Early Adopters of Living Building Challenge® 4.1

In April 2024, Living Future launched three new certification programs: Living Building Challenge® 4.1 (LBC), Zero Carbon Certification 1.1 (ZC), and Zero Energy Certification 1.1 (ZE). Since July 1, these certifications have been the exclusive options for new project registrations. We checked in with some early adopters to explore why they chose our certifications and what they are learning.  Here we focus on three teams pursuing LBC Petal Certification.

Why Choose the Living Building Challenge?

Higher education institutions and not-for-profit organizations are increasingly turning to the Living Building Challenge for its holistic and rigorous framework.

• Higher Education: LBC aligns with sustainability goals, promotes health and wellness, and offers rich opportunities for student and faculty engagement.
• Not-for-Profit Organizations: LBC’s values resonate with climate action, equity, and health priorities, while creating inspiring and cost-effective spaces for employees and visitors.

We spoke to three professionals who have been instrumental in their project registrations:

• Vickie Breemes, CCS, LEED AP, LFA, WELL AP, of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, leads the firm’s Advanced Building Technologies Team and is a core member of the firm’s Regen CoLab. 
• Heather DeGrella, AIA, LEED Fellow, Fitwel Ambassador, and Associate Principal at Opsis, leads the firm’s Sustainable Design efforts.
• Alexandre Courchesne, M.Sc.A, is a consultant to the Conseil Régional de l’Environnement (CRE) de Laval, a co-developer of the project with Village Urbain who will own the future building. and a Research Associate at Polytechnique Montreal. Alex has done LCA work for manufacturers in Canada.

Breemes and DeGrella have pursued Living Future certifications with multiple clients, while Courchesne is working on his first Living Future certification project.

Project Highlights

Catawba College Smokestack Project: Transforming Legacy into Renewal

Located in Salisbury, North Carolina, this project involves an addition and renovation of a historic 1950s smokestack building that once housed the campus’s coal-fired power plant. The new building will serve as the central hub for student life. Catawba College is pursuing Living Building Challenge Petal certification, focusing on the Energy and Place petals. Breemes notes that Catawba is the ideal client with an extensive master plan, a centralized geothermal system, and many PV arrays.  

Breemes explains that the owner was eager to pursue a market-leading certification to achieve verified, measurable results aligning with their values, particularly their carbon neutrality commitment.  While the reuse of the landmark building and moving toward renewable energy were well-understood strategies,  a feasibility study was necessary to ensure alignment with LBC’s Core Imperatives. (Author Note: Living Future now offers a pre-registration Core 4.1 Feasibility Checklist to help teams explore their project’s alignment). 

To build momentum, Breemes recommends tackling one Petal at a time, fostering buy-in from stakeholders, and engaging contractors early on (particularly for the Materials Petal work) as they tend to fall into business-as-usual design and construction roles that are not conducive to regenerative design and optimal procurement. Breemes has found continuous education of contractors and the design team, as well as fostering collaboration, is key. She recommends site tours of certified projects, encouraging everyone to attend the Living Future conference to learn more from other practitioners, or offering the owner membership to Living Future so they can become excited about their project being part of the movement towards more impactful buildings.

Portland State University’s Oak Savanna and ITECK Center: A Vision for Healing and Resilience

At Portland State University (PSU), the transformation of an urban landscape into an Indigenous Oak Savanna is rooted in student-led research focused on ecological healing, sustainability, and fostering deep cultural connections. The vision includes a new Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge (ITECK) Center, designed to blend indoor and outdoor spaces, featuring culturally significant plants and community gathering areas for traditional ceremonies and events.DeGrella highlights the alignment between the ITECK Center’s values and LBC’s mission as a primary reason for choosing LBC Living certification. 

PSU’s team faces challenges balancing the ambitious sustainability goals, particularly concerning the requirements for Net Positive Water, with budget constraints, code requirements, and campus standards.  When working with the jurisdiction, the team might need to employ the WT-001 Municipal Water Exception and will explore all options allowed for outflow management. Another aspect of the design that needed consideration is that the design features outdoor programming for fire-related cultural events like salmon roasting, and a research project involving a rocket mass-heated bench that can provide shelter to unhoused individuals. After the complimentary 30-minute meeting with a Buildings team member, Opsis felt confident that they would be able to receive an exception for their use of combustion and registered their project (Author Note: Living Future now offers pre-registration Request for Rulings for teams who want to have accepted pathways before registering). Finally, the team is exploring new and reclaimed materials to navigate the Material Petal requirements.

In addition to the feasibility work, DeGrella uses project case studies with her clients and especially enjoyed using the online virtual tour of the Kendeda Building. She notes that Opsis also uses the Biophilic workshop and framework as an approach on many of their projects, whether pursuing certification or not. 

Village Vert: Creating a Replicable Co-Housing Model in Laval, Canada

Outside of higher education, the Village Vert is reimagining co-housing in Laval, Quebec, designed to tackle affordable housing challenges while fostering a strong sense of community and social networks. This project will feature 150 apartments, including affordable and market-rate units, commercial spaces, and community amenities.

Courchesne notes that the project’s not-for-profit developers chose LBC because it is recognized as the toughest sustainability certification in Canada, and aligns with their core values. The project is targeting Core Certification due to budget considerations but will explore the possibility of achieving Water and Energy Petals. A significant challenge lies in the project’s pursuit of Inclusion requirements under the JUST label—still in its early stages in Canada—but the team is exploring solutions by encouraging subcontractors to pursue the label and reviewing the Just database to discover if there are potential partners who might already have a label that can count toward the requirement.

Notably, the project is leveraging the readily available FSC wood, which will also contribute to the project’s carbon reduction goals. The previously developed site, located in a targeted densification zone, will integrate stormwater management through the on-site catchment and will improve the site’s ecological functioning over the baseline site (which is currently developed). 

