March 20, 2008

CAROLINA NEWSWIRE

'Green' Building Takes Shape in the Triad of North Carolina

Mount Airy, NC - The move to green and sustainable commercial and residential building in the Piedmont Triad is slowly gaining ground, but still has a way to go, says Greg Savage LEED AP, the Director of Sustainable Construction at John S. Clark Company and Chair of the Triad’s new N.C. Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

On Friday, March 15, Savage was joined by Rence Callahan, the Vice President of Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce Architects in Winston-Salem, to address green and sustainable building and commercial-residential development at a meeting of the Piedmont Real Estate Council at the Piedmont Club. Walter Robbs recently moved into their new offices in downtown Winston-Salem, soon to receive certification as Forsyth County’s first LEED project (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a national benchmark for sustainable green building and development).

“The U.S. construction industry represents 20 percent of the U.S. economy, uses 30 percent of the nation’s raw materials, uses 13 percent of all potable water, generates 40 percent of all landfill waste, and represents 70 percent of all electricity consumption,” Savage said. “Everywhere we go, we see a vital need for construction to adopt green sustainable standards.”

Callahan added that, outside the Triad and North Carolina, green sustainable building initiatives are on the rise. He cited a growing number of applications in large urban areas, ranging from mass transit systems in Los Angeles to a shopping center in Syracuse NY fueled by bio-diesel.

In the Triad, there now are 14 building projects registered for LEED Green Building Rating System certification, which encourages adoption of sustainable green building and development practices.

In North Carolina, over 200 projects have registered for LEED certification, with about 25 projects achieving “LEED Certified” to date.

Savage listed some of the environmental and other benefits to green sustainable building: Energy efficiency, lower operating costs, water-quality improvement and health benefits, as well as economic benefits such as enhancing assets and tax and insurance premium savings. Not all green building is costly, either, Savage said — especially when considering how it increases the value of the owner’s investment. A list of incentives for green building, he said, is available at www.dsireusa.org, a Web site created by the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency.

Eventually, buildings that haven’t conformed to green sustainable or LEED standards will likely need to, in order to meet forthcoming environmental-energy-water-building code changes, Savage said. He encouraged companies to participate in membership in the U.S. Green Building Council at its Web site, www.usgbc.org, and individuals to participate in the new Piedmont Triad NC Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Chapter, now in its formative stages, is designed to advocate and educate on green sustainable building. With an informal membership of over 200, the Chapter has an in-process Web site at www.piedmonttriadncchapterusgbc.org.

November 2007

Designing for the Future

By Irecka Smith

BIZLife Magazine

Embedded in experience and artistry, the Winston-Salem-based architectural firm of Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce has served the Piedmont Triad Region and state of North Carolina for the past 42 years, since its establishment in 1965.

The firm’s name honors its 1999 retired president, Lloyd Walter, who hired three entry-level college graduates more than 30 years ago. Those graduates — Larry Robbs, AIA, Rence Callahan, AIA, and Clark Pierce, AIA — currently serve as the firm’s senior partners.

Throughout its 42 years in business, the firm has been a force in the local community as well. With its new offices in the heart of downtown Winston-Salem, Walter Robbs is poised to continue its success through downtown revitalization efforts, practices in sustainability and its solid track record in all facets of architecture.

Downtown renewal

A community leader in urban renewal, Walter Robbs has been closely associated with the redevelopment of downtown Winston-Salem over the past four decades.

For example, the firm has been integral to revitalization efforts at Fourth Street, an east-to-west retail corridor in which it used its expertise to redesign and accommodate a two-way street and wider sidewalks.

“We feel that it’s very important at the core of a community to have a strong downtown area, so when we purchased a building on Fourth Street and moved our offices downtown in the mid-1990s, we were putting our money where our mouth was,” Robbs says of the firm.

