ARCHITECTURE DURING THE ANTHROPOCENE.

• Author: Chiambaretta, Philippe

Philippe Chiambaretta is founder of PCA STREAM, a Paris-based urban and architectural design firm that is leading revitalization plans for Paris's famed Champs-Ely sees. The Journal of International Affairs spoke to Mr. Chiambaretta about what it means to design for sustainability.

Journal of International Affairs (JIA): How did you become interested in the field of architecture and urban planning?

Philippe Chiambaretta (PC): Architecture is not an individualistic, or purely creative, egocentric activity. Rather, it needs to be considered as a design-thinking process. I look at architecture as a fact--an object with real economic, political, and social dimensions. You have to bring together very large sets of facts and data. The challenge is how to combine this data with an idea or design and then translate it into something that is physical.

The traditional architect has been trained through a history-based education. This standard education includes design studios, the humanities, and a review of history. These subjects do not necessarily help architects prepare for the challenges of the Anthropocene, where professionals must be welltrained in the sciences and even in data science. We're at a moment in our profession where you can no longer practice architecture as an individual. It is necessary to bring together a group of people, so you can pool knowledge, competence, and intelligence--in order to deeply understand our surrounding ecosystems and develop sound solutions.

JIA: How should designers and architects approach the challenges of the Anthropocene, such as climate change and urbanization?

PC: The fact that the climate is changing due to our activities is not an opinion; it is a scientific truth. Humans create infrastructure, which is of course influenced by architecture and design. You also have transportation and mobile infrastructure for cars, airplanes, trains, and bicycles. On top of all of this, we go about our lives and consume. We have created a massive machine, a living monster, comparable to a virus killing the planet. Cities are where populations are increasingly concentrated. These urban areas really only cover 2 to 3 percent of our planet's surface, yet they represent about 70 to 80 percent of our global carbon footprint. So as architects and as citizens, we must be dedicated to reducing the negative impacts of our cities.

The Anthropocene has brought about the need for a common framework to define the role of the architect and urban designer...