Keith Construction is a service business that focuses their expertise in housing reconstruction and new development, through a collaborative building effort. The firm's projects fall inside four market segments defined as:
historic preservation;
sustainable building;
rental housing; and
new development.
The firm takes pride in construction that is 'built to last' and endeavors to understand the interrelationships different building components and systems have on the whole building. More than building green or using the most environmental friendly products, this concept works to create the most value from construction through design collaboration, product availability and cost, and understanding owner needs. This results in a more efficient, cost-effective building, with lower operating costs and significantly less impact on the surrounding environment.
One example is Olympia Oaks in Amherst, MA that is a newly constructed, affordable, energy efficient neighborhood. The project includes 2- and 3-bedroom townhouses, common green, gardening area and playground. The neighborhood was designed to include energy efficiency, affordability, accessibility, and create a sense of community connection. The community is surrounded by beautiful town conservation woodlands and nature trails.
Boston's Seaport District has experienced a burst of development in recent years, which has brought over 5,000 new jobs to the area and catalyzed over $1 billion in investment since 2010. One of the first major buildings to break ground and begin transforming the Seaport skyline was 101 Seaport, a $126 million, 440,000-square foot, 17-story glass office tower. On board for this massive construction project was RDK Engineers, a full-service engineering and design firm and USGBC MA Chapter Sponsor.
RDK provides a variety of engineering services in energy efficiency and sustainable design for almost every building type. The firm has helped shaped sustainable development in Boston's Seaport District by helping 101 Seaport achieve LEED Platinum, the highest LEED rating level possible.Over 20% of RDK staff members are LEED Accredited, and whether or not RDK's clients choose to pursue LEED Certification, the firm continually assesses projects to improve efficiency in project MEP/FP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing/fire protection) systems. 101 Seaport is the first completed office building in Seaport Square, a 23-acre master-planned area in the city’s fastest-growing neighborhood.
101 Seaport Boulevard achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Owner Union Investment Real Estate GmbH oversaw a range of strategies and solutions put in place, from heat island reduction and stormwater quantity control to water-efficient landscaping and a green cleaning policy. One of the major differentiators of energy efficiency at 101 Seaport Boulevard is the mechanical system designed to cool the building through use of an active chilled beam, a cutting-edge system that is the first of its kind in Boston.
For former Mayor Thomas Menino, 101 Seaport served as a significant step forward for the Seaport and for the City of Boston. At the groundbreaking, then-Mayor Menino celebrated the project announcing, “This project secures the neighborhood’s reputation as a hub for entrepreneurs and forward-thinking companies to expand, and for our residents to enjoy. 101 Seaport, and its anchor tenant in PwC, represents the leadership in innovation, sustainability, and business that have become synonymous with the City of Boston and our business community.”
At this point, I'm sure anyone reading this knows that the state of Massachusetts is one of the greenest there is. With massive amounts of LEED certified buildings and ongoing sustainability endeavors, this state has made a positive impact on the built environment. What may be news is that the state has over 100,000 individuals employed in clean energy jobs.
The Commonwealth recently added 6300 jobs, bringing the total to over 100,000. Clean energy is now at $11.8 billion industry in Mass., making that 2.5% of all gross state product, and 2.9% of the state's overall workforce.
“The Commonwealth’s highly educated and well-trained workforce makes it an attractive place for innovative industries, including clean energy companies,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Massachusetts’ recently passed comprehensive energy diversification legislation will continue to build on the recent success of the clean energy industry by increasing opportunities for growth and advancement.”
This is a massive achievement for our wonderful state. Part of Massachusett's initiative is to get to 100% renewable energy, which can work alongside our mission for a net-positive future. This report is proof that so many organizations and industries have the same mission in Mass. – a more sustainable, healthier future, through any means necessary.
For firms pursuing the AIA 2030 Commitment, your project delivery methodology can make or break success. How does a team measure its effectiveness? Does good collaboration yield better results? Is IP more than a kick-off charrette and “one-hit wonder”? Can IP be achieved in individual project teams if the overall firm culture and methodology isn’t aligned with it?
USGBC’s LEED program now recognizes the importance of integrated process with the new v4 IP credit, so more teams are paying attention to this, but will a LEED credit (again) cause more hoop-jumping without actually providing more value? 70% of a project's performance and impacts are decided in the first 10% of the process, so it's critical to get it right.
This workshop is a practical and applied look at how your firm can truly capture the value provided by institutionalizing IP – and getting the LEED credit follows naturally! Successfully implementing IP requires a clear, shared understanding of what integration means in your firm culture, how individuals in different roles participate and alignment with consultants around your project delivery objectives. Critical efforts happen beyond the project focus and require change management to help everyone feel comfortable.
This is a 100% interactive workshop where you will be guided through an exercise to deconstruct and remap your firms process, identifying along the way what organizational triggers need to be addressed so that integrative design is actually the bedrock of project management and not an elusive miracle achieved only with the most progressive clients.
You will gain strategies to help you truly embed IP into daily project management practices and participants leave with practical, actionable steps that will help you implement qualitative changes in your project delivery methodology the next day.
More about the speaker, Barbra Batshalom, Executive Director of the Sustainable Performance Institute:
Barbra Batshalom is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Sustainable Performance Institute and past founder and president of the USGBC Affiliate in Massachusetts. She is an industry leader whose vision drives the organization's programs to transform the market from public policy to professional practice.
Her work focuses on the intersection of systems, processes and culture. With a diverse background of fine arts, social psychology and 20 years in architecture and sustainability consulting, she brings a variety of skills to her work and a unique perspective engaging the human dynamics of decision-making and creative collaboration to technical work. She's an educator, public speaker and change agent that works with a wide range of governmental, institutional and private sector organizations to help them institutionalize sustainability and achieve measurable improvements in performance and profitability.
SPI's green firm Certification is the first industry program to provide a framework for evaluating the capability of design and construction firms to deliver a consistent, high quality sustainability service and was adopted by HUD in 2011. SPI's Green Firm Boot Camp workshop program has been delivered to hundreds of firms nation-wide to help raise the bar on professional practice in the industry. Barbra teaches sustainable real estate development in Brandeis University’s International Business School. She has served on numerous boards, task forces and committees to help develop public and corporate policies for sustainability and teaches courses on change management for sustainability for professionals around the world.
By Alexander Landa, Outreach and Communications Manager
On September 28th, 2016, The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 2016 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard yesterday, with the good news that Massachusetts is still ranking #1, and tied with California.
In the press release from Acadia, MA's score – its highest to date – increased in thanks to adopting the most recent IECC 2016 and ASHRAE 90.1-2013 as part of the state building code. All of these factors contribute to a lower energy cost for new homes and businesses.
“Massachusetts is on the winning path, but there is still plenty of work to do to make the most of this low-cost, clean resource,” said Amy Boyd, Senior Attorney at Acadia Center. “We should celebrate our success, but then return to the hard work that it takes to accelerate strategies to reach the homes and businesses that still need help lowering their energy costs,” Boyd said. “Making smart use of all the data that new technologies can provide utility companies will reduce costs, make processes more transparent, and keep us on track to stay on top of the ACEEE rankings,” Boyd concluded.
The state of Massachusetts is incredibly devoted to energy efficiency. The state's current three-year plan is expected to bring $8.1 billion in economic benefits, among other positive impacts.
