Sustainability

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green dreams

Sustainability

At MVRDV, we take climate responsibility seriously. Our work is aligned with the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal, and we actively work to reduce our carbon footprint. We set targets, track, and report the carbon emissions of our projects and portfolio. Our data-informed climate strategy defines a clear and actionable roadmap towards Paris-proof in 2030 and beyond. Operating worldwide, we adapt our approach to each project’s unique context to deliver sustainable, climate-friendly solutions.

Embodied Carbon

Close to a third of a typical building's carbon emissions are released before it is even occupied, as a consequence of the materials used in its construction. By placing embodied carbon at the heart of our sustainability approach, we maximise our impact on this first phase of a building's existence, enabling our projects to meet the challenging needs of the immediate future. In pursuit of this strategy, we created a set of carbon guidelines that help designers to develop low-carbon proposals. We also developed CarbonSpace, a transparent tool to help reduce embodied carbon from day one of the design process – and released it for free public use.

Certifications

MVRDV delivers projects that meet the world’s highest sustainability standards. We have achieved BREEAM Outstanding, LEED Platinum, WELL Gold and DGNB Gold certifications. Whatever the regional or international standard, we ensure our projects meet, and often exceed, the required sustainability requirements.

Transformations

Sometimes the most sustainable choice is not to build new, but to transform what already exists. Renovation and transformation are among MVRDV’s core strengths.

In Shenzhen, we converted an outdated skyscraper from the 1990s into a vibrant Women & Children’s Centre. By reusing the building’s concrete structure, we avoided carbon emissions equal to 11,800 flights from Amsterdam to Shenzhen. Such transformations are fast, impactful, and demonstrate how creative reuse can deliver both climate impact and new cultural value.

Lightweight and bio-based

Reducing weight is one of our key strategies to cut embodied carbon emissions and deliver Paris-proof projects. Timber and timber-hybrid structures are a powerful way to combine lightness with bio-based materials.

In Paris, we realised a mass timber housing project on top of an existing mall, demonstrating the potential of urban densification with timber. In Amsterdam, we are developing a residential tower that is 70 metres tall, with a structure almost entirely in wood. And in Chengdu, we realised a viewing platform and pavilion with a structure of timber arches covered in earth, demonstrating the viability of bio-based materials, and challenging the regulations that usually discourages their use in this location.

Energy

We design with energy in mind, ensuring our projects are future-proof and ready for the era of zero-energy buildings.

In Rennes, we delivered a housing project following Passivhaus principles, cutting energy use to a minimum. In Shanghai, we designed an office with a solar canopy that not only produces renewable power but also creates a comfortable, shaded microclimate on its terraces. And in Rotterdam, Portlantis is a visitor and exhibition centre that is energy-neutral, powered by its own solar panels and wind turbine.

Across all our projects, we focus on reducing demand, maximising efficiency, and integrating renewables on-site to create buildings ready for a low-carbon future.

Circularity

Circularity is at the heart of the transition to a sustainable economy, and we prepare our projects for this future with a range of strategies. In Shanghai, we gave a Bulgari store a façade made with recycled glass, transforming champagne and beer bottles into a new material with the appearance of jade – turning trash into treasure.

We also design for long-term adaptability. At WERK12 in Munich, double-height floors, outdoor circulation, and a flexible structure allow the building to transform endlessly: from offices to housing, a gym, a hotel, or even a nightclub, this building can last longer by absorbing changes through time.

At the other end of the spectrum, we design for disassembly. Matrix ONE in Amsterdam is our first fully circular project: it is completely demountable, and over 90% of its materials can be reused after disassembly. Today’s building becomes tomorrow’s material, ready to serve the next generation.

Resilience

In architecture, our climate efforts primarily focus on climate mitigation. On the larger scale, our urban projects focus on targeted climate adaptation strategies. By addressing mobility, flooding, drought, heat stress, biodiversity, energy demand, flexibility, and community engagement, we strive to foster resilient and future-proof communities.

At the Noviotech Campus in Nijmegen, our landscape strategy integrates an ecological habitat approach with a diverse mix of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants to create a biodiverse and vibrant ecosystem that supports both people and local species. Read more about our Resilience strategies here.

Towards Paris-Proof 2030 and beyond

We align our work with the Paris Agreement, using the data of ongoing and realised projects to continuously inform our approach. Our portfolio itself is our roadmap: every project demonstrates a context-specific sustainability strategy that delivers solutions tailored to its challenge. With our live dashboard, we monitor progress in real time, showing how far we have come, and how close we are to becoming Paris-Proof.

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