Posts Tagged ‘Living Building Challenge’

Over the past 11 years, thanks to the transformative work of committed groups of owners, developers, and design and construction professionals, the Living Building Challenge has catalyzed regional change with each and every new project. As more and more visitors to certified projects are exposed to the concept and reality of regenerative design, the volume of inquiries ILFI staff receives…

This is an excerpt from Juliet Grable’s Brock Environmental Center for a Living Chesapeake. DESIGNING WITH NATURE The Living Building Challenge Standard mandates the incorporation of biophilic elements into the design of buildings in order to nurture the innate human attraction to natural systems and processes. The ILFI considers this natural connection essential to physical health and mental well-being. Much…

Every so often, a project comes along that perfectly aligns craftsmanship, unique customization, and LightArt’s passion for sustainable products. The Seattle-based lighting company had an opportunity to tackle that project early in 2017. The ILFI approached LightArt with a challenge to build a light fixture that mimicked the Institute’s orange flower logo. They also requested that the chandelier comply with…

As the tenth building in the world to achieve full Living Building Challenge certification, the Brock Environmental Center continues to draw attention for its sustainable, resilient design. The center has been named among the Top 10 recipients of the American Institute of Architects COTE (Committee on the Environment) Award in 2017. The Center is also the subject of the Living…

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and the International Living Future Institute (IFLI) released a new guidance document to streamline certification efforts for projects pursuing both Green Star and Living Building Challenge ratings. This follows a commitment by the two organisations in 2016 to work collaboratively to promote the design, construction and operations of positive and restorative buildings in…

Built on the values and principles of sustainability, forty years ago Dave Miller and Bob Hull founded a firm that has led the way in creating architecture that responds to and respects its natural surroundings. The Miller Hull Partnership continues this founding tradition as they are involved with a number of Living Buildings that push the boundary of efficiency, including…

When you walk through a forest, whether it’s a deciduous forest shedding its leaves on a colorful fall day, or in a eucalyptus forest in the midst of summer, where the smell of peeling bark is clearing your sinuses, it is not just your visual senses that are alive. Smell, sound, and the texture of what is underfoot are part…

Introduction and conclusion written by Sunni Wissmer, ILFI’s Volunteer Network Coordinator. For many of us, working toward a more sustainable future is an act of love. Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educator and activist, once said “love is an act of courage”. As I  work with our network of global volunteers, I have the privilege of witnessing many small acts of…

The following in an excerpt from The Living Building Challenge: Roots and Rise of the World’s Greenest Standard: Beavers, bees, bears, eagles, ants, termites, spiders, rabbits, snakes, coral, and a vast range of other animals build homes for themselves and their progeny. These shelters often have profound effects on the surrounding environment. Humans, however, are in a whole different league….

Your confusion might be excused if you stumbled one morning last August into a conference room on the Georgia Tech campus. More than 50 people sat at eight tables. Most wore casual business attire. Almost all were design or construction professionals, planning the landmark Living Building at Georgia Tech. The unusual thing was that some participants were scrutinizing sticks, bones,…

For those who have visited Miami Beach you most likely arrived by driving over one of the several causeways that that rise up from the mainland of Miami and as you descended on this beautiful barrier island you noticed the rise of tall condo buildings crowding out to the beaches. The City of Miami Beach is a 12-mile-long island at…

The Desert Rain House located in Bend, Oregon, has become the first residential compound to earn Living Building certification, the most ambitious and optimistic international standard of sustainability in the world. Developed by the International Living Future Institute, the Living Building Challenge certification requires actual, rather than modeled or anticipated, performance across environmental, social and community impact. Therefore, projects must…

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) announced today that Jonathan Lash, president of Hampshire College and an internationally recognized sustainability leader, will join the ILFI’s Board of Directors.  Under Lash’s leadership, Hampshire’s newly constructed 17,000 square foot R.W. Kern Center is pursuing certification as a Living Building, a major part of the college’s broad initiative to transform its campus into…

A triumvirate team of Developer/Sustainability-Consultant, Architect, and General Contractor engaged in creating a standard plan prototype house for infill lots in downtown Phoenix. The three main goals were to: Create a prototype house inspired by the “case-study” homes of the 1960’s, designed with time and place in mind, and to the highest standard of sustainability possible. Create a low- to mid-cost home with…

The Living Community Challenge (LCC) calls upon planners, developers, policy-makers and community members to rethink how they design, build and plan for community-scale projects, including streets, blocks, neighborhoods, campuses and more. The LCC provides a vision and framework that can lead a community towards the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment. Early October marked the launch of…

In May 2009, San Juan County Building Department issued Final Occupancy Permits for Common Ground, Lopez Community Land Trust’s fourth affordable housing neighborhood and their first net-zero energy neighborhood in the state of Washington. Common Ground consists of 11 single-family affordable homes. Additionally, LCLT built an office and two affordable rental units. The 11 homes are under a cooperative ownership…