Worcester Business Journal

10 Worcester Business Journal | September 18, 2023 | wbjournal.com BY EMILY MICUCCI Special to WBJ I f there is an industry that stands to dramatically contribute to climate change mitigation, it's building design, and Central Massachusetts architects say they're poised for the challenge. Clay Benjamin Smook, owner of SMOOK Architecture and Urban Design in Westborough, said in general, steep limitations aren't a bad thing when designing a commercial or residential building. "It's better, the more con- straints you have, it really pushes you," Smook said. Smook, like most of his comrades in architecture, didn't get into the business to save the planet when he started in the late 1980s, but he's unfazed at the idea that buildings, more than ever, must be designed to meet stricter energy codes and built to withstand a growing threat of natural disasters ushered in by a changing climate. Massachusetts, like California on the West Coast, has always been on the fore- front of sustain- able building, and programs such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program, a global gold standard for green buildings, are nothing new. Smook said there's a cost benefit to building for energy efficiency, and sustainability is important to public perception of a company. But the stakes are rising. International building and energy codes, released every three years, are preparing for the possibility of flooding in coastal cities, stronger earthquakes, and hurricane winds. In e Seaport District in Boston, that means floodgate designs on new buildings, and anywhere within a mile of the coast is facing down more stringent wind and earthquake codes. "It's slow to happen, but it's happen- ing," Smook said. Taking the lead Rather than simply adapting to codes, the architecture industry appears to be taking the lead on sustainable design for a changing climate. In June 2022, e American Institute of Architects (AIA) Changing with the climate As the building design industry evolves, Central Mass. architects are incorporating sustainability and extreme weather resiliency into their projects FOCUS A R C H I T E C T U R E & C O N S T R U C T I O N Continued on next page Clay Benjamin Smook, owner of SMOOK Architecture and Urban Design

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