The easiest and most cost-effective strategies in sustainable design—daylighting, optimal building orientation, a tight envelope, super-efficient HVAC systems, LED lighting—are taken for granted today. AEC leaders in green building are stepping up to a higher level of innovation.
TOP 130 GREEN BUILDING ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Gensler $768,470,000
2. Stantec $331,794,291
3. HOK $280,570,000
4. Perkins+Will $195,460,000
5. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill $175,140,374
6. HKS $163,696,602
7. EYP $137,479,466
8. SmithGroupJJR $122,636,361
9. CallisonRTKL $104,462,061
10. CannonDesign $69,400,000
TOP 90 GREEN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Turner Construction Co. $5,701,000,000
2. Clark Group $2,620,000,000
3. Hensel Phelps $2,286,280,000
4. Skanska USA $1,941,400,000
5. Swinerton Inc. $1,918,000,000
6. Gilbane Building Co. $1,746,261,000
7. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The $1,600,777,900
8. Suffolk Construction Co. $1,514,705,316
9. Structure Tone $1,460,800,000
10. Holder Construction Co. $1,335,000,000
TOP 60 GREEN BUILDING ENGINEERING FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Jacobs $203,161,333
2. AECOM $200,900,000
3. Arup $168,783,060
4. Thornton Tomasetti $67,382,221
5. Syska Hennessy Group $32,420,857
6. Burns & McDonnell $24,341,832
7. Vanderweil Engineers $23,508,800
8. Smith Seckman Reid $20,189,000
9. DeSimone Consulting Engineers $19,799,641
10. Dewberry $19,159,460
GREEN GIANTS SPONSORED BY:
Some have created tools that aid designers’ ability to more precisely compare the projected energy performance of various design concepts, materials, and equipment choices. Designers can kick the tires on an array of options early in the design process.
Occupant wellness and comfort have also gained increasing prominence, especially since the signing of a partnership between the International WELL Building Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council in 2014. “If it doesn’t enhance the wellness of occupants, it’s not really sustainable,” says Mike Szabo, OAA, AIBC, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects.
To be a green leader today, you have to dig deeper into data. For Diamond Schmitt, existing energy models only go so far. “We have a diverse portfolio, and we don’t do prescriptive design,” Szabo says. To improve the quality of data for its project types, the firm, in collaboration with the engineering firm RWDI, developed a visual database with energy simulation models. The models take energy-load information from the firm’s portfolio and extrapolate predictive data that is used in the early stages of design.
“There are a series of filters—location, heating, process loads, etc.—so you can drill down beyond a single measure of energy usage per square meter,” Szabo says. “This allows us to ask the right questions about the core issues that make projects perform more efficiently.”
On a recent master-planning project for a mixed-use development, the tool helped the firm and the client choose from among three possible site configurations to find the best orientation for energy efficiency.
ZGF Architects has also found existing databases, such as Energy Star, lacking. The firm specializes in the design of hospitals, laboratories, and research facilities, all of which have higher-than-average energy loads. “The actual performance of these buildings is driven largely by the program,” says Associate Partner Vikram Sami, AIA, BEMP, LEED BD+C.
Using publicly available data from the Department of Energy, ASHRAE, and its own projects, ZGF developed an energy-load database for such project types. The data is stored on Microsoft Excel and maps to Revit. Designers filter the data according to the program of individual spaces—climate, equipment loads, and other factors—to get fairly reliable answers to what-if questions about energy demand and savings. ZGF’s Energy Programming Dashboard helps its designers obtain energy load information on individual pieces of equipment—pumps, heating units, lighting fixtures—which can then be combined to create the optimal aggregation of equipment.
on the wellness front
ZGF has teamed up with researchers at the University of Washington on Lark Spectral Lighting. The tool allows designers to use spectral data to define how the quality of light impacts not only a physical space, but also the occupants. The color and quality of light affect humans’ circadian rhythms, sleeping patterns, and alertness, which can impact employee productivity.
