Stories

Sustainability Strategies for Any Project Type

Mass timber, healthy spaces, adaptive reuse, resiliency and more are leading discussion topics in the realm of sustainability.

Sustainability Strategies, High-Performance and Healthy Spaces for Any Project Type overlay on timber clad modern workspace.

We've put many resources in one place as the sustainability community gathers virtually for Greenbuild this week. Through experiences on our own projects and for our customers, we believe a healthy and high-performing built environment can be constructed affordably for any project type in its core markets.

Mass Timber: Lessons Learned from DPR Construction Projects

Mass timber continues to gain ground as an innovative alternative building material. Engineered for loads similar in strength to structural materials like concrete and steel, mass timber allows crews to build tall, with a lighter, natural, low-carbon and high-quality resource. As its adoption grows, questions inevitably arise about the do’s and don’ts of its deployment. Continue reading >

Mass timber installation in progress
DPR incorporated mass timber when constructing its Sacramento office. Photo courtesy of Marshall Andrews

Building for Resilience in Workspaces: A Series

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, there has been significant speculation about what the pandemic will mean for workplaces in the future. The return to the office will happen, and when it does, it will look different for every organization. What will be important, though, is making sure offices are set up in ways to minimize further disruptions and optimize the health of their occupants. Through the design and construction approaches, businesses can plan for resiliency in the face of not only this pandemic, but other potentialities that could disrupt business for weeks or months at a time. Continue reading >

DPR's Sacramento office with spaced-out workstations and daylighting.
High performance can be achieved even in instances where existing buildings were renovated, like DPR's WELL certified office in Sacramento. Photo courtesy of Chad Davies

Revitalizing Urban Areas Through Adaptive Reuse

RENOVATING AGING BUILDINGS TO HIGH PERFORMANCE

In a shift from the midcentury trend of downtown abandonment and blight due to the rise of suburbs, adaptive reuse has been gaining ground—a shift The National Trust for Historic Preservation calls “reurbanism.” Adaptive reuse differs from restoration or historic preservation because it fundamentally changes the purpose of a building to meet different occupant needs. It creates an opportunity to not only update the aesthetics of a structure, but to push the envelope in design and construction by transforming aging structures into high performing buildings. Continue reading >

Exterior of DPR's renovated Sacramento Office
The adaptive reuse of an existing structure to create its new Sacramento location is part of DPR’s larger strategy to commit itself to green building and sustainable design. Photo courtesy of Chad Davies

Creating Healthy Spaces

PEOPLE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET IN A BUILDING. BUILDINGS SHOULD SUPPORT THEIR WELL-BEING.

We’ve all walked into a room and been overly distracted by smells, lighting, temperature, noise or other environmental factors. We all know the resulting feeling of a headache coming on and the desire to move to a different space where we can focus. The places where we work should be designed and built to encourage our ability to do the things we’re best at, rather than distract from them. How much productivity is lost when whole groups are working in less than ideal environments? Continue reading >

Living wall inside of DPR's Austin office space, surrounded by chairs and desks.
Living wall inside DPR's Austin office space.

Miller Hull Studio Earns Petal Certification for Sustainable Design

The Miller Hull Partnership recently received Living Building Challenge Petal Certification for the renovation of its San Diego studio. Built by DPR Construction, the 4,600-square-foot tenant improvement included upgrades to the open office, conference rooms and model shop. Continue reading >

Exterior of the Miller Hull Studio
The Miller Hull studio in San Diego was the first project to earn Petal Certification under the latest version of the Living Building Challenge. This photo was taken prior to COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Chipper Hatter

The Path to Net-Zero Energy

HOW DPR'S LIVING LABS ARE PIONEERING NET-ZERO ENERGY BUILDING CERTIFICATION

In the ever-evolving sustainable design and construction arena, many owners and project teams are setting their sights on a goal that seemed improbable just a short time ago: creating commercial buildings that produce as much or more energy as they consume each year, known as net-zero energy buildings. Continue reading >

Illustrated collection of building elements used in the Path to Net-Zero Energy
Net-Zero Energy features, clockwise from top left: 1. Rooftop photovoltaics 2. Solatubes 3. Expansive windows 4. Rooftop solar thermal water heating system 5. Solar chimney 6. LED lighting 7. AER-DEC sink and ultra low flush plumbing fixtures 8. Living walls with live plants 9. Building performance monitoring 10. Big Ass fans 11. Vampire shutoff switch 12. Operable windows and roll-up doors for fresh air and natural light

DPR Helps WRNS Studio Office Seek LBC Materials Petal Certification

DPR Construction played a key role in the extensive efforts of WRNS Studio's Seattle office to seek Living Building Challenge Materials Petal certification, which would be a first for DPR’s Northwest region. WRNS desired a higher standard of sustainability with the project, a concept that aligns with DPR’s sustainability goals. Continue reading >

Interior workspace and desks at the WRNS Studio Office with views of Elliott Bay
The 5,500-sq.-ft. office, with views of Elliott Bay, was completed in 2018.

Earth Day 2020: Data that Counts in the Built Environment

This Earth Day, DPR is taking stock of its impacts on the planet and communities where it operates and reflecting on the environmental performance of its office operations, especially the observation that high-performance buildings at market rates are realistic. Continue reading >

Living wall behind a DPR sign in the Austin office.
Living wall inside DPR's Austin office space.


Posted on November 10, 2020
Last Updated August 23, 2022