This year, I promised myself to bring you even better content and very importantly to have fun along the way. But before we get well into 2023, here’s a retrospective of your favourite posts I shared during the course of 2022. It’s a selection of the top posts that resonated most with you over the course of the year.
There are posts on various topics, from Archtivism and DEI, to Cities and the Climate Crisis. Essentially, this is your one-stop shop for all your Archtivist content from 2022! It’s a follow-up from last year’s list, which you can check out here.
If cities, design, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability spark joy for you, you’ll find plenty of content to dig into here. This list is full of insights, ideas, and inspiration for change agents in the fields of architecture and the built environment.
Let me know which are your favourite posts and themes. Which of these topics are you interested in hearing more about from me this year and beyond?
Archtivism
Diving deeper into the term I coined for architecture and building industry professionals who drive and inspire reform to foster positive changes in society and within the profession.
• Architecture needs more activism: my TED-style talk on Archtivism: my TEDxAmsterdamWomen 2021 Talent Night pitch challenging everyone to claim Archtivism and our right to the city.
• World Cities Day 2022 & Archtivism: A clip where I present 4 types of Archtivists towards a sustainable and inclusive city – an extract from Pakhuis de Zwijger’s livecast on the New European Bauhaus initiative.
• Archtivism as a means to tackle some of today’s greatest global challenges: How there’s more to you than your profession or your degree – embrace Archtivism.
• Archtivism – what is it: a movement of architects and building industry professionals and enthusiasts driving and inspiring reform to foster positive change.
• There Is No One Way To Be An Architect: Get off the beaten path of ‘Architecting as Usual’ and find your happy place being an Archtivist in your very own way.
• My “The City of Archtivists” essay on Archtivism: Published in 18 Perspectives on Designing Cities for All by Pakhuis de Zwijger.
• Let’s make 2023 a year of Stubborn Optimism: Embracing challenges and turning them into opportunities, being resilient and determined to create a better future for ourselves and future generations.
Diversity, Inclusion, and the Built Environment
Fostering inclusion, diversity, and equity in architecture, the built environment and cities.
• Think you’re not biased? Think again…We ALL have implicit biases we need to address: a clip from my talk at TU Delft’s BK Talks: Raising Awareness. Dissecting diversity in design.
• Our long love affair with “Reference Man”: My article on the one thing holding us back from creating cities where everyone can find their place: cities for all.
• How Neuroarchitecture can help design more inclusive livable streetscapes: Exploring emerging technologies to help build dense cities while retaining human scale.
• The painful double standard of the Ukraine War media coverage: A clip from Trevor Noah on the bias and discrimination in reporting over the Ukraine War and how empathy in wartime is still too often measured by race.
• No excuse for omitting people of color in architecture renderings: Dezeen article on the pressing matter of the need for diversity in CGIs, as well as some resources for diverse cutouts
The Feminist City and Gender Equality
Overcoming the gender inequalities shaping the built environment towards inclusive cities.
• What would a city designed by women be like?: A BBC News video looking into how feminist designers in Barcelona are designing a city that’s more equitable for all.
• Our cities need more spaces for (teen) girls: a must read Bloomberg CityLab article.
• More women need the microphone at COP 27: Gender diversity is essential for meaningful decisions at COP27 and climate action in general.
• Cities need to be more equitable, comfortable, and inclusive for women: WEF video on how our cities and their design play an essential role in supporting, empowering, and protecting women.
• This International Women’s Day let’s empower women: A clip where I share an anecdote that highlights the need for us to address our biases and take action for equality.
• Day of Eight Billion: How empowering our planet’s 4B women is crucial to our survival, and how cities play a key role in the twin equity and climate crises.
• Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men: an Archtivist MUST-READ – one of the most brilliant and eye-opening books I’ve ever read.
Green Cities and Nature Inclusive Design
Embracing Environmental Archtivism: championing the reconciliation of humanity with nature towards green and sustainable cities.