Achieving Success with the Living Building Challenge

Whether you’re working on adaptive reuse, cultural restoration, or affordable housing, the Living Building Challenge offers a robust framework to inspire innovation, foster sustainability, and align with your mission.

Tips for LBC Success:

1. Start with a feasibility study to align project goals with LBC imperatives.
2. Build stakeholder engagement through continuous education and collaboration.
3. Leverage resources like virtual project tours and Living Future membership to gain inspiration.

Take the First Step Towards the Living Building Challenge

Are you ready to embrace the transformative potential of the Living Building Challenge? Explore our certification programs, download free manuals, and connect with our team to start your journey toward creating a Living Building.

Cover photo: ITECK Interior, earth room. Photo courtesy of Opsis Architecture.

Kaiser Borsari Hall at Western Washington University Opens

The Holcim Foundation Awards, a global recognition program for innovative and sustainable building projects, is currently accepting entries for its 2025 cycle. Entrants must register by February 11, with completed submissions due by February 18. At Living Future, we closely follow this prestigious program for its holistic approach to honoring projects that advance regenerative building practices and support sustainable development.

Living Future has long been aligned with the Holcim Foundation’s mission. Notably, our CEO, Lindsay Baker, participated in their Fellowship program last summer, emphasizing living buildings and the transformative power of regenerative design.

As we gear up for the 2025 awards, we reflect on a standout project from the 2023 cycle: Kaiser Borsari Hall at Western Washington University, which earned a Bronze award in the North American region and opened in December 2024. Designed by Perkins&Will, the project is pursuing dual certification under Living Future’s Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification programs. 

A Sustainable Hub for STEM Education

Kaiser Borsari Hall is a mass timber structure that supports Western Washington University’s expanding STEM programs. The building fosters interdisciplinary collaboration with diverse learning environments and serves as a hub for students, faculty, and industry professionals to connect and innovate.

The design highlights regenerative building practices, with elegant wood finishes and shou sugi ban cladding—a chemical-free, fire-resistant technique for treating exterior wood. Inside, a biophilic design approach includes exposed mass timber and a central staircase that invites movement and interaction.

Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction

As part of seeking Zero Energy Certification and Zero Carbon Certification, the design team optimized design and construction practices to achieve an anticipated 82% reduction in energy use compared to baseline buildings. Solar panels installed on more than 75% of the roof contribute to on-site renewable energy generation.

To tackle Living Future’s rigorous certification standards, the project integrates energy storage, high-efficiency systems, and materials with reduced embodied carbon. A one-time offset will also be purchased to address remaining embodied emissions, ensuring compliance with Zero Carbon Certification guidelines.

The Ripple Effect of Regenerative Design

According to Devin Kleiner, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LFA, Assoc. DBIA, and Director of Regenerative Design at Perkins&Will:

“Often the biggest environmental impact is not the project itself but the ripple effects it has on the institution and occupants. Kaiser Borsari demonstrates that a Net Zero Carbon, Net Zero Energy, and mass timber building is not only achievable but also sets a new standard for future projects at Western Washington University.”

This project has inspired the university to adopt regenerative building practices for future campus developments, aligning with its broader sustainability goals. Moreover, the biophilic benefits of mass timber construction enhance the health and well-being of students and faculty, making the building a model for holistic sustainability.

Celebrating Innovation

As the Holcim Foundation Awards continue to recognize groundbreaking projects, Kaiser Borsari Hall stands out as a shining example of innovation in Zero Carbon Certification, Zero Energy Certification, and regenerative building design. Projects like this pave the way for a sustainable, just, and thriving future.

Ready to take the next step in advancing sustainable design? Discover how Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification and Zero Energy Certification programs can help your projects achieve their highest sustainability goals.

Related Links

• Holcim Foundation’s Words with Winners short-film series archive of all past winners 
• The project was designed by Perkins&Will 
• Mortenson was the contractor and construction manager
• The team also included KPFF Consulting Engineers, McKinstry, VECA, Coughlin Porter Lundeen, AEI, Hargis, and Berger Partnership.

Designing the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

What would a restorative place really look like? What would a regenerative building feel like? What would it mean if a building project treated biodiversity as part of its purpose and site strategy? What does it look like when we bring back our prairies? What should a building and its landscape prioritize to celebrate a conservation-focused president? And what will this place look like in 2100, if we do all we can today? 

These are some of the big questions that drove the design development of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (TRPL), slated to open in the summer of 2026. Roosevelt was known for his conservation efforts and for the solace he found in North Dakota, where he went to recover after his wife and mother died on the same day in the same house in New York City. He wrote that he could “never have been President had it not been for my experience in North Dakota,” and he maintained his deep connection to the place and the people for the rest of his life. This is why the foundation dedicated to his legacy sought to build his Presidential library and museum there.

Pursuing full Living Building Challenge (LBC) 4.0 certification has been an enormous undertaking for this project, partly due to its remote location in Medora, North Dakota. Importantly, the LBC target was built into the design competition and the entire team has been working toward that goal from day one. 

Snøhetta’s architects and landscape architects won the design competition after an immersive selection process that brought the teams to the Badlands. Snøhetta’s design conceives the Library as the landscape. It conserves much of the 93 acres, placing the grassland at the heart of the project. The building is a powerful, low-rise form, evocative of the Badlands landscape. With its green roof, natural wood, and rammed earth walls it engages and mimics the site and offers inspiring vistas. 

JLG Architects serves as Architect of Record and sustainability lead, Confluence as Landscape Architect, Snøhetta as Design Architect and Design Landscape Architect, and JE Dunn is the contractor. The team utilized LBC because of its strong alignment with Roosevelt’s point of view and influence. They are also employing LEED 4.1 and SITES for this model project. 

The team has focused heavily on site and conservation and informed their design and goals based on community engagement and feedback. The project aims to help visitors learn from Theodore Roosevelt’s life and leadership, engaging visitors in conserving the land, and connecting visitors to the adjacent Badlands that are the landscape of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park and National Grasslands. 

