Last week, leaders of our Sustainable Engineering Studio in partnership with City CDR Initiative, organized a powerful event in our New York studio during Climate Week NYC 2025. The conversation brought together global city officials, Indigenous leaders, planners, carbon removal experts, and SOM partners Adam Semel, Chris Cooper, and Carrie Moore as panelists, who shared insights and engaged attendees on strategies for building a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future.
The event explored the transformative concept of Carbon Sink Cities, positioning urban environments not only as places to live and work but as powerful agents for carbon removal, resilience, and climate innovation. The discussion highlighted how the future of cities depends on shifting entire systems—not just individual structures—through adaptive reuse, large-scale carbon capture, and integrated urban strategies.
The SOM panelists reflected on our unique ability to shape this future, drawing on projects such as The New York Climate Exchange and advancing bold ideas like Urban Sequoia, which redefines how buildings themselves can act as carbon sinks. The conversation also touched on innovations at the intersection of architecture, infrastructure, and energy storage—pushing the limits of what a ‘building’ can be, and reframing buildings as catalysts for systemic change across entire cities.
These initiatives build on the ongoing work of our Sustainable Engineering Studio, where research and projects converge to reimagine the role of the built environment in addressing the climate crisis. By driving cross-disciplinary collaboration, testing bold ideas, and advancing practical solutions, the team ensures that buildings and cities are not just resilient to change but active agents in shaping a sustainable future.
