PLEA 2026, San José, Costa Rica
Final Remarks
This conference has reminded us that the mission of PLEA is more important and urgent than ever. The founders of PLEA were true visionaries, and their message remains as relevant today as when the organization was established.
There is already an important body of knowledge on bioclimatic architecture, much of it developed by many in this room. Throughout this conference we have seen advances in research as well as beautiful examples of architecture that go beyond a purely performative vision of sustainability to one that is more human, and responsive to communities in need. We have been reminded that it is not enough to reduce building emissions; we also need to make our buildings more resilient and adapted to climate change.
We have seen the importance of extending our work beyond individual buildings to the urban scale and of collaborating with nature. We have been reminded to begin by understanding climate and the natural forces of the sun and the wind. We must also implement passive first to design a building that becomes, by understanding building physics, the heating and cooling system. We have seen that we can shape buildings with our hands, creating strong connections with the future occupants. We must design building envelopes that balance heat transfer and airflow providing shade but thoughtfully allow daylight with no glare.
And of course, all of this is to design buildings that reduce our dependence on mechanical cooling and provide an opportunity for local innovation, transfer of income to the communities where the buildings are located and create opportunities for the development of locally appropriate technologies
We would also like to encourage all to share knowledge as widely as possible. We must teach what we know and inspire the next generation of young designers in general. We need to train architects to design with climate, and we need the public and our clients to understand the impact of architecture on people, communities, and the environment.
As Sue Roaf reminded us, we must stand together and I would add, we must be politically engaged to influence positive change at the local, regional, and global levels.
And finally, as Anna Heringer so beautifully said, form follows love. If we embrace these principles and act on them collectively, we can help create a better world.
We would like to thank the organizing committee, especially Mike Smith and Emily Vargas, for their hospitality and a fantastic conference; and of course, thank you to the many others that have made this possible, including reviewers, session chairs and students. We know that none of this would have been possible without them.
Now onward to the next PLEA and beyond. There is much to do and there is little time.
Thank you all
The PLEA Board