Changing patterns

Broadly, the team’s approach is that a building must do good. They are continually evaluating what “net positive” means in every context and at every scale. Craig Dykers, Snøhetta’s Founding Partner, notes that “the location is powerful as it speaks to TR’s life and legacy, yet it is also a challenging place to build. Our team has found the Living Building Challenge is a clear way to communicate the levels of care that the project needs to attain.”

Jenn Carroll, LFA, MPM, Manager of Sustainability for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, says that the organization is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a leader in the region. “We are showing that this can be done, even here.” Carroll notes that since its inception, the project has been getting a lot of attention from local businesses, and from elected officials across the state.

Patrick Thibaudeau, LFA, LEED Fellow, CCS, Principal Sustainability Officer at JLG Architects, suggests we’re not just building a presidential library.  We’re building an idea that has powerful transformative impact, changing business as usual for the way we live, learn and work for the next century.” The design intends to create a total net positive legacy for the next 100 years and more. “This is how we practice now with all our clients,” he says, “and it really changes your perspective.” 

Christine Beaubien, LEED AP, Project Manager with contractor JE Dunn, has been hip-deep in the Living Building Challenge and soaking up the intentions and process. “I love that it’s called a challenge,” she says, “This is a custom project in a very remote part of the US, so there are a lot of challenges.” 

The library is the landscape

The Snøhetta team recognized a raw beauty in the ancient Badlands, a landscape that has never been glaciated. This quality, Michelle Delk, Snøhetta Partner and Landscape Architect Partner says, “allows for another level of reading than is ordinarily possible. You can see the evidence of the geologic eras and the histories of use are visible, too.” 

This beauty — what Theodore Roosevelt called a “stark beauty” — inspired the team to let the grassland be the centerpiece. The accessible boardwalk loop is designed as if the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt were inviting people into the landscape in the center of the loop, where conservation — of historical documents and the land — will be visible. They also played with perception, providing a series of vistas at different levels, so that visitors can see erosion and other landscape elements. The building invites people up on the building roof, with two sides tucked into the earth and creates a gentle roof, like a butte. 

“We have all spent a lot of time thinking about what Theodore Roosevelt might have wanted this place to become,“ Thibaudeau says. “In many ways, the project is the site. There is a building there, but the building and the site are understood as one thing.”

Grassland reclamation and biodiversity

What “deeply rooted in place” means for biodiversity is a massive planting and native seed collection effort. The site is 93 acres, and the team is working with ecologists and university researchers, including crews from North Dakota State University (NDSU) to collect and grow seeds from the site at a nearby location since these plants are not available at most regional nurseries. The roof portion alone will have 400,000 plantings, and the TRPL staff and partners are helping create a land management approach that naturally eliminates invasive species. The seeds that are being nursed by NDSU will be amplified over time. And the library owns these, so there is even the potential for this to become a seed bank in the future. 

The opportunity for the project to serve in this role came about, Matt McMahon, Snøhetta’s Project Director says, because the team realized early on that the remote setting would make it difficult to find nurseries with the right plants. They began to imagine a nursery tailored to genetically specific Badlands species. 

McMahon notes that the seed collection has expanded to become a driving element — not just as an outcome but as part of the process of deep engagement for the team and the public. Public participation in Seed Collection Days was invited on numerous occasions. This effort also prompted engagement with private and public landowners who have ecologically intact grasslands that have species that the team wants to collect.

“Almost everyone on the design and owner core teams has spent time doing seed collection out in the Badland landscape,” McMahon says. “This connects us all to this project and place in a deep and personal way.”

There have been some interesting and inspiring ripple effects of this effort already. Thibaudeau explains: “We have started native plant restoration work and seed collection from our site and surrounding areas. One of our large benefactors is in the oil industry, and that team has become very excited about the reclamation work. They see potential for how this can translate to the oil field reclamation work beginning in many areas.” As in other arenas, the team aims to become a leader in grassland restoration, proving what can be done by projects with grassland sites. There is talk about finding a co-op partner for a native seed bank in the future. 

Community and stakeholder engagement

As a practice, says Dykers, “Snøhetta brings an open process to our projects, listening to the land, local communities, and stakeholders to inform how design can be tailored to place. Our design process draws upon the stories people and places share, building ownership and consensus and excitement to the community that often emerges around a project.” This is essential to LBC’s Ecology of Place Petal where the Imperative for deep community engagement exists.

The team knew early on that engaging with the community and stakeholders for this project would be important. The owner brought three prospective design teams during the competition to connect with the land and the people of Medora, giving the community access to three finalist teams, setting the stage for continuous community engagement. 

Delk describes this further: “This project is about connecting — connecting physically but also connecting to people.” This has played out in a number of ways. There is a Library Foundation storefront in downtown Medora to serve as a community-facing place where people could share their ideas. “We supplied the library with design materials to help people visiting the store engage in and understand the design, including a large physical model,” she says. “People can remove the roof and see how the site works and how it relates to its neighbors. They can also ask questions and share feedback.”

One of the Snøhetta team’s big moves was to connect tightly with adjacent neighbors and uses, including a restaurant and entertainment venue that have been in place for many years. Their design proposed knitting to those uses, and exploring “how do we share” rather than separating from them.

The library has hosted multiple public meals and engagement sessions. The design team continues to update the community on progress and engages with members of the public about various aspects. A tribal liaison was brought on board at the onset to help represent indigenous groups and engage with them and with the state. As Delk notes: “The owner and the entire team have understood from the start how important it is to make time and space for a range of interactions and feedback.”

Materials: transparency, take-backs, and more

Thibaudeau notes that the team is “deeply engaged” in the supply chain. “If manufacturers don’t have EPDs, we’re asking them to secure them.” Christine says that the team has been working with several manufacturers to encourage take-back programs. “Many of these organizations have such programs in Europe, where shorter distances between building sites and their factories make this easier,” she says. “We’re asking them to think about how they can make this work here, even if their factories are several states away from our site.” More generally, she says, “The project is really urging manufacturers to be more transparent. Some have been very open. Others have pushed back and forfeited their opportunity to participate.”

