About SHIFT

SHIFT is not just about technical solutions; it is about crafting a new aesthetic, a new identity, and a new vision for architecture. By learning from proven examples across the globe , we can redefine what contemporary architecture should be: climate-responsive and deeply rooted in culture and place. SHIFT is an open movement. Whether you're an architect, urbanist, policymaker, investor, or advocate for a better-built environment, we invite you to join us in shaping the future of architecture. The shift starts now. Be part of it.

How does SHIFT work?

SHIFT is a global platform dedicated to showcasing successful projects of architecture and urbanism that work in harmony with local climates, cultural and human necessities, and ecological pressures. We provide knowledge as building blocks for academia and practice, for technology and innovation, and for integrating design voices and opportunities into policy frameworks.

SHIFT Initiators

SHIFT Team

Christine Lemaitre (SHIFT founder)
Chief Executive Officer DGNB e.V.
German Sustainable Building Council
Thomas Auer (SHIFT founder)
Professor and Chair for Building
Technology and Climate Responsive Design,
Technical University of Munich
& Managing Director Transsolar KlimaEngineering
Lea Bauer
Advisor Wissensstiftung DGNB
German Sustainable Building Council
Sebastian Clark Koth
Research Assistant at the Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, Technical University of Munich
Alice Morgane Fleury
Assistant at the Chair of Building Technology and Climate Responsive Design, Technical University of Munich

SHIFT Ambassadors

Ashok B. Lall
Architect
Ashok B Lall Architects
New Delhi, India
Ruth Schagemann
Architect & Managing Director of the Brussels Office of the Federal Chamber of German Architects (Bundesarchitektenkammer – BAK)
Brussels, Belgium
Sridevi Changali
Co-Founder of Masons Ink
Bengaluru, India
Rosie Paul
Co-Founder of Masons Ink
Architecture 2030
Bengaluru, India
Juergen Benson-Strohmayer
Architect
Founding architect of TAELON7
Ghana
Vera Hartmann
Architect & Director at Sauerbruch Hutton
Berlin, Germany
Nicholas Kaspareck
CEO of CasaCongo
Mexico
Illya Azaroff
Architect
Founder + LAB studio
President, American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2026
New York City, United States
Gaetan Siew
Architect
Former President of the International Union of Architects
Mauritius & Beijing, China
Aarti Dhingra
Architect at Transsolar KlimaEngineering
Stuttgart, Germany
Kelly Alvarez Doran
Architect & Co-Founder of Ha/f Climate Design
Architecture 2030
London, United Kingdom
Christine Lemaitre (SHIFT founder)
Chief Executive Officer DGNB e.V.
German Sustainable Building Council
Stuttgart, Germany
Thomas Auer (SHIFT founder)
Professor and Chair for Building
Technology and Climate Responsive Design,
Technical University of Munich
& Managing Director Transsolar KlimaEngineering
Munich, Germany
Daniel A. Barber
Professor of Architecture
Technical University of Eindhoven
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Bruno Sauer
CEO Green Building Council España
Madrid, Spain
Neil Thomas
Structural Engineer
Founder of Atelier One
London, United Kingdom
Martin Haas
Architect & Co-Founder of
haascookzemmrich STUDIO2050
Stuttgart, Germany
Martin Despang
Architect (Dipl.-Ing.)
Founding Partner Despang Architekten
Professor
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa School of Architecture
Honolulu, Hawaii
Hilmar von Lojewski
German Association of Cities
Urban Development Dept.
Berlin, Germany
Leena Thomas
Professor
School of Architecture
Faculty of Design and Society
University of Technology Sydney
Sydney, Australia
Stefan Behnisch
Architect
Founding Partner Behnisch Architekten
Stuttgart, Germany

Strategic Partners

ÖGNI
Austrian Sustainable Building Council

Contact

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen – DGNB e.V. (German Sustainable Building Council)
Tübinger Straße 43
70178 Stuttgart
Phone: +49 711 722322-0
Fax: +49 711 722322-99
contribute@shift.global

Join our movement

Participants

Are you working on a project that follows the SHIFT philosophy or is committed to specific aspects of the initiative? Then send us your project. We are excited and look forward to receiving your submission.

Supporters

Do you want to become a part of this SHIFT movement and help to make global architecture more resilient, climate-conscious and culturally responsible? Then download the supporter logo and share it in your networks.

Join SHIFT