Living Buildings are Resilient Buildings: Climate Mitigation AND Adaptation

Long past the realm of imagination, extreme weather is leaving millions without power, water, or shelter. And it’s happening with increased severity and frequency. Therefore, it is no longer enough to be sustainable. We must be resilient. One key solution is carbon-neutral, net-positive water, net-positive energy, resilient Living Buildings. This session will feature Shan Arora, Director of Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, which is a multidisciplinary classroom facility that achieved Living Building Challenge certification in 2021. Shan will provide a virtual tour of the building highlighting how it promotes climate mitigation and adaptation. He will be followed by David Erdman, Founding Director of the Center for Climate Adaptation and Associate Professor of Architecture at Pratt Institute who will provide a design and research perspective on buildings as part of the climate solution. The final panelist will be Matthijs Bouw, founding principal of One Architecture & Urbanism. He is working on segments of The Big U, which is the largest climate adaptation project in North America. Matthijs will present strategies to achieve and increase “resilience value” in the implementation of complex projects. The session will close with a question and answer discussion with the audience.