Creative Brief

Adaptive Reuse is the third issue of KPF Review, a client-facing semiannual publication that highlights a significant theme of KPF’s global work that is directly tied to hot topics in the real estate market. In this iteration, which is the first in a two-part series about carbon, we focus on the urgent need to reduce the carbon impact of the built environment with the goal of educating current and prospective clients about the embodied carbon strategies KPF is leveraging. (Part two of this series focuses on operational carbon and was released in April of 2024, outside of the entry period range of this award.)

Carbon embedded in materials—including concrete, aluminum, steel, and glass—might constitute as much as 30 to 40%, and over 70% of a building’s emissions impact for the first ten years of its life. As we work toward designing net zero buildings by 2030, it becomes imperative for us to reuse and respect existing structures. The focus of any serious sustainable design practice must be reducing—and eventually eliminating—carbon emissions associated with its projects. KPF’s focus on carbon is not unique, but our position—as a leading firm that builds large-scale projects in cities around the world—affords us the opportunity to drive meaningful change.

In coming years, adaptive reuse will become an even greater percentage of our work, and this publication is an important way to reach those who hold the power to shape the built environment of the future.