The Living Building Challenge is the world’s most ambitious building standard.  It is a philosophy, advocacy tool, and certification program that addresses development at all scales. It is an incredibly bold vision aimed to inspire the leaders the world needs. Called “a manifesto in the guise of a standard”, the Living Building Challenge defines priorities on both a technical level and as a set of core values. Balancing intuition with theory, it is provoking the deep conversations required within the building industry and beyond to solve problems rather than shift them.

Very much in a nascent stage, the Challenge has successfully certified 4 buildings at varying scales, with many more in occupancy and development stages throughout the world. With each project that strives for and obtains certification, a bar is raised that proves our built environment is capable of becoming more. This creates a ripple effect that is felt far and wide, energizing those who are passionate about transformative design.

Joshua is an ambassador for the Challenge and has been trained by the Living Building Institute to lead volunteer presentations on their behalf.  These entail 1 hour long seminars presented for interested groups/organizations/events and are qualified for 1 AIA continuing education credit and 1 LEED CE hour.  In addition to presenting, Foss has contributed to several projects that have aimed for certification, including the development of an integrated design charrette for a multi-family mixed use project in Minneapolis.

Please contact Foss directly if interested in learning more about this exciting and transformative building standard, or to have him lead a presentation for your organization.  Joshua currently resides in London and is the only qualified Living Building presenter in the UK.

(and for more information on the Living Building Challenge, follow this link <HERE>.