US Architects Declare Climate, Justice, and Biodiversity Emergency

The interlinked crises of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and societal inequity are the most serious issues of our time. Buildings and construction play a major part, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while also having a significant impact on deforestation, habitat destruction, and species extinction.

Meeting the needs of our society without breaching the earth's ecological boundaries demands a paradigm shift in our behavior in the building sector. Together with our clients and collaborators, we must design buildings, cities, and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating, and self-sustaining system.

The knowledge exists to begin that transformation now, but what has been lacking is collective will. As a sector, we must work together to reshape our approach to architecture and urbanism at the speed and scale the crises demand.

We commit to:

— Raise awareness of the climate and biodiversity emergencies and the urgent need for action among our clients, collaborators, and supply chains. Advocate for the rapid systemic changes required to address the climate and biodiversity crises, as well as the policies, funding priorities, and implementation frameworks that support these changes.

— Act to address the disproportionate impact of these crises on disadvantaged communities and ensure that all mitigation and adaptation efforts address the needs of all people. Employ just labor practices, so that people of all backgrounds can participate in decision-making about the future of the designed environment.

— Include life cycle costing, whole life carbon modeling, and post-occupancy evaluation as part of our basic scope of work, to reduce both embodied and operational resource use. Adopt regenerative design principles.

— Upgrade existing buildings for extended use as a less carbon intensive alternative to demolition and new construction whenever there is a viable choice.

— Advocate for detailed disclosure of material provenance and environmental impact by extractors, manufacturers, and distributors, to accelerate the shift to low-carbon, non-toxic, and ethically produced materials. Eliminate waste and support a rapid transition to circular economies.

— Invest in research and technology development, guided by systems thinking, to further these goals, and share tools, data, and strategies on an open source basis.

— Establish climate change mitigation, biodiversity protection, and positive social impact as the key measures of our sector's success. Work to redirect the mentality of the building sector away from maximizing short-term returns toward durable investment for the long term. Set clearly articulated climate mitigation goals for every project and communicate them to our clients. Change the structure of awards programs to make these criteria the basis for recognition in architecture.

#architectsdeclare

Architects Declare believes that firms must lead with a strong message committed to action. If you represent a firm, please sign the declaration below. Signatory practices must be engaged in architecture.

We hope that every US architectural practice will join us in making this commitment.

To sign and be the main contact for your firm, you must be a principal or partner, or otherwise have the authority to commit your firm as a signatory to US Architects Declare. You cannot sign using an info@ email address.