Walter Robbs’ award-winning design is prevalent throughout the cityscape, as the firm has contributed more than 50 new designs and renovations to the redevelopment of the downtown area, including the W-S Transportation Center, BB&T Financial Center/Corpening Plaza, Reynolds Plaza Complex, One Technology Place, Law Enforcement Detention Center, Public Safety Building, Winston-Salem Journal addition, and Wachovia Linden Center.

In particular, the Wachovia Linden Center involved the renovation of a former tobacco distribution building into office space. The building, which originally had two floors, was restructured to accommodate an additional floor.

“We went in and cut the floor loose and jacked it up because there was so much height, and we then inserted a third floor,” Robbs says. “Essentially, we turned a two-story shell into a three-story building without changing its exterior envelope.”

Walter Robbs’ design also is making downtown Winston-Salem an exciting place to live. The firm has designed more than a dozen downtown residential projects ranging from upscale condominiums and boutique lofts for younger professionals to subsidized senior housing in its arts district’s newly revitalized northern edge.

“In the late 1990s, Walter Robbs Callahan and Pierce began promoting more urban residential projects as designers, as well as limited investors, because we seriously believed there was a need for high-density residential developments in downtown Winston-Salem,” Callahan notes.

He cites reverse migration, or the idea of people leaving the suburbs to return to more urban areas, which has led to extensive work in the downtown area on lofts, condominiums, and other mixed-use structures.

“Reverse migration has been a growing national trend for the past decade,” Callahan says.

“Based on that knowledge, we embraced the idea of raising local awareness about how this trend could positively impact downtown revitalization efforts. This included our partnering as a minority investor in some of the projects to get them out of the ground. The interest the community has now shown supports that belief and demonstrates that downtown has arrived as a great place to live, work, and play.”

Learning curve

While Robbs describes the firm as a generalist practice, he says it has significant experience in particular areas, including education.

From primary- and secondary-education facilities to institutions of higher education, Walter Robbs has designed many projects over the years, including a $60 million technology-enriched medical teaching complex for East Carolina University, and the seven-story Deacon Tower at Wake Forest University’s football stadium.

A recent example of the firm’s extensive experience designing K-12 schools is the Simon G. Atkins Academic & Technology High School for the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County School District. The building features state-of-the-art laboratory space for specialized study in the areas of biotechnology, computer technology, and pre-engineering. The firm designed the 200,000-square-foot magnet high school to help train the next generation of scientists and technicians in the Triad.

Going for gold

An award-winning firm, Walter Robbs has received numerous distinctions over the years. In 1999, it received The Outstanding Firm Award, the highest honor given by The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) North Carolina chapter. It is one of five firms in the state to capture a national design award from the AIA, which it received for its renovation of the ground floor of the landmark R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. headquarters in downtown Winston-Salem. The renovation also earned an award from the Art Deco Society of New York City.

Recognizing the firm’s extensive experience and outstanding design work in education, Walter Robbs has received an Honor Award from the Winston-Salem Section of NCAIA for the design of East Carolina University’s School of Nursing, School of Allied Health Sciences, and Health Sciences Medical Library facility, a $60 million project. The firm also received a 2007 Learning by Design Award for the design of the Simon G. Atkins Academic & Technology High School.

Sustaining success

With several Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified professionals, the firm works consistently to help reduce its environmental footprint.

For more than a decade, Walter Robbs has incorporated green building principles into such projects as the new Solarium at Appalachian State University’s Student Union and the Watauga Humane Society project in Boone.

Walter Robbs also is the architect and principal investor for a 10-story, $10 million mixed-use building to be constructed next year in the heart of downtown. It will seek gold LEED certification for the project, one of the highest levels of environmentally friendly certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The firm practices what it preaches. Walter Robbs is the first to design and occupy a green project in Forsyth County. Its new headquarters in the Downtown Arts District is projected to receive silver LEED-CI certification status. The project incorporates various elements of sustainable design and construction, which maximize operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. In October, the firm moved into its new offices on the third floor of Trader’s Row, a $13 million, 110,000-square-foot mixed-use building.

