For this year’s architect roundtable, School Construction News spoke with three women who are leaders in the industry: Pam Loeffelman, K-12 education leader at DLR Group; Lisa Fay Matthiessen, national sustainable design director at HGA Architects and Engineers; and Tracy Carusi, principal at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects. Each offered cogent answers to questions we hoped would spark a spirited discussion about design and its place in the experience of those who both shape it and encounter it in real life.

Q: Baking sustainability into design for education seems to be par for the course these days — or is it? How does this mindset inform aesthetic decisions in design? Is there such a thing as “green fatigue?”

Loeffelman: The definition of sustainability and green design is evolving. The USGBC and LEED initiated a culture shift in architecture and engineering that recognized the importance of designs that embrace stewardship of our earth’s natural resources. Additional organizations and their resulting “check lists” continue to prescribe how a client can best celebrate a return on investment in a design that is functional, aesthetically pleasing and sustainable.

However, most clients have their own metrics of success. These metrics have continued to evolve the definition of sustainability. Certainly the operating/life cycle costs of buildings need to be considered; the use of building materials and systems that contribute to the quality of building environments related to air quality, health and wellness; and a return to good design policy regarding siting, orientation, massing and thermal envelope all contribute to high-performance buildings that represent not only good design, but also a fiduciary responsibility to clients and the funds invested in any building outcome.

Matthiessen: Sustainability is not par for the course in design for education, not in the full sense of the word. Much or most of the market is aware of and using metrics to measure sustainability — usually LEED. The use of LEED has indeed made sustainability a topic or priority for many clients and designers, but sustainability is not a finite topic. It’s not something that you learn how to do and then you are done. We have reached a level of awareness and competence around sustainability, and now there are many more levels to explore and boundaries to push. With LEED Silver being the norm now, we see schools reaching for net-zero energy. Other emerging priorities include water use, designing for human health and social equity. So yes, sustainability is a familiar topic now, but the more we know, the more we have to explore.

Carusi: There is no doubt that sustainable design is more of a standard than an outlier in our client markets. However, our clients’ appetites for official certification has decreased over recent years, instead expressing a desire to be sustainable without formal certification. “Baking in” sustainability can impact our aesthetic decisions. For example, we know we need to avoid large expanses of west-facing glass in our designs at the outset or find a way to effectively shade the glass. This strategy certainly has a major impact on aesthetics. On the other hand, clients’ expectations that sustainable design has a certain sustainable look is not particularly valid. We completed a LEED Platinum project recently, the headquarters for Global Ministries in Atlanta, where the sustainability was “under cover” and not particularly identifiable from the exterior. This was not intentional, but merely the result of using fairly conventional design and construction approaches in ways where we still achieved a high sustainable goal.

Q: What issues or value propositions are architects and designers facing or pursuing in terms of expressing gender and identity politics through their work?

Loeffelman: All architects should take the responsibility to understand their clients and what architectural outcomes best represents their metrics for success. As clients represent various constituencies, it is important to focus on a building’s purpose and how to create environments that enable all constituencies to succeed. If one focuses too directly on gender and identity politics, there is a possibility of serving none rather than serving specific groups.

Matthiessen: To my mind, addressing issues of gender and identity must include internal reflection on the part of the design team. We must understand how these issues impact and shape our own processes and perspectives, and work to mitigate our shortcomings, before attempting to address these issues in our work. If the design team is homogeneous, then it needs to change. That said, I think it is absolutely true that gender and identity can inform design. For example, Frances Moore of SmithGroupJJR has done very compelling research into how women experience the world and has used this information to shape the design of a women’s hospital.

Carusi: I’m not sure that I would necessarily relate our particular clients’ issues to politics. Instead, they seem to be genuinely concerned about addressing their customers, members or student issues. In recreational facilities, we’ve been designing self-contained individual changing and shower rooms for years that are generally effective in addressing gender identity, among other matters such as age or religious preferences. Our university clients have occasionally asked us to include “unisex” individual toilet rooms in lieu of toilet batteries with multiple stalls.

Q: How do you account for obsolescence in your design? Nothing lasts forever, so how do you incorporated the “inevitable” in your design approach?

Loeffelman: Future-proofing buildings starts with the tenets of good design: appropriate understanding of community and context, building plans that provide a clear arrival sequence, circulation/wayfinding that is easily comprehended, and places and spaces that are well proportioned and flexible. While every building use evolves over time, creating buildings that are a “loose fit” for any activity allow for continual use and adaptation over time. This approach includes all building elements ranging from systems that are zoned to walls that are constructed from easily reconfigurable to permanent, or one-, five-, and 10-year walls.

