Professional Services

Achieving high performance requires interventions at many scales. From optimizing a skylight to organizational transformation, DEPT. of SUSTAINABILITY can interface with project teams and firm leadership just as an in-house department would. We provide strategy, training, and support for firms looking to increase their sustainability literacy and technical expertise and we work with projects teams looking to achieve that next level of performance.

Building performance simulation to study a building’s not-visual qualities

Building performance simulation to study a building’s not-visual qualities

 

Firm-wide Sustainability Strategy

The factors that determine a project’s eventual performance are often far upstream from the project itself. Organizational sustainability strategy is the process of holistically examining a firm and then working with firm leaders to implement an effective sustainability & building performance program. Dept. of Sustainability takes a unique approach to sustainability strategy, focusing on five tiers of impact: vision, culture, process, resources, and strategies. These tiers are then broken down into forty distinct program elements that firms can implement to support a project at every level. Elements of a High Performance Practice, the diagram below, lays out the approach.

Click of the diagram for a larger version.

Click of the diagram for a larger version.

The hierarchy of Sustainability Strategy

Vision - Why we do what we do
Culture - The environment that supports the vision
Process - The pathway towards the vision
Resources - Necessary knowledge and skills
Strategies - Individual actions taken to achieve the vision

Sustainability visioning workshop

Firm-wide Sustainability Strategy Consulting
Whether a firm is new to sustainable design or looking to take their projects to the next level, this holistic process will analyze the firm’s current efforts, determine a strategy for improvement, and fully implement a firm wide sustainability and building performance program.

 In-House Resources Development

The availability of high quality sustainable design resources can mean the difference between creating consistently performing buildings and repeating preventable mistakes. The most effective resources share two major features: accurate, curated, and actionable content and a simple, easy to use structure. Based on the experience of developing in-house sustainability resources at various architecture firms and co-leading the development of the AIA’s COTE Toolkit, Dept. of Sustainability developed a unique framework for the management, access, and use of a firm’s sustainability knowledge resources. The webinar below explores this framework in detail.

OPTIONS FOR ENGAGEMENT

  1. Knowledge Management Strategy
    This service focuses on the development of a unique knowledge management framework for sustainable design strategies. Following the development of the strategy, in-house toolkits can be populated with content in a predictable and usable way.

  2. Content Development
    There are some sustainable design strategies that are essential for every designer to understand. Reliable methods to provide high quality indoor air and strategies for improving energy performance are two examples. This service provides the knowledge, tools, and strategies necessary to achieve desired outcomes.

  3. Tools and Resources Audit
    Many firms have a collection of in-house resources that are currently disorganized or underutilized. This audit will help determine the value of a firm’s knowledge resources, identify gaps, and explore options for improving usability.

Overtime, more and more has been asked of architects, but our fees and the length of our project schedules have not increased accordingly. Knowledge management is how architects can keep up and continue to create better work.

Overtime, more and more has been asked of architects, but our fees and the length of our project schedules have not increased accordingly. Knowledge management is how architects can keep up and continue to create better work.

 

Working Hypothesis:
Limited access to high-quality, concise, and usable information is the major barrier to the universal adoption of sustainable design.

Daylight Design

The appropriate and targeted use of building performance simulation is an essential tool for high performance design. After design best practices are employed to ensure a baseline level of performance, simulation can bring a project up to the next level. Simulations are also essential for understanding complicated site or program conditions or for numerically communicating design decisions. The building performance simulation service can be used to study a single project, to help interpret third party simulation results, or to develop internal simulation skills among design teams.

Types of Simulations

  • Early concept energy performance

  • Enclosure analysis

  • Daylight and glare analysis and design

  • Window and shading performance and optimization

  • Passive thermal comfort analysis

  • Embodied carbon

  • Architectural scheme comparison

 Project Visioning and Strategy

The beginning of a project is an exciting time. Opportunities to travel in many different directions proliferate and possibilities seem endless. Decisions made during or prior to concept design have an outsized impact on the eventual project outcomes and the insertion of new ideas at this phase can help the project team reevaluate assumptions and open new doors. With years of experience leading and participating in project visioning charrettes, Dept. of Sustainability can be brought in early to share precedent case studies, explore opportunities, and develop project performance goals.