“The spectral content of light sources changes as the light bounces off of surfaces,” says ZGF Associate Ed Clark, LEED AP BD+C. The choice of materials and color schemes for ceilings, walls, floors, and furniture influences the quality of light. Darker colors absorb light; lighter colors are more reflective. The Lark tool (free download at: www.food4rhino.com/project/lark) provides a model that helps designers configure optimal combinations of lights and interior materials.
How architectural features impact wellness is an ever-growing competitive consideration for AEC firms that design and construct new office space. KSS Architects encountered this in its work for Burlington Stores.
The off-price retailer wanted its new headquarters in New Jersey to appeal to Millennials. KSS’s design encourages workers to get out of their chairs and move about the facility during the day. A large café has extensive indirect daylighting, bright colorscapes, and long, European-style tables. The space is busy throughout the workday, not just at mealtimes, notes Ed Klimek, AIA, NCARB, Partner, KSS Architects.
Small nooks outfitted with furniture are spread throughout the building. Outdoor seating is arranged on the north side of the structure. These features are tailored especially for the young professionals accustomed to working untethered from their desks. “The design was a response to an emerging generation of people with new expectations of what a workplace should be,” Klimek says.
Elevators are pushed to the side of a large, sweeping staircase to encourage employees to take the stairs. Spaces that foster physical activity—and add variability to workspaces, seating postures, and scenery—are believed to promote a healthier style of work.
The project included many LEED-blessed approaches, but the owner chose not to apply for certification. “It’s less about getting the plaque and more about how design can have a direct impact on sustainability, wellness, and saving money,” Klimek says. “It’s about looking for unique ways your project can address sustainability, not because they are cool, but because they matter.”
RETURN TO THE GIANTS 300 LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
Museums | Mar 25, 2024
Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking
In Norfolk, Va., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio, an educational facility for glassmaking, will open a new addition in May. That will be followed by a renovation of the existing building scheduled for completion in December.
Sustainability | Mar 21, 2024
World’s first TRUE-certified building project completed in California
GENESIS Marina, an expansive laboratory and office campus in Brisbane, Calif., is the world’s first Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE)-certified construction endeavor. The certification recognizes projects that achieve outstanding levels of resource efficiency through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling practices.
Office Buildings | Mar 21, 2024
Corporate carbon reduction pledges will have big impact on office market
Corporate carbon reduction commitments will have a significant impact on office leasing over the next few years. Businesses that have pledged to reduce their organization’s impact on climate change must ensure their next lease allows them to show material progress on their goals, according to a report by JLL.
Adaptive Reuse | Mar 21, 2024
Massachusetts launches program to spur office-to-residential conversions statewide
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey recently launched a program to help cities across the state identify underused office buildings that are best suited for residential conversions.
Legislation | Mar 21, 2024
Bill would mandate solar panels on public buildings in New York City
A recently introduced bill in the New York City Council would mandate solar panel installations on the roofs of all city-owned buildings. The legislation would require 100 MW of solar photovoltaic systems be installed on public buildings by the end of 2025.
Office Buildings | Mar 21, 2024
BOMA updates floor measurement standard for office buildings
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has released its latest floor measurement standard for office buildings, BOMA 2024 for Office Buildings – ANSI/BOMA Z65.1-2024.
Healthcare Facilities | Mar 18, 2024
A modular construction solution to the mental healthcare crisis
Maria Ionescu, Senior Medical Planner, Stantec, shares a tested solution for the overburdened emergency department: Modular hub-and-spoke design.
Codes and Standards | Mar 18, 2024
New urban stormwater policies treat rainwater as a resource
U.S. cities are revamping how they handle stormwater to reduce flooding and capture rainfall and recharge aquifers. New policies reflect a change in mindset from treating stormwater as a nuisance to be quickly diverted away to capturing it as a resource.
Plumbing | Mar 18, 2024
EPA to revise criteria for WaterSense faucets and faucet accessories
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to revise its criteria for faucets and faucet accessories to earn the WaterSense label. The specification launched in 2007; since then, most faucets now sold in the U.S. meet or exceed the current WaterSense maximum flow rate of 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm).
