Working Groups
ACAN Spain is forming twelve 'working groups', each designated to work on themes
that advance how our sector takes action on climate change through regenerative approaches for sustainable development. These themes were selected based on their relevance to achieving our three overarching aims. Each group's purpose is to explore their selected theme, and undertake research and active learning to start conversations, build a community, and most importantly, find meaningful ways to take action.
1.
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION
Global warming is happening at an accelerating rate in Spain. In 2020, the average temperature was 1.7 higher than the average in preindustrial times. More extreme temperatures, rising sea levels, increased droughts, desertification, heatwaves, and harsher winters are some of the impacts that can already be seen among the consequences of climate change in Spain.
Our focus is to increase understanding of the science behind the climate and ecological emergency and the accountability of the AEC sector. We want to identify the vulnerabilities, especially in the Mediterranean region, to propose mitigation and adaptation strategies. Join us to implement methods that empower practitioners to confront Climate Change!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
2.
CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION
Circular economy plays an indispensable role in decarbonization pathways to the sustainable development and retrofitting of buildings and neighbourhoods. Circular practices are critical in all building design strategies and urban scales. Our group identifies needed shifts in policies, and design approaches based on flexibility, re-use deconstruction, and materials knowledge.
Our group researches how circular economy principles can be practically applied to the built environment to support architects, urban planners and the construction industry to transition from a linear to a circular economy. Join us and lead a systemic change in our society and the AEC industry towards a circular economy!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
3.
CARBON MANAGEMENT
The construction industry is driving global emissions. The EU has set targets to reduce emissions by 55% and energy consumption by 40% by 2030. Specifically, buildings account for approximately 40% of CO2 emissions and 30% of energy consumption in Spain. ACAN’s first overarching aim of ‘Decarbonise Now’ means, among other things, reducing the whole life carbon of buildings to zero as soon as possible.
Our group works to drive down carbon emissions from the AEC industry by calling for new regulations and policies to control embodied carbon during the buildings’ full life cycle (design, materials manufacturing, construction, usage, and demolition).
Join our call for action to implement circular benchmarks and cost-effective decarbonization policies in our sector!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
4.
ENERGY POVERTY
Energía Justa describes energy poverty as when “a person is in a situation of energy poverty when they have difficulty paying for electricity, water or gas supplies, or cannot keep their home in adequate conditions of temperature and humidity, without incurring excessive spending.”
According to the Green Building Council of Spain, around 25% of households in Spain are in a situation of energy poverty or monetary poverty.
It is generally recognized that poverty energy arises from the combination of high energy prices, low income, and inefficient homes. Some households are more at-risk than others including single parents, immigrants, and those that are unemployed. Our group works to bring awareness to the issue of energy poverty by advocating for coordinated action to retrofit homes of those that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and energy insecurity.
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
5.
NATURE & REGENERATIVE DESIGN
Moving beyond sustainable design to regenerative and nature-based design is imperative to ensure building and urban infrastructure systems not only mitigate resource use and negative environmental impacts but have a net-positive impact on the environment. Architecture and urban systems should reverse damage that has been done to the environment and restore lost environmental resources including water, energy, biodiversity and vegetation. Regenerative design can be an effective approach for design transformation towards restorative building systems that also
improve the social and health qualities of the built environment. This group works towards one of ACAN’s core aims of ecological transformation through research on mediterranean approaches for regenerative architecture, knowledge sharing on best practices and applications, and advocating for legislation changes to mainstream regenerative design practices.
Join us to advocate for a design paradigm that utilises living and natural systems to become the “building blocks” of architecture.
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
6.
BIOCLIMATIC ARCHITECTURE
Globalisation and “ego architecture” have hampered context specific and environmentally sensitive design during recent decades to the detriment of our society and environment. Architects need to lead a shift into common sense and responsible architecture: culturally sensitive holistic approaches based on a careful study of the specific climate and local conditions of the site at urban and architectural scales.
We believe that Bioclimatic and Regenerative Design is crucial for the climate adaptability of buildings and cities in the light of climate change.
