As the Manager, Buildings on ILFI’s Impact Group, Giovanna engages and supports project teams interested in or pursuing our building certifications–including The Living Building Challenge, Core Green Building Certification, Zero Carbon, and Zero Energy. She also gathers insights from ongoing projects to generate new ideas for the development of tools and resources that can be used both internally, as well as throughout ILFI platforms.

Our Buildings Team is excited to announce that our latest—and one of our most audacious tools—is now live! We created an interactive project map for projects teams, students, and any and all who are curious to explore how our certification programs empower projects to creatively and innovatively achieve their greatest performance.

The Buildings Team is part of Living Future’s Impact Group, whose mission is to “support the organization by inspiring, coaching, and celebrating our community through their pursuit of our labels and certifications”. Three teams are part of the Group: The Materials Team, in charge of our Declare and Living Product Challenge marketplace; the Just Team, in charge of our Just Labels that focus on organizational equity; and finally, the Buildings Team, in charge of our Building Certifications throughout the whole lifecycle of the building certification process. 

When I joined the Buildings Team in May, I was thrilled for the mission ahead: to guide our existing and prospective project teams in uncovering all of the benefits our certifications have to offer, to support them in determining the best certification pathways to achieve their project’s vision, and finally, to assist them in registering their projects for their chosen program so they can kick off development alongside one of our coaches. 

The Impact Group is always tinkering with engaging ways to capture, measure, and disseminate information about the impact of our projects. One of our goals is to make data as widely available as possible as a way to facilitate connections in our community. Some teams are seasoned stewards of our programs and have led a project from inception to certification many times over, while others are embarking on their very first certification journey. We know that to inspire the growth of the regenerative building movement, we must serve as the platform raising the voices of teams doing incredible work across the globe—empowering and celebrating them in sharing their knowledge to showcase that the design of truly regenerative buildings is challenging but worthwhile.

The inspiration for the creation of an interactive project map came from listening intently to the questions we receive from our project teams. By collecting data on our most frequent inquiries, we found our number one most asked question is: How many certified/registered (insert certification program) projects do you have in (insert region)? Its counterpart being the question of whether or not we have a building that has achieved (insert certification program) in (insert region).

Answers to these questions are vital to the success of projects, because effectively answering them empowers project teams to identify the strongest precedents to inform their design work. A map allows teams to navigate that information with ease; to tap into existing networks in their cities, states, and countries; and to collaborate in the creation of new opportunities where gaps are identified. It takes our existing internal databases and turns them into an open source experience for all to enjoy. 

To build this map, I analyzed our projects one-by-one to verify the latest and most comprehensive data and information was captured. I built upon our existing case studies to highlight the vital stats for each project and display them front and center for easy cross referencing. Each marker on the map represents a project that, when clicked, expands into a pop-up window featuring the project’s address, photo, square footage, occupancy type, amongst other details. The search bar has filtering capabilities. By searching for a location (city, state, etc.), typology, certification path, or completion year, the search bar narrows the list view to display only projects that meet those characteristics. The map is powered by Google, giving users the ability to drop Pegman at the project address enabling street view – a way to virtually visit the project!

We gathered some powerful statistics analyzing our data. In total, we have:

  • 250 + Certified Buildings
  • 500 + Registered Buildings
  • 50 million + square feet of gross building area in Registered and Certified Buildings.

Over the past two years, I lived in a school bus I converted into a tiny house on wheels. I crossed the United States of America, coast to coast, many times. Needless to say, I am passionate about maps! When visioning our map, one goal was to set a trajectory in which I could visit as many certified projects as possible and I figured, if I was going to learn each project’s location, I should share my findings with others so they could set their own touring routes. 

Whether a region has an abundance of certified and registered projects—or a complete absence of them—each offers insights about the next frontiers of architecture and design for environmental and social justice. Seeing what has been done, and imagining what can be done, is equally powerful. So this is an invitation for everybody who comes into contact with this map: what are the regions without Living Buildings, and can we be the first ones to pioneer that expansion? How can we set the roadmap to Net Zero Buildings toward decarbonization? And, from whom can we learn? This map is an evolving tool, and we welcome feedback and suggestions as we continue to make progress, upgrades, and add new features. We want it to empower you! 

As a next step, we will be sending out an email to all registered projects (all 500+ of them!) to get their written permission to feature their project on the map—since, typically, project information isn’t made public until certification is complete. Until then, the registered projects will remain anonymous. If you have a registered project and would like to give us permission to be featured, please reach out to us at maps@living-future.org!
I am excited to add new markers as more projects join our program, and I am inspired by the work of our current project teams – and I hope this map does the same for you! If you have a project in mind that could be a candidate for certification, let’s discuss it! A prosperous future for regenerative buildings is ahead of us. Without further ado, you can visit our Certified and Registered Projects Map Here!

Written By

Giovanna Araujo