At Hord Coplan Macht (HCM), sustainable design is more than just a trend, it’s a practice to live and work by. Since the Baltimore-based architecture, landscape architecture, and planning firm’s founding in 1977, HCM has worked with its clients to achieve design excellence, an element of which is sustainability.
“We think sustainable design is just good design, so it really is incorporated into the core of our work and our desire to do excellent work both design-wise and in a functional way. That way our designs not only look good, but they also meet the client’s needs, they’re efficient, and they’re built for the long term, rather than something that’s going to need to be renovated in a short period of time,” Zolna Russell, HCM’s Director of Sustainability, said.
Russell said sustainable design isn’t necessarily incorporating expensive new technologies into the design of a building, but rather taking a second look at the fundamentals of design.
“A lot of sustainable design is going back to the basics and looking at the orientation of the building, making sure there are enough windows to get natural light into the building, those sorts of things,” Russell said. “We really look for the basic things that we can incorporate into buildings at little or no cost to our clients that really help the buildings function better and look better.”
Russell said that demand for sustainable design elements from HCM’s clients has risen recently and that thinking about them earlier in the design process allows them to be included more cost effectively. Planning how a building fits into the surrounding community is another design element that is taken into consideration, Russell said.
“We’re looking at how the building is sitting on the site, making sure it fits into the site, not only physically but aesthetically. We want to make sure the outdoor design is sustainable as well and fits into the community at large, planning how it connects with pedestrian walkways, bikeways, and public transportation,” Russell said.
Sixty-three percent of HCM’s staff is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited, three of HCM’s completed projects are LEED certified, and 17 are registered. HCM also works with several other green rating and green building systems and programs for its projects including: Earthcraft, Energy Star, Enterprise Green Communities, Building America, Green Rating, Living Building Challenge and the 2030 Challenge.
HCM’s dedication to sustainability doesn’t end with its services. The firm also focuses on sustainability initiatives internally, with the use of recycled paper, in-office recycling, using reusable dishes rather than paper and plastic dishes and utensils, and using energy star appliances. Many of HCM’s employees practice sustainability in their personal lives as well by biking to work, using public transportation and adding sustainable design elements to their homes. Russell said education is another important part of the firm’s sustainability efforts.
“The commitment runs through the whole gamut, from what we do here, to how we recruit staff who have either the credentials or a strong interest in sustainability. We make sure everyone who is here is educated on what’s happening not only with what’s happening with the LEED rating system and within the legislature, but also about how we implement these technologies and if it is a good idea to use them for our clients,” Russell said. “This is really a team effort here, it’s not just me or a couple of people. We’re all working at it and we all think it’s important. We try to live what we preach as much as possible.”
Here are a couple examples of HCM projects:
Century Engineering Corporate Headquarters in Hunt Valley, the first building in Baltimore County to be certified LEED Gold by USGBC.
Friends Community School in Greenbelt. The building was designed on a very tight budget and will be LEED Silver Certified.
For more information about Hord Coplan Macht and their sustainability efforts visit http://www.hcm2.com.
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