• Beyond timber for sustainable building: Illustrating the holistic approach we need to tackle the climate crisis in the building industry.
• Designing buildings to avoid bird collisions: Architects can think beyond ‘Reference Man’ as seen in this Dezeen article on how architects could prevent billions of bird deaths.
• 3-30-300 rule – a green city rule: World Economic Forum video on a simple green urbanism rule to save many lives and contribute greatly to tackling the climate crisis.
• Better forests means better cities: World Resources Institute Report on how forests benefit cities and their residents, and how to conserve, restore and sustainably manage them.
• Eco innovation with 3D-printed living soil walls that sprout greenery: Work from UvA researchers shows what innovations can come about when design, tech and nature come together in one.
• Landmark agreement reached at COP15 Biodiversity: Global Biodiversity Framework aims to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030. – featuring “Nature and Us” illustrations by Jing Zhang.
• 4 things you need to know about Mass Timber: Timber is fire resistant, strong, sustainable, and makes construction cost-efficient.
• Educating future generations in sustainable learning hubs: UNStudio’s recently delivered Echo building, TU Delfts most sustainable and energy-generating building to date.
Cities at the Forefront of Addressing the Climate Crisis
All things related to cities, mobility, and climate crisis.
• The IPCC report shows that it starts with our cities: Fast Company article showing the need to redesign our cities to tackle the climate crisis.
• Top Resources on buildings & cities to take you through COP27: Highlighting cities and the built environment as crucial actors in the fight to tackle the climate crisis.
• Can cities combat ‘Green Gentrification’?: Bloomberg CityLab & Green article on how cities can combat the phenomenon where new green infrastructure leads to real estate speculation, increased housing costs, and community displacement.
• Adjusting our language for more car-free streets: The Guardian article on how the 20th-century pervasive idea that streets should be for traffic to drive through as quickly and efficiently as possible has colonised our thinking.
• Embracing life on two wheels towards sustainable and inclusive cities: Except from Velotopia, a book painting the picture of a sustainable and shared pedallers’ paradise.
• Energy crisis: Never let a good crisis go to waste: How cities are at the heart of the energy transition and have great potential to accelerate the decarbonization of the energy sector.
• Germany’s Ultra-Cheap Train Ticket Saved 1.8 Million Tons of CO2: The power of transit-oriented city with green and affordable public transport.
• Madrid-Chamartín towards decarbonising and futureproofing mobility hubs: UNStudio’s winning railway hub proposal towards sustainable, multimodal, inclusive, and healthy mobility in Madrid.
• Impromptu playground after storm Eunice: Clip showing the resourcefulness and imagination we need when it comes to designing our cities’ spaces and places.
Inspiration, Milestones, and Events
Technological Archtivism, harnessing new technologies to uncover original design solutions to today’s greatest challenges.
• My best career decision? Saying “I do”: My wedding anniversary and a shout out to all supportive partners equally invested in our wins!
• Honoured to be named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices Green: 14 thought leaders fostering important conversations on the sustainability challenges we face and how to tackle the climate crisis.
• Where I’m most inspired: At the intersection of design, business, technology, and justice (social, climate, economic).
• LinkedIn Creator Program: extra support, recognition, and guidance from LinkedIn to make great strides from Archtivism in driving positive change toward an inclusive and sustainable future.
• Join me at the UIA World Congress of Architects CPH 2023: I’ll be giving a keynote along with environmental and social activist Jerome Foster II on architecture and activism.
• 7 important truths & mottos to shape whom I am going forward: Birthdays always mark an important time for me to reflect on the past and look towards the future.
• Inspiring facade systems at the GEVEL 2022 Façade Fair: Fun curating, moderating, and hosting UNStudio’s participation as Ambassador.
• Hosting the UNStudio Sustainability series: A four-part series on how organisations are taking a holistic approach to address sustainability within their organisations and in the work that they do.
There you have it! Hope you’ll be able to find value within the highlighted posts above. Got any favourite posts or topics? Which themes would you like me to dive deeper into over the course of 2023?