Impact Fund

Life cycle assessments and energy models shape building design but often miss the bigger picture: how do we actually live and move in these spaces?

Together, transportation and the built environment generate nearly two-thirds of global emissions. In this report, we explore a new method to measure carbon emissions that shows even "zero-emissions" buildings will exceed targets due to material carbon and transportation impacts.

The takeaway: we must shift focus to sustainable transit and low-carbon materials to hit climate goals.

The surge in data centers, driven by the exponential growth in digital data and cloud services, has sparked concerns about their environmental footprint.

Data centers are large consumers of energy owing to the high amount of computing power required to operate servers and networking equipment. Over a 60-year life cycle, 90% of data center embodied carbon emissions are associated with MEP equipment.

How will our design choices today will shape the design of the sustainable data centers of the future?

This advisory piece on breathable buildings, in partnership with façade engineers Eckersley O'Callaghan, details why natural ventilation is an important design strategy with many co-benefits.

Through this work, we want to encourage clients and design teams to understand natural ventilation better, learn how to implement it effectively in projects, and make it an industry standard.

How can breathable buildings enhance resilience and occupant experience while helping us achieve our climate goals?

In this short report, we dive deep into a post-completion energy evaluation of Clayton Community Centre, reflecting on learnings after going on-site to measure the performance of a Passive House-certified community center in Canada. 

This study explores the performance gaps through the tools and construction methods used as well as ongoing building performance.

What lessons learned from this Passive House success story can help us improve our design strategy?

This technical review explores building-integrated carbon capture technology from a whole-life carbon and cost perspective over the next twenty years in the United Kingdom.

Developed in partnership with architects at Gensler and Soletair Power, a manufacturer who produces and installs carbon capture technology, this paper explores this technology's potential now and in the next five years.

Will building-integrated carbon capture be a solution in our design toolkit to help meet our 1.5 °C climate targets?

This essay explores the strong parallels between the worldview of Regenerative Practice and Indigenous ways of being and being in relationship to living systems in Australia.

As practitioners in the built environment, we’re specifically interested in how the application of these ideas to our work can support and enable a thriving world.

What outcomes could these resonances produce if we implement them intentionally in our design practice?

In partnership with AV specialist solutions provider, Innomate, this report focuses on the benefits AV technology brings to modern workplaces and education facilities that are now required to deliver world-class blended learning and Hy-Flex teaching environments.

How can we demonstrate that these solutions can be readily adopted across various sectors and projects?