Pierce believes that the design community as a whole is beginning to grasp the concept of sustainability, as well as the importance of promoting a greener environment and workforce.

“We are running out of renewable resources, so we have to be better stewards of it,” he says. “It’s satisfying to see the Triad joining the ranks of proactive, forward-thinking communities across the country who have embraced energy-efficient sustainable design.”

“When designing our new headquarters, we felt a responsibility to demonstrate how green principles can be integrated into beautiful, cost-effective design,” Callahan adds.

“I’m excited about the fun, stimulating, healthy work environment we’ve created.” 

Friday, October 5, 2007

Architect preaches his vision of green

By Justin Catanoso

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area

Rence Callahan has always been a dreamer and an idealist. Sometimes it works for him, like playing a lead role in Winston-Salem's steadily reviving downtown. And sometimes it doesn't, like his quixotic quest to bring major-league soccer to the Twin City.

Yet win or lose, his dreams never wane, nor does his idealism.

To Callahan, it all comes down to this: "I love this place; I rave about it everywhere I go," says the Pittsburgh native of the town he adopted as home more than a quarter-century ago. "But still, I want it to be better. That's why I keep pushing these issues."

As an architect and partner in one of the Triad's largest firms, Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce, Callahan is uniquely positioned to push an issue that consumes him these days -- environmentally sustainable, or green, design and construction.

He's out front, shouting and waving the flag. The problem is, very few people are falling in line behind him. While progressive cities such as San Francisco, New York, Seattle, even Pittsburgh and Syracuse, are encouraging or requiring green construction, the vast majority of Triad builders and developers remain wedded to the old (wasteful) way of doing things.

"We're so far behind," Callahan says, shaking his head.

Not surprisingly, he's neither giving up nor staying quiet.

On Oct. 19, Callahan will make a speech and presentation at the O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro for the annual Green Building and Solar Tour, sponsored by the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association. He says he'd like to keep his remarks to 20 minutes, but you can bet he'll go on longer.

"These are values I try to incorporate into my personal and professional life," says Callahan, who designed a passive-solar heated stairwell for his historic home in Winston-Salem's West End neighborhood. "At the firm, this is something we all believe in. We're architects. We really do ask: What is our legacy? What are we leaving behind?"

Callahan's firm got interested in green design long before it was trendy, designing a bookstore renovation and solarium addition at Appalachian State in Boone nearly 10 years ago.

The firm has done other green projects, and with good reason: It is estimated that buildings account for 71 percent of America's electricity use and 38 percent of all green house-gas emissions, according to the Department of Energy. Careful green design and construction can reduce those rates by a third.

But here's the problem locally: For every 20 clients that request work from Walter Robbs, one -- maybe -- will express any interest in green design techniques.

"We always ask, but the answer is almost always 'no,'" Callahan says. "Every once in a while, someone will say, 'Tell me more,' and we follow up. But it's very, very few."

Why? The reasons are many, but they often boil down to a lack of knowledge, a misperception that building green is cost prohibitive, and too often, an unwillingness on the part of builders to learn basic green construction techniques. Callahan notes that it can cost more, but the green construction premium is usually less than 5 percent.

The thing is, it can also cost less. When firm founder Lloyd Walter retired about nine years ago, his partners turned his office into an illustration of green design: efficient lighting, insulated windows, non-chemical-emitting wall paint and carpeting, recycled wood products used for shelves. The room is bright, fresh and simple.

"Doing the room this way is no more expensive, and is probably even cheaper, than if we used conventional materials," Callahan says. "It's minimalistic, and it's not for everyone. But if I didn't tell you this was a 'green' room, you wouldn't know it."

Callahan and his firm are going even further, waving the flag higher, leading by example. Later this month, they will move into new office space downtown on Trade Street in the $13 million mixed-use Trader's Row building. They will occupy the third floor of the five-story building, sharing it with the consulting engineering firm Cavanaugh & Associates.

