Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 18, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 13 "When engineering meets art, there are a lot of interesting ideas," Liu said. With Massachusetts being a leader in sustainable buildings, local architects have already logged years worth of proj- ects with elements of green design, and momentum keeps gaining. Smook, of the Westborough firm, said it's exciting to always be on the edge of new building techniques. Smook had a 4,200-square- foot office building in downtown West- borough go through a lengthy public approval process. at kind of vetting requires people to check their egos at the door, he said, but it was well worth it. Built in sections, the Westborough building is superinsulated and includes solar panels generating power back into the grid. e building features a pre-cast foundation craned into place during the winter, which speeded up construction. Smook said it's the first of its kind he's aware of in the area, and it's one of the first new buildings in Westborough's downtown district. "It's storytelling. It can be so power- ful," Smook said, of the building process. Constructing the future If the design industry is trailblazing for carbon neutral building construc- tion, local cities and towns are shaping the pathway forward for energy efficiency. Many have moved to adopt a high-ef- ficiency building energy code, known as a stretch code, created by the state to meet the goal of be- coming a net-zero emissions state by 2050. Kevin Provencher, Worcester office director at Norwell-based Habeeb & Associates Architects, said the City of Worcester has expressed interest in adopting the latest energy stretch code on an accelerated timeline – by next summer. While such measures may drive up the cost to build, Provencher, who specializes in LEED projects and sustainable design, believes the market will adapt quickly. Energy-efficient systems, such as geothermal and solar systems, are a part of nearly every com- mercial building project in the region. "Any kind of renewable energy re- source is going to become very import- ant," Provencher said. e nature of sustainable building W Your Community is Our Community We're fully invested in this region - as professionals, volunteers and neighbors. Proud architects for WPI's Center for Well-Being 508.752.2831 | lpaa.com A R C H I T E C T U R E & C O N S T R U C T I O N F O C U S Mass. leads in green buildings LEED LEED square Square footage Rank State projects footage per capita 1 Massachusetts 96 26.4 million 3.76 2 Illinois 91 44.6 million 3.48 3 New York 142 64 million 3.17 4 California 386 96.5 million 2.44 5 Maryland 80 14.8 million 2.39 6 Georgia 66 24.1 million 2.25 7 Colorado 59 12.5 million 2.17 8 Virginia 95 16.3 million 1.89 9 Texas 174 48.7 million 1.67 10 Oregon 36 6.1 million 1.43 Notes: Buildings are certified as LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environment Design) based on a scoring system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council assessing their sustainability. If it were a state, Washington, D.C. would lead this ranking as its 115 LEED projects totaling 31.8 million square feet equals 46.06 square feet per capita. Source: U.S. Green Building Council design is that it's always changing, said Steven Burke, director of sustainability at Consigli Building Group. e Milford construction management firm gener- ates 60% of its revenue from sustainable projects and is on the cutting edge of sourcing low-emissions materials. Burke said he expects an upcoming Consigli project will be the first of its kind in the region to use a concrete mix that replaces cement with ground glass, greatly reducing the carbon footprint. Looking ahead, Burke said industry will take a hard look at the supply chain and how equitable labor practices. "e question is always, 'How do we do the next thing and continue to do it better?'" he said. Kevin Provencher, Worcester director at Norwell-based Habeeb & Associates Architects

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