2018 Living Building Challenge Heroes

Last year I had the pleasure to introduce our 2018 Living Building Challenge Heroes. In case you missed the event last year, here are seven spectacular individuals leading the way to a Living Future and each of their calls to action.

Anjanette Green

Anjanette has 17+ years of experience in Architecture and Design, advising on single and multi-attribute building and material certification projects across the globe.  As a materials analyst, Living Product Assessor and Declare third-party verifier for the International Living Future Institute, Anjanette is among an elite group of experts working to bring healthier products to market.

Anjanette has worked tirelessly with a wide spectrum of manufacturers assessing ingredients in supply chains and advocating for the removal of chemicals of concern that contribute to poor health and unhealthy air quality.

Anjanette’s call to action: “Never underestimate your power as an individual.  From the smallest gesture to the grandest of achievements, both have the power to change the course of the world.”

Paolo Bevilacqua

Paolo Bevilacqua is General Manager – Sustainability & Real Utilities at Frasers Property Australia. He has over 15 years’ experience in the property industry and is one of the country’s leading sustainability professionals, responsible for delivering cutting-edge sustainability solutions to many high profile projects across various sectors.

Paolo is Chair of the Living Future Institute of Australia, and a member of the Green Building Council of Australia’s Steering Committee and the Property Council of Australia’s National Sustainability Roundtable.

Paolo’s call to action: “Stop focusing on what could go wrong – focus on what could go right.”

Eileen Quigley

Eileen Quigley is currently the sustainability operations Director at WeWork. As the former manager for NRDC’s entire real estate portfolio, when the organization’s offices need to be renovated, she manages the design and construction process, ensuring that the most aggressive environmental goals are met. As a result, three of NRDC’s spaces are Living Building Challenge Petal Certified and all its major offices have LEED certifications under the Commercial Interiors category.

With degrees in civil engineering and sustainability management, Eileen approaches all sustainability challenges both systematically and holistically.

Eileen’s call to action: “Build community. Creating positive relationships and sharing resources are huge leaps towards reducing impact on the planet.”

Kenner Kingston

Kenner Kingston is an architect and the President of Architectural Nexus, a practice reaching throughout the western United States. Kenner believes that architecture is about reestablishing the harmonious relationship between people and the natural environment.

By blending architecture and social science he has led the effort on several of the region’s most sustainable projects including Arch|Nexus SAC, California’s first fully certified Living Building.

Kenner’s call to action: “Live your values! Don’t outsource your values to your clients. Walk your talk and do for your own office what you do for others.”

Martin Brown

Martin Brown is an innovative sustainability ‘provocateur’, advocate and business improvement consultant with his Fairsnape practice,based in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire UK. Building on his 45 years of UK and overseas experience in project management, business improvement and sustainability he now supports many leading organisations and practices.

From understanding climate change, reconnecting with nature, rethinking carbon management and the materials we use in our buildings, Martin acknowledges we can all imagine better and provokes improvement.

Martin’s call to action: “We no longer have the luxury of being only less bad – we can, we must #imaginebetter”

Stephen Choi

Stephen Choi’s work has included the development of global environmental assessment methods, designing and managing building projects, being one of Australia’s two Living Building Challenge auditors, and embedding sustainable development into educational curriculum. Several of his projects – both private and public sector – have been recognised in the industry for progressing “green building”.

Stephen co-founded non-profit architecture practice Architecture for Change in 2011, which has focused on an integrated approach to create buildings that respect and respond to the environment and context within which they exist as well as being user-friendly and inspiring.

Stephen’s call to action: “What are you going to do when no one else is watching?”

Nori Catabay

Nori Catabay leads the internal King County Green Building Team in King County Washington. She provides green building technical assistance and training to County capital projects and manages the King County Sustainable Infrastructure Scorecard. Nori led the County’s Green Building Ordinance renewal adding the Living Building Challenge to King County Code as an alternative to the Scorecard or LEED Platinum requirement, and a LBC demonstration ordinance for voluntary LBC efforts in the unincorporated areas.

Nori has 18 years of experience in government implementing public policies on a local and state level and is an avid steward of the Pacific Northwest environment.

Nori’s call to action: “Set performance targets to achieve equity and social justice goals that reflect priorities from underrepresented communities. Integrate those in the next LBC version.”

Join ILFI and these seven visionary individuals during the Big Bang Dinner, where we will announce our 2019 Living Building Challenge Heroes. unconference.living-future.org