1. Can you describe some challenges you faced when designing for green building practices and how you solved them?
Budget constraints are a big challenge. For example, reupholstering existing furniture is often more expensive than buying new, so convincing clients to invest in sustainable choices can be tough. We try to balance pushing for sustainable practices with meeting budgetary limits and client expectations. Another challenge is regulatory barriers also pose challenges. New materials like mass timber face higher scrutiny for fire safety, accessibility, and durability. Convincing clients and agencies to adopt new, untested materials is difficult because they don’t want to be the first to try something new.
2. Does Gensler prefer working on new buildings or retrofitting existing, non-sustainable ones?
We typically work with clients based on their needs. Often, we analyse whether it’s better to construct a new building or retrofit an existing one. This involves detailed lifecycle analyses to understand the total carbon impact. Retrofitting older buildings can be a challenge, but finding clever ways to make them more sustainable is a key part of our approach.
3. What impact do green building projects have on the environment?
Green building projects significantly reduce environmental impact since buildings account for about 40% of global emissions when considering both embodied and in-use carbon. For large firms like Gensler, working on numerous large-scale projects provides a tremendous opportunity to make a positive change, and we take this responsibility very seriously.
