For years, I’ve been writing about the fact that we need to start building housing for our future. That has meant different things at different times. I’ve been lucky enough to work with clients who share this sentiment. Developers like Rockefeller, JDS, IGI, and Related have collaborated with me on pioneering projects like Walker Tower, Rose Hill, 15 Renwick, and The Cortland. These were projects that were groundbreaking because of their interior design and lifestyle amenity offerings that changed the way the residents in these buildings lived. But now, building the future of residential housing means something different.
Like many people around the globe, I am disappointed and angry that we haven’t been willing to address climate change. I remember watching Al Gore’s speech on global warming in Norway, Oslo, in December 2007. He warned that global warming would affect the earth if we did not quickly change how we live. He said climate change was “a threat that was real, rising, imminent and universal” and that “the earth has a rising fever and it will not heal by itself.” After what we have seen in New York and Europe this week, that fever has only worsened. Gore suggested the steps the world needed to take to curb climate change. It was a wake-up call that almost everyone hit the snooze button or dismissed as “fake news.”
We’ve had plenty of warnings since then by people who believe in science (aka -scientists) and highly respected thought-leaders like Michael Bloomberg and Bill Gates. They both laid out the problems and offered solutions with not much adoption. It has only been exacerbated by an utter lack of political will or concern by many self-serving politicians. (I am looking at you, Joe Manchin.)
So now we see and feel the direct results of our inaction. Climate change isn’t coming for us. It is here. Record temperatures worldwide, wildfires, floods, and general devastation isn’t tomorrow’s problem. We are at a boiling point, and for complicated reasons, it is apparent that we will never get together with a unified front to combat climate change at all. The ship has sailed. We have all but lost our opportunity.
So, what can we, as home builders, sellers, and marketers, do now? Well, we have to design homes for our new future. Design elements that will be ready for our contemporary world.
- Create buildings with engineering and mechanical systems on roofs designed to withstand floods.
- Develop housing frames designed to withstand fire.
- Require sprinkler systems in all new homes.
- Seek groundbreaking insulation technology for better windows, doors, and walls.
- Invest HEAVILY in alternative power solutions.
- Build external pathways that can better withstand extreme temperatures.
And the list goes on...
I’m confident that the private sector will figure out solutions because there will be enough people willing to pay for that safety and protection. I am also optimistic that the next generation of scientists will find answers to address the challenges we face and come up with a way for us to adapt to our new environment. (I live with four Gen Zers, and those kids are no joke. Just you wait and see.)
As for me, I’m looking forward to doing my part in working with engineers and architects to help design these homes of our future. I’d love to hear your ideas about what we need to develop in our homes and buildings to prepare for our new reality.
Let’s do this.
-Shaun