| Abstract |
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we will have to face in the coming decades. With a share of almost 40 %, the construction industry accounts for a significant share of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The increasingly intensive use of our habitats and the consumption of natural resources are further social tasks for the future preservation of our planet. The decarbonisation of the construction industry is a key factor. But even with sound concepts, architects and specialist planners can make important contributions to a sustainable construction sector. The reduction of energy-intensive building materials, the simplification of buildings in the direction of low-tech architecture and the appreciation of existing buildings as material banks are essential basic principles of a new and absolutely necessary planning culture. The transfer from the linear to the circular economy will also have to prevail in the construction industry, the pure downcycle of materials will not be sufficient to eliminate resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Architects, structural engineers, and specialists can set decisive impulses in a pioneering role with creativity and attitude and convince builders in their courage and willingness to implement sustainable planning through their profession. Politicians are called upon to reward sustainable planning through economic incentives and funding programs. Standards and building codes must be simplified in order to pave the way for more sustainability and not to block the implementation of convincing solutions. The major climate policy goals and achievements are just as important as the identification of successes at project level. To this end, we need an altruistic exchange of knowledge and a cultural debate between all those involved in construction in order to set new standards in the construction sector and to make successes and failures transparent. |