The KPF Global Director of Sustainability joined fellow experts to discuss design solutions for extreme heat in urban environments on a panel titled Extreme Heat: Adapting Cities to Rising Temperatures presented by the Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS).
In New York City, like many other urban areas around the world, heat waves are the deadliest form of extreme weather. As temperatures rise due to climate change, the question of how we can design our cities to be safer for residents during extreme heat events becomes increasingly urgent. As a part of Design Exchange: Innovations for a Changing Climate, an ongoing event series presented by The New York Climate Exchange, The Municipal Art Society (MAS), and Pratt Institute, Carlos joined fellow experts to discuss design responses to a warming world. KPF has established itself as a leader in leveraging building science and physics-based environmental modeling to understand and optimize thermal comfort in the built environment. As highlighted in a 2024 Fast Company article, KPF used advanced environmental simulations—including wind, solar, and thermal modeling—to optimize building orientation, façade performance, and shading in the design of HKUST(GZ), all aimed at enhancing thermal comfort for occupants throughout the year. Additional panelists included Yuliya Dzyuban, Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute; Cari Olson, Assistant Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and moderator Chris Rice, Associate Principal at WXY.
KPF is a longstanding supporter of MAS and has collaborated with the organization on a number of projects, notably the “Fight for Light” initiative. Since 2019, KPF’s Urban Interface (KPFui) and KPFep teams have partnered with MAS to analyze sunlight access, thermal comfort, and tree growth across New York City’s five boroughs. Their data-driven studies informed MAS’s advocacy for equitable, healthy, and climate-resilient public spaces, culminating in the 2021 policy brief “A Framework for a City Built for Sunlight.” This work underscores the importance of sunlight in public health, comfort, and urban ecology, and continues to shape MAS’s recommendations for the city’s future.
Extreme Heat: Adapting Cities to Rising Temperatures took place on June 11 at the Pratt Institute’s Brooklyn campus in New York City.
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