David Briefel

David is a Sustainability Director based in Gensler’s New York office. Inspired by the intersection between the natural and built environment, he is at the forefront of recent innovations in sustainable design. Since joining the firm in 2007, he has worked on projects varying from 1 million-square-foot workplace renovations to ground-up mission critical facilities. His recent work includes carbon action plans, sustainability guidelines, and individual projects pursuing Net Zero Carbon, Living Building Challenge, WELL, Fitwel, and LEED certifications, including two AIA COTE award winning projects — Etsy Headquarters and Ford Foundation. Since 2020, he has led research at Gensler focused on embodied carbon and is spearheading multiple efforts to further Gensler’s global carbon reduction goals. David is a graduate from Cornell University and Pratt Institute.