Living Future

Learn how the Just 3.0 Label can help your organization advance equity, track performance, and build a culture of transparency. Join our virtual webinar "AEC Social Justice Transparency: An Introduction to the JUST 3.0 Label" on June 16th from 11am-12pm! Hear directly from Griso Barrios, MSW at Living Future, and our Living Future Community Co-Chairs DiAnn Tufts, CPHC, LFA, LEED AP at PCA and Kena David at Consigli Construction Co., Inc., as they share how the Just 3.0 Label can drive fair and meaningful change in your organization. Want to continue the conversation and connect with the community even more? Join us at the Just Celebration for an evening to connect with organizations and professionals leading the way in transparency, equity, diversity, and justice! Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eZDUG8bR

We’re proud to share the release of Creating a Business Case for Regenerative Design — a new collaborative publication by Living Future Europe and Ramboll exploring how regenerative approaches in the built environment can generate measurable financial, social, human, and ecological value. Drawing on practitioner insight and international case studies including the Bullitt Center, Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, Prologis DC4, PAE Living Building, and the Santa Monica City Services Building, the report examines how regenerative design can: • reduce operational and lifecycle costs • strengthen resilience and future-proof assets • improve occupant well-being and productivity • support biodiversity and ecosystem health • create long-term value beyond conventional sustainability metrics Developed through a collaborative research initiative graciously funded by the Ramboll Foundation, the publication introduces a framework centred around five interconnected value lenses: • Financial Value Creation • Financial Value Protection • Social Value Creation • Human Value Creation • Nature Value Creation A huge thank you to everyone involved in the development of this work, including the authors and collaborators: Living Future Europe, Ramboll, Rambøll Fonden / Ramboll Foundation, Living Future, Carlo Battisti, Ann Vanner, Rebecca Dillon-Robinson, Brogan MacDonald, and Jonathan MARTINS. Additional thanks to the featured case study organisations and contributors including PAE Engineers, Prologis, Georgia Institute of Technology, Bullitt Foundation, and the City of Santa Monica. This publication aims to support investors, developers, public authorities, designers, and project teams in translating regenerative ambition into decision-relevant and investable outcomes. Read the publication here: https://loom.ly/cWmCkuw Please share with colleagues working across regenerative development, sustainability, finance, planning, architecture, and the built environment. #RegenerativeDesign #BuiltEnvironment #Sustainability #ClimateResilience #LivingBuildingChallenge #UrbanDevelopment #Architecture #RealEstate #NetPositive #CircularEconomy #Biodiversity #ESG

Next week, Living Future Oceania is going live (during a North America-friendly time!) with an inside look at two award-winning #BiophilicDesign projects. Caroline Pidcock LFRAIA GAICD and Dr Matthias Irger will share what it takes to create spaces that truly connect people to place, and what made their projects stand out. We'd love for you to join us. Register below. Thu May 21, 3pm PT / 6pm ET Fri May 22, 8am AEST

We’re excited to share a new book: The Living Museum: Celebrating Nature & Modeling Resilience at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens In an era defined by climate uncertainty, this is a story grounded not in theory but in built reality. Set on a vulnerable stretch of bayfront land in Sarasota, Florida, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is the only botanical garden in the world dedicated to epiphytes - plants that thrive through relationship rather than extraction. That ecological ethos becomes the foundation for something much larger. The Living Museum traces the Gardens’ evolution from a beloved local institution into a global model for regenerative design and resilience. Faced with rising seas, intensifying storms, and aging infrastructure, the organization chose not incremental change, but bold reinvention. Guided by the Living Building Challenge, a diverse team of designers, scientists, and community members set out to create a campus that gives more than it takes, restoring ecosystems, educating visitors, and demonstrating what’s possible. The journey wasn’t easy. Public opposition, regulatory hurdles, tropical storms, and redesigns tested the vision at every turn. But those constraints ultimately led to stronger, more elegant solutions. And when major storms arrived, the results spoke for themselves: resilience is something we can design, build, and live. This book is ultimately about more than a place. It’s about leadership, stewardship, and the role institutions can play in shaping a regenerative future. For anyone looking for grounded optimism and a roadmap forward, we hope the story about designing with nature in mind offers both. OVERLAND Partners, OLIN, One80 Solar, Arup, Kimley-Horn, Lam Partners, Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc., Living Future, Martin Aquatic Author, Juliet Grable, Designer, Johanna Björk, Ecotone Editor-in-Chief, Michael D. Berrisford, LFA #TheLivingMuseum #LivingFuture #MarieSelbyBotanicalGardens #RegenerativeDesign #BiophilicDesign #LivingBuildingChallenge #SustainableArchitecture #ClimateResponsiveDesign #DesignForResilience #ClimateResilience #NetPositive #NatureBasedSolutions

