For ARCHITECT's September issue, we talked with Portland, Ore.-based real estate developer Anyeley Hallová about sustainable design. Here, Hallová—the founder of Adre—shares her insight.
What does your role entail?
Adre is a Black- and women-owned real estate development firm. The company was founded with the purpose of creating a prosperous life for people and groups that traditionally lack access to real estate ownership and investment through the creation of affordable homes, mixed-use developments, and facilities for mission-driven organizations. My role as founder of the company is providing the vision, leveraging my connections, and finding the resources to get our projects built.
How has the definition of sustainability evolved throughout your career?
I first learned about the term ‘sustainability’ when studying abroad at the School for Field Studies in Costa Rica in 1997. I was fortunate to have received proper instruction early on in the sustainability movement—that a process or product can’t be considered sustainable unless it addresses environmental, social, and economic sustainability and that the ultimate outcome is to have a closed-loop system regarding inputs and outputs. While this definition of sustainability has stayed consistent for me throughout my career, the industry is just catching on to the desperate need to address social sustainability post-2020 and the Black Lives Movement.
What role do architects and designers play in ensuring a sustainable future?
Architects and designers have the unique ability to advocate for a sustainable future with their clients. If design firms embed environmental and social sustainability features and processes into their everyday practices, it will become less necessary for clients to have complete buy-in. Many clients do not want to feel they are inventing the wheel or taking on what they deem as unnecessary risks. Architects and designers can play the role of educator, facilitator, and champion when it comes to ensuring a sustainable future.
What’s your firm’s approach to sustainability?
[As stated on the firm's website,] Adre envisions a future in which our projects help strengthen the communities we work with by promoting social and racial equity. We craft projects for organizational and individual wealth creation and financial stability through utilizing women- and BIPOC-owned firms and providing ownership and vested power in shaping one’s neighborhood. Adre is committed to healthy and resilient buildings for all communities. We plan projects that conserve water and energy; have renewable energy production; reduce waste; and utilize healthy regionally sourced materials. Our projects strive for a minimal carbon footprint, follow a “Path to Net Zero,” and pursue LEED or other environmental certifications.
What’s your firm’s biggest obstacle when it comes to sustainability projects?
As a firm, we have a certain level of environmental sustainability that is non-negotiable. This starts with LEED or Earth Advantage certification—with each project making decisions on what aspects are most relevant to that site, community, client, and investors. Our next goal would be net zero. However, the ability to be net zero depends heavily on the ability to find funding to maximize the renewable energy on-site and any site limitations.
Social sustainability takes more time, patience, innovation, and partners that are aligned in terms of values. Our goal with each of our projects is to do at least one innovation in social sustainability with the idea that, over time, we can start to combine innovations that address social inequities through ownership, occupants, resource distribution, and programming.
What’s an innovation or design solution that you are particularly proud of?
I am proud of The Meyer Memorial Trust Headquarters in Portland, Ore.—a project I led at my previous development firm, [called project^]—which won a 2022 Urban Land Institute Americas Award for Excellence. The [building’s] development was rooted in environmental sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion, and boasted 47% BIPOC- or women-owned business participation. Also, in my role as chair of Oregon’s Land Conservation and Development Commission, I am proud of our work on the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities program designed to change local transportation and land-use plans to help meet our greenhouse gas emission targets—including the designation of Climate-Friendly Areas and reforming costly parking mandates.
What’s a project by another group or individual that you think is pushing the boundaries of sustainable design?
The Port of Portland, PDX Airport Main Terminal Expansion by ZGF is pushing the boundaries of environmental and social sustainability with regard to embodied carbon, regional materials, biophilic design, and equitable sourcing of wood materials from small families and Pacific Northwest tribes. Additionally, the top architectural designers on the project are racially and gender diverse.
What research are you following right now? (What’s an example of a research project by a group or an individual that’s informing your practice?)
The Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure TallWood Project is a research project that includes the Colorado School of Mines, the University of Nevada, the University of Washington, and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. One of the sparks for this research came from the research and development phase of the Framework project which I led at a previous firm. In May 2023, more than 50 tests of major earthquakes were conducted on a 10-story version of Framework and successfully showed little to no damage to the structure of the building.
What’s the most pressing issue in sustainability right now?
Ensuring that communities of color and other disadvantaged groups get the same level of access to environmental sustainability features that occupants of Class A Office Space or residents of high-end homes receive. These include superior indoor environmental air quality, resilient buildings that can withstand climate chaos, and upfront investment in building systems that reduce utility bills over time.
If you had to recommend one book or text on sustainability or sustainable design, what would it be and why?
Regarding social sustainability, I would recommend Richard Rothstein's The Color of Law, a book about the forgotten history of how our government segregated America. Anyone who reads this book won’t have a choice but to consider how to be a part of the solution rather than perpetuate the status quo.
If one wanted to dive into how to actionize environmental sustainability in a building project, I would recommend taking a course offered by the U.S Green Building Council. The course I [took] more than 15 years ago set the foundation for my work today.
When it comes to sustainable design, what’s missing in architecture and design education right now?
What is missing from architecture and design education right now is threefold. First, the lack of focus on the embodied carbon of building materials and the source of these materials. Second, asking the question “Who are these buildings for?” and ensuring those voices are empowered and reflected in projects. And third, pressing for answers on who gets to participate in the economic benefits of our design, development, construction, and manufacturing work because of our design choices and processes.
An abbreviated version of this article first appeared in the September 2023 issue of ARCHITECT.
