Sustainable Design Blog

Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery has been showcased in the May 2010 issue of Maddux Business Report. The article features the Sustainable & Architectural features of the project.  Article below or click image for PDF version.

by Jennifer Lugo

A cosmetic surgery center brings calm through architecture and design:

When passersby come into your office just to get a closer look at the décor and drop some compliments, you know you've got a unique design going on.

That's the case at Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery & Skin Care,a first-floor office of a three-story, otherwise nondescript medical office building near Lakewood Ranch Medical Center. The facility is a new one for the husband and wife team of Drs. Joshua and Andrea Kreithen. To design their dream office, the couple worked with Sarasota's Carlson Studio Architecture.
"Their old space was a typical, cold medical space with white bare walls," says Jedd Heap of Carlson Studio and primary designer.

"The doctors came to us looking for an organic, spa-type feel." Carlson Studio pulled the look off with a smart use of natural materials like stone, cork and wood. Curvy walls, undulating ceiling light fixtures and wavy flooring transitions eliminate all sense of "boxy" office space within the five exam rooms, four offices and the tranquil lobby space.

Inspiration also came, Heap says, from the doctors' original artwork that's displayed throughout the space. The purple partial wall in the lobby,for example, was built to anchor the sofa and provide a place to hang a painting. "Most of the scenes in their artwork are organic landscapes, almost surrealist," says Heap. "We wanted to integrate those into the design."

The lobby space has two main focal points - a "water wall" and a stone wall. The water wall screens the waiting area from the hallway that leads to the exam rooms. The stone wall begins in the lobby and continues into an exam room, winding through the space and out to the exit. It's dotted with lighted apertures for product display. Besides the obvious aesthetics, the project is registered to earn a "Silver" designation for green commercial interiors from the U.S. Green Building Council. The office is located in a corner of the building, which allows for daylight and outdoor views from most of the interior spaces. White translucent glass runs along the lower portion of the exam room corridor and clear glass runs above to provide ample natural light but maintain privacy.

Other sustainable features include:

• Zoned thermostats
• Carpet tiles with recycled content
• Renewable materials like cork and bamboo
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures and sensor faucets
• Lighting sensors and high-efficiency lighting
• Custom-built, no-added formaldehyde cabinetry and desks
• Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) interior paint
• Reused and Green Guard-certified furniture

The result is just what the doctors ordered. "People tell us it's the prettiest office they've ever seen," says Josie Cirrintano, the doctors' office receptionist. "We get compliments all the time. Not only from patients, but from people going to see other doctors." Says Heap: "When you walk through the door, it's a mindset change."

Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP & Jedd W. Heap, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP will present several of the firms LEED certified projects and discuss the philosophies behind each project's design and environmental integration.

Carlson Studio Architecture is a Sarasota-based, full service architecture firm, committed to design excellence, comprehensive project delivery and personal attention to each project. The firm is a regional leader in sustainable design and LEED projects.

Sustainability is a key principal we apply to all of our projects. The integrated design approach that we utilize in all our work allows us to provide high quality, high performance buildings for our clients. We look at our buildings as part of the greater "whole system." Everything is part of one Whole System.

Thursday, April 29 Roundtable discussion on Sustainable Building:  Turning Green into Green. Hosted by University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.  It is part of the Environmental Economics Policy Forum at USF. Lee-En Chung will be serving as moderator for  the Roundtable.

Panelist include:
Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP / Carlson Studio Architecture
Ben Sasse / Willis A. Smith Construction
Monica Kennedy / Elite Solar

The Roundtable will be held in the Selby Auditorium on the USF Sarasota/Manatee campus. 3:30-5:30 PM.
http://sarasota.usf.edu/green/

Series Overview

Roundtable Series

Gateway Bank's University Parkway branch was recently awarded LEED Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

This was the third branch Gateway renovated in Sarasota but it's now the first certified bank in Sarasota County. Carlson Studio Architecture re-designed the facility and Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. was the contractor. Because more than 50% of the building was remodeled, the project qualified as a major renovation under the USGBC's LEED-NC program. 

According to Michael Carlson, LEED AP BD+C, AIA and principal of Carlson Studio Architecture, by maintaining the existing structure the embodied energy originally expended to create the building was preserved.  This decision became the cornerstone of the project's sustainable direction.  Green renovations can save building owners money and time in many cases.
 
