Join us in creating a Living Future for everyone!
Photo by Chad Holder. Courtesy of Wolf Ridge.
Working toward a positive future
As our communities and ecosystems face mounting challenges due to global warming, the Living Future community is designing and building a positive, healthy future for all. As you explore these stories, we hope they will inspire you to make an impact by supporting our work towards a society that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative.
Impact Stories
Unison
“A substation is an important building for our business but also for our community. It is critical for resilience. We wanted to show what was possible with this typology. We wanted to create something that can withstand earthquakes, is beautiful, and gives back to the community.”
Aryero Kothroulas
Group Risk and Sustainability Manager, Unison
Monmade
“Monmade is a consultancy for developers and architects. We help elevate their work by sourcing things that are made in an equitable and sustainable way.”
Katie Chaible
Director, Monmade
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
“The Brock Environmental Center is our pebble in a pond. It has done more than any of us could have imagined at the time.”
Mary Tod Winchester
Retired Vice President for Administration, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Architectural Nexus Sacramento
“We wanted to demonstrate that a renovated building could be a model for water effectiveness and integrate with its ecosystem.”
Erica McBride, LFA, Regenerative Operations Manager, Architectural Nexus
City of Bridges Land Trust
“The Living Building model is ideal for our goals and aligns with our values. We are focused on the impacts on residents…This is not a one-off, everything we are doing here is replicable.”
Julie Nigro, Senior Real Estate Manager, City of Bridges Land Trust
Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
“Many people think that the LBC process is incredibly difficult…but ILFI wants to help you get there…Every challenge is a dialogue…ILFI was a partner in this project, not a certifier.”
Peter Smerud, Executive Director, Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
Your Donation Helps Us
- Broaden the impact of regenerative buildings and products to restore the health and resilience of economies, cultures, and people
- Collaborate with Affordable Housing developers using the Living Building Challenge as a framework to build homes that have no energy bills, are free from toxic materials and are truly sustainable for future generations
- Expand transparency in social equity for organizations in the built environment ecosystem through the Just program
- Advocate for healthy materials for healthier communities with our Declare label, which provides information on product ingredients and flags chemicals of concern
- Connect practitioners, organizations, and everyday advocates committed to transforming the building industry through the holistic lens of climate, health, and equity
More Impact Stories
Mona Nahm
While working with YA Studio, Nahm first encountered the International Living Future Institute. “I saw the flower growing out of the dirt as a reflection of myself,” she noted. “I am someone who grew with the resources around me.”
Richard Franko
The Louisiana Children’s Museum was uniquely designed for New Orleans’ City Park. “This would be a building and place that could only be on this site,” recalled Richard Franko, principal in charge of the project at Mithun.
Rita Trombin
“Rather than containing its learning environment within four walls, the Green School embraces nature and integrates with the outdoors,” according to Rita Trombin, an environmental psychologist who is a former staff member at the school.
Rex Hohlbein & Jenn Lafreniere
“We want to use design to create a path for everyone to get involved in ending homelessness,” Jenn Lafreniere, originator of the BLOCK Project, said in a TED Talk she delivered with Rex Hohlbein, the other originator who is also her father.