Green Building Design



	Director of Marketing & Human Resources		Green Building Design is becoming increasingly popular for new facilities. If you are thinking about Green Design for your next project, you can learn more here. What is a Green Building Design? A Green Building Design (aka Sustainable Building Design) is a design that reduces the use of non-renewable resources, and minimizes enviromental impact. Green design encompasses many areas including: Energy efficiency Renewable energy sources Nontoxic materials Cultural and historical site considerations Water conservation Environmental vs. economic considerations Recycled/reused materials Wise use of space and/or reduced building size Why are Companies Embracing Green Design? More Building Owners are embracing Green Building Design for at least one of these three reasons: To be more enviromentally responsible in business operations. Save money by reducing energy costs. Boost their brand / image / reputation in the marketplace. If you want your next project to be a Green Building Design, we can help. Our Experience in Green Design started 25 years ago, when we designed stores for Retailers to reduce their energy costs, but still meet operational requirements. We also helped them reduce the amount of materials needed to build their stores. These materials were non-renewable, so it was an element of green design. Recently, we became more involved in other aspects of green design, as well as the LEED certification process. What is LEED® and do You need it? The LEED Green Building Rating System™ was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council to signify the level of green design in a building. They also test individuals for LEED competence, and we have one of the larger staffs of LEED Accredited Professionals (AP's) in the country. Collectively, our LEED AP's have more than 137 years of building design experience. Their training to become LEED Accredited Professionals was intensive and covered all of the areas mentioned in the green design definition above. *Can You Have a Green Design* Without LEED? Yes, you certainly can. LEED certification is a prestigious honor, but not all Building Owners want to pursue it. Your Green Design project can be with or without LEED certification. You make the call. Our new home office in Rogers, Arkansas, is already registered under LEED guidelines. When completed in 2008, we anticipate completing the requirements for LEED certification. *About Your Project* If your next building design is "Green", or even if it's not, you'll appreciate these advantages: An independent, licensed A/E Professional will be in charge of each discipline of your project. Benchmark Group will provide full production support to the architect, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and fire protection professional. These professionals (practicing as sole proprietors) and their production support are "under one roof " Benchmark Group has over 300 people on staff. With our large workload capacity, your building program will stay on schedule. *In Closing* Let us help you develop a Green Building Design. You'll appreciate our quality Construction Documents, timely project delivery, and working with our staff. Strengthen your Green building program by adding us to your team. Contact Jim Parks for more information. 479-636-5004 800-321-8721 JIM@bgark.com Home Page Copyright 2007 2008 2009 Benchmark Group All Rights Reserved