Communication is a critical but often overlooked component of commissioning, a quality control process that ensures a project’s construction is meeting the owner’s project requirements.
 

As organizations become increasingly aware of the bottom-line value of energy efficiency, carbon mitigation and workplace health and comfort, what options exist for commercial tenant spaces to improve in these areas?
 

Answers to the questions of what constitutes a smart building platform and how it can work in your building are quite diverse.
 

The lobby of a building is the first place we see when we step through the doors and the last place we see when we leave. How you control your lights has an impact not only on how welcome your building’s occupants feel but also on how efficiently your building runs.
 

Access Control Systems are foundational tools for modern security operations, but they are vulnerable to threats—including cybersecurity attacks.
 

There can be much to manage in a mission critical commissioning project. Digitizing commissioning can be a big help on many levels.
 

I’ve recently joked that large action against climate change would occur when Major League Baseball decided it had had enough with snowy April games and invested money to mitigate them. 
 

The main entrance to a commercial office building plays an important part in establishing the building’s identity. One important element of that identity is security.
 

5G is here! The next generation wireless technology features increased connectivity, data volume and transfer speeds. Building owners and operators should consider 5G adoption – or risk being left behind.
 

Maximizing efficiency, both in construction and in ongoing operations, is crucial for high-performance computing (HPC) data center facilities.
 

The demand for data across the world keeps soaring, increasing the need of data centers. Figuring out the best way to design data centers is always important to achieve the best flexibility and scalability.
 

Advanced building design is a rapidly growing field that always is in search of recent college graduates who are hard workers and fresh thinkers.
 

When employees wandered around skyscrapers and other office buildings in the 20th century, there was little sense of how they used the space.
 

As the cost of new construction continues to rise, what incentives are available to help alleviate those costs so your project is actually built?

 

Smart buildings – ones connected by the Internet of Things to make effective decisions – increase energy efficiency and decrease the chance of detrimental environmental impacts.
 

The smart building market is expected to grow to nearly $60 billion by 2025 from only $8.7 billion a few years ago, according to Brandessence Market Research.
 

Combating theft of company data is an increasingly essential part of our interconnected world.
 

In the spirit of advancing the WELL community, the ESD Energy+Eco team will share our WELL experience and lessons learned during a webinar.
 

Technology trends usher in new opportunities within the built environment and connected workplace. It is important for businesses and customers to understand what’s next in the digital world.
 

Appropriately enough, Women of Willis – a group started by ESD’s Julie Lardenoit and others – hosted its first event of 2020 in ESD’s Willis Tower space.
 

Chicago passed an energy benchmarking ordinance in 2013 that requires all commercial and residential buildings over 50,000 square feet to report their whole building energy consumption through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to the city on an annual basis.
 

It’s always great when team members volunteer to help an industry group.
 

The technology industry is booming in Chicago. And cohesion – spun out of ESD in 2018 as an independent technology firm – has been recognized as an important part of that burgeoning upswing.
 

Imagine building a hockey rink in a 1970s shopping mall. Or, conversely, building retail shops inside an aging hockey rink.
 

At a women’s networking event, ESD’s Julie DeNardis Lardenoit met another woman from United who also worked at Willis Tower. Together, they decided to create Women of Willis, a network supporting women at Willis Tower and to create a community within the building.
 

Serious college students love to keep learning even during a vacation – and ESD is always happy to serve as a guide to buoy their knowledge.
 

When an alma mater wants you to be significantly involved in the school long after you’ve graduated, that’s an honor.
 

ESD’s High Performance Building projects have encompassed some of the best known buildings in the world, from the Akhmat Tower in Russia to the Zurich North America Headquarters outside of Chicago.
 

ESD has seen solid growth in its mission critical work – a fact noted by a national publication.
 

Steve Fink has joined ESD in the role of Practice Leader – Financial Services.