2015 + Sustainable Design

This past year we have made many strides to advance our sustainability efforts, both within our firm and on every project that we pursue. Our commitment to sustainable design is at the core of our design approach and our practice. We believe we have a responsibility to deliver high-performing buildings that embody sustainable design.

In 2015 we celebrated three buildings becoming LEED Certified and were awarded the I²SL Go Beyond Green Building Award for our Biosciences Research Building at the National University of Ireland at Galway, which employs a high/low energy zoning method for energy efficiency.

We also decided to look inward to for ways to reduce our footprint. We developed a sustainable studio initiative and implemented a composting program, which has even led to several employees composting in their own homes! We also decided to initiate a pilot program to decrease our use of paper cups in the office and to encourage the use of re-usable cups.

Andrea Love, AIA, LEED Fellow

Our Building Science Group is integrated into every project that we design, and its members are always looking for ways to advance our energy efficiency strategies. We presented our research on Natural Ventilation of Patient Wards: Challenges and Opportunities at the Healthcare Design Conference this fall. Our Director of Building Science, Andrea Love, was also elevated to LEED Fellow this past year. Andrea has been a significant force in transforming our Building Science Group into one of the signature strengths of our practice. Chris Mackey, Building Scientist, has also joined our team, recently graduating from MIT. Chris has developed half of the code for an environmental analysis plug-in that is currently used by 30,000 designers and researchers worldwide. He is currently developing a new kit of tools to connect the software interface of designers to several energy modeling engines and climate databases maintained by US Department of Energy.

Read more about our sustainable design efforts throughout 2015:

Duke University’s Environment Hall Earns LEED Platinum
Duke University’s Environment Hall, housing the Nicholas School of the Environment, has recently been awarded LEED Platinum Certification. As the new front door to the School, this 70,000 GSF building employs low energy sustainable building systems aimed at reducing its environmental impact and also serves as a teaching tool for the School and its community. The building’s systems include solar photovoltaic power generation, solar hot water, chilled beam cooling system, daylight harvesting, high-performance glazing, water-efficient fixtures, green roofs and rainwater harvesting.

Biosciences Research Building in Galway Receives Sustainability Award
At the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories conference, I2SL, PAYETTE’s Biosciences Research Building (BRB) at National University of Ireland, Galway received a Go Beyond Award in the Projects category. Only two projects received this award. The Go Beyond Awards recognize excellence in sustainability in laboratory and other high-technology facilities, such as hospitals, data centers, and cleanrooms.

Earth Day + Sustainable Studio
Alejandra Menchaca
Earth Day is always a good time to pause and ask ourselves how day-to-day actions are making of our planet a better place. As a firm, PAYETTE is strongly committed to designing sustainably. The predicted energy consumption of our projects is consistently significantly lower than the national average and metered data supports this fact. For instance, most of our projects have no irrigation needs and use natural ventilation to improve the indoor air quality and well-being of the building occupants.

Andrea Love AIA Selected as 2015 LEED Fellow
PAYETTE is pleased to announce that Andrea Love AIA, Director of Building Science, has been named a 2015 LEED Fellow by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). This year’s 35 Fellows are being honored for their outstanding work as LEED Professionals and for the significance of their contributions to the green building community at large. The LEED Fellow designates the most exceptional professionals and it is the most prestigious designation awarded from GBCI.