David Hertz FAIA Architect (B.Arch '83): The Resilience Imperative

David Hertz, FAIA, Architect founded Syndesis in 1983 and S.E.A. The Studio of Environmental Architecture, a practice focus on regenerative design in an age of resilience. David won the 2022 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Climate Action. In 2018 Hertz won the Water Abundance XPRIZE a 1.5 M prize to make over 2,000 liters of water from air. In 2006 David was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from SCI-Arc and in 2008 he was elected to the prestigious American Institute of Architects College of Fellows, as one of its youngest members in its over 155-year history. David's award-winning work has been published widely and exhibited internationally. Some highlights include exhibitions in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, the National Building Museum, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. David has taught studios and lectured at Yale, USC, UCLA and Art Center.

S.E.A. is a multi-disciplinary architecture and design firm dedicated to the design of sustainable and restorative buildings. S.E.A. has been an acknowledged pioneer in the practice of sustainable and regenerative design with particular experience in resilient systems, through its commercial and residential projects. S.E.A. specializes in unique projects internationally with projects in Indonesia, Australia, Costa Rica, and The Caribbean. S.E.A. believes that architecture must strive to reverse global climate change and prepare for the environmental volatility of the Anthropocene. To that end, a think-tank within the studio—The Resilience Lab—develops green technologies and provides communities with resilient planning services. Enlightened architecture can heal people and restore ecosystems, ensuring symbiosis between built and natural environments.