FXCollaborative Architects, LLP Resource Library – Manifesto 24 September 2020 Revised 17 October 2023 To cause positive impact to our profession, our community, and the planet FXCollaborative is an advocate and initiator of change. Our mission for more responsible selection of materials and products includes the following key tenets: •
Vigorously address the degradation of our planet by product manufacturers the AEC industry, specifically the impact on Climate Crisis (embodied carbon).
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Persistently consider health and well-being as essential to our designs and the materials we select.
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Actively support initiatives and movements that focus on equality, cultural literacy, and gender inclusivity.
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Advocate for positive change in the AEC industry by acting as a resource to firms, organizations, and clients.
Our resource library should reflect these tenets and articulate our values and commitment to issues of health and well-being: of our planet, the inhabitants of the environments we create, and our society. The resources we select must contribute to the creation of a healthier, more equitable future for human-kind and the planet. What we specify has significant and lasting impacts on the ecosystems of our planet and the human condition. As designers we can influence and utilize our practice to insist on industry accountability and change. By signaling to manufacturers and product suppliers our firm’s values we send an important message and convey our sense of responsibility to collectively advance manufacturing practices and industry resources. This manifesto is our action plan for doing so. Our goals: •
Cultivate awareness in the AEC industry and advocate for change.
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Help designers make better informed decisions in the selection of products and materials we specify.
A push to unify sustainable standards is underway in the industry through the A&D Materials Pledge and The Common Materials Framework (CMF). We have adopted the CMF categories and definitions, and priorities to support and enhance our efforts, and ask product manufacturers to report according to its priorities. While implementation of our manifesto will evolve as industry awareness heightens and evaluation criteria and systems progress, we are committed to understanding the materials we are specifying and their alignment with FXCollaborative’s ethical imperatives. To do so we ask manufacturers and product suppliers to disclose information related to their production and practices. Below is an outline of the criteria we use as the primary lenses for material evaluation: Climate Health, Ecosystem Health, Human Health, Social Health & Equity, and Circular Economy.