Low-carbon concrete was another novelty for the area. The ready-mix team — Dickinson Ready Mix — was willing to be innovative and create mixes for this project, and “they’ve gotten national recognition” for this, Beaubien says. The concrete finisher, Winn Concrete, was hesitant at first, because they didn’t have experience with the mix. But they have been very pleased with how the concrete is turning out, she says.

The “hey, I know a guy” school of “Get It Done” is definitely in play on this project, as it is in so many LBC efforts. Beaubien and Carroll both talked about their work to make connections between businesses and individuals to help build the solutions that are needed. “We’re always looking for ways to fill the gaps,” Beaubien says. “We start talking about packaging and what to do with all the elements, and then we find out that ‘someone knows a guy’ who recycles palettes. That’s how the system comes together. In some cases, things won’t fully align for this job, but we will get the ball in motion so that they will be much smoother for the next one.”

Carroll points out that the team’s tireless efforts to connect the dots around recycling, including ongoing work with neighboring communities, may mean that by the time the project opens, the region’s recycling ecosystem will be far more robust than it is today.

Beaubien highlights that another outcome of this invaluable experience has been in establishing processes with the team and gaining a greater understanding of how LBC impacts the overall cost and value of a project. She notes that this will provide immeasurable value to clients considering sustainability certifications and to trade partners with concerns about how these projects will affect their work.

An important ripple effect of this building, the team expects, will be on the visitors themselves. “This landscape can be read,” McMahon says. “We see this as a place to build literacy about what a landscape is and how people can relate to it and exist within it.” Thibaudeau agrees: “We are connecting people to a place,” he says. “We want them to learn about land and stewardship from the place, and take that knowledge home and do something with it.” 

Perhaps the longest-term ripple effect of all may be from the grasslands and the seed collection work, and how they play into biodiversity and species conservation. 

Images © Plomp, courtesy Snøhetta and Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

Living Future is able to support projects like these and share their stories with the world thanks to contributions like yours. Please donate to help us continue to build a living future.

Unison Networks’ Windsor Substation proves the possible—Petal Certification for landscape and infrastructure projects.

Living Building and Petal Certification are often sought by environmental centers and office buildings, but the program is organized for a wide range of building and project types— including industrial and infrastructure buildings and landscapes. Last fall, the New Zealand energy company Unison announced that its Windsor Substation switchroom had become the world’s first landscape and infrastructure project to receive Living Building Challenge 4.0 Petal Certification through the International Living Future Institute. 

The substation is a new structure on an existing substation site in Hastings, New Zealand, that originally targeted Core certification but achieved the Energy Petal. The project forms a new blueprint for sustainable modular design and construction of future substations on Unison’s electricity distribution network that extends to the regions of Hawkes Bay, Rotorua, and Taupō in New Zealand’s North Island. In early 2023, when the region suffered a major cyclone, the substation stayed up and running to provide its community with power during the storm. It was designed and built to reduce its carbon footprint and utilize eco-friendly materials. It harvests its own electricity and captures and stores water.

“We knew we needed to do an upgrade, and we were looking for ways that would be low cost, modular, and sustainable,” said Jason Hartley, Risk Advisor with Unison. “We looked at a range of certification systems and became interested in the Living Building approach, which seemed ambitious and holistic.” 

Aryero Kothroulas, Group Risk and Sustainability Manager with Unison, explained: “A substation is an important building for our business but also for our community. It is critical for resilience. We wanted to show what was possible with this typology. We wanted to create something that can withstand earthquakes, is beautiful, and gives back to the community.”

When Unison engaged Tricia Love Consultants and architect Charissa Snijders, the Living Building framework idea went into high gear. The team started with the idea of aiming for Zero Energy, but soon, the momentum of what was possible grew. “We decided that we could go further,” said Hartley. “We decided to push for Petal certification. We found that the structure of the [LBC] challenge was such that it helped us continue to push the boundaries.” 

We decided to push for Petal certification. We found that the structure of the [LBC] challenge was such that it helped us continue to push the boundaries. 

It was a first, however, for a small utility building — a piece of energy infrastructure — to go through the Living Building process. It was completely new for the team and the standard. “New things can be hard,” said Kothroulas. “Change is often met with some resistance, and we introduced a modular design along with new approaches to energy, water, and materials. The whole team had to help stakeholders and suppliers understand what we were doing, but once they could see what was possible, they got on board because they could see how we could provide more benefits to more people. We could see the project ripple throughout the supplier network and the community.” 

Concrete block construction was the norm for this building type. The team’s desire to use cross-laminated timber (CLT) instead of concrete and other materials presented some specific challenges in procuring FSC wood for their remote region and finding a resin coat that met safety standards and was not on the Red List and contributed to the small embodied carbon footprint that the team was targeting. When they sourced the CLT, no CLT was being produced in New Zealand (they got theirs from Australia), but that has since changed. 

“We began to understand our little project as something that could make a shift in the market,” Kothroulas said. “We have released the design of the building publicly. We want people to understand what we did and how we did it.” The company has had many people touring the project for an up-close look, too. “We are incredibly proud to have shown proof of concept and helped build a market.” And the transformation is not just within the industry and the trades: The Community Day tour and information event was well attended, opening pathways for how members of the public understands buildings and infrastructure in their neighborhoods. 

The ripple effects at Unison are quite evident: The team is already working on other substations and applying what they learned about modular construction, resilience, waste, energy, CLT, and making sure that the designs are supportive to the community. And procurement policies at Unison have shifted, too – these now include specifying FSC wood for power poles, for example. “Achieving Petal Certification opened our eyes and has made us strive even harder for sustainability,” said Hartley.

“Achieving Petal Certification opened our eyes and has made us strive even harder for sustainability,” said Hartley.

For more details about this project and the team, see the ILFI Case Study. You can register to download the blueprints for the project here on the Unison website.

