Sustainability

Sustainability starts with good design.

Although sustainable design gets a lot of attention in today’s society, it is not an old concept.  For most of our history, buildings have been constructed appropriately to local climates, used materials that were local and readily available, and conserved resources.  As resources became easier to harvest and import and cheap energy encouraged the use of mechanical climate control, the focus on sustainability waned.

Building sustainably means different things to different people, but the bottom line is appropriateness to context and minimization of impact on the environment.  Many new technologies exist in the marketplace that help architects reach goals for sustainable construction; however, simple decisions that architects have made for millennia are just as important, such as local material selection, solar orientation, and landscaping.  Each of our projects are approached by maximizing our attention to sustainable practice while maintaining budgets that are at parity with more conventional design approaches – this enables us to meet the cost needs of our clients while being stewards for our planet.

Push the envelope on project delivery to reduce waste.

Our project deliverable is typically a design-build solution with Centerpoint Builders, Ltd.  Our professionals work through the entire process of design and construction at a much more in-depth level, enabling first-hand experience in the construction of buildings.  This relationship allows us to work with other types of project deliverable philosophies, incorporating lean practices, building information modeling (BIM), and integrated project delivery (IPD) methodologies at a high level of effectiveness, which delivers higher value to the client with less waste and a reduced environmental impact.

A word on LEED (Leadership  in Energy and Environmental Design)

The volume of small projects has a greater overall impact on the environment than trophy projects, and it deserves attention.  LEED, the United States Green Building Council’s rating system for sustainable construction, is designed for the market’s top 10 percent of projects.  However, smaller projects have a much greater impact on the environment in construction and occupancy from their sheer numbers.  Each project we approach may not be able to support the costs associated with LEED Certification, but we utilize the system and its intent as a guide for each project.  Each of our employees is a LEED Accredited Professional, a designation awarded to those who have demonstrated the ability to understand and practically apply the rating system.  With this in mind, our projects are typically eligible to receive the Designed for Energy Star certification.