As 2021 crawls to a close, Hattie Hartman talks with Design Museum chief curator Justin McGuirk about the exhibition Waste Age: What can Design Do, which runs until February 22. And if you’re still wondering how your practice can tackle climate emergency, Architects Declare steering group member Kat Scott reveals AD’s long-awaited Practice Guide, packed with tips for every practice – large or small – no matter where you are on your sustainability journey.
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About Justin McGuirk
Writer and curator Justin McGuirk is co-curator of the Waste Age exhibition and editor of the accompanying catalogue. Justin joined the Design Museum as chief curator in 2015 after the publication of his book Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture (Verso, 2014). Justin is also the director of the newly founded Future Observatory, an AHRC-funded programme hosted by the Design Museum which will build bridges with academia and host researchers in residence with a focus on environmental issues.
Show notes: Projects and resources mentioned in this episode
WASTE AGE: What can design do? exhibition
WASTE AGE: What can design do? exhibition catalogue
Radical Cities (Verso, 2014)
The Guardian, UK plastics sent for recycling in Turkey, 17 May 2021
Drift Studio, Materialism
MIT Senseable City Lab and Basil Action Network, Monitour E-trash Transparency Project
Jeffrey Hart Building Sustainability podcast, Episode 62 with Material Cultures
Design Museum, Charlotte Perriand exhibition
Design Museum, Environmental audit of Waste Age exhibition
Luma Arles (2021), Frank Gehry
Architecture after Architecture: Spatial Practice in the Face of the Climate Emergency
Mould, The Detritus of Capitalism
About Kat Scott
Sustainability and regenerative design manager at dRMM Architects, Kat Scott is a member of the Architects Declare steering group, a co-ordinator of ACAN and a proactive ambassador for architects tackling climate emergency. Kat is one of the contributors to the AD Practice Guide and is currently piloting the guide at dRMM. Kat also helped author LETI’s Embodied Carbon Primer (2020) and currently co-leads LETI’s circular economy workstream. At ACAN, she spearheaded the Where the Wild Things Aren’t workstream to raise awareness about the impacts of the profession on the biodiversity crisis.
Show notes: Projects and resources mentioned in this episode
AD Practice Guide
UKGBC Net Zero Whole Life Carbon Roadmap for the Built Environment (2021)
NLA Resilient London (2021)
RIBA Plan for Use (2020)
England Tree Strategy consultation (2020)
ArchitectsDeclare.com/resources
Credits
Climate Champions is produced in association with ACAN, the Architects’ Climate Action Network
Podcast produced and edited by Concept Culture
Music: Edmilson do Pífano, Forró de dois Amigos. Interpretation: Felipe Tanaka e banda Balaio de Baião