Cover photo courtesy Unison Networks.

Your donation supports community impact

Do you want to be part of making lasting change? Around the world, there is a community of people working towards a living future every day. In ways great and small, they are changing minds, overcoming obstacles, and bringing ambitious projects to life. Individually, they cause ripples that show what’s possible. Collectively, they envision the regenerative future that we all want. Will you join us in this transformative work? Your donation to the International Living Future Institute equips us to assist this community with programs, technical support, events,  education, and more.  Your donation will help us realize the possible together.

The Power of Living Buildings

Environmental learning centers are often built or rebuilt as leading examples of sustainable design and construction. Mission-driven owners are well positioned to fund small buildings that achieve environmental milestones — and are inherently teaching tools. So it was no surprise that Peter Smerud, executive director of Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, one of the largest residential environmental learning centers in the country (and the first accredited as a K-12 school) would want to take this kind of step as the Center upgraded its campus. 

But it would be a leap to the comprehensive, holistic approach and innovations that achieve Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification. And no doubt more costly, especially in remote, forested Finland, Minnesota. Why should a nonprofit reach that far? Smerud had an inkling from early on that this work might mean that campus improvements could become transformative in a far broader way.

“Creating a Living Building is all about the people and teams,” he says. The process took years, and began with work on another campus building, as the team learned about the depth and reach of Living Building Challenge work and embarked on a training and engagement phase with contractors and tradespeople. The web of relationships and the effects of these evolving practices will continue to unfold for years to come. 

We saw that reaching for LBC certification…would be an opportunity to practice our own mission. We saw a chance to sow a transformation with this project.

“The value is immense,” he says. “Donors give because they want to invest in lasting change and be part of a positive future. A Living Building embodies that. The simple fact is that we raised hundreds of thousands of dollars more because we invested in our project as a Living Building.” And the Margaret A. Cargill (MAC) Lodge, a 22,000-square-foot, 188-bed building became the first renovation project in the world to achieve full LBC certification. It was designed by HGA and constructed by Gardner Builders, and this team implemented all seven petals and all 20 imperatives. 

Smerud was in a position to understand the value of building relationships. After all, that is the purpose of the Center: to build a relationship between young people and nature. And he sees how that refracts over time, when adults who spent time at the center in their youth come back and tell him about their work is informed by that experience. “That is the heart of our story,” he notes. “And we saw that reaching for LBC certification — of a renovation and in this harsh climate, too! — would be an opportunity to practice our own mission. We saw a chance to sow a transformation with this project.” 

The Wolf Ridge and HGA teams conducted training workshops for all the contractors and subcontractors. “There is no limit to what you can achieve with the right team in place,” Smerud says, “and we knew that we had to build these relationships before we started this process together. It was brilliant, seeing the electricians and others chiming right in as they learned about the petals, suggesting pathways for circularity, separation of materials, and more.” 

Many people think that the LBC process is incredibly difficult…but ILFI wants to help you get there…Every challenge is a dialogue…ILFI was a partner in this project, not a certifier.

Because Wolf Ridge’s primary audience is children, they decided that children would be allowed on the site every day. “Think of the power of this,” he notes. “Very soon, some of the trades saw the value of what was initially perceived as an inconvenience and unnecessary safety hazard. The kids are learning about all these trades and jobs in real time, and seeing the many hands and people involved in making a building that is part of a positive change in the world. This feature of the project came with a number of behavioral adaptations including no swearing and smoking on site and no single use plastics on site (even in their lunches!). But soon, the carpenters and insulators and their unions were all in.

“So many people think that the LBC process is incredibly difficult,” Smerud says. “But ILFI wants to help you get there. They are open to alternatives. Every challenge is a dialogue. This is the opposite of box-checking. ILFI was a partner in this project, not a certifier. 

Setting aside the warm fuzzies, what about cost? This was a $9 million project. “Given that we would not now build without solar, water conservation, and local labor and lumber, it was a 10% premium for LBC certification,” Smerud says. “Donors give to people they trust who are championing something meaningful that will have lasting value. Because it was an LBC project, both foundations and individuals gave at a higher level than that at which we asked, sometimes many times over. People gave generously, because they saw the value. One donor gift exceeded the LBC premium itself.” But the value is much broader, he says. “The creation of this Living Building project touched thousands of people, and it will touch thousands of young people who stay here while they are on a journey of living and learning with nature. That value is, by any measure, immense.”

Your donation supports community impact

Do you want to be part of making lasting change? Around the world, there is a community of people working towards a living future every day. In ways great and small, they are changing minds, overcoming obstacles, and bringing ambitious projects to life. Individually, they cause ripples that show what’s possible. Collectively, they envision the regenerative future that we all want. Will you join us in this transformative work? Your donation to the International Living Future Institute equips us to assist this community with programs, technical support, events,  education, and more.  Your donation will help us realize the possible together.

Cover photo courtesy of Wolf Ridge.

Could this be the Future of High-Quality Regenerative Housing?

Imagine a housing solution that is not only affordable and prefabricated but also Core Green Building Certified. When you hear these terms, what thoughts and images come to mind? For one of the teams participating in the Affordable Housing Pilot Project by the International Living Future Institute, it signifies an incredible opportunity. Their goal is to offer housing that not only promotes the health and well-being of its occupants but also reduces long-term operating costs for owners and minimizes the impact of construction on local communities. Furthermore, they aim to address the pressing need for resilient and affordable housing in today’s challenging market conditions.

The Hazelwood Community Land Trust Homes project (Hazelwood) is a 25,000 square foot affordable housing project of multiple buildings in Pittsburgh. The team behind this project have set the Institute’s Core Green Building Standard as their target. 

The Institute’s Director of the Buildings Team, Lisa Carey Moore, spent time with Julie Nigro, Senior Real Estate Project Manager at City of Bridges Community Land Trust, and Project Architect Michael Gwin, Principal, Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, to learn more about the Hazelwood project and why affordable + prefabrication + Core could be one path forward for providing high quality regenerative housing.  

