As building owners, operators, and developers adapt to a hybrid work model, creating a welcoming office space is more important than ever. In an article for Propmodo’s Perspectives series, ESD now Stantec Senior Acoustics Project Manager Scott Hamilton shares his views on the evolution of the open office and why acoustics play such a critical role to the health, comfort, and productivity of returning workers. (Learn more about open office design.)
ESD is the winner of the Chicago Chapter of CoreNet Global 2021 Real Award for Sustainability and Wellness.
The award recognizes the research and results of a study that all began with a simple question: What if every downtown Chicago building over 300,000 square feet built between 1980-1995 replaced its existing end-of-useful-life chillers with upgraded equipment and refrigerants? How much carbon reduction could be achieved?
The results of the research were astounding. With this targeted subset of all existing downtown Chicago buildings, the impact proved to be significant, reducing total global warming potential (GWP) by 315,800 tons of CO2. That is the equivalent of removing 68,650 vehicles from the road for a year.
The results were shared with industry sustainability leaders, building owners, and building managers to help illustrate how investment decisions with relatively minimal cost and schedule effect can have a significant impact toward reducing carbon output from their buildings. Clearly quantified results can make these facilities more attractive to current and potential tenants, more competitive in the commercial real estate market, as well as help building owners and managers stay ahead of anticipated changes to codes and legislation.
Congratulations to Practice Leader Andrew Lehrer and the High Performance Buildings team for leading the study in pursuit of ESD’s mission to improve society through the built environment.
Reach out to ESD’s High Performance Buildings experts to learn more about upgrading aging cooling systems, adaptive reuse, and building repositioning for high rise facilities.
