Combining Passive House and mass timber construction presents an opportunity to optimize both operational and embodied carbon. The exposed wood CLT structure and building envelope elements offer numerous benefits including interior aesthetics, a healthier indoor environment, reduced use of interior finish materials, and shorter construction duration. However, to date, most CLT multifamily developments have been boutique condominium projects.

Environmental exploitation very often goes hand in hand with human exploitation. How do we harness the collective knowledge we have gained from our work quantifying carbon, improving health impacts, and reducing environmental degradation, and apply it to solving this pressing humanitarian issue? The Design for Freedom Initiative by Grace Farms is raising awareness about the pervasiveness of forced and child labor in the construction material supply chain.