 DesignLAB began as a design studio by the founder Bob Miklos. The collaborative forces of all the members of the DesignLAB studio form the bedrock of its Design Mission. DesignLAB's team includes Landscape Architects, Building Engineers, Cost Estimators and Contractors. All of this leads to a dedication to long term sustainability in building performance. DesignLAB's Design process is organized around collaborative workshops that engage the planning team and all of those involved in the project. The firm’s philosophy is centered around the belief that only with the engagement of the client can the best ideas and options for their project be uncovered. Through this process, DesignLAB explores and develops design solutions that capture the uniqueness of the client that are green and lasting.
DesignLAB created one such project that won an American Institute of Architects (AIA) for being a top ten Green Project. The project was a LEED Gold certified building. This was the World Headquarters for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The design team transformed the project's brownfield site into an asset by creating a restored meadow area, reestablishing a natural habitat with native vegetation. Within the building, IFAW chose to incorporate practical, low-cost strategies for sustainable design such as good site selection, orientation, natural daylighting and ventilation and high-efficiency mechanical systems.
Because of IFAW's commitment to the environment, incorporating sustainable strategies was just as important as other, more typical office design concerns. IFAW employees were involved in design workshops to create a plan that would maximize the organization's effectiveness. The result was a plan that reduces square footage by 50 percent per person while expanding the collaborative workspace and increasing the employees' sense of ownership of the space.
The use of LEED as a guide rather than a goal allowed IFAW to track and pursue initiatives relative to cost and accreditation, but to deviate from certain credits as dictated by practicality and institutional objectives. The process actually increased the project's eventual rating, by continually revising the strategies without feeling tied down to any one method.
The Boston firm is getting more attention with its process of thought with each project, such as the one with IFAW. They are an architecture firm that is going for the future of architecture by making it green and beautiful. EnviroCitizen.org was excited to learn about this east coast design firm with such an incredible dedication to sustainability. We hope that they will continue to inspire and create green, sustainable buildings which other firms can look to as a guide for building green.
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