At the first ‘Climate Conversation’ of the Practice Action series the Architects Climate Action Network speak to Charlie Edmonds of Future Architects Front & Civic Square, Becca Thomas of New Practice and Raheela Khan-Fitzgerald about the need to make space for everyone’s voices as we transform towards more regenerative forms of practice - to ensure a just transition.

Following the Architects Declare Masterclass on ‘Climate Literacy’ we contemplate how much more powerful the transition to regenerative practice will be if we strengthen the agency of newly qualified architects: creating open space for sharing ideas and driving action. We are all at different stages on the climate literacy journey, let's learn how to respect that and build each other up. We will tackle questions such as:

• How can experienced practitioners support, empower and learn with new and future architects?
• How can we make space for everyone's ideas to drive change?
• In what was can practices promtote equity and inclusivity in climate action?
• Where can we expand our reach, influence and power as built environment professionals to become activist architects?

Speakers Include

Becca Thomas - New Practice

Becca is Creative Director and architect at New Practice which she founded with Marc Cairns. Becca manages the creative direction of the practice, working with the team to develop thoughtful designs and to shape clever responses to briefs for our clients. A skilled and considerate Architect, Becca delivers complex built projects at a wide range of scales - from pavilions and public realm works, to renovations, creative workspaces, cultural and community buildings and arts hubs. She is particularly experienced at developing robust briefs for clients, and building their knowledge of, and ambition for, design and construction processes. In 2019, Becca was appointed to the Glasgow Urban Design Panel where she provides constructive advice to development, design teams and planners, as part of the pre-application consultation process. In 2021, Becca was made a Trustee of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), and a Glasgow Institute of Architects (GIA) Council Member.

Raheela Khan-Fitzgerald - Hawkins Brown

Raheela Khan-Fitzgerald is an architect as well as a whole life carbon and sustainability designer at Hawkins\Brown. Her work bridges the gap between environmental design, product development, and the reality of everyday project work. In 2020 Raheela spearheaded the evolution of the Hawkins\Brown Emission Reduction Tool (H\B:ERT) from a Revit-based embodied carbon measurement tool into a web-based whole life carbon assessment suite. This iteration of the tool won the practice the AJ100 Best Use of Technology Award and RIBAJ President’s Award in Research. She believes in collaborative climate action: she is an active contributor to cross-disciplinary working groups such as the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) Embodied Carbon Case Studies Group. She was named a RIBAJ Rising Star in 2020.

Charlie Edmonds - Future Architects Front

Charlie Edmonds is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and a systems designer at CIVIC SQUARE. His work at FAF explores the future of architetural labour organising and its role in the struggle for both social and climate justice.

Facilitated by: Tom Matthews, Vincent MacDonald & Rose Murphy

Register to become part of the conversation!

About the Practice Action Series:

Practice Action is a series of masterclasses & conversations developed jointly by Architects Declare (AD) and the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN). It builds on themes from the AD Practice Guide and aims to provide architecture professionals with the practical skills and confidence to pursue more sustainable and regenerative practice models.

The best way our profession can tackle the twin climate and biodiversity crisis is by sharing our experiences, learning from one another and effectively working as a collective.

Conversation events are informal, there will be short introductions from a specialist panel of and then lots of time for questions, discussion and debate.

Please send us your questions at climateliteracy@architectscan.org or join in the conversation on the day.

Should participants want to continue conversations after the recording has stopped, breakout rooms will be provided for further discussion and developing connections.

Don’t forget to attend Architects Declare’s next Masterclass on Understanding Impact on 10th June, sign up here: LINK

Upcoming events

AD Masterclass: Understanding Impact - 10th June

ACAN Conversation: Transforming Practice: Where to start? - 23rd June

AD Masterclass: Working with Clients - 8th July

ACAN Conversation: Co-creating with Clients - 21st July

AD Masterclass: Working with Clients - 8th July

ACAN Conversation: Co-creating with Clients - 21st July

AD Masterclass: Collaboration and learning within practice - 5th August

ACAN Conversation: Common ground with colleagues - 25th August

AD Masterclass: Closing the Loop - 16th September

ACAN Conversation: Reflective Practice - 27th September

Who are ACAN?

ACAN is a network of individuals within architecture and related built environment professions taking action to address the twin crises of climate and ecological breakdown.

Find out more at

architectscan.org / instagram / twitter / youtube