Sustainable Design

WMF believes that a sustainable design posture is a very important qualification for all organizations and institutions to research and consider as it will impact the operating costs of each facility for as long as it is in use.

WMF has always believed that the concepts embodied in the LEED Certification process were simply “good design”. The founders of WMF undertook their undergraduate and graduate training during the ‘60’s and ‘70’s which was a period of time when sustainable design was even more of a central d

esign concept than it has become in the last several years. WMF is delighted that building owners and institutions are embracing these values and including them in their cost / benefit evaluations.

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One of the gratifying results of the LEED certification process is the opportunity to incorporate into private, public, and institutional decision making considerations of broader resource utilization and environmental responsibility. Utilizing existing resources has always appealed to WMF’s “Yankee conservatism”. We believe that existing facilities offer opportunities for more program with less cost (and throw in some unique character to boot).

To place the energy savings component into perspective, the U.S. Green Building council estimates that looking at all costs of owning / operating a building, the capitalization of construction (rent) represents about 13.5% of the total cost; operation and maintenance about .8%; and all energy consumed by the building 2.1 %. It is of no surprise to a school district that the huge expense of operating a school is the salaries and expenses of the staff that make up the remaining 83.6 %. Therefore, when designing a school one of the real opportunities is to explore any opportunity to implement efficiencies that impact staff (without impacting the quality of the educational program which is hugely dependent upon student / staff relationships).

The real bottom line is the health and performance of the people who spend a substantial portion of their lives in controlled building environments. Paying attention to day lighting has proven performance impacts. Eliminating contributors to mold and bacterial borne diseases increased attendance and eliminating many volatile chemicals is anticipated to reduce the increase in asthma related health problems.