Throughout 2025, The Kendeda Building continued to serve as a living laboratory for regenerative design and a catalyst for change in the built environment. During each academic week, hundreds of Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff used the building as a vibrant hub for learning, collaboration, research, and community engagement. Over the course of the year, thousands of visitors experienced the building firsthand through guided tours, immersive programming, and hands-on educational opportunities.
The building hosted a diverse range of convenings that advanced dialogue at the intersection of climate, design, and innovation. Signature events included the launch of BoldImpact ATL, a reception for the Society of Architectural Historians, and a public forum examining Georgia’s evolving electricity fuel mix—each reinforcing the building’s role as a platform for thought leadership and systems change. The building was also featured on the CBS show America by Design as well as on CNN.
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Inside the Atlanta building that gives more than it takes
The Kendeda Building remained net positive for water and energy during 2025. The building supplied and infiltrated more water than it used. It supplied a whopping 159% of its energy needs via onsite solar, far exceeding the 105% Living Building Challenge requirement. Since opening in 2020, the building has produced about 190% of its electricity needs. Below are annual figures. Note that in performing the 2025 analysis, we identified the need to refine the methodology used in prior years. The building’s energy performance remains exceptional and continues to demonstrate that net-positive energy is achievable.
Year | Percent Net Positive Energy | Energy Use Intensity (in Imperial Unit) |
2020 | 222% | 18.40 |
2021 | 216% | 18.74 |
2022 | 200% | 20.18 |
2023 | 169% | 22.90 |
2024 | 170% | 23.61 |
2025 | 159% | 24.80 |
The Kendeda Building Team (Georgia Tech staff, architects, builders, engineers, and consultants on the project) spoke at 20 panel discussions, lectures, seminars, and events with an audience of over 4,330 people. Some are available online and have received thousands of additional views.
A core mission of Georgia Tech’s Kendeda Building is to promote a regenerative approach to the built environment. In support of that mission, we are proud to have guided academic, faith-based, and corporate organizations around the world in advancing their projects toward regenerative design, construction, and operations.
In 2025, we continued our collaboration with the Roswell Community Masjid as it pursues a groundbreaking goal: building the world’s first house of worship to achieve Living Building certification. We also hosted a series of workshops for organizations eager to adopt regenerative principles, including Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center, Three Sisters Market in Charlotte, and Juneberry Ridge in North Carolina.
Seeing is believing! Therefore tours remain our most powerful tool for engaging diverse changemakers. In 2025, approximately 2,900 individuals experienced The Kendeda Building through guided tours, reinforcing its reputation as a premier destination for learning about regenerative design, construction, and operations.
In 2025, two notable shifts shaped our tour program. First, we expanded tour content to feature the Generation 2 Reinvented Toilet, which is a next-generation, decentralized sanitation system prototyped within the building. It has quickly become a highlight, sparking curiosity and conversation about innovation, public health, and infrastructure.
Second, K–12 audiences now represent the majority of our tour participants. Word-of-mouth enthusiasm among educators has positioned the building as a dynamic, tactile learning environment where students can directly engage with concepts such as energy, water, materials, and systems thinking. K–12 educators who are unable to visit can access our classroom-ready lesson plans.
We invite everyone to schedule a tour using the link below.