While forward-facing innovation will deliver many brilliant remedies to environmental issues (see Looking to the Future for Solutions), in tandem, we must also look to the past for answers. From adopting eco-positive ancient agricultural methods, to reviving time-honoured building techniques, this report shows how history holds the simplest keys to helping halt the climate crisis.
Adopt Ancient Ways to Keep Cool
Revive a Respectful Relationship with Water
Put Nature Front & First Again
Learn From Our Farming Forefathers
With global warming accelerating at a disaster-bound rate, it’s imperative that we rethink temperature control in both existing and new spaces, particularly in the territories and among the communities worst affected by climate change. Keeping cool without reliance on harmful air conditioning is essential – instead, we must look to ancient techniques for a sustainable outcome.
With global warming accelerating at a disaster-bound rate, it’s imperative that we rethink temperature control in both existing and new spaces, particularly in the territories and among the communities worst affected by climate change. Keeping cool without reliance on harmful air conditioning is essential – instead, we must look to ancient techniques for a sustainable outcome.
Summary
Adopt Ancient Ways to Keep Cool | With global warming accelerating at a disaster-bound rate, it’s imperative that we rethink temperature control in both existing and new spaces, particularly in the territories and among the communities worst affected by climate change. Keeping cool without reliance on harmful air conditioning is essential – instead, we must look to ancient techniques for a sustainable outcome. |
Revive a Respectful Relationship with Water | As the planet heats up, we’re met with the contrasting realities of both more flooding and more drought. Our relationship with water must change, and historically proven ideas come into play – whereby we work with this element, rather than try to bend it to our will. Sponge cities and Indian stepwells are amongst the solutions. |
Put Nature Front & First Again | Immersing ourselves in pre-industrial-revolution levels of biophilia and re-nurturing the animal world are essential ways to support our damaged eco-system. Putting nature front and first creates conurbations and communities with a healthier footprint, and by looking to the annals, we will once again support those living creatures that co-exist with us to positive environmental effect. |
Learn From Our Farming Forefathers | Employing ancient agricultural techniques – some of them up to 12,000 years old – represents one of the most significant ways to slow global climate change. From mixed and rotating crop systems to agroforestry and the cultivation of heritage foods and fibres, embracing regenerative agriculture is one of the most obvious and transformative ways in which the past can inform a better future. |
At A Glance
Innovation Platforms
Topics
Regional Focus
Key Stats
Adopt Ancient Ways to Keep Cool |
|
Revisit Traditional Relationships with Water |
|
Learn From Our Farming Forefathers |
|
Put Nature Front & First Again |
|
Adopt Ancient Ways to Keep Cool
With global warming accelerating at a disaster-bound rate, it’s imperative that we rethink temperature control in both existing and new spaces, particularly in the territories and among the communities worst affected by climate change. Keeping cool without reliance on harmful air conditioning (AC) is essential – instead, we must look to ancient cooling techniques and building materials for a sustainable outcome.
I intended to create a (hospital) building that does not need air conditioning – apart from the operation block and intensive care units.
- Natural Air Conditioning: We can no longer keep turning up the volume on the harmful AC dial as a solution to rising temperatures. Rather, we must construct environments with naturally cooling attributes – as relied upon millennia ago.
In a simple design by local architects Kashef Chowdhury/Urbana, a zig-zagging canal of water bisects The Friendship Hospital in Bangladesh, providing evaporative cooling. It was named the world’s best building by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2021.
Clever use of form in buildings can also provide naturally cooling benefits. At Expo 2020 Dubai, the Spanish Pavilion by Amann Cánovas Maruri featured a roof of conically shaped fabric structures that extracted hot air from the plaza underneath. And a Vietnamese housing development called Concrete Waves employs an open-sided layered structure that allows air to pass through it. Wave-shaped shades also shield apartments from direct sunlight, passively reducing the need for air conditioning.
Layer up these shape-led strategies with open latticework devices, and the effect is amplified, as seen in Manuel Herzs’ Maternity & Paediatrics Hospital in Tambacounda, Senegal. This relies on both a ventilation-stimulating curvilinear form and open brickwork.
