Learn What’s Top of Mind for Architects
Despite talks of a recession in 2024, the U.S. construction forecast still predicts growth, particularly for multi-family, hotel and manufacturing projects.
That said, high material costs and inflation—driven by energy prices, wages and consumer spending—is causing unpredictability while elevated interest rates have made lending more costly and difficult.
With all these economic pressures, architects are increasingly seeking product manufacturers as partners to help deliver high quality, energy efficient, long lasting, and sustainable buildings.
Common Values
What are architects looking for when selecting manufacturers to work with?
In addition to shared values—such as protecting the environment, transparency, diversity, and inclusion—architects are seeking products to help their designs reduce embodied carbon, decrease energy use, support circular practices and in some cases, enable net zero designs.
Not only does the building industry generate 40% of annual CO2 emissions, but embodied carbon created by manufacturing products and materials accounts for 11% of global annual emissions and is connected to issues of public health and equity. Taking this responsibility seriously, more than 1,200 architectural firms have signed on to the American Institute of Architects’ AIA 2030 Commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
Consequently, companies taking steps to reduce the use of fossil fuels, use renewable energy sources and reduce the environmental footprint of their products are best poised to help architects and building owners achieve important decarbonization targets,
This goes hand in hand with the 3 R’s – reduce, reuse and recycle.
With well-designed products, the use of resources and materials through manufacturing and fabrication can be reduced. Incorporating increasing percentages of recycled content in products is valuable. For example, with glass, this might mean incorporating recycled cullet into the manufacturing process.
Architects are also interested in products and materials that can be recycled at the end of life. In addition to reducing waste, circular materials reduce carbon in the atmosphere and can help building teams qualify for credits in building certification programs.
On the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), architects and building owners are looking to incorporate these values and principles into their supply chains and designs. Consequently, they want to partner with manufacturers who share these same values.
Green Building Certifications
The grandfather of sustainable building certifications and the most well-known is the U.S. Green Building Council (USBGC) LEED program. LEED-certified buildings have been documented to consume 25% less energy and 11% less water than a typical building.
LEED-seeking buildings will favor building products which can help the project earn points. For example, in the Indoor Environmental Quality category, products supporting daylighting can help earn points in two credits: Daylight and Quality Views.
Currently under development, LEED v5 is evolving to include timely issues like equity, health, ecosystems, and resilience.
Whereas LEED awards points for predicted energy efficiency, the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge takes things a step further, requiring metered energy consumption after one year of operation. Another difference is design teams have more liberty to pick and choose the credits they want to pursue with LEED while the LBC is more holistic and rigorous in its requirements for certification.
Another program gaining traction is the International WELL Building Institute’s WELL Building Standard. Unlike some other rating systems, which primarily on the building's environmental impact, WELL distinguishes itself with its emphasis on occupant health and well-being.
Other programs growing in popularity include Passive House and Green Globes.
Some qualities which architects are seeking in building products to help support any or all these certifications are volatile organic compounds (VOC) content, thermal performance, natural light, ventilation, and connection to the outdoors.
Here are just a few examples:
Water-based coatings1 for the use in manufacturing spandrel glass is an excellent example of a solution that supports a no—to low VOC finished product.
Fire-rated glass ceramics1 produced without the use of hazardous heavy metals antimony and arsenic.
Prefabricated fire-rated steel columns1 delivered to the jobsite ready to install and with an intumescent layer incorporated in the column design, eliminating aftermarket coatings being applied in the field.
Guardian Glass1 and Vitro Architectural Glass1 continue to innovate high-performing glass coatings to improve energy efficiency.
Operable Glass Wall Systems support biophilic design by connecting indoor/outdoor spaces, increasing the flow of natural daylighting while also offering large views.
Also key, and often required for certifications, is transparency. Consequently, it is essential for product manufacturers to develop and provide updated Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s) to help architects quantify environmental information on a product or material’s life cycle.
Adaptive Reuse
Another key trend to look out for in 2024 is growing interest in adaptive reuse projects. Driven by carbon reduction goals, conserving resources, reducing waste and historic preservation, developers and building owners are commonly choosing renovations and adaptive reuse over new construction.
By reusing a building’s existing structure and shell, project teams are tapping savings in material costs and labor, not to mention reducing their environmental footprint.
Of note, a former American Institute of Architects (AIA) President Carl Elefante once said, “The greenest building is the one that already exists.”
To help support retrofits and adaptive reuse, it behooves manufacturers to both promote these product applications and continue developing solutions for this growing demographic of project types.
As an example. various architectural glass applications were incorporated in the Wheeler Kearns design that transformed an old Kraft Food Plant constructed of concrete and masonry in Bentonville, Ark., into a contemporary art exhibit at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s Momentary, paying homage to the site’s history as Osage hunting land.
More Trends
To better target architects with their marketing efforts, manufacturers should pay heed to a few more trends in 2024 – modular solutions, prefabricated components, and biophilic design.
According to the Modular Building Institute, modular construction has tripled since 2015. Assembled and tested in factory-controlled settings, these solutions are reducing waste, increasing quality control and delivering savings in construction costs and project schedules.
In a similar vein, prefabricated construction offers many advantages including enhanced quality and durability, lowered costs and project timelines, less waste and reduced on-site labor.
Biophilic materials and designs have been proven to increase health and wellness, healing, job satisfaction, employee retention and productivity. Popular biophilic elements include daylighting, water features, greenery, natural and natural-looking materials like wood and stone.
Increase Your Reach
For guidance in positioning your building products for greater architectural reach, contact the industry experts at Division 08 Marketing2. Of note, the company is a full-service marketing and advertising agency specializing in the building products and construction industry, including—but not limited to CSI Division 08, 05, 03, and 010 categories.
Footnote1: Product or company references are not intended to imply these are clients of Division 08 Marketing, LLC. The intent is to educate through examples shared and are not paid promotions.
Footnote2: Since the inception of Division 08 Marketing, the company has expanded to serve clients in various CSI division categories.