The One Percent

Our current land use, projected population and New Zealand’s ever-reducing biological capacity demonstrate an unprecedented design challenge. This thesis seeks to understand and interpret the significant role the built environment has in contributing to the world's carbon emissions and overall ecological footprint. This thesis begins by conducting a comprehensive analysis of biocapacity by critically analyzing its significance and implications within the ecological limits and trends of New Zealand for the future of 2048. The research highlights key issues of rapid urbanisation, density and population growth and how architectural issues exert pressure on our natural ecosystems through the proliferation of poorly designed built-up areas. These design issues result in environmental degradation, fragmentation, habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity.

With the world increasingly urbanizing, there is a growing need to incorporate nature-based solutions into building design to minimise or offset their negative impacts. This thesis follows a research-led design approach to explore sustainable frameworks, design philosophies and strategies, aiming to identify relevant design parameters and sustainable indicators. This research-led design is realised through the redesign of an urban block in an attempt to bring us closer to the Earth's Fair Share thereby preventing further biodiversity loss and mitigating the impacts of climate change on the urban built environment.