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Climate Literacy: Gamifying Sustainable Design

Patti Mason, LEED AP

Almost 25 years ago, the Phillip Merrill Environmental Center became the first building in the United States to receive a green building certification. Now, more than 100 green building certification systems compete for attention in a growing marketplace of climate-responsive design and operations.听

We developed VALUES to cut through the noise. Instead of starting with a checklist, we start with a conversation: what are the most important impacts this place could have on the natural environment, the economy, communities, and individual human beings? The answer is different for every project, for every stakeholder group.听 More than 鈥渃hecking the box,鈥 VALUES 鈥 which stands for Viewing Architecture through the Lens of User Experience and Sustainability 鈥 gamifies the process of discovering and measuring priorities that inform the thousands of decisions made across every design project. And it does so in a way that allows anyone to participate in sustainability conversations, no matter their technical background.

How to Play the Cooperative Game

 

Once players have discovered their project鈥檚 sustainability priorities through VALUES, the design team鈥檚 work begins. Each card in the deck connects to one or more of five Design Outcomes from our Sustainability Action Plan, and can be mapped to common green building certification program criteria. We also define how the priorities will be observed, experienced, and measured when achieved.

Design Outcomes

Within each of the five Design Outcomes, we can find stories large and small that show how specific VALUES cards come to life and impact the people populating designed spaces.



01
Behavior Awareness

Mindful Actions

The way people behave impacts the health of people, communities, and the environment. The built environment can effectively nudge people into new, more sustainable behavior patterns. The Transparency: Building Performance card is played at the Sterling Bay portfolio of properties. Continuous indoor air quality monitoring not only improves investor relations and ESG reporting, but also increases trust among commercial tenants by visualizing indoor environmental quality鈥檚 impact on health and cognitive function.

person using sonrai IAQ app in a space to read live air quality metrics, which are also shown on the lobby screen in front
02
Community Health

Thriving Together

Environmental, social, and economic resource availability significantly impacts a community鈥檚 ability to sustain emotional and physical wellbeing. The Community Access card is played at the Metro Nashville Campus for Youth Empowerment. At this comprehensive place of possibility, a family services and respite center help break the abuse-to-prison pipeline, while the secure treatment center features trauma-informed, normative living environments.

Long building on green lawn with large windows and white wrap facade
03
Ecological Future

Nurturing Nature

In the Anthropocene, ecosystems and their non-human inhabitants need attention to maintain balance, be healthy, and thrive for generations to come. Leveraging existing building stock dramatically reduces embodied carbon and the footprint of human settlement. The Decarbonization: Materials card is played at Enveda Biosciences. An existing building was converted to a world-class office and laboratory facility that features direct connections to nature.

living green wall with company Envada signage, front desk to workplace, double height atrium with black railing along upper level
04
Human Health

Holistic Wellbeing

Beyond simply the absence of disease or infirmity, human health encompasses a state of physical, emotional, and social wellbeing. The Neighborhood Vitality card is played at Austin Independent School District, where a novel equity-based approach to long-range planning considered neighborhoods with high social vulnerability in addition to facility conditions when making recommendations for capital projects.

Austin Independent School District Infographic showing map and percentages of the underserved communities, community engagement, students, neighborhoods, facilities
05
Resource Conservation

A Cleaner Horizon

Responsibly managing and protecting natural resources is linked to a long-term view that considers capacities for future generations. The Decarbonization: Energy card is played at Swarthmore College Dining and Community Commons. Designed as the nation鈥檚 first university carbon neutral multi-platform dining venue with all electric equipment and on-site renewable energy, the renovation and additions support the forward-thinking college鈥檚 To Zero by 2035 initiative.

Walkway to swarthmore dining facility, students sitting around exterior flexible seating, mass timber architecture, what is mass timber construction

Hundreds of similar stories unfold across our portfolio. By playing the VALUES game, clients identify their true priorities for a more sustainable future. This clarity of purpose gives our multi-disciplinary teams the opportunity to solve for those specific priorities with defined targets, measurable goals 鈥 and yes, green building certifications as appropriate.

For more on our sustainable design philosophy and commitments, visit our Sustainability page.
Connect with me to start a conversation 鉃 Patti Mason, LEED AP, Climate Action Strategist

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