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Signatory Firms

413
(dat)dosh 4|MATIV A Kopetzky Studio Aamodt / Plumb Architects Abruña & Musgrave Actual Architecture Company Adams Design Associates Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture AD–WO AEDS | Ammar Eloueini Digit-all Studio After Architecture AGENCY aldayjover architecture and landscape All of the Above All Terrain Architect ALLL and Leapfrog Project Alloy Alterior Office American Primitives Amoia Cody Architecture Andre Architecture andrew berman architect Andrew Goodwin Designs Andropogon Associates Andy and Dave Ants of the Prairie ARC / Architectural Resources Cambridge Arch&Type Architecture Agency Architecture in Formation Architecture Is Fun Architecture Research Office Architecture Workers Combine ARCHITECTUREFIRM Architensions Arnold Studio asa AS•IS Atelier Ten atelierjones Austin + Mergold AW Architects Ballinger BArC Studio Barker Associates Architecture Office Bau Land BAU_Butzer Architects and Urbanism Bell-Seong Architecture; Visible Weather Ben Bruce Architecture Bernheimer Architecture Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners BIG- Bjarke Ingels Group blank studio design + architecture blink!LAB BNIM BODHGAIA ARCHITECTURE Boston Society for Architecture Bradford Payne Architect BRANDT : HAFERD BRAVE / architecture Brent Buck Architects Brininstool + Lynch Brooks + Scarpa Büro Koray Duman C&H Architects Canopy / architecture + design CaVA Architects Chapman Architects Charles Rose Architects Cheng+Snyder Christoff Finio Architecture Cloud Hill Design Clouds AO CO Adaptive Architecture Coexist Build coLAB studio Colorspace Architecture + Urban Design Common Sense Design commoncraft COOKFOX Architects Could Be Architecture COULSON Critical Broadcasting Lab Cumby Architecture Curtis + Ginsberg Architects LLP Dake Wells Architecture Dameron Architecture Dante Amato Daphne David A Parker RA David Baker Architects David D. Quillin Architecture David Obuchowski Architects PLLC Davis Brody Bond DDSao DE Architects AIA de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop Deborah Berke Partners Design Synergies Architecture DiMella Shaffer Dimensions DOR Studio Architecture Doris Sung DPC Associates DRAW Architecture and Urban Design Drawing Agency Drawing Conclusions LLC DSGN AGNC DSH // architecture Duvall Decker Architects e+i studio e-Architects EASTON COMBS Architects Ecological Design Group El Dorado Emily Moss Epiphyte Lab Erik Durbas Designs Escher GuneWardena Architecture EskewDumezRipple EVIA Studio FACT FAD LLC Fantastic Offense Farzana Gandhi Design Studio Fernando Abruna Fete Nature Architecture FIELD PARTI Figure foreground design agency Form & Flow Formlessfinder FrancoisdeMenil Architect Future Expansion GAC Gimeno Guitart Goody Clancy Gray Organschi Architecture Greene Justice Architecture Griffy Creek Studio LLC Grimshaw GROUND HERE Gulf Coast DesignLab Habitat Workshop Hammersley Architecture Hargreaves Jones Hariri & Hariri Architecture Harka Architecture Harrison Atelier Heller Manus Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects Hight Jackson Associates hMa Hoffmann Architects HOK Houser Walker Architecture hrdwrkshp Ibañez Kim In Balance Green Consulting Inaba Williams INC Architecture & Design PLLC Interboro Partners ISA JAKLITSCH/GARDNER ARCHITECTS JeffArchitect Jendusa Design & Engineering John Shafer and Assoc. Johnsen Schmaling Architects Johnson Lyman Architects jones Joy Siegel Architect JPAS JSA Kansas City Design Center Karen Bausman Karolina Kawiaka Studio keernsmith Kennedy & Violich Architecture KieranTimberlake Kim Dupont-madinier Kliment Halsband Architects knitknot architecture KOL/MAC Architecture + Design Koning Eizenberg Architecture Kostow Greenwood Architects Krause Architecture + Interiors Kripper Studio Krueck+Sexton Architects LA-Más Lake|Flato Architects Landing Studio Landry Smith Architect Larch Lab Lead Pencil Studio Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects lee and associates Leong Leong Leupold Brown Goldbach Architects LEVENBETTS Architects Loci Architecture LOJO Architecture Lorraine Bonaventura Architect LOT-EK Louise Braverman Architect Louise Harpman__PROJECTS Love | Schack Architecture LTL Architects M.Todd Architect M1DTW Architects Magnusson Architecture and Planning MAISON ORION MAKE Architects makeArchitecture Marble Fairbanks Architects Mark O'Bryan Architect Marlon Blackwell Architects Marvel Architects MASASTUDIO - Marwan Al-Sayed + Mies Anderson Inc. Mass & Surface Architecture MASS Design Group Matter Architecture Practice MBB ARCHITECTS MdeAS Architects MGDK Architects Michael Green Michael K. Chen Architecture Michael Maltzan Architecture MIIM Designs Mitchell Joachim MIXdesign MODU modus studio Moorhead & Moorhead Mork-Ulnes Architects MOS MPdL Studio MSR Design murmur Myszak and Partners N H D M NADAAA nARCHITECTS NEMESTUDIO New Objects Design Norelius Studio NYVARCH Architecture Object Projects OBJECT TERRITORIES Obra Architects Odimo Office (e.g.) office ca Office for Political Innovation Office of Mobile Design OJK Inc Onion Flats op.AL OPA - Ogrydziak Prillinger Architects opa - Operative Aria Architecture PLLC Open Architecture Practice Open Set OSD Out of Shape Architecture OverUnder O’Riley Office P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S Palette Architecture PARA Project Paul Preissner Architects Peckham Architecture Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Perkins Eastman Peterson Rich Office Piecework Design PLLC PKSB Architects Placetailor Placework Planh Plot Strategies PORT Positive Energy Practice for Architecture and Urbanism | PAU Primary Architecture PROTOinc Protz Studio Pršić & Pršić Putnam-Pritchard Interiors/NUBU Design QDG Architecture RAAB Architects Rafael Vinoly Architects Ramla Benaissa Architects Ramona Albert Architecture Re-a.d re.dzine Reardon & Co. Red Dot Studio Rice+Lipka Architects Riverside Design Robert Hutchison Architecture Rogers Partners Architects+Urban Designers Ronnette Riley Architect Row Architecture RUR Architecture DPC Rural Studio Sage and Coombe Architects Sandoval Moots + architects Sasaki SCHAUM/SHIEH SchemaFlows Schiller Projects Schissel Montgomery Architects Scott Payette Architects Scroggin Studio Selldorf Architects Shalom Baranes Associates Shawn Lutz Shimizu + Coggeshall Architects SILO AR+D SITU SixTwentyOne Slade Architecture Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects Snow Kreilich Architects Snøhetta SO - IL Socle Solakian Inc SPACE INDUSTRIES Spacesmith Sparano + Mooney Architecture Spinagu Studio SsD Steven Holl Architects studio ai architects Studio Ames Studio Balcones Studio Cadena Studio Christian Wassmann Studio Co Architecture Studio Eber Studio For Studio Gang studio J2 architects Studio Joseph studio K group Studio Libeskind STUDIO LUCK Studio Luz Architects STUDIO MA Studio Mayd Studio Modh Architecture Studio Pear Architecture studioSUMO Supernormal Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture • Design Susana Torre SYNCRO Architecture Studio Taalman Architecture TAP TE Studio Techne Tektonculture Terreform ONE Territorial Empathy The Alter Architect's Studio the Lab-lab for architecture The Living The Open Workshop Theo David Architects Thomas Phifer and Partners Thomas Roszak Architecture Thornton Tomasetti thread collective Tibeb.Space Tobin Studio PLLC Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects I Partners Todd Zwigard Architects tonic design Tracy A. Stone Architect Trahan Architects TreanorHL Tri-Lox Trio Architecture Tsao & McKown Architects uma architecture & design Urban Colab Architecture L.3.C Urban Resilience Institute Urban Works Agency urban-interface UrbanLab Variable Projects Verona Carpenter Architects Virginia Melnyk Designs VMDO Architects W Architecture and Landscape Architecture WAI Architecture Think Tank WALLACE DESIGN GROUP Water WE-DESIGNS WEISS/MANFREDI William McDonough + Partners Wolfgang & Hite Woods Bagot WORKac WRNS Studio WROAD WRT WXY architecture + urban design Yale Urban Design Workshop Young Projects ZGF Architects ZINN ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIORS [dhd] derek hoeferlin design