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Doin Addressing global problems with design McLennan Design uses green design methods in the hopes of changing the way people view and interact with the natural world.
By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent
J ason McLennan, founder of the Living Building Challenge, plans to launch a new architecture and planning firm to focus on glob- ally significant design projects. McLennan Design (Bainbridge, WA), a nine-person firm, will team with other leading architectural firms and organizations to design deep green, regenerative projects, which aim to transform the building market worldwide. “My goal has always been to help transform humanity’s relationship with the natural world as quickly as possible,” McLennan says. “I be- lieve that through better design, we can address the globe’s most pressing problems – climate change, habitat and species loss, and social inequities – while elevating regenerative design solutions to beautiful and meaningful art forms.” McLennan Design will work across all scales – from designing new products to the design of living buildings and net zero facilities and the planning of entire neighborhoods and communities. In fact, the firm has already landed several high-profile design projects in several countries, including the William Jefferson Clinton Children’s Center in Haiti, the world’s first living building resort in partnership with the award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and a living building planning project at Yale University. McLennan is also launching the Green Warrior Society in collabora- tion with other design and engineering firms. The charitable design arm will provide free or deeply discounted regenerative design ser- vices to qualified organizations and individuals around the world. McLennan launches his firm alongside senior partners Dale Duncan and Tom Knittel, who share his interest in setting new standards for design and construction across multiple scales including products, buildings, and communities. McLennan Design also has a strategic partnership with the Integral Group, a large international engineering firm noted for innovation and leadership in sustainability. WHAT IS A REGENERATIVE DESIGN? Implicit in the term regenerative is that the context matters deeply: ecological, social, material, and energy flows are place-specific. “Our goal is to actively restore ecological resilience, seek cultural and social improvements, celebrate local material practices, and rid carcinogens and unhealthy micro-biomes from buildings and land- scapes, and find the right energy balance in a specific climate zone using the technology we have today to be net-zero or net-positive,” Knittel says. The Save a Warrior village they are designing in Kansas City is one example of this. It is a retreat facility for veterans coping with
William Jefferson Clinton Children’s Center, Haiti
William Jefferson Clinton Children’s Center, Haiti
William Jefferson Clinton Children’s Center, Haiti
THE ZWEIG LETTER DECEMB
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