HOK’s New York studio hosted an event to discuss sustainability in cities and announce the firm’s partnership with BRE America.
During June’s AIA 2018 Convention in New York, HOK hosted an event in its New York office to discuss the role of policy, codes and voluntary certification programs to help cities meet aggressive energy goals. Anica Landreneau, director of sustainable design at HOK, moderated the panel discussion with Mark Chambers, director of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Barry Giles, CEO, BRE America and Brendan Shane, regional director for North America at C40.
During the event, HOK announced a partnership with BRE America to bring the BREEAM New Construction standard to the U.S. marketplace. BRE expects to release BREEAM USA New Construction for public consultation in January 2019.
HOK is providing BRE with input and advice on the adaptation of the BREEAM New Construction standard for the U.S. market. HOK will begin piloting the BREEAM New Construction standard for the U.S. with new and existing clients starting this summer.
BRE first introduced BREEAM In-Use for existing buildings to the U.S. market in 2016 to provide a science-based sustainable certification and improvement solution not covered by existing green building programs. Market enthusiasm for the BREEAM standard encouraged BRE to expand the program in the U.S. BREEAM differs from other leading green building rating systems as a true third-party verification for certification. BRE uses independent licensed BREEAM assessors to conduct an onsite visit to verify the design and construction is up to BREEAM standards before certification is awarded.
“We have established BREEAM In-Use for existing buildings in America and with the support of HOK we are extending this into BREEAM New Construction,” said Barry Giles, CEO of BRE America. “We’re excited to be working with HOK in this expanded capacity as BRE is at the forefront of advancing the built environment and always looking to partner with forward-thinking organizations to help build a better world together.”
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) was developed in 1990 by BRE, a leading multidisciplinary building science organization. With more than two million registered projects and over 560,000 certified buildings in 77 countries, it has more certifications than any other green building rating system.
“As a firm, we’re excited about the potential opportunities to explore using BREEAM New Construction for complex projects such as laboratories, sports venues and airports in the U.S.,” said Landreneau, director of sustainability at HOK. “We know firsthand from our experience working with BREEAM in Europe that it provides a new approach for greater sustainability and is backed by the latest research in building science.”
BRE is a world-leading multi-disciplinary science center that provides standards for the built environment. Unlike other providers of building standards, BRE conducts research and develops science-backed standards to advance the built environment. For more information, please visit www.breamerica.com
HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 23 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people’s lives and help clients succeed. DesignIntelligence consistently ranks HOK as a leader in sustainable, high-performance design and technology innovation.
