OUR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY :
Design is paramount to everything
that we do. We believe that truly creative designs go far beyond the look and
feel, and are based on a complex set of criteria. The environments that we
create reflect present and future times, peoples imaginations, priorities,
needs, culture and tastes. They feel modern and fresh, and yet are sympathetic
to their surroundings. What we create today will have a profound affect on the
emotions of people who will use them tomorrow.
future engineering acknowledges the
relationship between human endeavors and global climate change, a problem with
grave implications for this and future generations. Furthermore,future engineering recognizes that current practices in the building industry result in
patterns of energy use, resource consumption, and waste production that
contribute substantially to this problem, and that our industry has a
responsibility to take action in light of this fact. Finally, future engineering recognizes our role as leaders in a process that initiates patterns of use and
consumption that determine the impact of a project over its lifetime.
We will endeavor to promote this
ethic of sustainability by educating ourselves and our clients about best
practices to position ourselves as a leading industry resource and by
continuing to measure our progress and performance.
Capitalizing on the unique
opportunities, goals and challenges of each project while building a common
framework of tools and resources to make effective application of new
technologies, approaches and an evolving set of best practices.
future engineering has always remained
committed to the efficiency of our buildings and the health and well-being of
their occupants. As these issues have been embraced by the building industry
and the public at large, we have renewed our commitment to conservation and
broadened our approach to sustainability.
Energy Conservation :
Energy consumption is at the root of
many environmental issues, including climate change, habitat destruction, waste
generation, and pollution. future engineering is actively pursuing design
solutions that conserve energy beyond the industry standard.
To this end, we continue to pay
careful attention to the design of the building envelope, fenestration, and
HVAC systems and controls. In fact, future engineering is a regional leader in
the specification of Ground Source Heat Pumps, a heating and cooling strategy
that has recently enjoyed renewed attention.
In addition to our continuous
investigation and pursuit of best practices in energy conservation, we have
embraced additional efforts in energy conservation that will help us to
evaluate and learn from the initiatives of each project. We have added energy
modeling to our typical design process, which helps us evaluate the energy
performance of each building during the design phase. Through the energy
modeling utilized in the design, future engineering anticipates a 40% reduction
in the expected energy expenditure of the building. We are also expanding our
Measurement and Verification capacities to better evaluate and respond to the
actual energy performance of our buildings. These reflective efforts will help
us to meet our commitment to the 2030 Challenge, which calls for an immediate
50% reduction in fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
Water Management :
Similar to energy consumption, the
use, quality, and flow of water has extensive environmental impacts, affecting
the health of waterways, as well as the availability and quality of drinking
water. future engineering has consistently advocated the use of water
conservation initiatives in its buildings including water efficient fixtures
and equipment, rainwater harvesting, and landscape designed for minimized
irrigation. Furthermore, our firm has a celebrated record of responsible
stewardship to the watersheds of its buildings through initiatives such as
vegetated roofs, bio-filtration systems, rain gardens, constructed wetlands,
and low impact development.
Occupant Health and Well-Being :
Future Engineering has long treated
the quality of its indoor spaces as environments to inspire and nurture the
life within. Abundant daylight, fresh air, and careful moisture control have
been standards to future engineering designs.
Durability :
At future engineering, we design
buildings to last. Designed to a minimum 150 year standard, the durability of
our buildings is their greatest contribution to their sustainability. By
designing for their continued adaptation in lieu of their demolition and
replacement, we are effectively conserving countless material resources, energy
expense and landfill space.
Current LEED Projects :
Recent
interest in sustainability and the development of the USGBC’s LEED program has
inspired future engineering to align its sustainable efforts with the LEED
evaluation system. Although the firm has an internal commitment to design all
new projects to a LEED Silver standard, we have also engaged many of our new
clients to pursue LEED certification.
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