We make buildings perform betterby providing innovative energy efficiency, sustainability, and accessibility solutions.

Our industry has made great strides in reducing operational carbon, but without losing ground, we need to shift our efforts toward building materials and embodied carbon. SWA’s sustainability consultants help project teams understand the potential carbon impact of the construction of a building and identify opportunities to reduce embodied carbon.

425 Grand Concourse, one of the largest certified Passive House buildings in the world, is projected to save 90% of energy demand for cooling and heating when compared to typical existing apartment buildings of a similar size. It is also projected to save 60-70% of the whole energy demand. These energy savings will translate into a significant cost savings for tenants.

North Carolina State University and Steven Winter Associates have been awarded a grant to reinvest in the CUD given increasing interest in related efforts such as inclusive design and building equity.

SWA was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Building America program to lead a team that will address technical challenges of decarbonizing the U.S. housing stock.

Along with our team members HR&A Advisors, Ecosystem, and Kinetic Communities Consulting (KC3), we will work to develop and implement building electrification solutions in low- and moderate-income households while prioritizing the needs and input of the communities and residents.

Accessibility consultants work at the intersection of architecture and social justice. It’s much more than checking the boxes on accessibility requirements of laws and codes; it takes precision, dedication, and creativity to solve problems and remove physical barriers to access that have historically marginalized people with disabilities.

On the very first episode of Buildings + Beyond, Passive House pioneer Lois Arena answered the most common questions asked about meeting the high-performance requirements of the Passive House standard. You loved the episode—it’s one of our most popular of all time—and we loved recording with Lois. So, 6 years later, we decided to record a highly anticipated follow-up episode.