Concrete Waves
Concrete Waves
 Concrete Waves |  Concrete Waves |
Manuel Herzs’ Maternity & Paediatrics Hospital
Manuel Herzs’ Maternity & Paediatrics Hospital
 Manuel Herzs’ Maternity & Paediatrics Hospital |  Manuel Herzs’ Maternity & Paediatrics Hospital |
Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School
Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School
 Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School |  Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School |
Kite Breeze
- Similarly, see The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School in India by Diana Kellogg Architects. The oval design of the building creates natural shade, while the walls are perforated to maximise air circulation. Also explore Sydney-based designer Adam Goodrum and Australian company Brickworks’ Kite Breeze, a geometric breezeblock that integrates passive airflow capabilities into modern architecture.
It’s important to note that many of these brilliant bioclimatic examples relate to municipal buildings such as schools and hospitals – demonstrating that it is possible to positively impact on the populous, as opposed to just the privileged, through smart design.
Kite Breeze
The Friendship Hospital
 Kite Breeze |  The Friendship Hospital |
Rambaugh by Parekh Collaborative
Traditional jali fretwork keeps spaces naturally cool
 Rambaugh by Parekh Collaborative |  Traditional jali fretwork keeps spaces naturally cool |
Civilisation can’t continue to build the way that we are doing. The motivation now is to see how our interventions can impact millions of people.
- Time-Honoured Material Wins: As our ancestors discovered centuries ago, the right choice of raw materials can also have a massively positive effect on regulating internal temperatures, without mechanical intervention.
In a project inspired by ancient Vietnamese craftsmanship, French consultancy AREP has developed a bamboo cooling tower as a sustainable alternative to harmful AC, that would be ideal for cooling large structures like train stations. The tower delivers cool air using the adiabatic principle, whereby water inside the sustainable structure is evaporated by absorbing heat energy from the air.
In a similar vein, Delhi-based Ant Studio has created the CoolAnt Coral, a system that relies on water evaporating across a honeycomb of traditional terracotta tubes to cool the air. Ideal for use in factories and other large spaces, its creators say that it can reduce air temperatures by around 15°C. They also hope to see it revive local terracotta production.
Arep
Arep
- On the topic of clay, we should be looking to history to remind ourselves of its general benefits as a building material. Common clay may even help curb methane emissions, as with special treatment it can efficiently remove the greenhouse gas from the air, researchers report. It’s also a material that has low carbon properties and can regulate temperature. So while it’s commonly used in hot countries where it's locally abundant, there’s a resurgence of global interest in it as an alternative to concrete.
A great scalable example comes from Swiss designer Martina Skvaro, who’s developing panels of water-irrigated clay that can be used to build airy pavilions to offer shaded respite in cities. On a smaller scale, clay will become key in product design.
Take a lead from Swedish designer Alexandra Fransson, who has developed a double-walled food container with an outer terracotta cavity which, when filled with water and sand, causes evaporative cooling to passively refrigerate contents. See also UK designer Ellie Perry, who has designed similar historically inspired clay food storage vessels.
Meanwhile, Danish company Søuld is reviving eelgrass, a local seaweed used in the 1600s for thatched roofing. It naturally stores CO2, is locally and sustainably harvested and, crucially, can also help regulate indoor climates.
In addition, think about simple traditional textile-based solutions in keeping spaces cool or warm. In the 2021 London Design Biennale’s Polish Pavilion, called The Clothed Home, a hanging canopy lowered the ceiling height to store heat closer to the ground in ‘winter’ while strips of fabric hanging from a door increased air circulation in ‘summer.’
Ant Studio
Ant Studio
Alexandra Fransson
 Ant Studio |  Ant Studio |  Alexandra Fransson |
Alexandra Fransson
Ellie Perry
Søuld
 Alexandra Fransson |  Ellie Perry |  Søuld |
Søuld
Martina Skvaro
 Søuld |  Martina Skvaro |
London Design Biennale’s Polish Pavilion
- Accent on India: With temperatures now regularly approaching 50°C in India (The Economist, 2021), communities are turning to ancient solutions for essential respite.
