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Philip Oldfield

@sustainabletall.bsky.social

7K followers 260 following 800 posts

Head of School at UNSW Built Environment and Professor of Architecture. Writer, researcher & teacher, tall buildings, climate change, embodied carbon, cities

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 15

We don’t *just* need to build more homes, but also retrofit our existing homes to reduce energy bills and improve comfort

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 15

Shameful really

One of the big contributors is our poor quality of housing. You can rate the thermal performance of housing on a star rating of 0-10.

The average star rating of Australian homes built before 2003? 1.8 stars…

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 15

Cladding made from reclaimed railway sleepers - looks fantastic!

By Reed Watts Architects and Allies & Morrison

timberdevelopment.uk/roundhouse-w...

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 8

Such simple, beautiful social housing. One main material used externally, no set backs, simple form and generousity of external space (just look at that balcony!)

21 apartments in Lyon by Rue Royale Architects and Claire Tournier

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 7

Lovely scale of urban infill by West of West, proposed for LA

A winning scheme in the Small Lots, Big Impacts competition

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 6

I mean, come on….

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 6

I will never get over the architectural quality of Swiss schools

This is a 14 classroom school by CURA Architekten

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · Jun 2

I don’t think people realise quite how inequitable development is globally

In the US there is 30x more built up volume (buildings and infrastructure) per person than in Bangladesh

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 31

More….

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 31

Mass timber office building in Lyon, by BFV Architectes

Top notch detailing

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 29

London has become a cycling city

archive.is/8YEjR

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 27

Adaptive reuse of a 1927 post office building in Brest into 93 apartments

By Chatillon Architectes

www.dezeen.com/2025/05/25/b...

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 26

This is quite impressive from one of the UK’s largest house builders

They should roll it out across the whole country

www.businessgreen.com/news/4413943...

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 26

Lovely against a blue sky as well

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 26

Simple and effective articulation of this apartment building in Qom, Iran, provides visual interest but also creates shade and amenity for residents

By Siyagh Studio

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 24

Nice piece of urban infill in Bushehr, Iran

Apartments with a mix of shade, brick texture and greenery. By Mehdi Baghbani

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 24

Would definitely live there…

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 24

15 social housing apartments in Paris by MAO Architects

Again, a stone facade with timber shutters

Building cost = €1.9m

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 23

Stunning…

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 23

This has got to be one of the best train stations built in the 21st Century?

Naples underground central station by EBMT Architects

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 23

This is very nice

More on the architects’ website here www.m-a-o.fr

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 23

15 social housing apartments in Paris

Concrete frame, with a solid stone facade and timber shutters. Looks wonderful, despite a compact and challenging site.

Cost = €2.7m

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 23

The detailing of Farshad Mehdizadeh’s Goldstan Residence building in Iran is looking sharp

Left is a construction photo, right is how the whole apartment building will look

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 22

I like this…

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Philip Oldfield @sustainabletall.bsky.social · May 22

This is only a render, but it promises to be a beautiful series of homes

Brick apartments in Tabriz, Iran, by Saeed Davatgari and Samira Amini

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