Singapore Landscape Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency

Although COVID-19 provided a temporary respite from carbon emissions globally, climate change and mass biodiversity loss continue to be pressing issues of our time. Changes in land and sea use, exploitation of natural resources, pollution and erosion of precious soil compound these crises. In addition, infrastructure, building and construction account for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

DP Green joined other landscape specialists, D’Land, Grant Associates, ICN Design International, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, and Stephen Caffyn Landscape Design as founding signatories of Singapore Landscape Architects Declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency. In a joint statement, the group commented, “Whilst we have always regarded ourselves as stewards of the environment, there is much more we can do. We, as landscape architects, are very well positioned to lead the change in meeting societies’ needs without breaching the earth’s ecological capacities and environmental limits.”

The petition is part of an ongoing commitment – a wider-ranging declaration of intent that must translate into action. Collectively, the group of landscape architects aim to strengthen work practices; creating landscapes, public realms and master plans that generate positive impacts, and conserve both the natural and built environment.

Since its inception, DP Green has championed the importance of greenery and its value in place-making. The move solidifies their track record in developing landscape design that has positive environmental impact and performance as is evident in projects such as Our Tampines Hub (OTH) and Sengkang General Hospital. Each demonstrates thoughtful contextual integration of nature into the urban landscape, where biophilic design not only enables the built environment to re-introduce green back into the site while facilitating user interactions in and with nature, it also enhances strategies for sustainability in the architectural design.

DP Green is the latest in DP Architects and its group of companies to declare Climate & Biodiversity Emergency. Earlier this year, DPA and DP Engineers were among the founding signatories of Construction Declares. DPA and DP Sustainable Design have also committed to eco-conscious designs under the Singapore Climate Action Goals with the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. The move reiterates the firm’s stand that the BE sector must re-imagine our buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system so as to deliver a built environment that meets the needs of our societies without breaching the earth’s ecological boundaries.

Be part of the movement by signing up here.

Construction Declares is a global petition uniting all strands of construction and the built environment. It is both a public declaration of our planet’s environmental crises and a commitment to take positive action in response to climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse.

Singapore is the second country, after the UK, where Landscape Architects have teamed up for a joint declaration. Architects, Environmental Consultants and Structural Engineers have already set up their own Declarations in Singapore.