Philip Oldfield is Head of School of the Built Environment at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney and the author of Sustainable Tall Building: A Design Primer. He has written for various media, including The Guardian, Dezeen and Architects' Journal.

Mark Minkjan interviews Philip about the balance between the urge to build skyscrapers – since Rotterdam has recently paved the way for a series of new 200 to 300-meter-tall high rises – and the necessary transformation of the building industry, which is still one of the largest destructive forces on climate and biodiversity. 

How to change the building culture to drastically lower carbon emissions while still accommodating societies’ spatial demands? And what kind of architectural education is needed to face the crises of our time?

Show notes
Philip Oldfield: Seven principles for designing low-carbon skyscrapers (Dezeen)

Philip Oldfield: We must do better than 1,000 trees (Dezeen)
The Pinnacle@Duxton, Singapore
Quay Quarter Tower, Sydney

Groupwork Architects: load-bearing stone skyscraper