Green features of the completed renovation include an estimated 15% reduction in energy use and water demand has been reduced by approximately 40%.  The addition of large windows and interior glazing allowed day lighting to pass through the building, as well as provide views to the outside from every office. Day lighting helps reduce energy costs and increases worker productivity while contributing to decreased absenteeism rates.  One of the best and most recognizable improvements to the Gateway Bank branch is the flooring which was manufactured using recycled materials.  Low emitting materials, paints and adhesives were also used throughout the project to improve indoor air quality.

For more information, visit http://www.carlsonstudio.org/, http://www.willissmith.com/ or http://www.gatewaybankandtrust.com/.

Just announced, Rothenbach Park will be awarded the Environmental Sustainability for Engineering Excellence from the American Academy of Enviromental Engineers (AAEE).

The award will be presented on April 28th in Washington DC.

The Excellence in Environmental Engineering® Competition exists to identify and reward the best of today's environmental engineering. Its criteria define what it takes to be the best in environmental engineering practice: a holistic environmental perspective, innovation, proven performance and customer satisfaction, and contribution to an improved quality of life and economic efficiency.

The E3 Competition, begun in 1989, is organized around the normal phases of development and implementation of environmental management projects and programs: research, planning, design, and operations and management. Each year, the entrants to the competition display a wide range of projects from innovative designs in waste treatment plants to new water treatment technologies to a one-of-a-kind Superfund site cleanup. At the same time, we see that today's engineers are becoming significantly more integrated in a team/project approach, allowing for greater flexibility and efficiency in project management. The application of new technologies combined with experienced environmental engineering practices make these projects the award winners they are.

Those chosen for prizes by an independent panel of distinguished experts, addresses the broad range of modern challenges inherent in providing life-nurturing services for humans and protection of the environment. They are but a small percentage of the many projects involving environmental engineers around the world. Nevertheless, their innovations and performance illustrate the essential role of environmental engineers in providing a healthy planet. These award winners testify to the genius of humankind and best exemplify the Excellence in Environmental Engineering® criteria.

http://www.aaee.net/ 

  ICF Wall System

  ICF Wall System

    Reclaimed Wood Logs

Forty income restricted seniors will be the first to call the community concept facility home.

Officials from By the River envision their housing development as a community -- encouraging residents to help each other and share their lives with fellow residents.

The By the River organization created the housing development as a pilot project funded through numerous state and local donations. Hutner said if the project is a success  others could replicate it throughout the nation as a way to care for the aging population.

"It's all about community," Hutner said, explaining that residents are encouraged to cook for each other or help with laundry with their fellow residents who are unable to do so for themselves.

The site currently consists of four residential buildings, each of which has a communal kitchen, living room and activity room.

In an effort to spark intermingling between the four buildings' residents, the activity rooms differ in activity, according to Hutner. For example, the rooms are used as a library, a game room, a place for meditation, and as a chapel.

And while By the River is focused on providing low income seniors with affordable housing, the foundation is also working to offer sustainability through an organic community garden that would help feed the residents.

By the River is an interfaith foundation and does not require residents to subscribe to any belief in order to live there. The only requirements By the River residents must meet are that they are older than 62, lacking in at least two daily living activities - such as having low vision and needing transportation assistance - and be at 50 percent or lower of the median income for Indian River County.

For more information about By the River, visit http://www.bytheriver.org/ or call (772) 388-1518.

The Florida Gulfcoast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council awarded its highest honor, Chapter Leadership Award, to Michael Carlson of Carlson Studio Architecture during the group's annual award program December 8 in St. Petersburg.  The annual award recognizes the chapter member who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, active involvement and service to the organization and has helped to advance the green building/design profession.

Earlier this year, Carlson established and led a new division of the Florida Gulfcoast Chapter, the Myakka River Branch, which serves the Manatee-Sarasota area.  In addition, he was appointed chair of the Green Business Leadership Council of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, a recent initiative for the organization.  In 2009 Carlson was also selected by HGTV to design the production company's second Green Home which earned LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC and is located in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Carlson Studio Architecture is located at 1613 Fruitville Road in downtown Sarasota, Florida.  The studio headquarters became the fourth project in Florida to earn LEED Silver Certification for Commercial Interiors.  The architectural firm has been a member of Sarasota County's Green Business Partnership since 2008.

Josh Bomstein, USGBC Chapter President & Michael Carlson

Michael Carlson & Rick Fedrizzi, CEO USGBC