https://maca.alumcommunity.mit.edu/events/276676, last accessed on June 24, 2026.
Architecture Group - MIT Alumni for Climate Action (MACA) June Meeting: From MIT’s Climate Missions to COP31: Pathways to Climate Action
“… At a time of increasing fragmentation and disorder in international relations, the need is greater than ever before for internationally oriented organizations like MIT to step forward to work with partners on the global dimensions of the climate challenge.…”
From The Climate Project at MIT (1)
At its June meeting, the Architecture Group–MIT Alumni for Climate Action (MACA) will review the initial steps undertaken following the finalization of project statements for four climate action initiatives spanning the United States, Brazil, Syria, and Türkiye. Refined during the previous month's discussions, these initiatives address climate challenges across diverse geographic, social, and institutional contexts:
- United States
(Massachusetts): From Barriers to Action: Accelerating Passive House
Adoption
- Brazil: Concrete
Pathways to Climate-Resilient Cities: A Systems-Based Approach
- Syria: Climate
Action for Integrating Passive Design Principles into Post-Conflict
Housing Systems
- Türkiye (the host of COP31): Climate Intelligence in Action: A Translation Framework for the Built Environment
The June meeting will provide an opportunity to examine the early action phase of these initiatives and to compare experiences across diverse geographic contexts and scales of intervention. Project leads will share insights gained from consultations with MIT experts, discuss challenges encountered while translating project concepts into actionable pathways, and explore strategies for overcoming these barriers. Through this exchange, the Group aims to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, facilitate knowledge transfer across regions, and advance practical approaches to climate action within the built environment.
Collectively, these initiatives seek to contribute to MIT's climate mission of Designing Resilient and Prosperous Cities (2) and to the MACA Roadmap objective of decarbonizing buildings (3). As these initiatives progress and generate measurable outcomes, their specific contributions to these climate goals will become increasingly defined. In parallel, the Architecture Group–MACA seeks to contribute to the emerging Climate-Resilient Cities agenda of COP31, which will be hosted by Türkiye in 2026 (4).
The Group welcomes MIT alumni engaged in climate action, architecture, urban design, and related disciplines—particularly graduates of the School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P)—to participate in its initiatives and collaborate in the development of impactful climate action projects for a better world.
Event Details
Date: June 27, 2026
Time: 12 PM – 1 PM. EST.
Format: Online (Link provided upon registration)
Who Should Attend: MIT SA+P alumni, former research scholars, MACA members and
affiliates, and MIT community interested in architecture, the built
environment, and climate action.
How to contact the organizer:
Meral Ekincioglu, Ph.D.:
meralekinci2020@gmail.com
References:
1. The Climate Project at MIT, https://president.mit.edu/sites/default/files/download/climate-project-web-summary.pdf, last accessed on June 21, 2026.
2. https://climateproject.mit.edu/six-missions/mission-descriptions, last accessed on June 21, 2026.
3. https://maca.earth/roadmap/, last accessed on June
21, 2026.
4. https://cop31.tr/, last accessed on June 21, 2026.
Photo. credit: MIT Museum, interior space, Cambridge,
MA. Architecture (new construction): Höweler + Yoon Architecture. Photo by
Meral Ekincioglu, Ph.D.