In many overheated conurbations, large-scale ice bricks are being made using a 120-year-old technique (involving a brine-based freezing solution), which is far more eco-friendly than modern electrical refrigeration methods.
Similarly looking to simple and sustainable solutions in effective heat management, one initiative sees Indian housing trusts help low-income households make their accommodation cooler by providing white paint for roof coverage. Known as ‘cool roofing’, this can reduce internal temperatures by 3-4°, and a brand new ultra-white paint development reflects up to 98% of sunlight, which will improve that statistic significantly.
Both of these pragmatic ideas are entirely transferrable cross-territory, and something as simple as cool roofing could deliver respite to heat-stricken populations everywhere.
Cool roofing with white paint
Prof Xiulin Ruan and his 'ultra-white paint'
Large scale ice bricks are made using a brine-based freezing solution
 Prof Xiulin Ruan and his 'ultra-white paint' |  Large scale ice bricks are made using a brine-based freezing solution |
Revive a Respectful Relationship with Water
As the planet heats up, we’re met with the contrasting realities of both more flooding and more drought. Our relationship with water therefore must change, and fundamental, historically proven ideas come into play, whereby we work with this essential element, rather than try to bend it to our will. Sponge cities and ancient Indian stepwells are amongst the solutions.
It's OK that the park is flooded, because it's supposed to flood when it rains heavily, and that's a good thing as it's no longer in your home.
- Tapping Traditional Flood Protectants: Sometimes, the simplest time-honoured ideas need a rebrand to make them seem relevant. Such is the case with the development of ‘sponge cities’, where the grey infrastructure of human-engineered flood barriers is replaced by ‘aqua green’ sustainable systems that rely on natural drainage provided by green spaces.
Hull in the UK is one town that’s been massively affected by flooding in the past 15 years. But according to the organisation Living with Water, it’s seen significant improvement since 2017, when aqua green initiatives were introduced.
China, once so reliant on monumental grey dams for flood defence, is fully embracing this return to the natural hydrology that we’ve disrupted in the past half century by putting buildings in places where water tends to linger.
The shift is the vision of one man: Yu Kongjian of Turenscape Landscape Architects, who coined the phrase ‘sponge cities’. He’s responsible for the country’s 30-plus urban aqua greening projects that capture an astonishing 70% of rainwater, with aims to hit 100 cities by 2030. See our images for a sense of scale of these initiatives.
Turning cities into giant sponges will save lives and help save the planet
Hull is the second biggest flood risk area in the UK outside of London but has seen massive improvements developing it's aqua green profile
Hull's aqua greens slow the fllow of surface water during heavy rain
 Hull is the second biggest flood risk area in the UK outside of London but has seen massive improvements developing it's aqua green profile |  Hull's aqua greens slow the fllow of surface water during heavy rain |
Sanya Mangrove Park in China
- In smaller-scale projects, a 16-acre park in Atlanta has been designed by HDR Architects specifically to flood, and therefore protect the surrounding neighbourhood. Set in a low-lying area that’s home to a primarily Black community and is regularly flooded, the new park can absorb 10 million gallons of water during heavy storms and gradually release it underground.
Elsewhere, the Spaarndammerhart Building in the Netherlands, by architects Korth Tielens and Marcel Lok, is built around a tree-filled central courtyard. The building’s green roofs collect rainwater to minimise flooding, while the eaves and façade are also designed with spaces to house birds and insects.
Sponge cities are big news in China
Floodable park in Vine City, Atlanta
 Sponge cities are big news in China |  Floodable park in Vine City, Atlanta |
Spaarndammerhart Building
By trying to solve one problem at a time – flooding here, water scarcity there – the 20th-century approach to water management has undermined itself.
- Harnessing Water by Historical Means: While flooding represents a huge risk to human life, water scarcity now impacts 40% of the world’s population. And as many as 700 million people are at risk of being displaced by drought by 2030 (WHO, 2022).
