We are facing a climate and biodiversity emergency which architects, landscape architects, and urban designers have a moral and ethical duty to address. At the MSA, we already have innovative teaching and practice that addresses the climate crisis but we need to go further to address the gravity of the situation and to ensure that any responses to it do not exacerbate existing social and ecological injustices.

The academic year 2020/21 saw the MSA publish it’s position on the climate and biodiversity emergency which signals the way that we are radically restructuring our teaching delivery to ensure that the issue is embedded throughout our programmes. The Manchester Student Society of Architects also established it’s Climate Action group which is affiliated with Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) who are pushing for curriculum change. We have also contributed to industry guidance and campaign groups to ensure that climate literacy becomes embedded throughout architectural education.

Next year, we will begin the process of transitioning to RIBA’s new education Themes and Values on climate literacy and ARB’s guidelines on sustainability for the profession. We will continue to weave in activities that place the climate and ecological emergency at the heart of our teaching and practice. And we will do so in a collaborative, just and pluralistic manner.

Image credit: BA2 Manifesto by Ella Wheatley, Abid Farhan, Fraser Matthews and Iwan Toft.