Ed Mazria FAIA Founder, Architecture 2030 | 2021 AIA Gold Medal Honoree
As the world grapples with the escalating realities of climate change, the role of architects, engineers, landscape architects, planners, and designers has never been more critical. This book, a testament to the transformative power of design, offers not just a vision for a sustainable future, but a tangible road map for achieving it. Within these pages, you will discover a compelling narrative of innovation and unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship.
At its core, this important book is a call to action—a reminder that the choices we make today will shape the world for generations to come. It is a declaration of accountability, optimism, and shared responsibility. The challenges facing our planet demand more than incremental change; they require a fundamental rethinking of how we design, build, and inhabit the spaces around us. This book not only outlines a path for this transformation but also demonstrates how these principles are already being applied.
In 2005, Architecture 2030 issued the 2030 Challenge, calling for incremental emissions reductions for all new buildings, developments, and major renovations to achieve carbon neutrality in 2030. To support this call to action, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) created the AIA 2030 Commitment in 2010, a national program structured to help firms meet and track progress toward meeting these targets.
LPA Design Studios, an integrated design firm of architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, and researchers, was an early advocate and leader in the 2030 Commitment. They have demonstrated consistent success in achieving the Challenge targets across their entire portfolio of work.
The introduction sets the tone for the book: Nothing is too small to matter, and no challenge is insurmountable. The maxim “Every Project. Every Budget. Every Scale.” embodies LPA’s uncompromising commitment to environmental stewardship. Whether designing a modest school or a sprawling campus, every decision counts, and sustainability can always be integrated into the design process. But this is not a solitary endeavor. The firm emphasizes the importance of partnerships and collaboration, acknowledging that addressing climate change requires a collective effort, an integrated design team involving clients, architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, researchers, and communities. This shared commitment empowers LPA to transcend individual limitations and achieve collective success.
LPA’s dedication to informed design underscores their resolve to employ data-driven decision-making. By meticulously analyzing the impact of these decisions, they ensure that sustainability is not an afterthought, but an integral component of the design process. This research-driven approach allows them to seamlessly merge ambitious carbonemission targets and environmental responsibility with the needs of their clients and the communities they serve, demonstrating that high-performance design is achievable across all project types, budgets, and scales. They prioritize firm-wide education, fostering the growth and development of emerging talent.
Beyond the theoretical framework, this book delves into the practical application of these principles through a diverse portfolio of projects. Each case study provides a compelling narrative of how LPA translates vision into reality, showcasing the tangible impact of their design approach. From transformative educational spaces that empower underserved communities to resilient housing solutions addressing the pressing need for affordable and sustainable living, these projects exemplify the power of design to effect positive change.
A variety of other project types, including civic and commercial buildings that underscore how LPA’s integrated design approach bridges aesthetics, performance, and purpose, proves that high-performance design is achievable across all scales and budgets. Together, these case studies illustrate how design can overcome constraints and deliver solutions that leave a legacy for both people and the environment.
In essence, this book is evidence of the power of design to shape a better future. It is a call to architects, planners, and all those involved in the built environment to embrace their role as catalysts for change. It challenges readers to reconsider what is possible in their own work and recognize the profound impact of thoughtful, informed design. Looking ahead, the principles and practices outlined in this book guide us toward a zero-carbon future, a future where environmental stewardship is not just a goal but a reality.
We lead with climate responsibility to make a difference.
From humble beginnings, we grew as a multidisciplinary design collective, united by a shared responsibility to drive down carbon emissions on every project, every budget, and every scale.
Early on, we decided as a firm to stake a claim that sustainable design is good design, and we set out to prove to our clients that a highperformance project doesn’t have to cost more. For us, it didn’t make sense to separate performance from beauty, occupant well-being, and the other elements that make a project a success.
When LEED was introduced in 2000, we enthusiastically embraced the idea of a universal rating system for green buildings and set out to see what we could do. We established several firsts, including the first LEED NC-certified building in the United States, the 325,000-square-foot Ford Premier Automotive Group headquarters. In 2004, we took it a step further and challenged ourselves to make every LPA project perform 25% better than California’s Title 24, one of the toughest energy codes in the country. As the firm grew, we intentionally expanded to practice areas that were traditionally underserved by high-performance design—speculative office buildings, community colleges, public schools, and municipal buildings.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
In ten years, we’ve shown that any firm, of any size, with any project mix, can make massive progress on carbon emissions. But progress is not a straight line up. 2023 was a wake-up call, and we’ve rebounded by doubling down on what made us successful: accountability, optimism, and shared responsibility.
