Holistic Sustainability
We see sustainable construction as a holistic approach that combines ecological, economic, social and cultural sustainability. Holistic sustainability considers both human and environmental well-being. Qualitative and sustainable construction are interwoven into a cohesive whole within our quality management system that guides all our practices.
Energy Efficiency
We see energy-efficient construction as a combination of structural solutions, spatial design, indoor conditions, and technical solutions. We actively monitor developments in energy efficiency legislation and practice and collaborate with energy efficiency experts and designers. Energy efficiency can be seen as a part of a broader life cycle thinking and designing.
Life Cycle Carbon Footprint
Central to our ecological sustainability expertise is the life cycle carbon footprint competence, calculation capability and implementing the results into the low-carbon architectural design. We also undertake carbon handprint analyses tailored to each specific project to illustrate the positive environmental effects. Our strength is in identifying design solutions that have the biggest impacts on the carbon footprint in each project and focusing on the most important factors for the multidisciplinary end result. We actively follow current legislative evolution and up-to-date industrial practices and continuously educate ourselves to keep our position as an expert of low-carbon architectural design. In addition to our design work and services, we address our own carbon footprint by creating a roadmap for carbon neutrality as part of the international #BuildingLife programme.
Circular Economy
The circular economy is a theme of future ecological sustainability, and its broad and diverse practices are emerging already from the designers’ desks. We actively follow the development of circular economy legislation, latest knowledge and practices, and train to meet the needs of future building legislation and the market. Our strong expertise in renovation aligns the principles of circular economy. Additionally, we focus on e.g. flexibility as a central design strategy of spatial design and circular economy.
Green BIM
Our office invests in BIM (Building Information Modelling) also in the context of environmental aspects, which is in line with all our design work. We use the leading OneClick LCA life cycle assessment software to calculate carbon footprint of our designs, integrated into the ArchiCAD software. Working with BIM models enables carbon footprint assessment at different stages of the project, interactively influencing our design process. We are continuously developing our BIM model-based carbon footprint calculation and process.
Social Sustainability
Social sustainability in our work is mainly achieved through the high-quality design. The design aims to ensure the user’s well-being by incorporating quality factors such as natural light, flexibility, or urban nature even in affordable projects. We perceive human well-being and environmental well-being as an interconnected and mutually supporting entity. In architecture, aesthetic sustainability is combined with social and ecological sustainability: What is considered beautiful is also intended to care for over times. The themes of social sustainability – as part of holistic sustainability – are also prominent in our international development projects.
Economic Sustainability
Economic sustainability is considered as part of the holistic sustainability framework. Regarding economic solutions, we work closely with our clients, cost accountants, and partners. Our strength lies in overall management, where project-specific alternatives are compared and discussed comprehensively from various perspectives. This discussion considers investment and maintenance costs as an essential part of the entirety and decision-making process.
