Party Walls

Building industry professionals have made great strides in reducing operational carbon, but without losing ground, we need to shift our efforts toward building materials and embodied carbon.

The time value of carbon is the notion that reducing carbon emissions now provides a greater benefit than reducing the same amount of emissions in the future. In other words, action today is worth more than tomorrow.

We can envision a future where all building materials have low or zero embodied carbon—even carbon-capturing ingredients—and there is a plan for reusing and recycling materials at the end of a building’s useful life. But how do we get there?

Read on to explore data, resources, and tools available now to help project teams reduce embodied carbon along with operational carbon.

Embodied Carbon: How We Define It

There are several stages in a building’s life. The middle stage is when a building is in use, and it’s all about the operational carbon emissions that result from running—or using—the building. Addressing operational carbon has been critical to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the building industry has made some progress. But important climate action opportunities are missed by focusing only on the middle stage. (more…)

As architects, building designers, and members of project teams, we are in a unique position to advance equity and inclusion in our world. It is our responsibility to design buildings that support and give opportunities to historically underserved groups.

As we embark on a new year, concepts of equity and inclusion are prominent throughout the field of architecture. The U.S. Green Building Council recently affirmed that equity will remain a key focus at this year’s Greenbuild International Conference, and the WELL Equity Rating continues to gain traction across our industry.

At SWA, we prioritize equity and inclusion in both our company values and strategic vision as well as in our Inclusive Design discipline. We made an announcement not long ago that our Accessibility team is shifting away from Universal Design towards Inclusive Design to more effectively drive equity in the built environment. In our work with Inclusive Design strategies, we have examined how they must evolve to prioritize all building occupants and the surrounding community at each stage in the design process.

Today we are thrilled to have a clearer vision for how we aim to accomplish this goal. (more…)

Project teams may set out to design and construct a building that supports the needs of its occupants and the community as a whole. However, the design process does not typically involve examining the lived experiences of future occupants or the surrounding community.

This missing piece is called co-design, and it’s a crucial practice for creating healthy, safe, and equitable buildings.

Co-design is gaining traction as more project teams prioritize social equity and inclusion as part of their project goals. When community members and future occupants that represent diverse perspectives and lived experiences are part of the design process, the finished building is more likely to support the needs of building occupants.

Read on to learn how project teams are successfully implementing co-design to advance equity through building design. (more…)

Is Sustainability only for the wealthy? While staring at the double-digit price of organic tomatoes at the local farmers’ market I am inclined to think sustainable is synonymous with exclusive. Unfortunately, many things labeled “sustainable” or “eco-friendly” seem not to be within everyone’s budget. A society where the cost of a Tesla is the average annual income of a household easily convinces us that making sustainable choices comes with a cost many can’t afford.

The ”green” housing industry is no different. Walkable and well-connected neighborhoods, where residents can enjoy abundant services are often the pricey neighborhoods. Toxic-free natural materials, daylight, fresh air, and even living green walls fill the homes of the wealthier and healthier tenants, while high-efficient mechanical systems and solar panels provide (almost invisible) energy savings as compared to their sky-high rents.

On the other side, low-income families are often located in neighborhoods at the edges of cities where community services and fresh healthy food are out of reach except by driving, and where parks and options to catch some fresh air are far and rare. Here the apartments are more likely to be exposed to toxic materials, increasing chances to develop asthma or other diseases. Energy bills are often high with little opportunity to get any lower by using newer energy-saving appliances and equipment.

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In part one of this blog series, we established that buildings are only sustainable if they are equitable and accessible for all occupants. In part two, we detailed how to apply these principles to the planning stages and provided resources for improving social outcomes in your projects. In this post, part three, we will outline ways in which we can integrate principles of social equity into the design, construction, and operations phases.

Design Phase

Stakeholders

The earlier you commit to an inclusive and integrative design process, the better. The broader the group of stakeholders involved, the better. For example, consider including members from the following groups, among others, to participate in early visioning and planning discussions and workshops:

• Leaders of local community groups;
• Members of future user groups (occupants, tenants, staff, operations team, people with disabilities, etc.);
• Public health professionals;
• Local policymakers and government officials;
• Representatives from local cultural organizations;
• Specialists in the local natural and social history, ecology, economy, ethnography, building code, etc.;
• Subject matter experts in sustainability, energy, accessibility, etc.

When possible, recruit project team members from companies that have committed to social responsibility by publishing a JUST Label or other social responsibility report. Companies can pursue a JUST Label and become a resource for others.

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*Click here to read Part 1 of this blog!

The social and environmental context can vary greatly from one project to the next. To achieve social equity goals, a well-constructed plan for all project phases must be created and tracked. And, although the measures are not generally complicated, they can be numerous. In order to promote social equity, SWA has compiled this series of blog posts that teams can refer to as a guide to help facilitate the process. The goal is to help project teams understand, identify, and incorporate social and environmental goals and strategies into projects in a holistic and integrated way.

 

The following outline provides an overview of steps the design team can take in evaluating projects during Pre-Design. Throughout, references to LEED credits are cited.

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The causes of social inequity and injustice are deeply rooted within the systems that shape our society, including the built environment. The built environment represents the literal foundation of our society’s presence in the world – from the smallest rural community to the largest city. The way in which buildings are designed, constructed, and maintained has a tremendous influence on the equity (or inequity), and the justice (or injustice), of our society. The way we build and the strategies we employ can either continue to worsen social issues or can lay the groundwork for significant progress to be made on these issues in places around the world.

The building industry continues to make progress on reducing negative environmental impacts of the built environment. In fact, we’re increasingly seeing practices and strategies go beyond “sustainable” to “regenerative,” with such goals as net-positive energy, water, and waste. Now, the industry is reckoning with the urgent need to integrate social equity into its definition of sustainability in order to also reduce negative social impacts of the built environment. We might accelerate the process by framing the goal as “net-positive equity.” (more…)