In India, ancient stepwells dating back centuries are helping to curb the country’s current water crisis. Abandoned for decades, these intricately carved mazes of steps lead to a well at the bottom of the construction where, in the rainy season, millions of litres of water can be collected and then used by the local community.
On a smaller scale, innovative product designers are reimagining traditional ways to recycle grey water for reuse – like Brit Eliza Collin. Her traditional ceramic filtration system Aqua Dentro uses plants and other natural organisms to transform waste H2O into usable water. Given that most territories will be affected by drought by 2050 (WHO, 2022), such low-intervention ideas will rapidly gain momentum.
Stepwells are helping solve India's current water crisis
Chand Baori stepwell, Abhaneri, Jaipur
Put Nature Front & First Again
Immersing ourselves in pre-industrial-revolution levels of biophilia and re-nurturing the animal world are essential ways to support our massively damaged eco-system. Putting nature front and first creates conurbations and communities with a healthier footprint, and by looking to the annals we will once again support those living creatures that co-exist with us to positive environmental effect.
- The Benefits of a Biophilic Revival: Put simply, greenery minimises flood risk, helps support biodiversity, and sequesters harmful CO2 from the atmosphere. And some fantastic biophilia-rich developments are already paving the way for a brighter, greener future.
Danish design firm Effekt’s forested neighbourhood concept takes inspiration directly from ancient villages. It transforms degraded farmland by planting woodland trees to offer a source of food and recreation for the 220 homes that will be built in small clusters within the forest.
Further urban initiatives include the Dutch city of Arnhem planting trees to shade asphalt roads, and replacing selected routes with grassland to reduce heating and water run-off. Singapore has announced new measures to ramp up local food production by converting public rooftops and carparks into rentable farm plots. And Paris will unveil Europe’s largest rooftop farm this July, spanning 14,000 sq metres.
Effekt's forested neighbourhood
- In retail, Ikea opened a store in Vienna last year with a strong biophilic emphasis. Designed in collaboration with Austrian studio Querkraft, the façade and roof are covered in 160 trees and shrubs (plus 800 sq m of solar rooftop panels), and it aims to cool the local area (Vienna Westbahnhof) by up to 1.5°C on a hot day. Beehives feature in open spaces that are not accessible to the public, along with 30 bird-nesting sites, and the site is car-free.
In another inspiring retail-based development, Dubai’s Cityland Mall represents a greener take on the previously unsustainable shopping centre model. The self-cooling stadium-shaped atrium is built around an open-air botanical garden, while the mall itself features winding streams, rare trees, flower gardens, a tree-lined shopping strip, and living green walls. It’s also embedded with eco-friendly features including stormwater harvesting, and a garden irrigation system that relies only on treated sewage water.
IKEA in Vienna
Cityland Mall
 IKEA in Vienna |  Cityland Mall |
- Re-nurturing the Animal World: Biophilia will help support biodiversity, but we also need to turn back the clock on the damage we’ve done to the animal kingdom, and actively re-nurture species for the benefit of the planet.
According to bee expert Paula Carnell, areas of wild planting, rather than manicured landscaping, are needed to truly support pollinators in urban areas. Plus, trees should be planted in the ground, as they more adequately contribute to pollinator biodiversity than potted plants and green walls. Carnell recently commissioned the build of a bee discovery centre called The Beezantium at the Newt Estate in the UK.
While the impact of beaver extinction wasn't noted because we weren't aware of their true value hundreds of years ago, bringing them back will change the landscape as we know it.
- Also in the UK, beavers have recently been reintroduced to England’s waterways, where they have been extinct for nearly 400 years. Known for their amazing dam-building skills, stopping flooding as well as creating natural water pools for other species, these industrious keystone species bring many environmental benefits to their habitats.
Also see one UK initiative that mandates new residential builds above 5 metres to include bee bricks and bird boxes to support urban biodiversity, as well as the ‘butterfly highway’ – an ultra-light web that can be installed above motorways. This serves as a treetop-level crossing for insects while generating solar energy and providing shade over asphalt.