That floor, though not the entire 110,000-square-foot building, is being touted as the first Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified project in Forsyth County. It is gorgeous space, with windows that open and lots of natural light. Recycled materials have been used as much as possible, and some materials, like office doors, aren't used at all.

Callahan figures his firm and Cavanaugh actually spent less on the construction of their 25,000 square feet in obtaining Leed certification than if they had used traditional building materials and construction techniques.

When Callahan goes to Greensboro next week, he will talk about his new offices. He will talk also about his dreams and ideals. It's time for the Triad to catch up. It's time for local governments to mandate green construction of schools and commercial buildings. It's time, he believes, to do the right thing for the community and the planet.

"You know, I went to Alaska a few years ago and I saw the glaciers melting; it was depressing," Callahan says. "I've been thinking about that a lot because I'm going to be a granddad in a couple of weeks. What are we leaving those who come after us? That's why I think what little I can do, I'm going to do."

September 21, 2007

Local architectural firm wins statewide award

The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area

Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce Architects of Winston-Salem have been awarded the Merit Award by Brick Southeast, a trade organization representing brick manufacturers from around the Southeast.

The award was awarded for their design of the School of Allied Health Sciences, School of Nursing and Laupus Library on the campus of East Carolina University.

The building is designed as a three- and four-story structure that blends indoor and outdoor spaces. Judges said "the use of brick and cast stone is handled effectively and contributes to the reduction of building mass."

September 11, 2007

Local architects to design center for UNC Pembroke

Winston-Salem Journal

JOURNAL STAFF AND WIRE REPORT

Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce Architects PA said yesterday that it has been selected to design a $29 million teaching center for UNC Pembroke’s nursing program.

The university’s nursing program is currently based at Southeastern Regional Medical Center’s corporate-services building in Lumberton. The teaching center would be based at the main Pembroke campus. It is being built to help alleviate a shortage of nurses, particularly in the eastern part of the state.

The firm recently did the design for a $60-million, 290,000-square-foot teaching center for the schools of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences at East Carolina University. The building also holds the university’s Health Sciences medical library.

March 7, 2007

Offices designed for 'green' certification

Winston-Salem Journal

By Jim Sparks

Office space now under construction for an architectural firm and an engineering firm in downtown Winston-Salem could be the first project in Forsyth County certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The two 12,000-square-foot offices for Walter Robbs Callahan and Pierce Architects and Cavanaugh and Associates are being built on the third floor of Traders Row, a new five-story, $13 million, 110,000-square-foot building under construction on North Trade Street.

The firms’ new headquarters, costing a total of $3.2 million, have been planned to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification standards set by the council, company officials said.

LEED certification is a national benchmark for green-building design and identifies projects built with design and construction techniques that maximize energy efficiency while minimizing environmental impact.

Although certified green-building projects are increasingly common in other parts of the county, the idea is new here in the Triad.

That’s why this space has been conceived to serve as an example of environmentally-friendly building and design methods, said Rence Callahan, a partner in the architectural firm.

The approach calls for creating healthy, well-ventilated space that uses less energy, water and other resources.

Because green design can be more complicated and take more time than conventional approaches, it can be more expensive, Callahan said. The materials and components used in building energy-efficient space can also cost more.

However, officials of the two firms said they decided to invest in making their new offices green because they believe that the approach makes sense over the long term.

“We wanted a place where people can see and feel what’s it’s like to be in a green office,” Callahan said. “We’re convinced that spending money on the front end is worth it when you look at the lifetime operational cost.”

Green-building methods to be employed in the construction effort include using recycled building products and buying materials produced as nearby as possible to cut down on the amount of fuel used to transport them.

Although the offices will be flooded with natural light, they also incorporate sensors to shut lights off in offices not being used.

Restrooms will feature water-conserving plumbing fixtures, including showers to accompany bike racks being added to the building to promote the idea of cycling to work.

Metering equipment is being added to monitor exactly how much energy and water is actually used in order to illustrate how the approach makes sense, company officials said.