Kilograph x ClimateCents SolarPanel Farm Downtown Los Angeles. Image courtesy of Kilograph.

Discussions regarding climate change and the need to make progressive reforms in the built environment are everywhere these days. 

Over the last year, calls from architects and the architecture community to strengthen their involvement in fighting the growing climate crisis have increased markedly. From international organizations like Architects Declare to efforts on the part of individual practices to create manifestos to ensure their own accountability towards this issue, it's difficult to avoid talking about sustainability and climate action when discussing architecture. 

Individually, however, the task of reinforcing action and follow-through can be tough, but collectively, entities and groups of firms can band together to create not only moments of change, but also movements that advocate for continuous action. To learn more about such collaborations, Archinect spoke with Keely Colcleugh, CEO of Kilograph and Sean Cushing board member of Climate Cents. Together, they unpack the influence an architectural visualization firm and a non-profit can have when they band together to create a hopeful narrative for change and action with regards to fighting the effects of climate change in Los Angeles.

For those who are unfamiliar with Kilograph and Climate Cents, can you give our readers a brief description and the type of work you both focus on? 

Sean Cushing (SC): Climate Cents is a Los Angeles-based, nonprofit organization focused on getting everyone to participate in the fight against climate change. As the concept of a warming planet can be daunting, our formula is simple: give people ways of taking small, positive actions, and those actions can then result in something bigger. Working with other nonprofit organizations, Climate Cents creates monthly crowdfunding campaigns to support local initiatives that not only capture carbon and battle global warming, but also make our communities better places to live. 

Keely Colcleugh (KC): Kilograph is a creative studio based in LA made up of architects, 3D artists, and technologists. We specialize in the built environment, so we work with everyone from big architecture firms like Gensler, SOM and Zaha Hadid Architects to commercial real estate developers like Brookfield Properties on their visualizations. Historically, this has centered on stills and animations, but more and more, we are using new mediums like VR/AR to help organizations communicate memorable ideas and spaces.

How did the collaboration with Kilograph and Climate Cents come about? 

SC: I worked with Keely at a pre-visualization company called Pixel Liberation Front in the late aughts. We both started our own companies in 2010 and have stayed in touch since. I had been tasked by the Climate Cents team to develop a blog and I wanted to focus on blue sky ideas that could help people realize that the transition to a clean energy future could be both positive and bold. A crucial aspect of that approach is creating dynamic visualizations that bring these ideas to life. In my opinion, Kilograph is arguably the best company in the world at creating architectural visualizations, so I reached out to see if Keely would be interested in collaborating. She was very enthusiastic about it (thankfully for Climate Cents) and her team embraced the collaboration with passion as well.

Keely, how have architecture and digital visualization techniques impacted the ways social justice issues are expressed materially in the built environment? 

The tools are the same, it’s the story that’s different. We just shifted expectations around how people view climate change and architecture. Because when you look at the Climate Cents work, we are using the same techniques we use to promote a new architectural design or real estate development project. We are creating desire, only in this case, we are building desire around investing in the future of your city, rather than a building or a property.

Sean, can you describe the team at Climate Cents? When tackling a subject such as climate change, I’m always curious as to hear more about the minds behind these initiatives and the multidisciplinary features of the organization. 

Climate Cents is a small team working in our spare time on projects that draw down carbon and/or reduce energy consumption. Our goal is to make it easy for people to fight climate change right in their own backyard, because we feel that by building momentum locally, we’ll begin to have impacts that can be measured at the collective scale of the entire city. Our founder, Nick Karno likes to say that we’re all in a boat that’s taking on water and everyone needs to grab a bucket and start bailing. We’re trying to make it easier for everyone to grab a bucket.

The majority of the stories about climate change are either depressingly dire or overwhelmingly focused on data. In order to change people’s minds, you have to change their perception of what’s possible.

A common denominator between Kilograph and Climate Cents is the focus on creating strong narratives. How has this collaboration aimed to “re-write” the current narrative regarding climate change? 

SC: For me, the main motivation behind this collaboration was creating a positive response to the climate change crisis. The majority of the stories about climate change are either depressingly dire or overwhelmingly focused on data. In order to change people’s minds, you have to change their perception of what’s possible. By crafting a narrative that focuses on the benefits of clean energy projects and infrastructure transformations, we hopefully can get people to realize that we don’t have to settle for the carbon-based economy as we know it.