The Beezantium
Beavers are known for their natural dam building skills
 The Beezantium |  Beavers are known for their natural dam building skills |
Learn From Our Farming Forefathers
Employing ancient agricultural techniques – some of them up to 12,000 years old – represents one of the most significant ways to slow global climate change. From mixed and rotating crop systems to agroforestry and the cultivation of heritage foods and fibres, embracing regenerative agriculture is one of the most obvious and transformative ways in which the past can inform a better future.
- Back to Local & Low Impact: Regenerative agriculture has its roots in traditional small-scale farming methods, and focuses on restoring soils. This traditional approach saves water, mitigates climate change, improves crops, and encourages biodiversity. With all of its inherent carbon sequestering and nature-supporting benefits, it already has the backing of some food industry giants looking to shift away from harmful modern intensive farming.
Nestle has committed $17.8bn to regenerative agriculture through its supply chain, in addition to meaningful pledges from both McDonald’s and PepsiCo. Given the fact that agriculture and food production accounts for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions (PNAS, 2021), it’s essential that we see significant global buy-in on this mass-brand scale.
Ogroforestry in action
Our food system is destroying our planet and our health. It’s hard to overstate the extent to which it dominates our natural world.
- Interesting examples of regenerative ancient agriculture in action are included in the UN’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems listing. These include everything from Maasai pastoralist traditions in Kenya, to floating farms in Bangladesh and China’s rice-fish-duck systems.
Meanwhile, Indigenous farmers in the US are attempting to cultivate an ancient breed of potato that could thrive in a changing climate. And at Biosphere 2 – affiliated with the University of Arizona – researchers are looking at farming practices long used by Native Americans as potential solutions to future food supply issues.
In meat farming specifically, many farmers are looking towards older practices in a bid to improve the quality of the protein they produce, boost the soil health in their fields, and reduce their impact on the environment.
Floating farm in Bangladesh
Rice-duck farming
 Floating farm in Bangladesh |  Rice-duck farming |
Indigneous four corners potato farming in the US
Adaptive muli-paddock grazing for cattle
 Indigneous four corners potato farming in the US |  Adaptive muli-paddock grazing for cattle |
- Recent research has found that regenerative crop diversification will enhance production by 14%, and associated biodiversity by almost 25%. Water quality will improve by 50%, pest and disease control by over 63%, and soil quality by 11% (Futurity, 2022) – highlighting the vast array of benefits in employing traditional techniques. In addition, it’s been proven that agroforestry – adding trees to pastureland – can cool local temperatures by up to 2.4°C (Nature Communications, 2022), potentially crucial in hotter climates.
In meat farming, ancient practises are helping to mitigate climate change
They are often called forgotten crops, because the research community have really ignored them in terms of investment.
- Embracing Ancient Crops: The UN says we need to increase food production by about 50% in the next 15 years to meet the demands of a growing population (Food Navigator, 2021). Long-forgotten ancient crops could hold part of the answer to that food crisis, with grains such as millet, sorghum, buckwheat and amaranth all offering significant opportunity to improve human and planetary health.
Lessons can be learnt from countries such as Peru, where an agrobiodiversity zone has been recognised in the Andean highlands. Here, the indigenous community grow many ancient grain types alongside 100 varieties of root vegetables, beans and maize. Meanwhile in the US, a chef and a scientist are raising awareness of two other ancient seeds: goosefoot and erect knotweed. Historically cultivated by Indigenous populations, both are nutritious and ripe for reimagining as a vital food source.
Historic 'three sisters' farming of corn, beans and squash
Family from Marcapata Ccollana in the Peruvian Andes
Farmers in the Peruvian Andes
 Family from Marcapata Ccollana in the Peruvian Andes |  Farmers in the Peruvian Andes |
Regenerative agriculture is about growing raw materials in alignment with natural systems and Indigenous practices. While this can be a challenge for companies, it’s also an opportunity to lift up farmers and growers as the essential leaders in this movement.
