Alicia Heinsen
Becker Raab
Ben Poulin
Beth Emig
Jason Chmura
Jessica Mangin
Kyle Rendall
Matthew McChesney
Mayva Donnon
Merilee Meacock
Michael Shatken
Petar Mattioni
Scot Murdoch
KSS’s practice is rooted in designing for impact—we create meaningful and lasting places for our clients, our society, and our world. Guided by these values, KSS has joined the 2030 Commitment as the next step in our firm’s commitment to being better stewards of our constantly changing world.
The 2030 Commitment is the AIA’s response to the 2030 Challenge, the goal of which is to ensure that all new buildings, developments, and major renovations are carbon neutral by 2030. Through the 2030 Commitment, the AIA endeavors to help firms transform the practice of architecture in a way that is holistic, firm-wide, project-based, and data-driven.
As part of our commitment, KSS created a Sustainability Action Plan to highlight actions the firm is dedicated to taking to elevate our practice while combatting global climate change. We have organized our plan into three areas: People, Process, and Place.
People
We believe that deep human relationships are the heart of all great architecture and that our greatest resource as a firm is our people. With this in mind, KSS commits to grow the number of staff members with sustainability accreditations, increase availability of and training for energy analysis software, and share best practices firm-wide.
Process
There are tremendous opportunities to incorporate more sustainable practices through adjustments to our process. Opportunities KSS has pledged to include implementing passive strategies to optimize impact with minimal resources, holding sustainability charettes for all new buildings and major renovations, and energy modeling.
Place
Place has the power to inspire people to achieve more, to make business work better, to conserve precious resources, and to build community. To improve upon our own place, KSS has committed to practice what we preach to our clients by incorporating sustainable design strategies such as daylighting, high-efficiency appliances, and composting, into our office renovations. KSS also commits to grow our New York office to meet the volume of work in the New York Metro, consequently reducing mileage and time spent commuting for Philadelphia and Princeton employees.
Through our people, our process, and our place—in our industry, our community, and our world—KSS is taking action to address energy and climate issues through the built environment. We are energized to take part in this vital mission, and look forward to sharing our firm’s progress as we measure the impact of our work.