Carusi: We have actually worked with a few repeat clients long enough that we have seen our original designs either demolished or repurposed. However, we work with many clients who expect to own their buildings for a minimum of 30 to 50 years and want us to design durable and timeless designs. It’s tempting to design with and explore the latest and greatest new material, trendy geometry or technology, and there is a place for that on the continuum of the overall design spectrum. However, taking that short view as an overall philosophy of practice generally does a disservice to our client and our communities.

Frequently, that “of the moment” approach is not human-centered, sustainable or durable. That said, one of the building types where planned obsolescence has been a recent factor is education. The need to continually reinvent and reconfigure in schools is more common today than ever. Public school systems who might have dictated CMU (concrete masonry unit) construction as a standard frequently accept our suggestion to use high-impact gypsum board construction with recycled content. You have the advantage of a high-recycled content with a more easily deconstructed system that allows economical reconfiguration and can continue to be recycled (steel studs and gypsum board). In addition, building structural components can be lightened using less CMU. Whether or not our clients are interested in building sustainably, our specifications require recycled content in most building materials, and we use more materials that can be easily recycled.

Neumann/ Smith Architecture have found that both economics and a trend away from unique interior finishes have recently allowed for more dynamic expressions of our clients’ branding and culture through the use of easily applied, removed and re-imagined environmental graphics. There is definitely a concept of planned obsolescence here.

To read the entire article, check out the March/April issue of School Construction News.

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Returning Members

Wendy Rogers has designed and promoted innovative, high-performance learning environments through her work at Irvine, Calif.-headquartered LPA Inc., where she has practiced since 1987. She has worked collaboratively in both public and private schools to create informed solutions for future learners. Serving nine years as the Green Schools Chair for the U.S. Green Building Council, Rogers has been an advocate for the adoption and design of green schools. An experienced educational designer, Rogers uses data and evidence to demonstrate the principles and strategies at work in sustainable school design. Named CEO at LPA in 2017, Rogers’ role will include working with President Dan Heinfeld on the day-to-day operations with a focus on increasing the role of LPA’s propriety research unit, LPAred, and using LPA’s unique informed design approach to differentiate the firm in the marketplace. As chief talent officer, Rogers is responsible for developing the culture and lifestyle at the firm to retain and attract the best and brightest people who want to make a difference in the built environment.

Since establishing Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Quattrocchi Kwok Architects in 1986, Mark Quattrocchi has been at the helm as a lead architect, innovator and renowned industry authority. With K-12 design expertise spanning 30 years, he is an authority on designing environments for 21st century teaching and learning. Quattrocchi frequently publishes substantive articles related to architecture, historic renovation and sustainability, and regularly speaks at events and workshops, including California’s Coalition for Adequate School Housing and the California Association of Independent Schools conferences.

Bill Dobyns has extensive knowledge of the construction industry with more than 30 years of construction experience on public and private projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. His expertise lies in alternative delivery methods, including design-build, general contractor/construction manager and construction manager at-risk. He is also well-versed in all facets of construction such as estimating, purchasing, scheduling, contract administration, marketing and overall management. Dobyns is vice president of business development for Lydig Construction Inc., located in Bellevue, Wash., and leads the company’s education sector. Lydig has completed more than 150 K-12 projects in 47 districts as well as several higher-education projects.

Celine Larkin, AIA, LEED AP, heads Urban Design/Master Planning at HGA Architects, Engineers + Planners, and directs planning across the firm’s healthcare, higher-education and corporate-practice groups nationally. With more than 28 years’ experience in architecture, urban design and master planning, her notable projects include a Campus Master Plan for Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and currently, the Pasadena City College Centennial Master Plan in Pasadena, Calif. Larkin has written extensively for industry journals and spoken at leading trade conferences, addressing issues of campus safety, designing for campus well-being and the impact future generations will have on evolving cultural and social norms that inform tomorrow’s environments. She taught design at MIT, Brandeis and Roger Williams universities, and served as a guest critic and lecturer at Harvard, Georgetown, the University of Southern California and California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. She holds a Master of Architecture from MIT and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.

