carbon
Reduce whole-life carbon emissions
Reducing emissions is becoming a requirement, not a value-add. Clients, cities (like Amsterdam), and investors increasingly require carbon transparency. EU Taxonomy regulations and the EPBD recast demand life cycle emissions tracking. This has a direct impact on real estate finance, permits, and future asset value.
circularity
Rethink, reduce, reuse and adapt
We prioritize adaptive reuse and circular methods to minimize waste and virgin materials, integrating these strategies early to guide flexible, low-carbon design.
energy
Design for building performance
We reduce operational energy demand through climate-responsive design and passive energy strategies, optimizing form, orientation, and façade design to enhance comfort and performance from the very beginning.
materials
Choose bio-based and circular materials
We guide bio-based, context-specific material choices, balancing environmental impact, performance, and function to create a healthier and low-impact built environment.
nature
Integrate nature in architecture and cities
We design with nature to enhance comfort, reduce heat, and support biodiversity, integrating greenery and habitats that add long-term value and create healthier urban spaces.
Our Climate Strategy is intended as a tool to ask ourselves the question of what sustainability means in our profession. The strategy provides structures for climate-conscious design, supports the skills, creativity and ambition within the WRK team, and helps us make more sustainable decisions at every stage of a project and on every scale.
Every level and scale, from design to city planning and landscape, interacts with climate goals.
Source: IPCC Sixth assessment report
"We have to talk about materials."
limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C -
Paris Agreement (2015)
Each project begins with different priorities determined by the local context and the client's needs. In all cases, we strive to ask critical questions so that we challenge ourselves to design better for the local context, for people and for the planet.
To truly contribute to a more sustainable built environment, we must look beyond carbon. Climate change is just one aspect of the Earth’s many interconnected ecosystems. Current environmental and social challenges, from biodiversity loss to affordability, resource availability, and inequality, are deeply intertwined.
Illustration by: Jan Konietzko
publication
WRK Climate Strategy
The Climate Design Tracks offer a framework for structuring both the internal design process and conversations with clients and project partners around climate-related ambitions.
(Publication is in Dutch)
publication
Target Paris Proof
As the building process and material usage also determine the CO2 impact, we work in accordance with the Whole Life Carbon approach. This is a framework for achieving a carbon dioxide-free construction sector and includes target dates, definitions, and practical case studies that helps us to achieve zero CO2 emissions during the entire service life of a building.
(Publication is in Dutch)
publication
Whole Life Carbon-approach
Circular design goes beyond reducing CO2 emissions during the use phase. The construction process and use of materials also determine the CO2 impact. That is why WRK works according to the Whole Life Carbon approach.
(Publication is in Dutch)