St. John’s University works with AKF when building new construction on campus due to their sustainable practices.

Their Sustainable Building Design Policy is as follows:

Sustainable MEP Design Services

Building Energy Modeling

Daylighting Studies

Renewable Energy Studies

Computational Fluid Dynamics

LEED® Commissioning Services

LEED® Consulting Services

Rebate/Incentive Consulting Services

Increased awareness of the principles of sustainable design is changing the way buildings are developed. AKF is a leader in furthering sustainable design and environmental responsibility in our projects. We pay continuing attention to the long-term environmental impact of the systems we engineer, as well as the energy required to operate them. We provide workshops and seminars for our clients and staff members to educate them on sustainable design and green building systems.

As a benchmarking tool and to ensure advanced support to our clients, we work closely with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED supports sustainable buildings and their effect on the environment by providing a framework for more efficient, healthier structures that are both good for the planet and the people who live on it, while providing a higher return on investment. AKF is proud to have been an active member in the USGBC since 2001.

AKF became the founding sponsor of the Mexico Green Building Council in 2005 with the World Green Building Council, as well as existing and emerging Green Building Councils from around the world. The combined councils work to advance the cause for sustainable buildings and building practices, so necessary to the welfare of our planet.

Our sustainable design capabilities start with our experienced professional staff and collaborative approach to engineering. Our comprehensive in-house training programs continue to yield an increasing number of LEED® Accredited Professionals. Our goal is not only to meet the current sustainability requirements of our clients and a building's occupants, but also to anticipate and prepare for future needs and developments.

Our sustainable design solutions have included geothermal heat pump systems, photo-voltaics, hybrid natural/mechanical ventilation, radiant heating and cooling, thermal storage, heat recovery, energy efficient lighting control systems, gray water storage and treatment systems, cogeneration plants and alternate fuel chillers. We have full building energy modeling capabilities utilizing the DOE II based VisualDOE program as well as the Trane Trace modeling software. AKF provides computation fluid dynamics modeling using Fluent software. We have also assisted our clients in the process of procuring rebates and incentives for energy efficient equipment and systems. Our Commissioning Group is available to provide basic and enhanced Commissioning Services for LEED® projects.

Our Philosophy of Sustainable Design is Founded on Three Basic Principles:

Harvest Free Energy
First, maximize the harvesting of available on-site renewable energy by advantageous building orientation and massing, correct placement of fenestration to maximize daylight potential and optimize solar gain, optimal placement of passive ventilation openings and discharge points and other passive strategies. The proper utilization of daylight has a profound impact on building energy use, occupant comfort and health. We are proponents of the use of natural ventilation, passive heating and/or cooling and geothermal energy where appropriate.

Reduce Building Loads
Second, optimize remaining loads that affect building performance. The design of efficient electric lighting systems, realistic plug load allowances, optimized building envelopes and the education of the building owner to alternative indoor environmental control systems and strategies have a major impact on the affordability of sustainable strategies.

Employ Efficient Systems
Finally, once maximum benefit is extracted from available site resources and building imposed loads are reduced to the greatest extent possible, we design efficient mechanical and electrical systems. These systems are "right sized" based on an optimized building, require less capacity and have a lower first cost than systems that are not designed in this manner. The opportunities to apply high performance, low energy systems and strategies are greater because the building systems are asked to do less. We believe our approach results in the realization of the maximum sustainable potential for the project at the lowest bottom line impact.

AKF has recently formed and new subsidiary – In Posse, which is an independent environmental consulting firm, headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, focused exclusively on services in the energy and sustainable design sectors of the built environment for clients in a broad range of market sectors. For more information on In Posse please visit www.in-posse.com.

Ernie Bello

2011-01-06

IT