'I sometimes wonder why we talk so much about air travel, clothing chains, plastic straws and electric cars, and so little about buildings. Suffice it to say that the carbon footprint resulting from the construction, use and eventual dismantling of buildings accounts for around 40 per cent of global emissions,' writes Filip Springer in his latest reportage/essay. So it's time to ask how architecture should change in the face of environmental catastrophe.

Should we be building at all? What kind of future are contemporary architects designing for us? What place should the environment have in design? Do we have the right to jeopardise our children's future for the sake of our own comfort? And finally, who does architecture serve?

Springer takes a look at the practices of architects and urban planners, both those that are astonishing in their short-sightedness and those that are innovative and make us believe that a different, more world- and environment-friendly architecture is possible. He also examines whether even cautious but sensible visions of new architecture have a chance of breaking through in a world that is constantly chasing profit and growth.