When design firms begin to consider a more virtual approach to their way of working, an often overlooked advantage of establishing a virtual environment is the inherently sustainable practice of reducing their use of paper. For Marner Architecture, the discussion of converting their existing resource library to a virtual digital library rose out of a need to fulfill a professional commitment. “It’s an initiative that goes with having signed the 2030 Challenge,” said Heidi de Bethmann, partner at Marner Architecture. “One of the first steps,” she said, “is coming up with a list of things that reduce our impact on the environment within our office. We are committed to reducing the amount of paper we use.”
The AIA and Architecture 2030 have separately invited design firms to commit to a transformation across the built environment. As it currently stands, buildings are the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. The goal of both programs is to provide a solution to the global warming crisis by achieving carbon neutrality for each participant’s office and every project they design by 2030. Marner Architecture has accepted both challenges offered by both organizations. One of the goals at Marner Architecture is to eliminate all product binders in the resource library that contain printed brochures and fill the void with a searchable digital library and an expanded sustainable materials sample collection. A large flat screen monitor will be installed to facilitate vendor and client presentations.
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