At present, you are constructing the first four units, built as two duplexes, that will be situated in an in-fill lot in the Hazelwood neighborhood. While certification is one goal when approaching this particular project, what has been a key objective for both of you?

Julie: As an affordable housing developer, these units must be not only affordable to purchase, but also affordable to live in. City of Bridges works to get parcels transferred from urban redevelopment authorities and oversees all the construction, but ultimately, we help connect buyers to these homes. So the Core Certification Imperatives of energy efficiency and water efficiency help reduce the operating costs for the lower income occupants who will own these units. 

Mike: We saw an opportunity to bring together two organizations with shared goals of creating affordable and sustainable housing. The Community Land Trust in Hazelwood represents a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate high quality and healthy living environments while creating a permanently affordable home ownership program. Through participation in the Institute’s Affordable Housing Program, we came to understand that the goals of Core Certification were within reach.

What’s the future of prefabrication and sustainability in affordable housing?

Mike: Prefabrication is a delivery system with the potential to impact things on a greater scale. By building in a factory, you are ensuring high-quality work due to the controlled environment conditions without rain and weather variations. It also helps timing: you can move more quickly in building the homes, and this can reduce construction costs and time. You can also impact industry standards and methods to drive efficiency in material use and reduce waste. 

Julie: We also tried to think of surrounding community impacts. Modular construction is less disruptive to the community. There’s some site prep work, but then there’s a hole in the ground and within days, a whole house is there. There’s less noise, fewer vehicles, and emissions. We get housing to people who need it, faster. 

How does it impact the design/construction timeline? 

Mike: The early upfront integration is key. It requires a strong relationship between the architect, prefab builder, and owner. In a factory setting they have established standards and materials, and we had to work with them to apply the Core Materials requirements, focusing on the Red List Free Declare products, and we used the Affordable Housing Materials list to guide our work to ensure healthier materials. 

Most materials selections have to be made early and baked into the construction documents–paint, carpet, finishes—because all the work is done in the facility rather than on site. We also had to work with the manufacturer on waste reduction, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood procurement, and targeting as many materials from the local economy as possible. It involves a lot more early planning to ensure the goals can be met at the price needed. 

It sounds like there were many pre-existing relationships going into this project, including the manufacturer of the units. How much did that impact the process?

Julie: Rothschild Doyno Collaborative and Ecocraft were both involved in other Living Building Challenge (LBC) certified projects including projects at the Phipps Conservatory. Phipps has been a leader in this region providing many professionals the opportunity to learn and practice regenerative building principles and then go on to apply them in other projects. These experiences laid the foundation for our work.

Mike: If we hadn’t had steps as a team to build on, it might have been too far out of reach; we would have had to accomplish too many things at once. 

As you begin construction shortly, with an anticipated delivery to site early in the fall, what are some aspects of the project’s design you’re most proud of?

Mike: We are proudest of the ways that through these affordable home designs we were able to address regional and larger scale issues. For example, our region’s air quality is often impaired due to nearby industry. By creating airtight, highly-efficient homes combined with ERVs and filters, we are managing indoor air quality for people exposed to poor air quality outside. 

By using Declare and Living Product Challenge Products, and materials from the Institute’s Affordable Housing Materials list, we’re also ensuring that we’re not introducing harmful chemicals into these homes. I can’t say enough good things about the Institute’s Affordable Housing Program. They provided essential tools and knowledge support in areas that often are barriers to design due to the amount of research and time necessary to accomplish the goals.

Julie: The City of Bridges has long term maintenance and replacement goals. We have a 99-year ground lease on these properties which renews automatically, so there are essentially 200 years of affordability that we are building in these homes. The mechanical equipment and the roof are big ticket items that will need to be replaced by the homeowners. While a metal roof has a higher upfront cost, the long term affordability is worth it because it will last three times as long as asphalt shingles. We’re saving the owners money. We became convinced of the value of this product through Mike’s life cycle work.

Mike: We applied Tally to help evaluate ways to achieve the 20% reduction in primary material embodied carbon over a typical project of this type. We were surprised to find significant savings—both in cost and greenhouse gas potential—over the entire life span of the project between asphalt shingles and the selected metal roof. 

We also saw huge improvements when switching from conventional concrete and CMU foundations to an open air solution that sits the prefab homes on concrete piers and a steel frame. This also provided space below the homes to integrate the on-site storm water infiltration system.  We were also able to evaluate many other material choices to think about long term life cycles and emissions over the life of a project. All in all, the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) work allowed us to make good choices economically and for the environment. 

Julie: Another exciting aspect is that our project served as a catalyst for local makers. Our goal was to integrate as many local products in all of their buildings. For Hazelwood in particular, Monmade worked with some newer artists and really pushed sustainability and recycled materials. These products are funded to get a Declare label. The Green Leap program within Monmade provides mentorship and technical assistance, acting as an incubator. So in addition to healthy materials, the project will feature some cool lighting, tiles, and bath accessories. 

What are you both looking forward to as you think about projects beyond Hazelwood?

Julie: Now we have a template for City of Bridges, and we can modify it as required to reflect the unique aspects of each neighborhood by engaging with each community and assessing their needs. 

Mike: Hopefully this work goes beyond City of Bridges, resulting in transformative change for others to build sustainable communities. It will be an even greater success if this work provides examples on how to create high-quality healthy living environments within reach for everyone. From materials that last longer, to lower long-term maintenance and lower utility bills, every part adds up to create more sustainable communities. 

In closing, what is the value of the Institute’s certifications and labels to your work?

Julie: I like to think that the aspirational goals helped a lot. There’s an affordable housing crisis in Pittsburgh. The City has awful air quality. After the last few years and with all the extreme weather, people are now recognizing the intersection of improving healthy living and creating affordable housing in neighborhoods that have been systemically underinvested in. Having the certification goals that addressed so many issues likely attracted a lot of funders to the project. 

