Collaborative and integrated design is at the heart of the HCM process, and sustainability is a key component from pre-design through operations and maintenance.

At the very start of the process, the client and design team work together to identify and prioritize sustainable goals for the project, including whether to pursue green building certification. Throughout the process various strategies are researched and explored, including innovative new techniques and design ideas that emerge from the HCM’s inquisitive culture. Both the process and the product are integrated – with all the parts working together to make a whole.

During design and construction, specific sustainable elements are detailed, refined and finalized, with mechanisms put in place to ultimately track and ensure effectiveness. The result is a beautiful and functional design that rises to the client’s aspirations.

This type of process is truly integrated – all aspects of the project’s design and operations are considered simultaneously. The difference this and the way we have worked in the past is that there is more time invested in team collaboration at the beginning of the process, resulting in a clear articulation and the careful balancing of all elements of the project. All team members – the owner, the designers, the users and the maintenance staff are invited to the table to weigh and discuss the various sustainable options. The impact and cost of one strategy, technique or material is weighed against its effect on other aspects of the project – both positively and negatively until the most desirable result is achieved.

Moving Forward

In the future, sustainable design will move us beyond merely designing and building what architect Bill McDonough describes as “less bad”. The way we build now, “sustainable design”, means the impact of what we do is neutral – not hurting the environment, but not restoring it either. But what if we went beyond what is neutral and towards design that can actually restore and regenerate the land it occupies? The regenerative project would generate its own energy, treat its own waste on site using natural processes and restoring the natural ecosystem by honoring the natural systems life forms and processes. As we move forward, we will be working from “green building” towards truly regenerative design.

Building Information Modeling

At HCM, we use Building Information Modeling as a tool for sustainable design. Hord Coplan Macht adopted Autodesk Revit Architecture in 2006 as a building information modeling solution for our design and construction documents. The models we develop in Revit provide three-dimensional views of the project throughout the design process to give a clear image of the building’s exterior and interior spaces. Revit is a great tool for sustainable design, allowing easy and clear coordination among the various design disciplines. Sustainable features can be evaluated for their impact on other building systems and decisions quickly made about their merits or challenges. HCM will continue to evaluate and adopt technologies that help us work and serve our clients more effectively.