Sustainable Design

Click here for list of representative LEED projects

Green Building, also known as green construction or sustainable building, is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout a building's life cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.^[1] We at John A. Martin & Associates, Inc. (JAMA) are leaders in sustainable structural design, proven through our experience with new green construction, adaptive reuse projects, and preservation of existing structures.

Two programs governing sustainable design are the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and the CALGREEN Building Code. The USGBC, through its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, provides a credit system to rate a building’s environmental impact. CALGREEN is a mandatory green building standards code taking effect in California on January 1, 2011. To maintain our position on the forefront of sustainable design, our office employs several LEED accredited professionals, and we are also represented on the SEAOC Sustainable Design Committee. Our involvement in these programs allows us to utilize current green building practices and shape the future of sustainable structural design.

Our green ideals reach beyond specification of fly ash in concrete; we understand the most sustainable building is the one that already exists. JAMA is experienced with all types of building retrofit. By applying new technology to existing buildings, or simply adding structure to bring a building up to current code requirements, we can preserve existing structures for many more years of use. Retrofit can also be applied to a structure for adaptive reuse. Adaptive reuse means updating buildings for purposes other than those initially intended. JAMA understands there are many ways to improve an existing structure, and we work with clients to provide options for building reuse.

There is a need for simple, practical, easily maintainable systems, designed to be as unobtrusive as possible. We have demonstrated our expertise in minimizing environmental impacts by providing services to historic and ecologically sensitive lands through our experience with Federal clients. JAMA has applied sustainable design principles to projects by evaluating different structural systems (steel, precast, and wood) with respect to wall systems design and member sizes. Evaluations are also done for such things as embodied energy; thermal insulating heat gain/loss; environmental impact to produce materials and products; use after the life of the structure is complete (recyclability); first construction cost; and product availability close to job site. Experience has taught us the importance of performing sustainable design analysis as one of the earliest tasks in the design process to maximize the benefit to the project.

Within the office, we practice what we preach. JAMA has a sustainable policy that provides employees a means to lessen our impact on the planet. The sustainable policy outlines items such as recycling programs, carpool incentive, biodegradable flatware, electronic shop drawing review, links to technical information, and many others.

[1] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (October 28, 2009). Green Building Basic Information. Retrieved December 10, 2009, from http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm