As Joni Mitchell sang, they “paved paradise and put up a parking lot”—but who said that parking lots couldn’t have redeeming qualities? Thanks to a new tool, we're creating a more sustainable alternative. Read More +
THEMES
SUSTAINABILITY
We actively prioritize environmental, economical, and societal sustainability in all our work and support the design industry’s efforts to do the same. Every project is an opportunity to pioneer regenerative technologies, foster systems of healing, and invest in the fabric of a community. By sharing our research and resources, we are leading a dialog on how to positively transform the planet. We invite you to join the discussion.
Paved Paradise? Reclaiming Nature with Park*ing Gardens
Why Don’t More Chicagoans Bike To Work?
Chicago is the United States' third most populous city, yet it ranks 13th in terms of people who bike to work. How can we encourage more people to adopt this healthy, environmentally sensitive mode of transportation? Read More +
Discovering Urban Nature: The Ecological Story Behind Riverline
Chicago's Riverline has been spoken about at length from an architectural and housing perspective, but what will make the development even more impactful is its ecological story. Read More +
Building a Resilient City Through Design and Analytics
Imagine a city covered in green. This fantasy may be closer to reality than you think thanks to ecological and economic benefits of a comprehensive green roof system. By the numbers, we look at Chicago as a case-in-point. Read More +
Designing for Change: Resilience Planning in Lynn
A design studio at Boston Architectural College is helping shape the discourse around the way coastal cities like Lynn, Massachusetts cope with the deleterious effects of climate change. Read More +
When in Drought: A Front Lawn Experiment
Live your values and tear up your front lawn. For one landscape architect, these two ideas came together in an experiment seeking to understand how drought-tolerant plantings can help cut down on water that would otherwise be wasted on keeping traditional sod verdant. Read More +
A (Wood-clad) Natural History for Minnesota
The new Bell Museum + Planetarium will teach the history of Minnesota on every level - through landscape, exhibition design, even in the details of the building's facade. Read More +
Material Performance in the Service of Sustainability: Minafold Pavilion
Too often in the design profession, sustainability is treated like a check-list one must to go through in order to satisfy a certain quota to ‘green-wash’ a project, resulting in dull sustainability ‘solutions’ and even duller buildings and forms. But what if we could re-evaluate the way we apply technology to traditional materials, discover ways to maximize performance to achieve minimal waste and design a new construction methodology along the way? Read More +
Resilience and the Possibilities of Positive Change
Designers have an opportunity to help move the public conversation around resilience away from doom and gloom, and refocus it on the possibilities for positive change in our communities. Read More +
Aftershock: How Design Mitigates Environmental Stressors
The relationship between environmental risk factors, stress, and interior design may be closer than you think. How can designers play a lead role in helping building occupants feel both safer and calmer in the face of more frequently occurring climate events? Read More +