One of the biggest challenges in the world at the moment is figuring out how to support nature and the built environment. Sadly, we’ve had generations of natural decline in our push to build, grow, and develop. We’re seeing the consequences in many areas, including more frequent flooding and a loss of biodiversity. We now need to look to the future of how nature and architecture can exist together. Let’s have a look at some ideas, then if you want help from a top architect in London, you can speak to us.

Wilderness

A major thing to think about is how to protect wilderness or re-wild areas. Sadly, we have no areas of pure wilderness left in the UK because every single area has been affected by humans to some extent. In other countries like Denmark, there is a huge push to protect the wild areas that remain (just 0.7% of the country).

The important thing to keep in mind is that we need wilderness. It’s vital for human wellbeing and natural ecosystems. It teaches us a number of important lessons too, such as restraint and protecting resources. Wild areas also provide a huge amount of value to society, offering access to everybody.

Protecting the wilderness we have left in different parts of the world is vital. Plus, we need to look at ways to re-wild areas. This can include designating sites for wilding and providing support for different types of flora and fauna. There are also interesting ideas such as how to produce food while simultaneously restoring wilderness. This can include vertical growing to leave land for re-wilding.

Healing

Another important thing to look at is how new developments can actively help to heal the environment. There are lots of potential avenues here. Speak to us if you want to work with a top architect in London.

The most crucial thing to look at is how different things can actively remove carbon dioxide and other harmful gases from the environment. Things like green roofs and walls are a must. There are plenty of fantastic technologies available, so it’s mostly a case of ensuring people use them on projects.

It’s also important to think about how developments can improve biodiversity and support a variety of species. This is vital for helping to heal the world. Ideally we want to create a planet that is as diverse as possible.

Reuse

Finally, we need to do more when it comes to reusing existing buildings and materials. It is one of the best ways to protect the natural world. We’ve already built a lot, and a huge amount of it is redundant today, including old industrial land. The goal should be to redevelop or remediate instead of building on green land.

In addition, we should be designing with reuse in mind. One of the biggest mistakes of the past is many buildings were designed for a relatively narrow period of time. They are inflexible, unable to easily adapt to modern needs. Today the idea should be to design for adaptability so we don’t need to resort to demolition.

Do you want to work with a top architect in London?

Any kind of development should think carefully about how to support and even benefit the environment. Coffey Architects can work with clients to achieve the best results for housing, commercial properties, and more. We’ll look at how to form a strong relationship between the architecture and nature, including using different materials, tech, and more.

So, if you want to work with a leading architect in London, contact us. We’d love to see what you have in mind and how we can work with you to create a lovely design.