HKP’s Material Transparency Program

For all of our projects, we want to make sure that we are choosing the right materials for the job. This not only applies to how the materials affect the building’s occupants, but also how they are extracted, manufactured, transported, and, crucially, what happens to them at the end of their useful life. 

How can we be sure that we are choosing the best materials?

Material transparency is required for us to make informed decisions with our clients and contracting partners. But how can we be truly certain that we are choosing the right materials?

We’ve formalized and adopted our very own product transparency guidelines, known as our Material Transparency Program. These guidelines provide a comprehensive framework for researching, validating, and recommending materials in all of our designs. Our program stems from the idea that we can’t make decisions when we don’t know what we don’t know. One of the most important aspects of being an architect is asking the right questions, but these questions can’t be answered if the information isn’t there.

Sustainability is a multifaceted issue. To combat climate change effectively, we must look at things from every possible angle. By looking at product makeup and sourcing of materials, we can pull back the curtain and see things that are typically obscured.

How does the program work?

 First, we have owners take a sustainability survey. This helps us establish healthy material goals for the project. Throughout the design process, we gather and review the documentation of each material used. If the healthy materials goals are not being met, we look for alternative products that provide the sufficient disclosure information that we require. This helps our owners to make more informed decisions.

 Throughout the project, we update materials tracking and provide a status report to the owner at the end of each phase. Once the project is complete, we provide a complete summary of the products and their disclosures to the owner. This comprehensive document can even prove useful should the owner choose to sell their building in the future.

If you’d like to learn more about this program, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!