Knowing that your work matters is a tremendous motivator. Given these calamities, we asked: ‘What can we do to make a difference?’ We found that designing buildings and cities to be safer, healthier and more equitable and to help minimize climate change are solutions that truly move the needle. 2020 also saw an increasing number of natural disasters associated with climate change. Vandover: Sustainability has always been part of our firm’s DNA but the drive to expand our approach and commitment to sustainability took on new urgency in 2020 with the advent COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd and a greater awareness of the environmental and social injustices that exist in the US and elsewhere. What has driven your focus on these issues? Companies like Shaw are teaming with us to ensure the building materials we use are cleaner, healthier and more recyclable, reusable and circular. We also are having similar collaboration with our vendors and suppliers. It is now easier for us to discuss holistic sustainability with our clients and have them truly partner with us on solutions. Wutopia Lab China The Chinese architecture and design practice Wutopia Lab has raised this copper-clad cultural center in Shanghais Pudong district as a. Their ESG covenants require that they act conscientiously - their employees, shareholders and boards demand it. How has the sustainability landscape shifted in the past five years?īaxter: What has changed most in recent years is that so many of our clients now share similar goals when it comes to sustainability, wellness and equity. We are looking at the environmental costs of building materials and structural systems (including embodied carbon and end-of-life disposal) as well as how off-gases and contaminants from materials impact the health and wellbeing of building occupants. While early efforts focused on building emissions, we now take a more holistic view of sustainability. At the same time, we have expanded our definition of sustainability. Today, we’re proud to report that we are on track to achieving a zero-emissions portfolio by - or before - 2030. A few years later, HOK was one of the first signatories to the American Institute Architects’ 2030 Challenge to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings. Our Guidebook to Sustainable Design, published in 2000, was one of the industry’s first references for “green” design and construction. HOK has long been a leader on this front. Vandover: As designers of the built environment, it’s our responsibility to create spaces that improve the human experience and the world we live in. Follow link for the full interview or skip below to a few highlights.Ĭan you share a little bit about HOK, and the firm’s efforts related to people and the planet? Christine Vandover, IIDA, and Elizabeth Baxter, AIA did a great job of summarizing HOK's commitment to #sustainabledesign in a recent Q&A with Shaw Industries.
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