The Living Building Challenge™ (LBC) calls for the creation of building projects at all scales that operate as cleanly, beautifully and efficiently as nature’s architecture. It is operated by The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and as an affiliate, we advocate for the uptake of the LBC by providing education, training and advisory services.
Living buildings give more than they take, creating a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them.
What does good look like?
Regenerative Design
The LBC is a philosophy, certification and advocacy tool for projects to move beyond merely being ‘less bad’ toward becoming truly regenerative.
Petals
The Living Building Challenge is organised into seven performance areas called Petals. Each Petal is subdivided into Imperatives, for a total of twenty Imperatives in the Challenge. The Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure.
For further details, download the latest standard version or contact us about registering your project.
Place Petal
The intent of this petal is to restore the relationship between buildings and place. Imperatives within this petal include:
I1 – Ecology of Place
I2 – Urban Agriculture
I3 – Habitat Exchange
I4 – Human Scaled Living
Water Petal
The intent of the water petal is to create developments that operate within the water balance of a given place and climate.
Imperatives within the water petal are:
I5 – Responsible Water Use
I6 – Net Positive Water
Energy Petal
The intent of the energy petal is to eliminate the wasteful spending of energy, resources and dollars.
Imperatives within the energy petal are:
I7 – Energy + Carbon Reduction
I8 – Net Positive Energy
Health + Happiness Petal
The intent of the health + happiness petal is to create spaces that optimise physical and psychological health and wellbeing.
Imperatives within the health + happiness petal are:
I9 – Healthy Interior Environment
I10 – Healthy Interior Performance
I11 – Access to Nature
Materials Petal
The intent of the materials petal is to endorse healthy materials that are safe for all species through time.
Imperatives with the materials petal are:
I12 – Responsible Materials
I13 – Red List
I14 – Responsible Sourcing
I15 – Living Economy Sourcing
I16 – Net Positive Waste
Equity Petal
The intent of the equity petal is to support a just and equitable world.
Imperatives with the equity petal are:
I17 – Universal Access
I18 – Inclusion
Beauty Petal
The intent of the beauty petal is to celebrate design that uplifts the human spirit.
Imperatives with the beauty petal are:
I19 – Beauty + Biophilia
I20 – Education + Inspiration
WELL + Greenstar crosswalks
In April 2017 the crosswalk document for the Living Building Challenge 3.1 and Green Star Design & As Built was released. The crosswalk aims to simplify the process for new buildings that are seeking both Living Building Challenge certification and a Green Star – Design & As Built certified rating.
Projects pursuing both Living Building Challenge and WELL Building Standard™ can now use the crosswalk document to simplify the process of achieving both targets. For the latest information, please contact us.
More About The Living Building Challenge!
To learn more about getting started, please get in touch at the link below.
