SXSW 2023
Urban Sequoia: Buildings That Can Absorb Carbon
Description:
What if buildings could act like trees—capturing carbon, purifying the air, and regenerating the environment? Taking inspiration from natural processes and ecosystems, Urban Sequoia envisions forests of buildings that create a new carbon-removal economy and a resilient future for cities.
The need to transform the built environment is clear. The building sector generates nearly 40% of carbon emissions, and studies by the UN predict that another 230 billion square meters of building stock will be needed by 2060.
Imagine if new buildings could help heal the planet. SOM has developed a prototype—the first step to achieving this goal—that can be built today. The design goes beyond net-zero to net-negative, sequestering as much as 1,000 tons of carbon per year, equivalent to 48,500 trees.
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Takeaways
- The built environment can be a solution to the climate crisis, rather than part of the problem, by actively removing carbon from the atmosphere.
- Different strands of sustainable design, emerging technologies, and new materials can be combined to reduce more carbon than each can achieve alone.
- The idea goes beyond carbon neutrality, and it is not a moonshot—the strategies behind the project can be applied to any type of building in any city.
Speakers
- Chris Cooper, Design Partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
- Yasemin Kologlu, Design Principal, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Organizer
Jonathan Schifman, Communications Specialist, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
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