While there’s a premium on FSC wood and healthy materials (primarily in soft costs), it’s up to City of Bridges to make the case that this is a quality of life issue that these homes are going to help address. In the future, we need to do better at reporting back about how homeowners are doing so we can clearly demonstrate how the investment results in healthier outcomes and provides affordability to people over time.

Mike: We have the template. While every site and community brings new challenges, we believe we can build more of these, and we can stretch to achieve more parameters of the LBC program in the pursuit of even more affordable living environments.

Hazelwood Material Highlights

The Core requirements require the project team to use a minimum of 2 Declare labeled products.  The team included 11 products that are either Red List Free or Red List approved. You can find products listed below using the Institute’s Declare database. 

• Forbo marmoleum
• Owens Corning – Pro-Pink Next Generation insulation
• Silestone countertops
• Daltile
• Solitex – weather barrier
• USG sheet rock – Ecosmart

The project also has sourced a large number of the building materials regionally between PA and OH.

• Lumber – FSC Lumber, UFP Industries, Gordon, PA facility
• Insulation – Owens Corning fiberglass insulation, manufactured in Ohio 
• Drywall – USG Drywall, manufactured in Aliquippa, PA
• Exterior Foam – Halo Exterra, manufactured in Beach City, OH
• Windows – Ventana, manufactured in the Westmoreland Industrial Park near Greensburg, PA
• Exterior doors – Therma Tru doors assembled at Ben-Bilt/Woodgrain in Greensburg, PA.  The actual door slabs from Therma Tru are manufactured in Butler, IN, which is within 330 miles of the site.
• Kitchen cabinets – Wolf Designer cabinets are manufactured in York, PA.
• Vanity tops  – North Coast Cultured vanity tops are manufactured in Bridgeville, PA.

The project has been an excellent catalyst for the local maker and sustainable product design community in Pittsburgh. As Julie mentioned, four of these local products now have Declare labels:

• Bike racks / railings / planters – Industrial Arts Workshop – local maker and youth job training program in the same community of Hazelwood
• Reilluminate Pendant Glass Shade by Spacapan
• Light fixtures – Studio Glass Company
• Acrylic Light Lines Shade by Jessica Alpern Brown
• House numbers / mailboxes – Bones+All
• Backsplash tiles – Modesto
• Hardware Collection by Tenderwerks
• Steel Plant Holder by Safran Everyday
• Custom Screens – Standard and Custom

Inspired to explore how your affordable housing project can incorporate healthier materials and reduced long-term operating costs for tenants? 

All photos courtesy of archimania.

Last May,  ILFI was thrilled to share that archimania’s office achieved dual Zero Energy and Zero Carbon certification. Jacob Davis, AIA, LEED AP, and Senior Associate with archimania explains their project’s approach to addressing carbon, both in their building and the community at large:

“By upcycling the existing concrete and terrazzo floor, steel structure, and exterior masonry, while incorporating new materials with high recycled content and/or locally sourced, we were able to reduce the embodied carbon by 67% from a conventional new build. By reducing the operational energy demand with a geothermal HVAC system, lighting controls, and daylight harvesting, the 50kW rooftop solar array more than offset the power demand. Collectively, archimania’s investment in energy-saving strategies has produced a net return on investment in less than 10 years – defying conventional developer logic. As we look ahead, the research-driven process and data being produced provide insight into how sustainable strategies can be scaled across a wide range of building sizes and typologies in both existing and new construction. We are currently expanding our case study and proof-of-concept to understand the impact that these results could have along a 2-mile “Carbon Neutral Corridor,” with a projected impact equal to removing 8,000 cars off the street annually or powering 4,000 homes each year.” 

In a video about the project, we’re reminded that “in order to meet 2050 emissions target, 75% of the existing building stock, or 54 billion square feet, needs to be renovated and retrofitted.” ILFI currently has over 20 million square feet of project space pursuing Zero Carbon certification, so we’re looking for many more partners in this effort. For some strategies to address embodied carbon in your next project, see Inonge Mubita’s piece in this month’s trim tab. Contact sales@living-future.org for more information on our programs and commit to taking action to address carbon emissions in your next project by pursuing ZC, Core or Living Building Challenge certification. Visit Declare to see the new generation of labels that include embodied carbon information so that you can select the best products for health and carbon. To see the other projects that were recently certified at our annual Living Future event, visit our May trimtab.

After more than a decade working as a sustainability consultant specializing in materials, Lisa Carey Moore joined ILFI in August 2021 as its Manager, Products and Materials. In her first article for Trim Tab, she shares some recent sources of inspiration, and the reflection they caused, with the hope that it will provide you with the spark to recommit to your essential work around materials.

The Living Building Challenge’s Materials Petal is often cited as being the most daunting of the Living Building Petals, but the work done to achieve it is impactful far beyond the project’s boundary. Every product specified has a bearing on environmental, human health and community well-being. Each conversation with an ingredient supplier, every search for alternate solutions with subcontractors, and adjustments made to an interior palette have reverberations within the wider movement of practitioners, advocacy organizations, and policymakers who are working to create better products.

As someone who has spent considerable time over the last decade collaborating with manufacturers and project teams to find optimized materials (optimized by chemistry, emissions, responsible sourcing, and embodied carbon) for Living Building Challenge projects, it has been important to me to connect with other sectors to understand the work they’re doing to make a difference. At the very least, I learn new things, and at best, I recognize how my work can contribute to better outcomes. This insight fuels me to carry on.

