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Architects at DLR Group are joining a national program to reduce dependency on fossil fuels in buildings with the hopes of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.

The Chicago office of DLR Group recently held an in-house meeting that outlined its plans to meet the Architecture 2030 Challenge. Santa Fe N.M.-based architect Edward Mazria originated the program as part of a non-profit organization “to achieve a dramatic reduction in the global-warming-causing greenhouse gas emissions of the Building Sector by changing the way buildings and developments are planned, designed and constructed.”

The challenge has been adapted by dozens of architecture firms nationwide with the ultimate goal of reducing fossil fuel 100 percent in all new construction and renovations by 2030. This would achieve carbon neutrality.

Bryce Pearsall, managing principal with DLR, did not want to take on the political topic of global warming and issues such as cap and trade, but did point out that even if these hot button issues were set aside, it is not possible to ignore the simple facts of population growth and the benefits of waste management. This view appealed to the practical side of the mission.

“This is really a marketplace imperative because our competition will do it,” said Pearsall. “I do believe we have to take responsibility for our waste. As a profession we have become sloppy. We will build a 20-story glass box in Phoenix and poor cool air into it. We used to be more logical.”

For DLR Group, the goal of the 2030 challenge will be to attack energy inefficiency in building design. This will cut down on cost for building owners and occupiers, but will also cut down on emissions.

“We don’t want to reduce energy use by 100 percent,” said Pearsall. “The goal is to eliminate 100 percent of fossil fuel dependency.”

Pearsall noted that while industry and automobiles have curbed emissions in recent years, the building sector has not. The average age of an existing building dates to the 1980s, when building codes were not as stringent as they are now.

The 2030 plan will provide and opportunity to attack the energy waste that many of these older buildings are typically guilty of.

“In the next 20-30 years 75 percent of all buildings in the U.S. will either be new construction or rehab,” said Pearsall.

The firm will benchmark its progress by using the DOE’s Target Finder program. The program measures the proposed energy use intensity (EUI) of a building and compares it to the average EUI of buildings in a particular zip code. The program will then calculate the potential energy savings of the proposed design.

“The EUI is the magic number,” said Dan Munn, practice leader with DLR. “We can benchmark our work and get the architect and engineer talking about how to get there.”

DLR Group will implement its design and techniques from this program at clients’ request, but the firm will mark its progress on an annual basis with the projects that are a part of the 2030 Challenge.

This program will not challenge or replace the USGBC’s LEED principles that that the firm already follows, said Pearsall.

LEED is a more comprehensive design system that includes storm water management and building operations to achieve its goals. The 2030 plan will purely focus on energy use.

© 2012 Real Estate Communications Group. Duplication or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization from the Real Estate Publishing Group. For information on reprint or electronic pdf of this article contact Mark Menzies at 312-644-4610 or menzies@rejournals.com