Dyer Brown on Leading and Innovating in Sustainable Design and Construction
Few doubt the sincerity of building industry professionals in pursuing the adoption of more sustainable methods, materials and solutions in the worlds of design, construction and commercial real estate. But according to architect Laurel Christensen, AIA, WELL AP, sustainable design leader with national architecture and interiors firm Dyer Brown, ambiguities around what makes a material or method sustainable produce fractures in an otherwise united effort among professionals.
“As awareness continues to grow around the impact of the built environment on climate change, human health, global labor practices and ecological degradation, our peers in design, construction and property management are increasingly motivated to improve their product choices,” said Christensen, who also serves as outreach director for a nonprofit devoted to scaling the adoption of holistically sustainable materials. “Everyone agrees on why they should prioritize materials that have reduced their impacts on people and planet. But potential changemakers are often misaligned on how.”