OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE. IN THE WORDS OF BUCKMINSTER FULLER:
“TO MAKE THE WORLD WORK FOR 100% OF HUMANITY IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME THROUGH SPONTANEOUS COOPERATION WITHOUT ECOLOGICAL OFFENSE OR THE DISADVANTAGE OF ANYONE”.
The Living Building Challenge represents a dramatic shift from a paradigm of doing less harm to one in which we view our role as a steward and co-creator of a true Living Future®. It aims to define the path to a regenerative built environment today and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and the end-game positive solutions we seek.
The Challenge aims to transform how we think about every single act of design and construction into an opportunity to positively impact the greater community of life and the cultural fabric of our human communities. The program has always been a bit of a Trojan horse—a philosophical worldview cloaked within the frame of a certification program. The Challenge is successful because it satisfies our left-brain craving for order and thresholds, and our right-brain intuition that the focus needs to be on our relationship with and understanding of the whole of life.
As such, the program is a philosophy first, an advocacy tool second, and a certification program third. Within the larger Living Future Challenge framework that covers the creation of all human artifacts and edifices, the Living Building Challenge focuses on humanity’s most abundant creations—its buildings. It is in essence a unified tool for transformative thought, allowing us to envision a future that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative.
Regardless of the size or location of the project, the Living Building Challenge provides a framework for design, construction, and the symbiotic relationship between people, our community, and nature. The Living Building Challenge calls for action to restore the relationship between people and nature as our world becomes increasingly urbanized and we grow more and more disconnected from the world in which we evolved. It is a challenge to immerse ourselves in such a pursuit—and many refer to the ability to do so as a paradigm shift.
Although it is ambitious to achieve all of the requirements of the Living Building Challenge, the performance-based approach creates a clarity and ease of use: There are 20 profound Imperatives that must be met for any type of project, at any scale, in any location around the world.
The Imperatives are performance-based and position the ideal outcome as an indicator of success. The specific methodology used to meet the expectations of the Living Building Challenge is not up to the Institute—but rather to the co-creative genius of the design teams, owners, and occupants themselves, who are expected to make informed and vested decisions appropriate to the project, place, and bioregion.
The Living Building Challenge is a holistic standard, pulling together the most progressive thinking from the worlds of architecture, engineering, operations, planning, interiors, landscape design, and policy. It challenges us to ask these questions:
What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place?
What if every intervention gave rise to:
- Greater biodiversity and social equity;
- Additional outlets for beauty and personal expression;
- A deeper understanding of climate, culture, and place;
- A realignment of our food and transportation systems;
- Increased soil health; and
- A more profound sense of what it means to be a citizen of a planet where resources and opportunities are provided fairly and equitably?