Join us to contribute to a global knowledge on building techniques and passive strategies adapted to local climates, natural materials, and local communities!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
7.
ZERO-CARBON CITIES
Cities account for about three-quarters of the world's carbon dioxide emissions and it is crucial that climate targets are reached to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. However, most cities are falling behind in their commitments to reduce GHG emissions due to the unsustainable inertia and GHG emissions caused by the building and transportation sectors. A greater sense of urgency is needed to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy technologies and
decarbonize transportation, building, and energy systems to make cities Zero Carbon. Our group develops strategies to work with local governments to take actions to achieve their climate targets and monitors climate change commitments to hold cities accountable.
Join us to push for cities a transformation in how cities consume and produce energy!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
8.
ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
The ambiguity of architects’ responsibilities and professional ethics codes are still a reality today, despite their crucial role in this climate emergency. If architects cannot agree on a standard of professional commitment toward climate change, how can we confront it? We aim to develop guidelines or professional standards to fulfil our obligations to the environment.
At the same time, we want to make the widespread precariousness of architects’ work conditions visible to strengthen our labour rights in parallel to achieving the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and competence.
Join us and contribute to recalibrating our professional standards to foster a culture of responsible practice that challenges the status quo!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
9.
EDUCATION FOR CLIMATE LITERACY
Taking action on climate change requires new approaches informed by knowledge exchange between universities and built environment professionals. However, there is a gap in mutual knowledge exchange that impedes advancements of research and real-world applications. Architecture schools are a latent source of expertise for preparing current and future generations to take action on climate change but further integration and knowledge sharing between universities and practitioners is required.
We aim to understand curricula, systemic barriers, and engagement with climate change in architecture education.
We research the potential of pedagogy to build climate literacy through transdisciplinary approaches, system-scale awareness, and empathy, while avoiding “tokenism” and “greenwashing.” We cannot continue to teach in a way that avoids the reality of climate change. Join us to be part of this curriculum reform to empower future practitioners in this climate emergency!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
10.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Community resilience focuses on enhancing the day-to-day health and wellbeing of communities to reduce, adapt and recover from disaster-related risks arising from climate change, globalisation, and increased urbanisation. We need to engage our communities to become more active participants in built environment issues, advocate for strong ethical positions and take collective action on justice, equity, and ecological regeneration issues.
We propose strategies to build resilient communities and empower individuals through participatory processes supported by RCA practitioners. Community knowledge diffusion and social connectedness are key to challenging the status quo to overcome barriers to change.
Join us and expand collective know-how and communication to strengthen resilience and disaster preparedness in our communities!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
11.
INCLUSIVITY, HEALTH & WELL-BEING
Extreme weather events related to global warming will mean more disruptions to our physical and mental health. How people behave and how their mood changes in different spaces are directly linked to built environments' architectural and urban qualities, which is generally not considered by practitioners and users. Our group aims to provide cross-disciplinary guidelines and frameworks for
architects and urban planners to understand the impacts of climate change and built environments on our emotions, behaviour, decision-making, and mental health. We research the intersection of Neuroarchitecture, Neurophenomenology, and Environmental Psychology to achieve this aim.
Join us to help architects and urban planners design resilient and healthy spaces worth living in!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
12.
ACAN SPAIN INTERNATIONAL
We strive to enable communication, collective knowledge sharing, and coordinated action sharing across international ACAN groups and partner organisations to confront climate change locally and globally. We aim to engage in discussions on lessons learned from the thematic groups of different countries, align on issues of interregional and global importance, and broadcast significant events and achievements of each region.
In addition, our group promotes conversations between cities in the global north and south to learn together on how to advocate for resilient strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Join us and help build an open international network to support RCA (Real-estate, Construction, and Architecture) colleagues worldwide in this climate emergency!
Please reach out to get involved and join the group
More information about each of these groups will follow soon – including how to join them. In the meantime, you can take the following actions....
To get involved
Register for our
Next Event
Sign up to our Mailing List
Join us!
ACAN Member
ACAN!
or Contact us directly:
ACAN is an interntional network of individuals worldwide within architecture and related built environment professions taking action to address the twin crises of climate and ecological breakdown