14 December 2009 – Professor Steffan Lehmann, holder of the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Development for the Asia-Pacific addressed the COP-15 summit, calling on the need for an environmentally conscious design focus within architectural teaching to better equip students to establish sustainable design principles.
In his address entitled “Cities and Climate Change” he said:”‘The serious challenge of a low carbon future cannot stop outside the academy”.
Professor Lehmann outlined a model for sustainable cities focused on compact, mixed-used city districts with robust public transport systems, highlighting Barcelona, Singapore and Stockholm as prime examples.
He said that the German experience with retrofitting districts had led to reductions in energy and water use and waste generation while moving to a greener, decentralised power infrastructre.
Professor Lehmann is also chair, School of Architecture and Built Environment
The University of Newcastle; Editor, ‘Journal of Green Building’ Curator, ‘Laneways By George! – Hidden Networks’ Sydney
Director, s_Lab space Laboratory for Architectural Research and Design Homepage: www.slab.com.au