On May 18, HKS Architects, Inc. announced its commitment to the 2030 Challenge. The program, initiated by founder of Architecture 2030 Edward Mazria, calls on the global building sector to design and build carbon-neutral buildings by 2030.  According to Mazria, global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, is fueling dangerous regional and global environmental events.  Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all greenhouse gas emissions annually in addition to being the single largest consumers of fossil fuel energy. 

“By accepting the 2030 Challenge, we can reduce America ’s dependency on foreign oil and improve our air quality,” said Ralph Hawkins, FAIA, FACHA, president and CEO of HKS Architects.  “Our plan is to share the 2030 Challenge with each of our clients at project start-up and encourage them to make a conscience decision to set an energy efficiency target.  Many of our clients have already made major strides to improve our environments through their efforts to build sustainable architecture.”

The firm’s 2030 Challenge efforts are led by Kirk Teske, AIA. Teske, senior vice president at HKS Architects , is a LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professional and recognized leader in the building industry for his expertise in sustainable design.  He is the founding chair of the USGBC North Texas Chapter, an elected member of the USGBC National Chapter Steering Committee, and a chair of the Dallas AIA Sustainable Design Committee.  Teske also directs the efforts of HKS’s “Design Green” program, dedicated to educating HKS employees on the latest sustainable design strategies and high performance building systems.

While LEED certification focuses on many aspects of sustainable design, the 2030 Challenge focuses on energy consumption,” he said.  “The 2030 Challenge plan is to reduce energy usage by 50 percent in new buildings and major renovations plus an additional 10 percent reduction every five years with the goals of carbon-neutral buildings by 2030." 

"We are going to track estimated energy consumption of our projects in BTU per square foot per year and develop an annual report to measure our performance," said Teske. "The annual report will be subdivided by building type and serve as a benchmark for continued improvement. Although the firm already has an admirable sustainable design education program in operation, we intend to enhance this program with advanced training and design tools to assist designers in maximizing the efficiency of the building envelope and achieve aggressive overall reductions in energy consumption."

Building systems that help reduce energy usage include photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, efficient mechanical systems, co-generation, low-E glass, and double skin facades. "An integrated design approach that combines smart passive design strategies with efficient and renewable mechanical systems is the key," said Teske. "Cost premiums will be a concern to our clients. However, we are hopeful that the return on investment will be attractive to them - especially on those strategies that offer a payback within a 10 year duration. 

For more than 15 years, HKS has worked with clients to develop projects that are energy-conscious and environmentally-responsible.  As of today, the firm’s LEED™ certified and registered projects total more than nine million square feet – for clients including SABRE Holdings, Lucasfilm, Ltd., Lincoln Property Company, RadioShack Corporation, U.S. Census Bureau, and Citigroup.  Most recently, the firm introduced one of the country’s first LEED Gold Certified healthcare buildings for St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic, in Duluth , Minn.

More than 150 LEED Accredited Professionals at HKS work on projects and play key roles on local and national sustainable design committees – including writing national AIA LEED design services guidelines. "We are pleased to accept the 2030 Challenge," said Hawkins. "Together, as an industry, we will work with our clients to lead the way toward energy independence as well as become better stewards of our planet."

HKS, Inc. is a leading architectural design firm ranked among the top-five architectural/engineering firms, according to Building Design & Construction magazine. Since its founding in 1939, HKS has completed construction projects totaling more than $39 billion in more than 758 cities located in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and 41 foreign countries. Headquartered in Dallas, the firm has 17 U.S. and worldwide offices. 

Architecture 2030 was established in 2005 and is sponsored by New Energy Economy, a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization. Their mission is to conduct research and provide information and innovative solutions in the fields of architecture and planning in an effort to address global climate change.  

For additional information regarding this article, please contact Trish Martineck at tmartineck@hksinc.com or 214/969-3379.

This article was originally posted 6/5/07.