PORTFOLIO
Transformative Experience
To shape high-performance projects that people will fight to preserve, they need to provide transformative experiences. These are places where people feel they belong; that spark pride and affection; that become part of the fabric of their communities.
A lab building grounded in nature.
A lab dedicated to cystic fibrosis research embodies the serpentine path of scientific discovery, creating experiences that put scientists in touch with the natural world that inspires them.
Spectrum IV Alexandria Real Estate Equities | San Diego, CA
FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE
DESIGN FOR RESOURCES
Reuse of the core and shell, mechanical systems, furniture, finishes, and art cut new material needs by 80%. Structural materials removed were crushed and repurposed as permeable landscaping.
DESIGN FOR ECONOMY
A cost-value matrix helped designers prioritize meaningful improvements in openness and flexibility, while cutting costs through extensive material reuse.
DESIGN FOR CHANGE
Pandemic pressures inspired a design for “whatever comes next,” with flexible sublease spaces that can be easily absorbed by RiverRock or expanded to meet tenant needs.
DESIGN FOR ENERGY
Ample daylight, lighting controls, and a 138kW rooftop solar array achieved a netzero-energy building without expensive MEP upgrades.
Palomar College Learning Resource Center
A scenic library gives commuters a study destination.
Providing a compelling reason to stay on campus, the view from the reading room atop Palomar College’s Learning Resource Center is the result of ten years of orchestration across four major, from-the-ground-up campus buildings.
Community College District | San Marcos, CA
Palomar
Self-Shading & Diffused Natural Daylight
Photovoltaic Array
Integrated Mechanical System
Rainwater Collection
Range of Acoustic Character
Views of the Valley
Mixed-Mode Ventilation
CONTEXT
Founded in 1946, Palomar College had grown by 2005 into a densely packed maze of single-story and portable buildings. There was no meaningful open space and no collegiate character. LPA developed a master plan for a transformation that would focus fewer, larger buildings around a central green. The Learning Resource Center (LRC) is the last piece implemented, offering a much-needed “home base” for students at the commuter school to study, get help, and build community. The design goals were to elevate the community college library with a bold expression and experience that would renew pride in the student population and community at large.
“We’ve already picked out our spots. There are so many places to sit and study, and I love the view. It’s a really relaxing environment to do homework in.”
Student, Palomar College Television, 2019
OUTCOME
The San Marcos Valley, known as “the Valley of Discovery” in Spanish conquistador times, continued its affiliation with discovery through the twentieth century as the home of the Palomar Observatory. Drawing on this history, designers imagined the LRC as its own kind of observatory, framing indelible views of the emerald-green canyons and Mount Whitney. Designers preserved that vision through the design and construction of the Multidisciplinary Classroom Building, Humanities Building, and Teaching & Learning Center, shaping building forms and rooftops to leave the views unobstructed. The LRC was designed around this moment, with the “floating” top floor extruded to make sure there is room for all.
INTEGRATION
The LRC’s most dramatic features are the result of a decade-long collaboration between architects, structural engineers, and mechanical engineers on the Palomar campus. Of the three buildings that make up the core of the reimagined campus, the library was designed first, but built last. The clear views from the cantilevered top level of the new library and the public spaces between buildings were made possible by the holistic planning effort, which always anticipated the arrival of the library. In the humanities building, the major mechanical equipment was moved to the basement to keep the roofscape clear for PV and to optimize views from the future library. A new central energy plant was positioned in the back of the library to leave room for the plaza shared with the humanities building.
The library and its cantilevered top floor would not have been possible without detailed coordination between disciplines. The entire structural system was visualized and designed in 3D, allowing teams to explore different groupings and structural systems. The fourth level, the largest floor, was hung from the roof structure to protect the views and provide more activity spaces. Diagonal struts and strategically placed interior shear walls removed the need for large columns, creating shaded open space around the perimeter and a welcoming “front porch” for the facility. The found spaces were used to create flexible social environments and connect with walkways, helping to change the flow of campus life.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
FROM EARLY MASTER PLANNING STAGES, ENGINEERS WORKED WITH ARCHITECTS TO KEEP ROOFS CLEAR OF MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, FREEING SPACE FOR PV AND KEEPING VIEWS CLEAR FOR THE LIBRARY.
