Sustainable Design

In the past decade sustainability has moved to the forefront of the international dialogue; “green” design has moved from a moral to an economic, political, and market imperative.

EE&K has been incorporating sustainable land use and energy conserving technologies since the “energy crisis” and gas lines of the mid-70s. Firm founder, Ezra Ehrenkrantz, was instrumental in deploying solar panels on the White House during the Carter Administration.

At EE&K we believe the concept of “place” is fundamental to a broader vision of a sustainable development. While studies have shown that buildings are responsible for 40% of total energy use, buildings by themselves are only part of the picture. The larger issues of open space preservation, mobility and access to sustainable transportation, public health, congestion, and sustainable land use are inextricably linked to how where buildings are sited, how they come together to encourage people to walk and gather, how to reduce high transportation costs for mundane task and how people get to them. We have both the knowledge base and the kinds of skills needed to make sure your building is built in a way that is responsible to the environment, minimizes life-style costs, creates a healthy environment for its users, and is able to meet and exceed increasingly high expectations and standards.

Today sustainable design standards are no longer the exception, but rather a client expectation and an accepted and common part of the regulatory landscape. Designing and building smarter for life-cycle costs are becoming a necessity for public and private building owners. Green products and services have proven their popularity in the marketplace.

The convergence of these trends demands not only a bigger picture vision, but also an understanding of the role design can play in building a sustainable future. It also requires concrete skills like leading teams of interdisciplinary experts, creatively integrating innovative technologies and quick assessment of the costs vs. benefits of continually evolving green design features. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a voluntary rating system developed to provide a guide for evaluating building performance within a sustainability context. A third of the EE&K Architects staff are LEED accredited professionals. Many of our current projects are being designed to achieve LEED certification.

• School Without Walls, Washington, DC – Certified LEED® Gold
• Binghamton University Appalachian Collegiate Center, Binghamton, NY – Qualified for Certified LEED® status, but did not pursue certification
• Liberty Luxe & Liberty Green, New York, NY – LEED® Gold
• Yorktown High School, Arlington, VA – LEED® Gold
• Deanwood Community Center, Washington, DC – LEED® Silver
• The Aventiene, Gaithersburg, MD – LEED® ND (also a National AIA Design Excellence Award Recipient)
• Stoddert Elementary School, Washington, DC – LEED® for Schools Gold
• Beekman Hill International School, PS 59, New York, NY – the first NYC school to achieve NYC’s “Green Certified” certification (based on LEED® standards)