It’s About Much More Than Cosmetics

In early October of 2021, a comprehensive safer beauty bill package was released to the U.S. House of Representatives. There are many aspects of each bill that are important, but the one that might be of particular interest to our Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) community is The Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act of 2021. Why? It is the first piece of U.S. federal legislation around chemicals in products to codify the requirement for transparency in the supply chain, while leveraging financial penalties on up-stream suppliers if they don’t provide this information. According to supporters, if passed, the legislation will mandate that suppliers provide brand owners with ingredients, toxicity information, safety data, and certificates of analysis allowing brand owners access to information they need to make safer beauty and personal care products. This bill was created by a broad coalition of beauty product manufacturers and non-government organizations (NGO), and at a moment when supply chain challenges have become salient, some supporters are optimistic that it will find fertile ground in the U.S. Congress. For those working within ILFI’s programs, you’ll recognize that transparency, one of our guiding principles, is at the heart of this bill’s power. Even though it will have a long journey to become law, it already serves as an important example of national interest in supply chain transparency to achieve reduced toxicity—an example that both project teams and manufacturers can point to. Since supply chains for cosmetics and personal care products are global, this could provide leverage to AEC practitioners worldwide in their work with manufacturers to get transparency, and could help manufacturers working to get ingredient information from their supply chains, as well.

It’s a Time When Regulators Are Stepping Up

Pivoting to the European Union (EU) for inspiration, I’ve heard from those working on specifying and making products in the EU member states that polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been in the news a lot. One point of discussion is the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, adopted by the EU on 14 October 2020, as part of The European Green Deal. This framework offers provisions to restrict chemicals that exhibit any chronic toxicity (carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction), including substances which are persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic in consumer products, unless the use is essential. For instance, PFAS materials used in medical devices might be categorized as essential, whereas their use as a non-stick cooking surface might not be. The word “essential” is now at the crux of debates well beyond the EU.

Already, there are advocates in the U.S. who are growing wary of this term. Rather than essential, they think we need to focus on products where we know we can completely avoid PFAS, first, and then figure out how to address the use of these chemicals in product types where it’s “currently unavoidable” due to technological limitations. As Sarah Doll, National Director of Safer States explained to me recently, semantics are important, as currently unavoidable acknowledges a time bound limitation. Since there’s strong scientific evidence that we need to eliminate the flow of PFAS into the environment, it’s important to keep the focus on moving toward healthier chemical alternatives. ChemSec (the International Chemical Secretariat) is an independent NGO that advocates for the transition from toxic chemicals to safer alternatives, and they note that since launching their PFAS Movement in 2020, there are already fifty companies who have joined the initiative, and already 46% say that they have eliminated PFAS in all products.

As the publication of the Green Science Policy Institute’s report on PFAS in building products, Building a Better World: Eliminating Unnecessary PFAS in Building Materials, highlighted earlier this year, the challenges posed by the PFAS class of chemicals fall squarely in the AEC realm, as this family of chemicals is ubiquitous in everything from roofing materials, to paints and coatings, and used components in our energy and water systems. A draft report from ChemSec that should be released by year’s end shows similar findings. While unsettling, the timing of these reports couldn’t be better, as significant action around PFAS is happening globally. For instance, back in the U.S., the state of Maine has passed some of the most comprehensive legislation found anywhere. The law regulates PFAS in all products, prohibits the sale of new items containing intentionally added PFAS beginning in 2023 (starting with carpets, rugs and fabric treatments), and requires ingredient data from manufacturers to be submitted to a central registry so that future product types can be added. In addition to Maine, there are dozens of states who have passed, or are considering legislation around this chemical class, and in a variety of ways. Notably, Michigan took the interesting approach of tackling the problem via procurement, with a state directive that mandates their agencies give preference to suppliers who offer products that are PFAS free. As states continue to pass legislation regulating this class, U.S. and global manufacturers who provide products to these markets will need to take notice. This, coupled with increased scrutiny of the chemical class by other countries around the world, should help project teams as they work to avoid PFAS in building materials. In ILFI’s ecosystem, our Declare manufacturers received correspondence from us about this class in February 2021 when ILFI added 4,870 chemical abstract numbers—essentially the entire class of PFAS and Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) chemicals—to its Priority Watch List. ILFI is currently engaged with a volunteer group of outside experts to help with the next iteration of the Red List due out in January of 2022 to ensure it reflects best practices in chemical management.

It’s a Time to Celebrate, and Reflect

The final source of inspiration I want to share is courtesy of the Burwood Brickworks project, a retail center owned by Fraser’s Property in Wurundjeri Country, Burwood East, VIC, Australia that achieved LBC Petal certification (Place, Health & Happiness, Materials, and Beauty Petals) in spring of 2021. To magnify the impact of their materials work on the largest LBC certified project in Australia to date, the project team virtually launched their Greensheet tool in September 2021, billing it as “Australia’s first full publicly-shared list of building materials.” Their materials effort was led by Stephen Choi, whose team of researchers collaborated with 40 tenants to identify and select products for a diverse variety of businesses including restaurants, a medical center, cinema and a supermarket. As the project’s promotional materials note, “More was asked of retailers at Burwood Brickworks than retail tenants had ever been asked before.” As I watched the launch, I thought, “Hooray for the tenants who made the commitment!” and “Good for the owner to bring them all on board!” The Greensheet currently lists more than 1,400 building materials used on the project, and it will be updated as new products are added to the project in the future. An important element of the tool is that it is transparent about the fact that LBC projects may contain products that are sub-optimal because the Materials Petal goals are aspirational, and the market can’t yet deliver. This is useful, as it helps other project teams and manufacturers realize ILFI’s approach is not “all or nothing.” Understanding the products and product categories where Red List chemicals are still used highlights areas for research, development and product innovation to find better alternatives.

Altogether, Burwood Brickworks has provided a fantastic example of how our LBC projects keep on “living” by spurring critical market transformation beyond the project’s completion, and well beyond the site boundary. Sharing our experiences can benefit project teams, as well as those advocating for better policies for safer products, transparency requirements, or even for new codes around energy and water technologies. So, as I start my journey at ILFI, here’s to thinking about how we can share our successes, as well as the lessons we learn, in meaningful ways, and to being open to inspiration outside of the typical work we do.

If you have ideas and stories to share around materials, please reach out to Lisa if you have ideas and stories to share around materials at lisa.careymoore@living-future.org.