Going for Zero - by Carl Elefante (Paperback)

About the Book

In Going for Zero: Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future, seasoned architect and former AIA president Carl Elefante addresses how buildings and cities can and must help resolve the looming climate emergency.

For architects and the countless others who work together creating human habitation, the twenty-first century imperatives demand a profound mode shift, from an expansion mindset to one of reintegration and healing.

Elefante explains that revitalizing communities by optimizing existing resources makes social, economic, and environmental sense and directs resources where they are most needed. He offers a decidedly alternative viewpoint, one informed by his career rescuing buildings from demolition and learning from the practices and wisdom embedded in built heritage.

In Going for Zero Elefante offers a message of hope, with the urgency to act now.

Book Synopsis

Climate change is no longer an abstract threat. Day after day, an already disrupted climate is impacting the lives of millions, and the time available to curtail climate change is alarmingly limited. Going for zero greenhouse gas emissions requires retooling everything about industry, agriculture, transportation, and every city and town that people inhabit. The work of architects, engineers, landscape architects, urban designers and the countless others who shape the built environment has never been more relevant. Decarbonizing how buildings are designed, constructed, and operated is a sea change that is already altering professional principles and practices.

In Going for Zero: Decarbonizing the Built Environment on the Path to Our Urban Future​, seasoned architect and former AIA president Carl Elefante addresses how buildings and cities can and must help resolve the looming climate emergency. Elefante offers a decidedly alternative viewpoint, one informed by his architecture career rescuing buildings from senseless demolition and learning from the practices and wisdom embedded in built heritage.

For architects and the countless others who work together creating human habitation, the twenty-first century imperatives demand a profound mode shift, from an expansion mindset to one of reintegration and healing. Elefante argues that curtailing the climate emergency, resolving intransigent social and economic injustice, and launching the urban era onto a truly beneficial and sufficient path presents challenges that must be addressed through built form.

The challenge of our built environment and the possible solutions are covered in four sections: climate imperative, justice imperative, urban imperative, and beyond modernism. Elefante explains that revitalizing communities by optimizing existing resources makes social, economic, and environmental sense and directs resources where they are most needed.

Going for Zero is an urgent call to action and path forward. Elefante's message is ultimately one of hope--but we must act now.

Review Quotes

"Wonderful book."-- "Carbon Upfront!"

"Going for Zero is a powerful call-to-action for architects and urban planners. Drawing on decades of experience, Elefante offers a unique perspective and a clear vision: by revitalizing communities and optimizing existing resources, we can heal our planet and create resilient cities and vibrant neighborhoods. He provides a practical roadmap for urban transformation through strategic restoration and renewal. Essential reading for those shaping our built environment."--Edward Mazria FAIA FRAIC, founder of Architecture 2030 and Recipient of the 2021 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal

"Architects always meld art and science, but only some are bold enough to meld art, science, and people--Carl Elefante is a leader of that select group. His extraordinary book is a book for everyone, and especially anyone ready to move us away from destruction to a new path."--Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, DLFAPA, Hon AIA, author of 'Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America and What We Can Do About It'

"There is one thing that we must now know: The future of architecture, urbanism and landscape design will not be like its past. A past that is mostly weighed down by eighty years of the intellectually and emotionally rudderless and wasteful practices of international modernism. Our future lies elsewhere: In the understanding of the best experiences of the deeper past translated into culture- specific, socially engaging and environmentally focused practices. Mending and transforming the damage we have already wrought on this planet. Not starting from scratch with another self- aggrandizing idea every Monday morning. Carl Elefante's book speaks decisively on this matter."--Stefanos Polyzoides, Professor and Dean, Notre Dame School of Architecture

"With vivid examples from all over the world, Carl Elefante makes a forceful case for the need for architects, preservationists, and city leaders to take urgently needed climate action. He calls for significant changes to the construction industry, building design, and land settlement patterns that will ensure a more just and sustainable future."--Sara Bronin, professor at Cornell University and author of 'Key to the City: How Zoning Shapes Our World '

About the Author

Known worldwide for coining the phrase: "the greenest building is...one that is already built," Carl Elefante practiced architecture at the intersection of sustainable design and historic preservation. A Principal Emeritus with Quinn Evans, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2024 Firm Award recipient, Carl designed noteworthy projects during a decades-long architectural career. In 2018, Carl served as the President of AIA, the highlight of many leadership roles in professional associations. Carl is a Fellow of both the AIA and the Association for Preservation Technology (APT). Among several teaching positions, in 2023-24 Carl served as the inaugural Visiting Scholar at the Michael Christopher Duda Center for Preservation, Resilience, and Sustainability at the University of Notre Dame. Carl is a Senior Fellow with Architecture 2030 and a charter member of the Climate Heritage Network.