FLOW

African cities are growing quickly. Decisions made now about buildings, materials, infrastructure and neighbourhoods will shape emissions, resilience and quality of life for decades. Yet the expertise, finance, policy and supply chains required for lower-carbon development are often fragmented.

FLOW brings designers, developers, material innovators, public institutions, investors and communities into a shared effort to demonstrate climate-positive, inclusive ways of building and living. The initiative can turn a flagship development into a learning platform: testing bio-based materials, circular systems, better resource use and models that can inform a wider market.

SITU provides FLOW with an institutional home while the initiative is being incubated. This includes the operating, financial and governance infrastructure needed to develop the initiative, coordinate partners, manage resources and translate its vision into an implementable program. FLOW is bringing together expertise across architecture, engineering, sustainable materials, finance, development and public policy to explore practical approaches to climate-positive and inclusive urban development. The initiative is developing knowledge around bio-based construction materials, embodied and operational carbon, circular resource systems and the African supply chains required to make sustainable building more widely achievable.

• A shared design brief balancing climate, commercial and social outcomes.

• Partnerships connecting architecture, engineering, materials, finance and public policy.

• Evidence on embodied carbon, operational performance and user experience.

• Procurement and supply-chain pathways for African sustainable materials.

• A demonstration and learning agenda that helps others adopt what works