Anthony Tappe on Sustainability

As part of Earth Day, we spoke with Anthony Tappe, Group Design Director and LEED AP BD+C, about sustainability in practice. With over 16 years of experience across international projects, he shares how sustainability moves beyond certification and into the way we design, build, and think.

‍

1. What first inspired you to pursue a career in green building and sustainability?
‍

I have always had a love for the natural world, with the amazing diversity of life that we share this planet with, as well as the incredible variety of ecosystems that can be found around our world. Given the substantial carbon footprint and resource consumption of buildings in their construction and use as well as the capacity that buildings have to influence our wellbeing for better or for worse, it’s only natural that as an architect I want to use my knowledge and experience to design buildings that work in harmony as much as possible with our planet.

‍

2. For those unfamiliar, what does being a LEED AP BD+C involve in practice?
‍

In the most direct way, it means that I am able to act as a LEED specialist on a project, with a thorough knowledge of the possible credits available within the LEED rating system, and the criteria the project must meet to achieve the credits. But more importantly, when you have a good understanding of the LEED rating system, it’s a chance to understand the sustainability goals and aspirations that each credit represents. This knowledge can be applied to any project regardless of whether it is pursuing LEED certification.

‍

3. Beyond certifications, what really makes a building sustainable in practice?
‍

There are so many ways that a building’s design can made more sustainable in practice. It can start with passive design decisions to do with how a building is situated on the site, how it gets the light and views needed while balancing with solar gain. Additionally, active building systems can substantially improve the building’s energy efficiency as well as generate energy on site. The choices of the materials used in a project can also significantly contribute to a building’s sustainability through the incorporation of recycled content, reduction of volatile compounds, and using local materials as much as possible to minimise the carbon footprint of transportation. Understanding local traditions from region to region can also be a great way to benefit from generations of experiential knowledge about the best ways to live in harmony with your surroundings. Every project is different and represents a unique chance to find a balance between these different approaches to improving a building’s sustainability.

‍

4. What are the biggest misconceptions people have about sustainable buildings today?
‍

A lot of people think that buildings need to be very high tech or expensive to be sustainable. Nothing could be further from the truth. Buildings don’t need bells and whistles to improve their sustainability. Often the big design moves at the early stages of the project are the ones that have the most impact on the building’s long terms sustainability. These include the sorts of site positioning mentioned above, but can also include in some cases the decision to re-use and adapt existing structures rather than tearing them down to building entirely new buildings.
‍

5. If you could give one piece of advice on sustainability to the team, what would it be?
‍

Understand the context and the climate that your building will be designed to be a part of. Understand what you can about the traditions and resources of that region. And don’t treat sustainable design as a checklist, think of it as an aspiration to make the building comfortable to be in, and for the building to be comfortable in its environment.

‍