Hafsa Burt founded hb+a Architects in 2006, driven by a visionary commitment to sustainability and efficiency — concepts that, at the time, were often relegated to the margins of mainstream architectural practice. While a select few boutique firms dabbled in sustainable practices, Burt saw the responsibility to reshape commercial and public architecture through a more thorough application of these principles. Her background in environmental advocacy, coupled with a dedication to creating healthier, sustainable built environments, laid the foundation for a practice that prioritized the integration of energy efficiency, low-carbon materials, passive strategies and enhanced indoor air quality at every stage of design.
Over the years, hb+a Architects has evolved into a pioneering force in the development of zero energy and low carbon buildings, consistently pushing the envelope of architectural innovation. The firm’s work embodies a holistic approach converging sustainability, advanced technology, and occupant well-being in each project. Under Burt's leadership, hb+a Architects has delivered a diverse array of complex projects, from educational modernizations to critical infrastructure initiatives, all while maintaining an unwavering focus on environmental stewardship and design excellence.
The firm has a longstanding commitment to sustainability and healthy building design, which has been central to its practice for years. The firm’s focus on creating zero energy and low carbon spaces, paired with a deep concern for indoor air/environmental quality and the use of environmentally responsible materials, reflects a thoughtful and forwardthinking approach to architecture. With its dedication to innovation in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship, the firm aims to integrate sustainability with occupant well-being, ensuring these principles guide every project from conception to completion. The firm is currently involved in several notable projects that align with its mission of sustainability and innovation (Figure 2). They include:
Other projects include office to residential conversion of a Class A Historic Building in San Francisco, an institutional building in Union City, and mixed-use ground up projects in San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area.
hb+a Architects started using AEC technology since the inception of the firm, jumping on board early to make its design and delivery more precise and efficient. The firm adopted Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other digital tools to streamline processes, all while advancing sustainable practices. Nowadays, the firm fully utilizes BIM software, BIM Collab Pro, 3D Max, and Adobe tools, etc., to develop detailed project models and contract documents (Figure 2). Cloud-based tools are also employed to facilitate seamless coordination across team members, regardless of their location, ensuring smooth project management.
The firm’s approach is rooted in efficiency to make design and construction more sustainable, and collaborative. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is used to streamline processes and improve overall project efficiency, collaboration and communication (Figure 3). By integrating these tools, the firm can better track performance, optimize building energy use, and collaborate with the entire team for a streamlined delivery. Collaboration is a key focus, with cloud-based platforms making project management smoother. The firm has always stayed ahead of the curve with the latest tech trends, continually refining its processes and adapting to new standards in the industry. This commitment ensures that the firm’s projects are not only cutting-edge but also align with its goals of innovation and high-quality design.
One challenge that we usually come across is coordinating multiple disciplines if they’re not using the same technology, which can sometimes lead to communication gaps. Also, keeping the team up-to-date with evolving technology requires constant training.
I think a lot of production tasks may get automated, not right away but that’s where the industry will move eventually. Artificial intelligence (AI) which is being used by some firms to generate ideas/concepts will play a more useful role (hopefully), integrated with production software. AI will identify loopholes in energy efficiency, embodied carbon impacts of material choices, etc. This will be a welcome advancement to collect accurate data and develop strategies to design and deliver buildings with a reduced impact on our planet. It would be great if AI could realistically verify data produced from various lifecycle analysis software during design and help with verified implementation during construction. AI can also help plan checkers and eventually inspectors to make sure what is said/submitted is actually done/constructed. Data verification is immensely important, because with the (climate) risk at hand, green washing needs to be squashed. AI can also play a big role in helping jurisdictions implement carbon reduction policies successfully, where checklists are compared with real time data of a simulated model rather than 2D drawings. We do have a long way to get there.
It would have to be AI integration in production software to identify and resolve optimization issues with design, materials and systems, a “spell check” of sorts going through the documents and model and calling out efficiency errors. Automated comprehensive verification of data in the contract documents would be an enormous help. Having worked on embodied carbon reduction policies, I understand the loopholes in current software tools to get accurate and complete data. Carbon accounting for all the components of a building is still very complex and, at the moment, simply incomplete if not inaccurate. The challenge is real time dynamic lifecycle analysis with regional data, integrated into BIM applications, and on the output side, verification of the data produced — a pretty ambitious wish.
Many thanks to Gabrielle Lask of Otter PR facilitating this profile.
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