Getting to Green: Evolving Organizations
By Margot Jacqz, Recruiter for Architecture, Environments, and Design, Roz Goldfarb Associates
 |
 |
| Margot Jacqz |
On releasing the IDEA winner list for 2010, the IDSA announced that in the future, products will be evaluated on their social, ecological, cultural, as well as economic responsibility. “The design profession can no longer claim excellence in design unless we have considered the concept of responsibility as a central part of the design problem.”
Sustainability in building has been a topic for discussion for decades, entering the mainstream with the establishment of benchmarks for the LEED Green Building Rating System by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2000. In 2009, a Design Intelligence survey reported “most architecture and design firms in the US claim a majority of their projects are environmentally responsible.”
How do you make this happen? It’s a hugely complex technical challenge. How are professional practices coping? Scanning the practitioners in New York City, it’s clear many are only muddling through and a few are leading the way with management commitment to first principles. Firms large, medium, and small, with varying motivations, supported or frustrated by their clients, have been accelerating activities over the last three to five years.
For example, a 150-person office with a founding partner who has “long been committed,” realized in 2007 that they were missing the focus that could be provided by an individual. They defined a champion’s role and hired a manager (now director) who describes her job as analogous to the director of marketing: one person to coordinate and lead the charge.
A summary of this strategic position illustrates the many moving parts of the effort and can serve as a model for anyone prepared to develop responsible practices. Reporting to the principals, the director is responsible for:
Following and understanding research, developing relationships with innovators in sustainability technologies, working with the resource manager in collecting new products and reference materials Monitoring standards and regulations, LEED building registration and certification requirements Disseminating information internally through leadership of a Green Team, educational initiatives, and overseeing professional LEED certification and other accreditations -
Participating in projects, actively engaging design and project managers, introducing innovations, leading peer reviews, and sharing lessons learned between studios
-
Coordinating with marketing director, developing relationships with potential clients, speaking on behalf of the firm; getting involved in professional organizations
-
Contributing to the internal operations of the office as it aspires to be carbon neutral
Similar positions exist at mid-sized firms of 40-60 people: A sustainable design director is part of the project operations group; a core team takes on substantive projects like revising specifications or standards development; and more are involved in brainstorming ideas, including office behaviors and operations. As new projects come in, more professionals get involved and learn more each time—from interns, to project managers, to principals.
Some leaders noted that having a reputation as experienced in sustainable building is becoming a benefit in the marketing landscape, getting them “on the list.” Nonetheless, until recently, motivations remained primarily personal—individuals who want to do the right thing. They are only partly supported by the demands of clients, some of whom are more sincere than others.
A highly-regarded office of about 30 in NYC said they were lucky to win a couple of public contracts in 2000 when the Department of Design and Construction (DDC) was launching the high performance building program. A partner explained, “It really kick-started us—forced our learning curve and opened our eyes to an emerging industry. We did not have a plan. We were reactive, but then sustainability became a part of our larger agenda and we institutionalized it. Individuals really took it on, and we found clients doing the same thing.” The DDC provided access to a leading sustainability consultant they had under contract. They developed relationships with specialist consultants. In early 2008 the firm was able to hire a sustainability coordinator, and is doing more of the certification work in-house. They are beginning to capture fees and the added value is starting to be billable.
A small office of six, with partners who have been dedicated to environmental stewardship since the ’70s, has witnessed changes such as measurable baselines, public sector standards, and more becoming possible. Their institutional clients became amenable to working with sustainable design consultants, everyone in the office became familiar with LEED certification, and they received great help from colleagues such as a consulting interior designer and collaborators in engineering and lighting.
Specialist consultants with deep knowledge of the demands of sustainable building design and LEED requirements are critical members of the project teams. Some firms have joint venture partners, often consultants are part of the project team with engineers and other specialists included in RFQs and proposals. The leading sustainable building consulting offices, not surprisingly, say that the best value is possible when they are moved forward in the process to program development and they can become the integrators. A dedicated consultant or individual is needed to look at the benefits to the project as a whole.
An overwhelming percentage of the architecture profession is in offices of fewer than twenty, or even ten, people. They have a range of practice models, mirroring the increasing flexibility and collaboration seen throughout the design industries. Officially, “green training” is now part of the continuing education requirements for licensing. There has been a sharp upward trend in qualified LEED professionals; it is becoming more common as a requirement for employment. Yet, that doesn’t mean the majority know more than the checklists.
For most firms, it will be possible to develop the services and the resources only with an ongoing flow of green projects. As long as only a small percentage of the clients are truly motivated, consulting specialists provide the needed expertise from early modeling through the commissioning process. Design professionals collaborate and learn through the process.
Below the well-publicized surface, the mighty forces of inertia and bureaucracy are in place. Some offices report that they are only now getting around to thinking about writing standards, as clients haven’t been interested. An associate at a famous design firm remarked, “We don’t embrace sustainability up front, but it has crept in. We do question, we do have it on our minds, but the partners are still designing the same way and clip it on in a panic. We bring in a consultant early and they push us. We push back as we only want technology to serve our set ideas, we don’t use it. We are conceptual thinkers not good at taking the orthodoxy in and following the prescribed steps.”
Responsible design can be approached in many ways, but the essential ingredient in all cases is real commitment throughout the design team, the consulting team, the client, and the end users who will foot the bills. No office offered quantitative measures for success, but the qualitative rewards of engaged and excited staff, and satisfied clients are the foundations. There is a long way to go. One person at a time.
Biography
Margot Jacqz is RGA’s Recruiter for Architecture, Environments and Design. A leading recruiter in this arena since 1983, she is sustained by a deep interest in organizations and creative professionals as both designers and managers.
I’d like to thank in particular: John Ahn, Atelier Ten; Mark Behm, Mancini Duffy; Bill Bobenhausen, Sustainable Design Collaborative; Sara Caples, Caples Jefferson Architects; Tamara Iwasechzko, NK Architects; Ilana Judah, FXFowle; Julie Nelson, BKSK; and Pat Sapinsley, Good Energies (none of whom was quoted in the second to last paragraph).
This article appeared in the July 2010 edition of the DMI News & Views.
Copyright © 2010 Design Management Institute All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the copyright holder.
Feedback on DMI Viewpoints and article proposals
are always welcome! Please email jtobin(at)dmi.org.
 Email this page to a colleague
|
