Introducing Sustainable Design Early Leads to More Resilient Projects

The G.T. "Mickey" Leland Federal Building in Houston. Image © Joe Aker.

Ten years ago, the goal was to convince clients that sustainable design was the solution to climate change. Those days are gone. Now, the majority of our clients have a deep understanding that climate change, air pollution, water quality, and deforestation are threatening the future of our cities. They also know that the built environment plays a significant role as both the cause and the solution. In fact, many Fortune 500 companies now see sustainable design as an opportunity to improve their social, environmental, and long-term economic performance—what many refer to as the Triple Bottom Line. Some have even hired “Directors of Sustainability,” employees whose sole focus is to develop corporate sustainability strategies that align with the company mission statements.

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Designing the First Triple-Certified Green Building in China

Image Caption: Johnson Controls, a leading provider of intelligent building technology and energy efficiency solutions is investing in social capital and the wellbeing of their employees. Image © Gensler

Building well-being design is essential in mega-cities like Shanghai, where dense urban environments challenge the way we work and achieve healthy lifestyles. China’s need for new office buildings continues to increase year after year, making it the world’s largest construction market. The government has taken notice and has mandated that almost every new building over 20,000 square meters meet China Green Building Design Label Certification standards. While these actions are a huge step in the right direction in efforts to fight climate change, there is an equally important need to integrate building well-being design along with energy savings strategies. Innovative approaches to the human experience in building design are an essential part of fostering productivity and innovation. Johnson Controls Headquarters Asia-Pacific in Shanghai is a great case study in combining energy efficiency, building well-being design, and smart technology.

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Centro de Convenciones de Costa Rica: A Beacon for Sustainability

Costa Rica Convention Center. Image © Andrés García Lachner/Gensler.

On the eve of the official inauguration of the Costa Rica Convention Center in Heredia— 10 kilometers north of the country's capital, San José—a state-of-the-art, iconic new building rises as a new landmark for the city, and the entire country. As the country’s first convention center and a vivid example of Costa Rica’s commitment to sustainability, the Centro de Convenciones de Costa Rica will attract thousands of visitors and locals.

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Why Climate Action Is a Business Imperative

Banfield Pet Hospital. Image © Gensler/ Ryan Gobuty.

The architecture and design community has a lot of virtues—we are a creative, thoughtful and entrepreneurial bunch. Most us are also genuinely focused on using our work to make a positive impact for our clients, our communities and our broader world. Just like any other industry, however, architects and designers can be guilty of short-term thinking, and this is especially true when it comes to climate action. Working through organizations like the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the World Green Building Council (World GBC), the industry has set some laudable goals in terms of lowering the environmental impact of our work, but we have failed to set the standards needed to reach them. These goals include achieving carbon neutrality in the design for all new building and interiors projects by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality in the design for all new and existing buildings before 2050.

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The Solutions to Climate Change Are Already at Our Fingertips

University of Kansas Capitol Federal Hall. Photo: Garrett Rowland.

Climate change is the environmental challenge of our time, and one of the most pressing issues facing our cities and communities today. Because every project we work on is either part of the problem or part of the solution, we have made a commitment to measure the environmental impact of our work, and publish the results annually to drive discussions with peers and partners, clients, and communities about the best ways to make progress in the future. This is the focus of our Impact by Design 2017 report, published earlier this week.

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