To support our broader vision for a more holistic materials program, we’re advancing a new technology platform for Declare, launching in early Q3. We’re excited to partner with Geofund to host this next-generation system – purpose-built for Declare and our community – featuring streamlined workflows, strong data interoperability, and a flexible architecture that will continue to evolve with the program. Interested in learning more? 👉 Join our webinar on May 6 at 2:00 pm ET where we’ll walk through what’s changing, what to expect, and how this transition will shape your experience. https://lnkd.in/eTUd-7sP A huge thank you to Sustainability Management & Strategy Collaborative – along with its divisions Parallel Sustainability and Verico – for its financial support and thoughtful partnership in bringing this platform to life. We’re grateful for the collaboration, which has been instrumental in moving this vision forward. And to our broader community of partners and manufacturers – we’re excited to keep building what’s next, together. #LivingFuture #Declare #LivingProductChallenge #MaterialsTransparency #RegenerativeMaterials

We all want clean air and healthy learning environments for our children. Unfortunately, many of the building materials we've come to rely on can have severe health consequences, especially for young and developing bodies and minds. Safer alternatives exist but we receive no guidance on how to navigate the risks and find better options. This one hour webinar is here to change that! Join Women for a Healthy Environment and Living Future for a practical, beginner-friendly introduction to material health in school settings. We'll skip the jargon and focus on the basic knowledge and tools you need to start making healthier choices while still weighing performance and budget considerations.     What you'll learn:    * How building materials impact human health  * Specific chemicals of concern and problematic materials to avoid   * Labels and certifications to look for when buying building products, as well as databases and other online tools you can use to grow your knowledge  We will also do a few "deep dives" into common product categories: ceiling panels, paints, resilient flooring, and wallboard. About the Speaker: Ava Calvano is Buildings Manager at Living Future, where she guides design teams and property owners through Living Building Challenge, Zero Carbon, and Zero Energy Certification. She previously developed courses and webinars for the Education Team, including curriculum for Living Future Accreditation. Ava brings four years of green building consulting experience in the Baltimore-Washington area and holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and M.S. in Sustainable Engineering from Villanova University.   Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g2nmdJuu

At Living Future 26 in Seattle, amid the amazing array of sessions, the brilliant fire-alarm-resilient words from Living Future's CEO, Lindsay Baker, encounters with many movement leaders from all over the U.S. and beyond, there was a recognition moment that I will not soon forget. I was touched to see lifetime achievement recognition bestowed upon Pliny Fisk III, and to hear his work with Gail Vittori and the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems celebrated so beautifully. This is close to my heart for a range of reasons. I was an editor at Metropolis Magazine in the '90s and helped to chronicle their good work (under the direction of Susan S. Szenasy and alongside Janet Rumble and David Brown, who went to Texas for one of the early big stories about the Center, affectionately known as Max Pot). I got to know Gail (whose voice was central in Women in Green) and Pliny later on and have stayed in touch over the years, vising numerous times (and enjoying the moment of discovery when architects and others reveal that they spent time learning there). Thank you, Living Future, for honoring Pliny in this way. Here's a video of the recognition segment, which include a video and also quoted Szenasy about Pliny: https://lnkd.in/gdeRsqkZ Here's a snippet of what Pliny told Susan for a Q&A in 2011: "On any project, maximum potential is anticipatory by nature and tries to draw out of everyone involved their very best, and admit what they don’t know. We often find that enthusiasm is highest when physical creation is the medium because the focus of making a new reality is miraculous. We play with the words 'building systems' to get our collaborators to think that we really are building systems not just buildings—so it’s a noun and a verb." (Link to Q&A: https://lnkd.in/g57rC5sV.) Here's a recent and excellent article in Texas Architect magazine (published by Texas Society of Architects) by Cameron Klepac, Assoc. AIA about the Center's 50th anniversary, its purpose, and its legacy: https://lnkd.in/gME7uU7w Here's a link to the Center's 50-year book, MAX POT, produced by architect David Dewane and designed by Courtney Garvin (and available in special edition hardback and paperback): https://lnkd.in/gnjpRKMR Living Future's Ecotone imprint has a book about the Center, too: https://lnkd.in/ggSPW6JD Photo: Lauren Jones #SeriousCommotion #MaxPot