Sustainability + Wellness

We strive to be a catalyst in propelling our studios, communities, and the industry forward towards a more circular, regenerative, and equitable future. Our SWell approach addresses sustainability from a holistic perspective, combining building science and healthy materials choices with engagement and whole-person wellness.

Healthy Materials

Strada is a signatory to the AIA A&D Materials Pledge.

We’ve developed a Healthy Materials Action Plan (HMAP) that lays out a roadmap to achieving the five AIA materials pledges and four supporting Strada commitments. The plan supports Stradistas in making responsible material selections and streamlines the process of researching, evaluating, and selecting materials and products that support human health, social health and equity, ecosystem health, climate health, and a circular economy.

Building Science

Our designs are intentional – directed by site analyses, building envelope and energy use efficiency calculations, and community health data and engagement that drive data-supported decisions to conscientiously use resources. To reduce the impact our projects have on global warming, we approach planning and design through two lenses: minimizing embodied carbon (the cumulative effect of materials that make up a building) and shrinking operational carbon (the energy impact of a building’s daily operations).

Smart, compact developments are most effective at reducing carbon emissions and other environmental impacts. Our expertise encompassing architecture, interior design, planning, and landscape architecture creates comprehensive creative solutions for tight sites within the urban fabric. Utilizing existing buildings has positive social, economic, cultural and environmental benefits, and is the most significant way to reduce embodied carbon. We thrive at crafting creative solutions for adaptive reuse and renovation projects, and value the preservation of our built heritage, revitalization of the urban fabric, and reduction of sprawl and environmental impact.

Wellness

We practice what we preach. Sustainability is embedded into our workplaces, standards and daily lives. Our studios are located in dense downtown areas that allow 76% of our employees to use public transit or bicycle to work. We reduce office waste by digitizing our drawings, prohibiting use of single-use materials, and partnering with outside vendors to reuse and recycle. Strada’s Office Sustainability Plan guides these efforts, allowing us to practice what we preach.

Our approach to sustainability and wellness is holistic and integrated into our firm culture, work, and the ways we connect with our clients and each other. We focus on wellness in our studios and see the results firsthand in creativity, teamwork and a sense of community. We ask questions, have honest conversations, and cultivate a culture that creates a space to feel empowered, supported, and to take risks and try new things. Wellness can mean different things to different people. We ask questions. We test theories. Then we distill our findings and apply them to help craft the right solution for you.