KC: I agree with Sean. The current narrative is too foreboding. It’s very much, “If you don’t do this, this bad thing will happen.” When you suggest that the world is always going to be dark and filled with nuclear rain like in Blade Runner over and over again, you condition people to only see the future in those terms. We wanted to help people envision a different future that they could invest in. We have a hand in shaping what comes next.

People who live in LA have always shouldered the guilt of living in the most polluted city in North America. Whenever you see us, it’s always long shots of cars or a state on fire. We have all internalized that and really accepted the role of being culpable for where we are today.

One of the ideas behind this project is to show Angelenos that our size can work to our advantage, if we just implement the right projects. 

With Kilograph and Climate Cents being LA-based, what do you hope this project will do for Angelenos and their perspectives on climate change? 

SC: Ideally, we’d be able to help continue the conversation about climate change being a social justice issue. As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, you shouldn’t get asthma just because you live here. Clean air and clean water are human rights issues, in my opinion, and there needs to be more of a collective expectation that these rights won’t be compromised. In terms of changing their perspectives, it’s about creating stories and imagery that demonstrate how we’re all connected to one another. If I reduce my carbon footprint, then not only does that benefit my neighbor, but it helps everyone in the LA basin. If everyone made choices to reduce their carbon footprint, then we’d all be breathing cleaner air.

KC: People who live in LA have always shouldered the guilt of living in one of the most polluted cities in North America. Whenever you see us, it’s always long shots of cars or a state on fire. We have all internalized that and really accepted the role of being culpable for where we are today. One of the ideas behind this project is to show Angelenos that our size can work to our advantage, if we just implement the right projects. These changes could offer a sense of pride for where we live, especially if we start leading the country in structural green efforts. 

Back in October, Kilograph, Climate Cents, and the American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI) presented Imagined Landscapes at the WUHO Gallery. What was exhibited? 

KC: On the ASAI front, you had the winners of the 34th annual Architecture in Perspective competition. This was the first non-digital presentation of this work. 

Kilograph displayed our Imagined Landscapes VR experience, which explored the unrealized work of architect Michael Graves, allowing attendees to add VR watercolors to a conceptual resort.

Climate Cents and Kilograph then came together on an AR project that let visitors view and visualize the myriad ways LA could respond to climate crisis. Using the app, viewers could see “before & afters” of different LA landscapes, created by in-house artists.

Were there any take-aways or new perspectives gained after interacting with the public? 

SC: During my interactions with people at the exhibit, I was struck by how enthusiastic they were about these positive visions of the community that they live in. They recognized the locations in the exhibit and they understood how beneficial these projects would be to their lives. It was powerful.

KC: Everyone was delighted when they saw the before and afters. When you live in a city and know the sites, it just means more to you. The exhibit was also designed to lead you through different types of architectural use cases, so as you progressed from the ASAI end (which was more focused on observational illustrations of existing architecture or commercial developments) to the Climate Cents area, you really saw how the same techniques are helping people envision different futures.

Right now, everything is doom and gloom when it comes to climate change. Presenting the possibilities for improvement, or new tech that might make it happen, could help inspire people to make changes or encourage momentum. 

The discipline of architecture and visual design are changing as the growing concern for climate change intensifies. What types of tools are out there to help stress the importance of climate change awareness and action? 

SC: I just saw a VR project that helped people realize the impact of rising water levels in their community in Baltimore. I think combining visualizations with VR and AR are going to have significant impacts on how people view these issues on a local level.

What can the media do to help organizations and studios like yourselves create stronger narratives for action? 

SC: Climate Change is an issue that’s profoundly difficult for humans to grasp because of its scale and complexity. If we’re able to help create a narrative where people feel empowered to work locally on projects that not only draw down carbon but also benefit their community, then I think it will help people connect to the positive impact that they’re having.

KC: Right now, everything is doom-and-gloom when it comes to climate change. Presenting the possibilities for improvement, or new tech that might make it happen, could help inspire people to make changes or encourage momentum. Part of this means showing visuals of what progress might look like. If you only see cities underwater, that’ll have a specific effect over time.