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Marcus Hopper, AIA, NCARB, LEED ID+C

Marcus Hopper, AIA, NCARB, LEED ID+C

Regional Design Manager/ Senior Associate

Gensler

Marcus Hopper, AIA, NCARB, LEED ID+C, is the Northwest Regional Design Management leader for Gensler. With a depth of experience in workplace environments, Marcus is passionate about design’s capacity to shape the built environment with creativity, environmental conscientiousness and material sustainability. He has contributed to Gensler’s Design Resilience team that completed high profile projects for Etsy in New York City and the NRDC space in San Francisco. In 2018, he was part of a research team that studied five Gensler offices that had recently undergone renovation to see how reused materials played a role. The goal of the research was to bring awareness to the circular economy and identify how the industry can bolster and encourage reuse processes within design work. Findings from this initial study were published in the Gensler Research Institute white paper, What’s Old is New Again – Circumnavigating the Circular Economy.

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  • The Circular Workplace & Product Sustainability
    Contains 1 Component(s), Includes Credits

    How can we proactively plan for circularity as core to the design process to achieve more sustainable outcomes? Office moves create a substantial amount of waste that could be significantly reduced or avoided. This unnecessary waste could be diminished if we reset methodologies, processes, and project goals. Implementing a circular design approach in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries should contribute to economically sustainable growth and savings across multiple sectors. Workplace circularity requires full engagement from all parties in the building lifecycle. For example, product manufacturers have a key role to play. Products can be designed for circularity, but if there is no incentive to be part of the circular process, business imperatives will be limited. This is a prime opportunity for growth in a new service offering by considering materials for lease, takeback programs, or affiliations. For years, Gensler has been compiling insights on workplace circularity for our designers to use as they guide their clients in closing the loop on building materials at the end of their first useful life. Implementing a smarter specification framework, material selection, and designing for the space end life in mind requires an earnest commitment from the entire industry. For this presentation, Gensler will present examples of how the firm is implementing processes to further develop the circular economy and identify how the collective Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) industry can bolster and encourage reuse processes. Two case stories will be presented: The Resilient Living Lab and Gensler Product Sustainability (GPS) standards.