Context/Significance
Working with so many public entities and non-profit clients, DHK developed an approach to architecture and planning that takes the long view and seeks to maximize the public good as the ultimate goal. With this background, it was only natural for our firm to embrace the concept of sustainable design, a philosophy that aims to protect our natural resources for our generation and future generations through responsible stewardship of limited natural resources. Public and non-profit clients have taken the lead in this effort and DHK has partnered with them to design buildings and communities that integrate every aspect of sustainability, from master planning through building design to facility management.
DHK’s practice has focused on projects with characteristics that are inherently sustainable.
- Planning and design of mass transit infrastructure that promotes more efficient land uses, reduces dependency on the use private vehicle and plays a key role in energy conservation.
- Redevelopment of inner-city neighborhoods that utilize existing physical and social infrastructure instead of promoting low density sprawl that squanders resources and destroys countless acres of the natural environment.
- Design of compact urban housing prototypes that promote efficient land use, walkable neighborhoods and safe communities.
- Design of buildings to meet high technical standards that maximize energy and water conservation, such as high performance building envelopes, high efficiency heating and lighting systems and advanced storm water management and landscape design concepts.