Tarbut V’Torah Campus Upper and Lower Campus Expansion
Opening up revives a struggling Jewish school.
When Tarbut V’Torah K-12 school decided on a radical new direction, their campus had to evolve from a cloister into a community.
Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School | Irvine, CA
El Cerrito Multifamily Housing
Bringing high-performance housing to unsheltered San Diegans.
Large-scale, high-performance housing is an elusive target for designers and builders. El Cerrito, an eight-story, mixed-use supportive housing complex, innovates on schedule, construction method, and energy performance to make it possible.
Family Health Centers of San Diego | San Diego, CA
Lanier High School Renovation
Culture and community light up a formerly windowless monolith.
At the birthplace of San Antonio’s mural culture, a vital neighborhood institution with a legacy of inequality gets new life and new meaning, recontextualized to tell the community’s story of resilience.
San Antonio Independent School District | San Antonio, TX
CONTEXT
Water is the lifeblood of Texas Hill Country. Thirteen rivers have their headwaters there, and for centuries Texans have understood the critical importance of protecting them. As the population of Hill Country has grown, pressures on water supplies have too. Town leaders recognized the opportunity to leverage a library expansion project as a platform for teaching water conservation. Rooted in an integrated water management approach called One Water, the design revolves around water both conceptually and practically, addressing water security while educating the community.
OUTCOME
Drawing on Wimberley’s history as a trading post at the junction of the Blanco River and Cypress Creek, the building and site concepts centered on the notion of confluence, bringing people together. The building was sited and shaped to preserve mature live oak and elm trees and allow water to flow through the site naturally. Two single-pitched roofs define the reading room while guiding and directing stormwater to prominently displayed tanks. All water is managed on site, with bioretention basins and swales doubling as natural playgrounds. The new building connects with the old to create a facility to serve the community’s future.
“In Hill Country, it often seems we are either in drought or we have a flood. It’s one or the other, and it makes us very serious about water… The library is very focused on educating everybody about what we have done with water, so they can do it, too.”
Aileen Edgington, District Board Trustee, Wimberley Village Library
FRAMEWORK FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE
DESIGN FOR INTEGRATION
The expansion is offset from the original building, a nod to the confluence of two local rivers, and nestled among mature, large-canopied oak and elm trees.
DESIGN FOR WATER
Water strategies make the most of every drop, with single-pitched roof, above-ground cisterns, on-site stormwater management, drought-tolerant planting, retention basins, bioswales, and nature playgrounds.
DESIGN FOR RESOURCES
Planning conversations about carbon and adaptive reuse led to the choice to reuse the existing library and reduce the addition footprint.
DESIGN FOR DISCOVERY
The library board wanted a “learning tool for the community” to teach sustainability through “on display” solar panels, rainwater collection, stormwater strategies, native vegetation, and daylight harvesting.
"BRIDGE"
Los Medanos College Kinesiology Campus
Budget efficiency yields performance gains.
Designers’ suggestion to combine two complementary projects unlocked budget, performance, and programmatic synergies. The resulting pair of campus buildings elevates wellness and social cohesion at a community college.
Contra Costa Community College District | Pittsburg, CA
Piedmont Hills High School Science & Life Skills Complex
A modest STEM village transcends its budget limitations.
Designers squeezed every bit of design out of ordinary, resilient materials, using passive strategies to do more with less at every turn.
East Side Union High School District | San Jose, CA
A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE PRACTICE
Amt FAIA 2024 Chair, AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE)
Most of us now know that buildings are responsible for more than 40 percent of annual global carbon emissions; what many might not know is that by 2060, global building floor area is expected to double. The massive change needed to reduce global carbon emissions during this period of huge construction growth is unprecedented and urgent.
As an industry, we can no longer ignore the importance of portfolio-wide decarbonization and changing how we approach the challenge. We must practice differently and think differently. We can’t settle for small steps forward if we expect to achieve a net-zero future.
In this book, LPA has shown us what “no excuses” means. They have consistently achieved ambitious performance goals across a broad portfolio of projects. Time and time again, LPA has demonstrated how sustainability and building performance can be applied broadly to everyday building types. They’ve delivered exceptional results regardless of client ambitions, budgetary constraints, regulatory environments, and market forces.
