 The mission statement of Mithun architectural firm says it all: "Inspire a sustainable world through leadership, innovation, and integrated design." The company has a belief that practicing architecture responsibly also means measuring their own carbon footprint. Since 1998 at the firm's beginning, they have worked to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions and reduce their individual carbon output annually. EnviroCitizen.org discovered that the corporate culture of Mithun encourages sustainable lifestyles that include recycling, alternative transportation for commuting and reducing personal energy consumption, even at home.
Several of the firm's projects show their commitment to their cause. The current ones posted on their site showcase how sustainability can be incorporated anywhere with architecture. In recent projects, Project Green is a decommissioned water treatment plant, five city blocks will be transformed into a dynamic, transit oriented and diverse neighborhood that includes 2.5 million square feet of office, hotel, residential and retail space. When complete, Project Green will be the largest single development in downtown Austin. Striving to achieve water and carbon neutrality for the building site and company values, the build-out reflects the site's utilitarian history of delivering a cleaner, higher quality environment.
In 2005, Mithun won an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Green Project award for the Lloyd Crossing Sustainable Urban Design Plan. The Lloyd Crossing Sustainable Urban Design Plan integrates multiple sustainable strategies for energy, water and habitat to transform and create a new identity for a 35-block, inner-city, commercial area of Portland, a city famous for its green thinking. The plan lays out a new analytical, design and economic framework for adding 8 million square feet of development over 45 years while dramatically improving the district's environmental performance. A four-block, mixed-use project, the Catalyst Project, will serve as a testing ground for key elements of the design plan.
All of the Plan's key environmental strategies work toward the city's in the categories of habitat, water, and energy. These goals provide the framework for evaluating and understanding the systemic nature of the interconnected design strategies. Habitat quantity, quality and connections will be improved by restoring habitat areas within the streetscape that connect to existing habitat corridors for connecting the city to nature. Tree cover will increase from 14.5 percent in 2004 to 30 percent in 2050. Potable water use will be reduced by 62 percent and annual fees will be reduced by 89 percent through an integrated water system that includes stormwater management and treatment and graywater and blackwater treatment and reuse for nonpotable purposes. Energy demand will be reduced and onsite renewable energy resources, such as daylighting, wind power, photovoltaic (solar) systems and biogas generation will be utilized. A shared "thermal loop" will balance heating demands among complementary uses. Solar utilization will increase from 2 percent currently to 13.7 percent in 2050, exceeding the pre-development utilization of 5 percent. The carbon balance will be reduced from 29,000 tons per year to only 2,000 tons per year, despite the addition of millions of squared feet of new buildings. Almost 90 percent of the power will come from renewable sources in 2050, and carbon neutrality will be achieved through the purchase of carbon credits.
EnviroCitizen.org firmly believes that architecture firms like Mithun are paving the way to a greener future and healthier Earth.
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