The Company Has Long Promoted Eco-Friendly Principles in Its Designs and Projects, But

Graduates flock to ‘green’ architecture firm
The Atlanta Business Chronicle
By Joanna Carabello
Published: October 6, 2006
For the architecture firm on Perkins+Will, sustainable development is more than just a pitch to clients, it’s a way of life that even permeates its hiring practices.

The company has long promoted eco-friendly principles in its designs and projects, but two years ago it went a step further and embraced a series of environmental policies in an effort to “lead by example,” said Willard Lariscy, managing director of the Perkins+Will Atlanta office.

“It’s hard for us to have credibility with our clients if we ourselves aren’t using these designs and fixtures,” Lariscy said.

Each of the firm’s 20 offices adopted a green operations plan covering everything from office water and energy use to indoor air quality and transportation. Among the new policies is creation of an extensive recycling program and installation of energy-efficient fixtures and waterless urinals.

“Over four years we’ve estimated that we’ve saved 300,000 gallons of water,” Lariscy said. “And we collected 25 tons of recycled paper in 2005.”

The firm’s interest in sustainable practices extends beyond the office confines. Employees aren’t just encouraged to use alternative forms of transportation; they are given an annual financial incentive to do so.

Perkins+Will also locates its offices near public transit, provides on-site bike racks and uses a hybrid car as the company vehicle. As a result, a third of the staff in the firm’s Atlanta office commutes to work in ways other than their personal cars, Lariscy said.

Perhaps the most significant change pursued by the firm is a requirement that all of its architects become certified in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – a voluntary national standard for developing sustainable buildings. The certification became a requirement for promotion within the firm as of this year, and all new hires are expected to be LEED accredited within a year of joining the company. As a result, Perkins+Will can boast of employing the largest number of LEED-certified professionals in the country – more than 500, including 80 in Atlanta.

Lariscy said the certification process is another way for the firm to ensure its professionals are fully equipped to design projects in ways that will minimize environmental impact and help save money through energy efficiency.

The LEED requirement hasn’t hurt the firm’s recruitment efforts, Lariscy said, but it was an adjustment for some of the company’s veteran architects who hadn’t studied for a test in many years.

“We had some long nights,” said Lariscy, who has been with the company since 1989.

It was this commitment to sustainable development that attracted Natalie Martinez to Perkins+Will. Martinez joined the firm after receiving her master’s degree in architecture from Ohio State University in June 2005 and recently earned her LEED certification. She said the idea of combining high-level design with eco-friendly principles is a challenge she became interested in during graduate school and believes she can pursue at Perkins+Will.

“It’s our responsibility as architects…. that we promote sustainable growth to our clients and our communities,” Martinez said.

As for the green policies that govern the firm’s internal workings, she said they fit in perfectly with the company’s mission.

“It would be hypocritical if we didn’t do the same things we suggest to our clients,” she said.

These days, Lariscy said, clients aren’t just open to including sustainable growth concepts in their projects; they’re demanding them. More and more people understand that, because green designs can save money over the long term, it’s not just good for the environment, it’s also good for business, he said.

Perkins+Will

·  Twenty locations across the United States and two offices in China.

·  Atlanta is the company’s second-largest office. It has 162 employees and earned $40 million in revenue last year. That Atlanta office is in Midtown at Peachtree and 17th streets.

·  The Atlanta office was started in 1977 as Nixman and Associates and joined Perkins+Will in 1995.

·  The company specializes in architecture for the health-care, education, science and technology, and corporate, civic and commercial sectors.

·  Perkins+Will designed the state’s first three LEED-certified K-12 buildings.