicable tool to assess climate vulnerability in informal workspaces based on parameters like space, ventilation, lighting, and access to basic amenities. As someone working at the intersection of crafts and climate action, I see immense value in applying such pilot studies across craft clusters in India, from Kutch to Chanderi. We need climate-adaptive design solutions that centre the artisan—her work, her home, her health, and her dignity. Pdf attached. Sonakshi Yadav #CraftsAndClimate #WomenArtisans #HeatAdaptation #DesignForDignity #InformalWorkspaces #SEWA #SustainableCrafts #UrbanResilience #ClimateAction #SocialDesign

As climate change intensifies, so too must our approach to the built environment. More frequent and extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and shifting ecosystems are all exposing the shortcomings of standardized, one-size-fits-all construction methods. It’s becoming clear: resilience in the face of climate change requires design that’s local, adaptive, and deeply rooted in place. While much of the Global North is only beginning to grapple with this reality, communities across the Global South have been innovating along these lines for centuries. From earthen homes in Mali that naturally regulate temperature, to raised stilt houses in Southeast Asia designed to weather floods, indigenous design traditions have long reflected a deep understanding of climate, culture, and context. What’s particularly striking is how these communities have not only learned to endure extreme conditions—but to recover quickly when disaster strikes. This kind of resilience isn’t just structural; it’s social and ecological, built into the very fabric of place-based design. As we design the future, the question is no longer “How do we build stronger?”—but rather, “How do we build smarter, more locally, and with greater respect for what’s already known? https://lnkd.in/g_4RJBGx #sustainabledesign #indiegnousknowledge #climatechange #climateadaptation