The New York Times recently chronicled the “growth spurt in green architecture”—nature-based solutions that are dramatically reducing embodied carbon emissions in construction. Reporter Stephen Wallis identified the SOM-designed Terminal 2 at Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru as an “evocative” new example of this approach, “a building that felt almost like a garden pavilion with the openness and the qualities of filtered light,” as SOM Principal Peter Lefkovits described in the article. Delving further into the use of organic materials, Wallis also spoke to Principal Yasemin Kologlu about our collaboration with Prometheus Materials to develop a carbon-absorbing, algae-based alternative to concrete.

“We cannot simply rely on natural materials, because there just isn’t enough timber and bamboo to build the whole stock of buildings we need,” Kologlu told The Times. “We can’t continue to build the way we are, but there’s not one silver bullet. It needs to be a culmination of maybe more than 30 different strategies for us to get there.”