Mountain Equipment Co-op?s Vancouver headquarters by Proscenium Architecture + Interiors is 70 per cent more energy efficient than a conventional office building. Photo by Ed White Photographics
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has joined with architects around the world in supporting the American Institute of Architects? (AIA) declaration on the Paris Agreement, issued in response to the White House decision to withdraw the United States from the landmark Agreement. 
On June 1, the AIA expressed its continued commitment to designing a more sustainable world and to making the goals of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement a reality. Urban areas account for more than 70 per cent of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, mainly from buildings. Architects will continue to embrace the responsibility to design buildings and communities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions; foster healthier environments; protect and enhance natural resources; provide clean air and water; protect people from the impacts of climate change; and create sustainable, equitable and healthy communities for everyone. The AIA said, “following through our its collective commitments to reducing greenhouse gases will help to alleviate the clear perils faced by our planet and its inhabitants. We will not accept a future in which rising sea levels destroy more communities; where devastating natural disasters become the norm; where future generations face greater risk of drought; ...