Webinar - LEED in Practice: Sustainable Luxury in the Miami Design District
Join SOCOTEC's expert-led webinar to learn how the Miami Design District achieved LEED-ND certification and apply these sustainability strategies to your own urban development projects.
- Wednesday Sept 23rd, 2026
- From 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM (ET)
- Presented by Jonathan Burgess and Juliette Desfeux
- AIA accreditation pending
Since 2011, SOCOTEC experts have supported the Miami Design District, a 25+ acre, 2.7-million-square-foot mixed-use neighborhood, through LEED consulting and certification. The project achieved Florida’s first LEED v4 for Neighborhood Development Gold certification, incorporating strategies focused on walkability, green infrastructure, energy and water conservation, and adaptive reuse. Fifteen years of continuous collaboration with Dacra and L Catterton have positioned SOCOTEC as the sustainability partner for the upcoming MDD West expansion by David Chipperfield Architects.
In this webinar, participants will explore how strategic sustainability planning transformed a 20-block urban district into Florida's premier example of sustainable luxury development through integrated design approaches spanning from initial visioning through long-term implementation.
The course covers adaptive reuse, district-scale sustainability versus building-level optimization, climate resilience and green infrastructure, sustainable tenant guidelines, and phased LEED certification approaches. It also shares lessons learned from retail, residential, and office projects developed within the district, providing practical insights that architects and other design professionals can apply when planning and managing complex, multi-stakeholder urban developments.
Objectives
What You'll Learn
- Apply LEED-ND Framework Principles - Understand and implement LEED for Neighborhood Development strategies that transition from building-level to district-level sustainability planning, including walkability, green infrastructure integration, and phased development approaches.
- Integrate Multi-Rating System Strategies - Evaluate and coordinate multiple LEED rating systems (ND, BD+C, O+M) within a single development to optimize certification pathways, minimize financial risk, and meet regulatory obligations across phased project implementations.
- Design for Climate Resilience - Incorporate green infrastructure as a foundational resilience measure to address climate-specific challenges including extreme heat, sea level rise, and stormwater management in urban developments.
- Implement Comprehensive Sustainability Strategies - Deploy integrated sustainability measures including construction waste management, recycled and local materials procurement, energy performance optimization, water-use reduction, and sustainable tenant design guidelines across complex multi-team project environments.
- Apply LEED-ND Framework Principles - Understand and implement LEED for Neighborhood Development strategies that transition from building-level to district-level sustainability planning, including walkability, green infrastructure integration, and phased development approaches.
- Integrate Multi-Rating System Strategies - Evaluate and coordinate multiple LEED rating systems (ND, BD+C, O+M) within a single development to optimize certification pathways, minimize financial risk, and meet regulatory obligations across phased project implementations.
- Design for Climate Resilience - Incorporate green infrastructure as a foundational resilience measure to address climate-specific challenges including extreme heat, sea level rise, and stormwater management in urban developments.
- Implement Comprehensive Sustainability Strategies - Deploy integrated sustainability measures including construction waste management, recycled and local materials procurement, energy performance optimization, water-use reduction, and sustainable tenant design guidelines across complex multi-team project environments.
Who Should Attend
- Architects and design professionals
- Commercial real estate owners and developers
- Sustainability and ESG managers
- Facility and property managers
- Project and construction managers
About the Speakers
Jonathan BURGESS - Principal, Sustainability
Jonathan Burgess, PLA is a landscape architect and resilience consultant providing advanced expertise across a wide variety of sustainability benchmarking tools and third-party rating systems. With over 20 years of green infrastructure and building expertise, Jonathan and his team measure and reduce both operational and embodied emissions during new construction and post-occupancy throughout the asset's full lifecycle. He helps clients assess climate-related risks and develop strategies to protect and optimize their built assets.
At SOCOTEC, Jonathan leads cross-functional teams delivering resilience solutions across due diligence, capital planning, risk mitigation, adaptive management, and lifecycle performance. In 2017, he became the youngest person to earn the prestigious LEED Fellow designation. As an educator, he has also served as both USGBC and WELL Faculty and as Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture.
Juliette DESFEUX, Senior Project Manager, Sustainability:
Juliette Desfeux is a Senior Project Manager at SOCOTEC with expertise in sustainable design, LEED certification, and resilient urban development. She holds three LEED Accredited Professional credentials (BD+C, ID+C, ND), is an EcoDistricts Accredited Professional, and earned a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy.
Juliette has worked across Europe, South America, and French Polynesia, leading sustainable building initiatives and advising governments, architects, and project teams. Fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, and English, she is passionate about advancing sustainable construction and creating healthier, more resilient communities.
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