- However, it’s not just about ancient grains. Lost textile fibres and regenerative agriculture also hold the key to less harmful apparel industries, which are currently responsible for 10% of global CO2 emissions (IPCC, 2020). According to a new report by Textile Exchange called the Regenerative Agriculture Landscape Analysis, the long-term health of the sector depends on how it is able to work with growers to develop regenerative practices.
As part of that, we must look to traditional techniques such as wool manufacturing via sheep farmers who follow regenerative agricultural practices; as well as low-impact ancient materials like sustainable hemp and flax for linen, as alternatives to water-consuming and soil-degrading cotton.
Sorghum farming
Erect knotweed
Goosefoot
 Sorghum farming |  Erect knotweed |  Goosefoot |
Flax linen
Hemp
 Flax linen |  Hemp |
Support Consumers in Keeping Cool
Look to Natural History for Philanthropic Inspiration
Choose Regenerative Farming for a Brighter Future
Embrace Local & Low-Impact Thinking
With temperatures soaring and a cost-of-living crisis impacting on the global population, support consumers by delivering cheap and simple solutions to overheating, such as promoting ‘cool roof’ initiatives. Likewise, explore ancient building techniques and natural air-con solutions when planning new, temperate spaces with lower environmental impact than those requiring mechanical intervention.
With temperatures soaring and a cost-of-living crisis impacting on the global population, support consumers by delivering cheap and simple solutions to overheating, such as promoting ‘cool roof’ initiatives. Likewise, explore ancient building techniques and natural air-con solutions when planning new, temperate spaces with lower environmental impact than those requiring mechanical intervention.
Future Insights
Support Consumers in Keeping Cool | With temperatures soaring and a cost-of-living crisis impacting on the global population, support consumers by delivering cheap and simple solutions to overheating, such as promoting ‘cool roof’ initiatives. Likewise, explore ancient building techniques and natural air-con solutions when planning new, temperate spaces with lower environmental impact than those requiring mechanical intervention. |
Look to Natural History for Philanthropic Inspiration | Much of our environmental crisis response is reliant on brands behaving as philanthropists. An easy way to make a difference is to focus on supporting nature’s role in returning us to a more stable bioclimatic base. From regreening our landscapes to the re-nurturing of endangered species, look to ecology’s past for inspiration in your benevolent strategies. |
Choose Regenerative Farming for a Brighter Future | There’s no doubt about the negative impact of intensive modern farming, or the benefits of returning to ancient agricultural techniques – which can be just as profitable as their toxic alternatives. For any business involved in relevant consumer product delivery, it’s essential to support initiatives that move us from harmful practices to regenerative ones. |
Embrace Local & Low-Impact Thinking | The history books show us that thinking local and low impact makes sense for the planet. From our material and ingredient choices in product development, to celebrating low-intervention processes, much can be learnt from cultures and territories where these approaches have long been necessary for survival. |
Past
Present
Future
Past
The industrial revolution kick-started our current climate crisis, with excessive use of fossil fuels and global mass consumption changing our climate and natural environment for the worse in stealthy, damaging increments.
Present
We are now fully aware of man’s impact on the planet, and energy supply forms the focus of the issue. New green power solutions are evolving rapidly – but the climate emergency time bomb is ticking away, and positive global action is needed.
Future
New green energy solutions will emerge as the saviours of our climate crisis. Impacting on every industry, they have the power to reverse the damage done. Likewise, cross-industry carbon-sequestering innovations will make for a cleaner, greener planet.
Trend Evolution
Past
Present
Future
The industrial revolution kick-started our current climate crisis, with excessive use of fossil fuels and global mass consumption changing our climate and natural environment for the worse in stealthy, damaging increments.
We are now fully aware of man’s impact on the planet, and energy supply forms the focus of the issue. New green power solutions are evolving rapidly – but the climate emergency time bomb is ticking away, and positive global action is needed.
New green energy solutions will emerge as the saviours of our climate crisis. Impacting on every industry, they have the power to reverse the damage done. Likewise, cross-industry carbon-sequestering innovations will make for a cleaner, greener planet.