Our philosophy of creating timeless environments that enhance lives at home and work inherently aligns with the principles of sustainable building. As architects, our sustainability goal is to reduce impact on the natural environment while providing healthy and distinctive built environments. Achieving this goal requires a careful and often complex balancing act of the client’s needs, sustainability goals, budget constraints, code/ordinance requirements, and site conditions.

We believe that environmental sustainability requires lifestyle commitments and cannot truly be achieved by simply adding “environmentally friendly” or “green” elements to a project. The commitment to low impact design and living must be an integral part of project planning from the onset.  Our ideal approach to the sustainable design process includes early and consistent consideration of a broad range of interdependent objectives:

• Site Stewardship – Responsible site development decisions and careful management of construction activities

• Appropriate Materials Use – Minimizing waste in the design and construction of the building, reducing use of materials, appropriately sizing the building, and specifying responsibly-produced materials

• Regional Responsiveness – Consideration of local climate conditions, use of regionally sensitive products and technologies, and integration with existing infrastructure/ transportation

• Energy Efficiency – Reducing the building’s energy requirements involving everything from the HVAC system and orientation of the building to the structural assemblies and selection of fixtures & appliances

• Water Efficiency – Efficient design of the plumbing systems and selection of efficient fixtures

• Optimal Indoor Environment – Optimizing the quality of interior air, light, and temperature including consideration of building orientation, HVAC system, and materials selections

Sustainable Design Consulting Services:

• Building Assessment – We assess the health of your space & suggest ways to improve the sustainability of your existing or planned space

• LEED Consulting - LEED APs on staff offer guidance on the applicability of LEED rating systems and facilitate the implementation of LEED

• Green Homes Chicago Consulting – We help guide the project through the Green Homes Chicago program and the green permitting process