Sustainability
SUSTAINABILITY
Green buildings are the foundation of healthy, thriving communities.
Global building construction and operation contributes as much as 40% of total carbon dioxide emissions. Bassetti commits to a path towards regenerative building solutions, and we commit to reduce our contributions to climate change to the fullest extent possible in the interim. We are driven to create buildings that enhance our local communities, regenerative natural environments, improve the health of occupants, and positively shape the lives of future generations. Our vision statement, “Fostering healthy communities through learning and design”, captures these commitments.
Bassetti signed the AIA 2030 Commitment to set Energy Efficiency targets and report results. Our project teams set energy performance targets at the start of design and track the performance through the design process. Our goal is for all our projects to achieve Net Zero Energy by 2030.
We focus on the following priorities in our design approach:
Excellent Daylighting Performance in all regularly occupied spaces. Initial project layouts and designs are generated with optimal daylighting in mind. We analyze daylighting simulations multiple times during each design phase of our projects, looking for opportunities to improve performance and enhance the occupant experience.
Focusing on Indoor Environmental Quality and Occupant Health includes the use of non-toxic, low-emitting materials and efficient, healthy mechanical systems. Our project teams screen their material selections by looking for Red List compliance, Health Product Declarations, and other material ingredient disclosure labels. Optimum ventilation strategies such as displacement ventilation and direct outside air systems (DOAS) are given preference.
To Reduce Embodied Carbon and Climate Impacts, we measure and track embodied carbon on our projects and give priority to structures and materials with a lower carbon footprint. We educate our clients on the impact of embodied carbon in our buildings and the greenhouse gas emissions from building systems and operations. Our goal is to achieve significant embodied carbon reductions in the next 5 years and to chart a path towards Net Zero Carbon buildings.
To develop Restorative Landscapes, we emphasize low-impact stormwater strategies and seek to improve the performance of our building sites beyond federal, state, and local regulations. In our school projects, we use stormwater strategies to provide educational opportunities that integrate with science curricula, improve water quality, and provide enhanced ecosystems in support of biodiversity. Telling the story of stormwater on our sites is a fundamental part of our design approach.
Selection of sustainable projects
