JULY 2010, 1361. VOLUME CCXXVIII

Musings from Miami as the AIA hits town, highlighting the need for the US to take a lead in shaping a carbon-free future

At the AIA Convention in Miami earlier this month, the contradictions of modern life in the developed world became starkly apparent. Delegates spent their waking hours freezing in a super-airconditioned conference centre, while the temperature outside hit 34 degrees. It set you thinking about the huge quantities of energy required to sustain such absurdly artificial conditions, day in, day out.

Miami shouldn’t really be there at all. It’s a melting, ice-cream city built on a swamp and is practically uninhabitable without aircon. Climate and lifestyle spawned the city’s famous art deco movement, which in its heat-repelling pastel colours and shading devices embodied some local authenticity, but now gas-guzzling towers rule the day.

It will take more than LEED certification or a new modelling tool to predict energy use in buildings (launched at the convention) to change such entrenched attitudes. But one positive consequence of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now menacing Florida’s beaches, is a renewed awareness of the fragility of the natural world and what this is worth when set against our current reliance on fossil fuels.

Fundamental change must come and the US can and should show a lead. Its architects are getting there, slowly. Finally a quick parp on the AR vuvuzela for Violetta Boxill and Cecilia Lindgren, who won Designer of the Year at this year’s PPA Awards. Their redesign of the AR was singled out for its elegant, modern approach, while re-establishing a connection with the magazine’s distinguished graphic heritage. We salute you both.