Designer, building project consultant and founder of Lifepod Evolution and creator/design lead of The Lifepod Project and 2020 Sustainability Awards ambassador Nicci Leung explains why it’s important to enter the 2020 Sustainability Awards and what she believe will be crucial to any entry’s success in this years’ awards.

Why should people enter the 2020 Sustainability Awards?

Because it’s not about the accolade, it’s about the end game. The challenges of sustainability in all its forms are many and varied and all of those who have something to contribute, something to share, something to celebrate need a voice. The benefits of building collective intelligence for collective impact are undeniable; sharing insight and knowledge learned from experimentation and experience helps us all find the many implementable solutions to design and build a better future. The A&D sustainability awards 2020 is an opportunity to be heard.

What are you hoping to see in this year’s entries?

Diversity, diversity, diversity. We need ingenuity, adaptability and we need options.

There is not only one answer to the interconnected complex challenges that we face as a global community and today’s solution will not (and should not) be the same as yesterdays. We need diversity of thought, diversity of approach, diversity ideas, diversity of realization. Great ideas can emerge from the most unexpected places. I look forward to entries from ‘the garages’ of architecture and design; experimentation with the complexity of personalized responses to beauty and appropriateness; intelligent concepts that draw inspiration from diverse sources; ideas that connect the dots in ways previously unexplored. I also hope for entries that celebrate the evolution of the narrative too, recognizing the value of agility; learning from mistakes and adapting. There is no true innovation without some failure along the way.

3. What do you hope to see more of in terms of sustainable design?

Interdisciplinary collaborations striving for implementable second and third order change.

Compositions of built fabric drawing inspiration from and involving input from diverse epistemologies and wisdoms; reaching beyond siloed knowledge systems to ensure that we leave no stone unturned when considering the solutions of the future. We should be actively creating opportunities to experiment and strive for the beauty, efficiency and balance of nature. Human ingenuity, agility and collaboration assisted by new and emerging technologies are the key skills needed to move forward; to resolve the challenges we face now and in the future; to understand incredible complexity and embrace diversity.

We need to broadly rethink the practices, processes and products of the AEC sector; the ideas, the planning strategies, the designs, the materials, the procedures, the construction methodologies, the business models, the accountability, the adaptability and the agility needed to address this challenge and the next. We need to build trust and equitable, accessible solutions for the benefit of all people and the planet on which all life depends.

For any more questions on entering the 2020 Sustainability Awards, go to https://www.sustainablebuildingawards.com.au/#s-awards or email editor@architectureanddesign.com.au

Branko Miletic

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