Tracy S. Carusi, AIA, is a principal at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects (CCCA) in Atlanta and a LEED-certified professional, having graduated magna cum laude from the University of Tennessee in 1983. Carusi has been an integral part of CCCA’s growth since 1990. An industry leader in design, she leads studio teams in various award-winning community-based projects, including public and private K-12, college and university, religious, cultural and recreational/wellness. Her notable projects include the Emory University Candler School of Theology Center for Ethics and Pitts Library, Mt. Pisgah Christian School and North Atlanta High School.

Susan Tully LEED AP, BD+C, has managed education construction projects for more than 25 years. Since joining Gilbane Building Company of Philadelphia in 2000, Tully has accumulated an impressive portfolio of large construction projects throughout the northeast, with a concentration in the K-12 and higher-education markets. She serves Gilbane as senior project manager, with experience working with owners, design teams and engineers. She has managed elementary school construction projects for the School District of Cheltenham Township in Pennsylvania since 2007 — projects totaling more than $50 million and renovations/additions totaling more than 200,000 square feet. She has also managed construction of high-profile projects for several national educational institutions, including Community College of Philadelphia, Princeton University, Rutgers University and Trenton School District.

David Johnson, LEED AP, BD+C, vice president and higher-education practice strategist for the Detroit office of SmithGroupJJR, is actively engaged in understanding and articulating the forces shaping higher education. Johnson guides design teams to align programming and planning with client strategy, develop design narratives for multiple audiences, envision hybrid space types and facilities, and advance design research that informs the practice and profession. Johnson has broad experience in design leadership and has completed work at numerous university campuses, providing master planning, programming and architecture.

Kirk Marchisen, AIA, LEED AP, is principal and vice president at Stevens & Wilkinson, an Atlanta architecture, engineering and interiors firm. Marchisen is also a project manager with extensive educational facility experience. He works closely with the project team during all phases of a project, including programming, concept design, design development, construction documents and construction administration. He earned both a Bachelor of Science and a master’s degree in technology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a registered architect in the state of Georgia. Throughout his 31-year career, he has successfully completed dozens of education projects throughout the state, including the renovation and addition to Oakhurst Elementary School in Decatur, the design of Sandtown Middle School in Atlanta and the Gwinnett Technical College Horticulture Center in Lawrenceville.

New Members

Pam Loeffelman, FAIA, is a K-12 education leader at national architecture firm DLR Group, elevating education for local school districts across the country. Loeffelman has been actively engaged in a dialogue about the return on investment of educational designs for more than three decades. She believes a combination of economic, social and pedagogy trends along with benchmarking can better shape the built environment so as to engage and inspire students, educators and local communities. She has served multiple leadership roles within the industry, including AIA national vice president and on the board of multiple AIA Knowledge Communities. She also participated in the initial American Architecture Foundation Mayor’s Institute on School Design in 2005 in Washington, D.C.

David Schrader, founding/managing partner of Philadelphia-based Schradergroup Architecture, is responsible for the design leadership, management and business development for the firm. For a quarter of a century, his professional experience has focused on the design of facilities of public interest, with a specific emphasis on educational facility design. Acting as principal in charge and lead planner/designer for close to 100 K-12 projects, Schrader’s daily involvement spans from initial design through to project completion. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania as well as Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Science in Architecture degrees from Pennsylvania State University. He is a registered architect in more than 14 states and is an active member of a number of professional organizations, including the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE), formerly the Council of Educational Facilities Planners International (CEFPI).

Jackie Avello is a project manager for JE Dunn Construction whose 10-year career — five with JE Dunn — includes overseeing multiple complex renovation projects for Atlanta Public Schools, and providing key leadership of JE Dunn’s process improvement efforts using lean construction and other tools. Her portfolio includes transformation of an IBM corporate campus into the new North Atlanta High School and modernization of the 1920s-era Brown Middle School. The Brown project won a first place honor in the 2017 AGC Build Georgia Awards Program as well as a 2017 CMMA Project Achievement Award. Avello is a member of Construction Owners of America and is active in various industry organizations. She is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction with Highest Honor as well as a Certificate in Entrepreneurship.

Ian McQuoid is a project director at McCarthy Building Companies Inc., a national construction contractor. With a focus on lease-leaseback and design-build, McQuoid serves as project executive on education projects, managing all phases of construction. McQuoid has worked with San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento County, Calif., on projects that range from an innovative performing arts center to STEM classrooms to elementary schools. He believes in constantly elevating his craft by incorporating cutting-edge technology and tools. McQuoid received his Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from California State University, Sacramento.

Check out the entire list in the January/February issue of School Construction News.

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