As we look to the future, their progress has charted a path that every designer must take: cutting emissions on every project, for every budget, at every scale. To achieve results, LPA has developed a new model of practice, one that successfully harnesses the full power of an integrated design firm. They bring disciplines together as partners, establishing performance expectations, creating resources, and conducting
Michelle
research to inform data-driven design, while cultivating a culture of accountability and shared responsibility.
There is nothing magical in this approach. No secret sauce. They built sustainability into the firm’s DNA and then backed it up by giving teams the tools and resources to pursue their goals. They didn’t set out to blaze new trails; they worked to get better. Step by step, they developed their process and culture. They learned that education and a spirit of accountability are essential. Clients are viewed as partners, recognizing that the only way forward is to meet the realities of budget and policy.
The projects highlighted in this book illustrate the influence we can have as architects, designers, and engineers, working as a unit. On the TIDE Academy, you see all disciplines collaborating to create a public school on a limited site that will inspire generations of learners. The Edwards Lifesciences campus is an example of a decadeslong relationship between designers and a client focused on merging sustainability with the workplace goals of a company developing lifesaving technologies.
Exploring LPA’s work, over and over again you see an iterative process backed by research and community engagement producing unexpected, amazing results. Their focus on sustainability and building performance was not at the expense of notable architecture; they design places that inspire learning, foster community, and empower people.
LPA’s work shows us what is possible. We can make cutting carbon emissions and improved building performance the foundation of good design, while creating meaningful experiences, grounded in their unique place, that support thriving communities at all scales.
When you hear LPA leaders talk about their mission and culture, you realize we can do better. In their practice, approach, and commitment, they demonstrate a different way of working, a spirit of inclusiveness and rigor that will be essential for tackling the challenges ahead. They present us with the future of practice: mission-driven, interdisciplinary, and relentless in the pursuit of excellence, for this and future generations.
BUILDING A CULTURE OF SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
We’ve been evolving what it means to practice as an integrated design firm for three decades. Our work illustrates that a collaborative, inclusive design approach can produce results. What’s next? Five LPA leaders—each from a different discipline— discuss the cultivation of the culture that will confront the challenges ahead.
Kari Kikuta PLA, ASLA Director of Landscape Architecture
Kate Mraw RID, CID, ALEP, LEED AP Director of K-12
Erik Ring PE, LEED FELLOW Director of Engineering
Bryan Seamer SE, LEED GA Director of Structural Engineering
Ozzie Tapia AIA, LEED AP Design Director
WHAT MAKES LPA'S INTEGRATED CULTURE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER FIRMS?
Bryan Seamer (Director of Structural Engineering): To me it’s one word: trust. We invest in our culture, the ability to bring together people with different expertise, who may in some cases conflict with each other, to find the best design decisions for a project. Our culture creates a condition where we trust each other. We feel we can push back on ideas. We can express our own perspectives without fear of a relationship being damaged.
Ozzie Tapia (Design Director): We don’t care where the ideas come from. We really do check our egos at the door. Ultimately, what makes us successful and what makes our process really work is that together we come up with an idea that makes that project better for our clients.
Kari Kikuta (Director of Landscape Architecture): At the end of the day, we’re having really difficult conversations. It’s those kinds of conversations that drive our disciplines to do better across the board. Architecture, interiors, landscape—we all want to perform at a higher level together.
Erik Ring (Director of Engineering): All of us recognize that as individuals we have a certain expertise, a certain perspective that’s really important to the project, but it’s incomplete. We recognize that great design is shared authorship between a lot of different experts and our clients to deliver a far better project than any one designer could on their own.
Kate Mraw (Director of K-12): We’re really talking about being on the same side of the table as each other, facing that problem together with high emotional intelligence, and knowing how to deal with conflict resolution. We always want to be able to say, “I’m not the smartest person in the room on this topic, but I’m going to make sure that the smartest person on this topic is in the room.”
Bryan: It’s quite intentional, too. We’ve worked to seed our culture with these values. One of the key things, I think, is how it began. We didn’t become an integrated firm to capture more fees. It wasn’t a business decision. It began because we felt we needed to do it to design betterperforming buildings. And that has driven the development of our culture.
WE BELIEVE
Everything counts. There is always a way. We don’t do this alone.
