There are two broad issues regarding sustainability. One is a focus on high-performance design. All too often, people think of green as recycled content and finishes, and I think we take a more fundamental, holistic approach to really optimizing building performance.
We do that in a quantitative fashion rather than an intuitive fashion, so we’ve developed in-house energy modeling and daylight analysis, all the geometry studies. We can do a lot of quantitative analysis to accurately predict how things will perform and identify strategies for optimizing the way you position the building.
I think the other big thing is a corporate cultural commitment to sustainability. As of 2007, we became a climate neutral organization, purchasing 100% green power to power the office and offsetting emissions from airline and vehicle travel associated with our jobs.
At Lord, Aeck & Sargent, our goal is to create buildings that have a restorative, positive impact on the building’s inhabitants and to reduce the negative impact of construction on the environment. We have practiced sustainability in architecture since the early 1990s and believe in using an analytical approach to optimizing building performance.
Our design staff includes LEED-accredited architects, daylighting specialists and energy analysts who work to implement sustainable design strategies into all of our projects - including the qualifications needed for attaining LEED certification.
In February 2007, Lord, Aeck & Sargent became one of the first architecture firms in the country to adopt The 2030 Challenge, an initiative that calls on the global building sector to immediately reduce energy usage by fifty percent in new buildings and major renovations in order to avoid hazardous climate change.
At Lord, Aeck & Sargent, we strive to design:
- Functional buildings that improve our surroundings aesthetically and environmentally. Durability and maintainability are essential to a successful facility; without a lasting building, the benefits of other sustainable design principles are diluted.
- Sensitive buildings with minimal site disturbance.
- Efficient buildings to optimize energy performance. Strategies including HVAC energy management systems and occupancy sensors reduce energy requirements for heating, cooling and lighting.
- Responsible buildings that reduce the depletion of our planet’s limited resources through careful selection and innovative uses of building materials.
- Healthy buildings that improve the quality of users’ lives. We create healthful indoor environments through the careful design of ventilation, selection of low-VOC emitting materials and the provision of daylight and exterior views.
