What if buildings could act like trees—capturing carbon, purifying the air, and regenerating the environment? SOM Design Principal Yasemin Kologlu explains how to make this vision a reality in her keynote address for the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Ambasz Institute annual Earth Day lecture.

Yasemin presents Urban Sequoia—a design concept, buildable today, that can set the stage for a new carbon-removal economy and a resilient future for cities. Encompassing every aspect of design and construction, the project rethinks many of the common practices that architects have taken for granted for decades and challenges us to reconsider the way we select materials, integrate technology, and design mechanical systems and structures.

The presentation concludes with a discussion moderated by Octave Perrault, the founder of Zeroth Systems, a startup developing advanced bioclimatic HVAC systems for architecture.