Practice What You Preach
By Wayne Robertson of Energy Ace and featured in the AIA Georgia Design Awards magazine.
Energy Ace, Inc., is a full-service sustainability consulting firm specializing in green building, energy conservation, and environmental stewardship. When it came time to move to new space, the Energy Ace group felt we should "practice what we preach" and develop the greenest office space we could and do it in a way that would exemplify our slogan "Green Made SimpleTM."
Background - Who and Why
Energy Ace, a fullservice sustainability consulting firm, was established by Wayne Robertson, PE, LEED AP, in Decatur, Georgia in 2002 to help people design, build and operate green buildings. The firm has experienced rapid growth and outgrew its office configuration of two small office suites in different hallways of the same building that no longer met the need of an expanding organization. The original office suites lacked green amenities, required employees to drive to work, and provided no daylight within the space. Energy Ace became determined to find a space that met a number of environmental, social and economic principles of sustainability, including: proximity to multiple modes of transportation; connectivity to local amenities such as restaurants, banks, shops etc.; previously LEED certified space or a landlord willing to work toward LEED certification; space to meet the needs of the Energy Ace team and room for expansion.
Goal Setting - Aiming High
For a long time Energy Ace's offices space was in an old industrial park in DeKalb County which could be described best as "Class C on a Good Day." Just downwind of a dog kennel and with few urban amenities nearby, our staff was eager for an upgrade and our lease was expiring, and we had no more expansion room in our present building. Already we were in two different parts of the same building, not even adjacent, negatively affecting productivity and group cohesion.
As one of our five core values is "Practice What We Preach" we felt we should set a lofty goal: to build out new space to meet not only LEED CI Gold but also to meet Green Globes, making our space the first in the Southeast and only the twelfth in the nation to be dual-certified. This was the over arching goal that would reflect our commitment to sustainability by incorporating green elements into a comfortable, unique and efficient working environment. This was wonderfully realized.
Early in 2010, we selected a 6,226 square foot office space on the sixth floor of the existing Fidelity Bank Building within walking distance to the vibrant Decatur Square and beyond the range of any dog kennels. This class A building, the best in Decatur, provided a unique opportunity to create a distinctive sustainable office space. Available was shell space with lights and ceiling grid remaining from previous tenants. Being on the top floor of the building we would have skyline views to the west and northwest of downtown Atlanta, midtown and Buckhead, not to mention a great view of downtown Decatur. In our planning we made the most of the views.
The Energy Ace team of sustainability consultants created a list of program requirements to incorporate within the new space. These goals focused on creating a space that reflected the Energy Ace commitment to incorporating green practices not only in business but in daytoday operations. These requirements included:
- Establish a green office showplace that displayed cutting edge sustainable materials, technologies and sustainable practices
- Create a LEED CI office space that met both LEED Gold and Green Globes requirements
- Exemplify a commitment to integrated design practices
- Construct a comfortable, vibrant work space for both employees and clients
- Allow for expansion and various configurations of work space and meeting areas
- Design a Class A space that appeals to our largest client base, architects.
We also wanted space to be stylish, modern, not stuffy, make a statement, and serve as a living laboratory of green products, materials and techniques to illustrate our slogan "Green Made SimpleTM."
Process - The Fun Part
Energy Ace selected a wonderful design firm and a great contractor at the same time, so we were able to launch immediately into the integrated design process that we preach. It was fun, and educational, to sit in the Owner's shoes and view the design process from that vantage point. This experience gave the Energy Ace team an appreciation for the tug of war faced by the Owner who wants champagne but on a beer budget. Speaking of budget, it was very helpful that many notable vendors wanted to participate in and be associated with our innovative project so they discounted products in exchange for recognition on Energy Ace signage.
The first meeting with the design team took place in our old C-class office space so the team could understand that it met neither our desire to be sustainable nor our need for comfortable team collaboration. The program requirements extended beyond the confines of LEED CI and Green Globes, and included our desire for a state- of -the- art meeting space, room for expansion, and employee comfort such as access to exterior views and a quiet, relaxing break room.
Some of the sustainable design features include:
- High efficiency lighting to yield 30% lighting power reduction
- Low height, remanufactured partition panels to allow 90% of the seated spaces to have views to the outside
- Daylighting controls for 50% of the lighting load and occupancy sensors for 75% of the connected lighting load to reduce the need for overhead lighting
- Energy Star Certified equipment and appliances to improve energy usage
- Construction using 40% of the postconsumer and preconsumer recycled content to reduce the need for virgin materials
- Local carpeting, countertops, and furniture for a total of 37% of materials coming from within a 500 mile radius
- Bamboo and cork to satisfy 14% of rapidly renewable materials
- Sustainably harvested wood for a total of 54% FSC certified.
There are many more features (a 7 minute video that was professionally prepared is viewable on our website) but suffice it to say that we are well within Gold territory for LEED CI as well as Green Globes.
Results - The Good News
Energy Ace team members are very proud of our beautiful and green new office space and clients agree. This space, the greenest office space in the Southeast US, is an embodiment of Energy Ace's desire to practice what we preach and to demonstrate practical applications of Green Made Simpletm , wonderfully executed by our architects Hendrick Group and builder Derucki Construction. Being under one roof again, and with low-height partitions, employee collaboration and collegiality have increased, as well as productivity and a general sense of well-being for employees and visitors from working in healthy, green, daylit space.
Energy Ace has held events to showcase the space, and offers tours of their new green headquarters, granting AIA continuing education learning units for the tours. A key feature of our space is our state of the art conference room that can seat up to 50 people and boasts a "smart board" that is very useful for training events that we hold. We also make our space available to green organizations such as AIA COTE, the Green Chamber of the South, and The Sustainability Leadership Forum for meetings and events. Energy Ace has become a place for meetings and informal gatherings for both the internal staff as well as outside organizations that seek to use our space for meetings or events.
Our goal was to exemplify a sustainable office space and create an understanding of the simplicity of incorporating our sustainability goals into our design. This supports our notion that Energy Ace embodies its tagline "Green Made Simple." The design of this space also serves an educational tool for clients or individuals interested in executing green practices or design elements. Our new office space is a source of pride for our staff, and we take pleasure in giving tours to our guests to emphasize our excitement over both the green design and our enjoyment of the new space.
Our satisfaction with the comfort of the space should not overshadow our satisfaction with the attainment of our sustainability goals. The architect was instrumental in employing sustainable materials, and always sought input from our sustainability team.
This was our first project as the client instead of our normal role which is as the consultant. Our design team allowed for our input, but still controlled the direction of the project. This was a team of mutual respect that yielded a high level of satisfaction. Please come and see us.
