De Montfort University (DMU), the founding partner of the UK Pavilion is  leading the conversation on the future of sustainable architecture as part of the ‘How Will We Live?’ week at Expo 2020.

According to the United Nations, by 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population is expected to be living in cities. The four-day exhibition which began on Friday, 14 January, howcases design solutions that address the strain placed on global infrastructure, energy, housing, transport, and the environment as a result of this migration.

The work on display is produced by architecture graduates and academics, predominantly from the DMU, Leicester campus and recognized by The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). It is a response to the Human Rights outlined by the United Nations and offers long-term solutions to ensure these rights are maintained.

Commenting on the role played by architecture in tacking climate change, Dr. Yuri Hadi, Senior Lecturer in Architecture, De Montfort University, said, “We believe in solving climate change by understanding the people first. Our approach to architecture is all about understanding the local context, and their challenges. This helps us build our design in a bottom-up approach rather than top-bottom one because we believe architecture should tackle sustainability and social aspects first. We then identify the technology that will addresses the problem into the design.”

“Through our architecture courses, we teach our students how they can reduce the carbon footprint in the design and building phase, as well as how we can mitigate pollution and build settlements that are sustainable for the future.”

Exhibits include award-winning project from the SKYHIVE 2020 Skyscraper Challenge, designed by DMU student, Daniel Hambly. The unique design entails office and residential spaces and is set apart by mineral-recovery, biogas-production, and wastewater-recovery facilities.

On how architecture can help mitigate plastic pollution in the oceans, Dr. Hadishowcased a project model designed at DMU Leister which could be built in fishing villages and ports that removes plastic waste from the water and brings it back to land to recycle it. The model exhibited harvested plastic from the sea to land, acting as an organism to break down these plastics and using them to remake into the building itself, forming its canopy roof.

Other DMU student work included a unique ‘vertical farm’ that could be the answer to food security, while yet another tackled the challenges of overproduction and the need for recycling.By creating a literal ‘waste food mountain’, the design intends to teach people how to manage food waste better, along with composting it.

As part of the ‘How We Will Live?’ week, Simon Bradbury, Pro Vice-Chancellor International and Dean of Arts, Design and Humanities at DMU, will be speaking on the practicalities of trying to achieve net zero in education virtually on Monday, January 17.