Boston is a city steeped in history and densely settled, with relatively little land open and available for building to meet our future needs. With urgent aims to become carbon-free by 2050—and with 85 percent of floorspace that Boston will need in 2050 already built—we must recognize and leverage existing buildings for what they are: banks of embodied carbon and material resources, opportunities for improving efficiency, community anchors, and compelling design challenges.

The BSA invites you to join the existing buildings movement this summer. With collaboration, collective action, and urgency, implementable and effective existing buildings solutions will move us forward.

Matter & Opinion: Existing Buildings—Building the Will
A summer series on climate action and building the will
July 19, 2021–August 30, 2021

Every Monday, two client-and-designer teams will share the challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned from completed existing buildings projects. Following project-based presentations, the client-and-designer teams--as well as session attendees--will discuss the hurdles to and pathways toward building the will around continued use and reuse of existing buildings for climate action. Project types and clients represented include housing (multifamily and residential design); workplace (mission-driven and commercial); and education facilities (higher education and K-12 schools). 1 LU HSW will be available for each session.

Learn more and register here.

REOPENINGS
An online streaming series celebrating New Architecture that is in or in addition to an Existing Building
July 14, 2021–August 4, 2021

A sequel to last summer's popular series OPENINGS, REOPENINGS continues to convene designers in the spirit of vernissage, a showing of an exhibition or work of architecture prior to its completion. This summer, REOPENINGS will spotlight New Architecture that is in or in addition to an Existing Building. Celebrate a moment that is rarely celebrated in the architecture world by joining us for these virtual conversations, each featuring two projects presented by firm principals, and a dialogue between these designers. Participating firms include designLAB architects, Kripper Studio, LA DALLMAN, Machado Silvetti, MILLIØNS, and Studio Gang.

Learn more and register here.

CLF Boston Impact Series: Renovation/Preservation
One in a series of embodied carbon-focused sessions
June 4, 2021

Following up on the foundational Embodied Carbon 101 series, CLF Boston hosted the 2021 Impact series, consisting of forum-based conversations on specific embodied carbon topic areas. Kicking off the series was a session—part presentation, part collaborative brainstorming—on preservation, renovation, and reuse as critical to embodied carbon reduction and avoided impacts. You can watch the recording for a primer on existing buildings and embodied carbon, and you can learn more about CLF Boston here.