Five shifts for architecture revisited

Early last year we shone a light on five ideas or actions reaching their 'tipping point' in our work, architecture and the wider community. Having then developed our 10 ideas for 10 years of BIJL, captured in the series of ten short films posted on our Instagram these past six months, we'd like to to take the opportunity to reflect and update our thoughts, as below:

1. Carbon conscious. Completed and in progress projects are materially working on net zero carbon outcomes. Carbon responsive design is becoming embedded in our practice, as we tackle new regulations and expectations alike.
2. Purposeful flex. Finding and shaping flexible living requires us to consider purpose and joy for our clients. Potential futures are tested and considered meaningfully. We maintain that ‘loose fit’ does not equal lazy design!
3. Even more nature. A broad range of landscapes appear in our ongoing work. Grassy bushlands, suburban blocks, urban courtyards, coastal dunes, vegetable gardens and more, pushing our knowledge and design agility across varied sites.
4. Adaptive reuse. Bijl Architecture has long advocated for adaptive reuse strategies, such as recycling, upcycling and reusing existing buildings. Embodied energy, life cycle costing and maintenance considerations underpin our investigations and design work, as we encourage clients forward on this journey.
5. Street appeal. Our designs are highly contextual yet full of character - their longevity is borne from street smarts as well as street appeal. Balancing individual investment with community-minded contributions to the built environment is our every day work.