Living Design
The minimum percentage reduction projects at Perkins&Will should achieve for Indoor Potable Water Use.
40%
Energy produced from sources like the sun and wind that are naturally replenished and do not run out.
This type of climate related hazard in New Orleans in 2005 was the largest natural disaster in US history.
hurricane
These chemical compounds can be released into the indoor air from sources such as paint, adhesives, and sealants and can negatively impact human health.
VOCs
A process in which a neighborhood develops rapidly, changing from a low-income area to a high-value locality, often resulting in an increase in poverty and forced relocation of the local population.
gentrification
A tool created by Perkins&Will and partners to do Life Cycle Assessments through a Revit Plug In. [Small hint: It has a cat in its logo]
TallyCAT
This refers to the total from all energy sources used to keep our buildings warm, cool, ventilated, lighted and powered.
Operational Carbon
A natural disaster that can be mitigated through adjustment of the ground floor elevation of a building.
flood
Created by global design firm, Perkins&Will, this is a compilation of substances used in the building industry that are known to have an adverse impact on human and environmental health.
Perkins&Will Precautionary List
Considered an illegal and discriminatory practice that puts financial services out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity.
redlining
This is the process used to assess the environmental impact of a product through its life, from extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use, recycling and final disposal.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
This refers to the total emissions of greenhouse gases from all energy sources used to mine, log, harvest, extract, process, manufacture and transport to the construction site; and assemble the thousands of materials that go into a typical building.
Embodied Carbon
Originally created by Perkins&Will employee Doug Pierce, his colleagues and other experts, this rating system takes a holistic approach to resilient design.
RELI
Comprised of "5 buckets" including Human Health, Social Health and Equity, Ecosystem Health, Climate Health, and Circular Economy
AIA Materials Pledge
The nickname given to an 85-mile region along the Mississippi River with more than 200 petrochemical plants and refineries.
Cancer Alley
This happens when urban areas experience higher temperatures than the outlying areas of a city due to the abundance of surfaces absorbing and emitting heat.
Urban Heat Island
An indicator of the energy efficiency of a building’s design and/or operations. It expresses a building’s energy use as a function of its size, as energy per square foot or meter per year.
Energy Use Intensity, or EUI
This analysis evaluates vulnerabilities, threats, and consequences from potential hazards.
risk assessment
This popular interior finish has a known toxic manufacturing process that releases mercury, dioxins, and furans into the atmosphere and it often contains additives such as phthalates, flame retardants, and antimicrobials.
Vinyl Flooring
Perkins&Will's Director of Global Diversity and JEDI Council Chair
Gabrielle Bullock
Creator of the Living Building Challenge, co-author of the WELL Building Standard, and now Chief Sustainability Officer of Perkins&Will.
Jason McClennan
This refers to measuring a building's energy use (and in some cases water use) and comparing it to the energy use of similar buildings, its own historical energy use, or a reference performance level
Building energy benchmarking
This term refers to a building's ability to maintain critical life-support conditions in the event of extended loss of power, heating fuel, or water.
Passive Survivability
This substance that has been in the national news lately earned the nickname "Forever Chemicals" for it's ability to stay in the environment for a long time with a half life in nature of over 1 million years.
PFAS
Featuring Diversity & Inclusion, Equity, Employee Health, Employee Benefits, Stewardship, Purchasing & Supply Chain, this social justice and equity certification framework was created by International Living Future Institute (ILFI).
JUST label