On January 21st Arch Nexus President Kenner Kingston along with Kevin Emerson from Utah Clean Energy presented an overview of The Living Building Challenge to members of the Urban Land Institute of Utah. The Living Building Challenge is the built environment’s most rigorous performance standard for energy, water, waste, and other metrics related to building construction and operation. During the presentation, a financial and operational case study was provided for the Bulitt Center, a six story, 52,000 square foot commercial office in Seattle and a certified Living Building. In addition to the environmental benefits a Living Building provides, this rigorous performance standard also benefits developers and owners through niche lease rates, reduced operating costs, increased resiliency, and more satisfied and engaged tenants.

During the holiday season, Arch Nexus employees took time away from their computers and drawing boards to volunteer and work by helping to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. Nexus volunteers worked three different days in a total of six shifts for three different homes. These residences will provide safe, decent, accessible and affordable housing for families who will also contribute significantly in the process by providing 500 hours of sweat equity. Once the homes are complete, these families will be home owners by paying a 30 year interest free mortgage. In addition to the time spent working on each site, Arch Nexus made a cash donation to Habitat for Humanity to go towards the construction materials needed.

The staff from Salt Lake City made a trip up to Heber City to do framing and site work. It was cold and there were a couple of smashed fingers but everyone involved said that the work was a wonderful experience and that they had a great time volunteering for such a great cause.

Additionally, back in October the Arch Nexus employees in Sacramento also worked with Habitat for Humanity for not just one, but two homes. The Cebrero-Lara family and the Dixon family look forward to finishing their homes and being able to move their families into new neighborhoods.

Corporate partnerships with Habitat for Humanity are a win for communities and for employee engagement.  Local, regional, and national corporations can sponsor one or more Volunteer Team Build days with Habitat.  Companies bring their employees and leadership teams out on the build site in an environment away from the office that provides a new experience for working together to build team work and for supporting critical community development needs like housing.

Architectural Nexus has become the first organization in the Intermountain West and the first design firm in the State of California to earn the distinction of a JUST label. The social justice and transparency initiative is promoted by the Living Future Institute, the same organization that administers the Living Building Challenge.

The JUST program acts as a “nutrition label” for socially just and equitable organizations by providing measureable criteria on a wide range of organization and employee related indicators. These indicators fall into categories such as diversity, equity, safety, worker benefit, local benefit, and stewardship. Each of the indicator metrics asks for simple yet specific and measurable accountabilities in order for the organization to be recognized at a One, Two, or Three Star Level, which is then summarized elegantly on a label.

“In a relatively short timeframe since program launch, the JUST Program has garnered worldwide interest and is helping organizations to develop better employee engagement policies and community stewardship practices”, says JUST Program Manager, Francis Janes. “We are delighted to see Architectural Nexus join the ranks of JUST labeled organizations with the distinction of being the first design firm in Utah and California States to earn the JUST Label.”

For Architectural Nexus, an Employee Owned company, the value of pursuing and garnering the JUST label has revealed confidence in existing business customs such as pay-scale equity and continuing education for employees as well as areas where the company must yet strive to outperform standard professional practice.

Architectural Nexus president Kenner Kingston sees the JUST label as an extension to other transparency initiatives that the company is involved in. “The design and construction industry is currently undergoing a revolution relative to the full disclosure of building material ingredients, especially those known to be harmful to human health,” says Kingston. “Architectural Nexus has been a leader in this regard by requiring all of our vendors to provide transparency documentation so that we can make appropriate choices on behalf of our clients and the public-at-large. The JUST label is our way of demonstrating this ethic internally and has helped to reinforce our values of inspiration, stewardship, and regeneration by demonstrating that, after all, what we do is for people, not buildings.”

This label marks the beginning of a new era of corporate transparency. The International Living Future Institute invites organizations everywhere to evaluate themselves through this social justice and equity lens and become a JUST organization. With support from participating organizations, a better, more socially just and equitable world can be created.

For more information about the JUST label please visit living-future.org.

The Deseret News has just released an article that focuses on the benefits of volunteering in the office workplace. Arch Nexus president Kenner Kingston is quoted saying “Business thinks people are motivated by monetary rewards, but that is only partially true. It’s OK to have the value of money, but you have to have additional values, and we do.” Also mentioned in the article are other companies that are seeing results from encouraging employees to be active volunteers in their communities. Benefits like improved worker happiness, motivation, and added skills that translate directly to the workplace are noted along with suggestions on how to become an active volunteer. Check out the whole article by clicking here.

Architectural Nexus is proud to sponsor an exciting event with Breathe Utah at the Gallivan Center!

On Saturday, November 14 from 6PM to 10PM Breathe Utah will be celebrating 5 years of success! At this time Breathe Utah has reached 7000 students with their Air Aware schools program, participated in countless stakeholder meetings like the Mountain Accord process, and worked with decision makers to pass clean air laws, rules, and regulations. Their efforts have directly helped improve the air we breathe and they are on a roll and need your support to keep up the good work in 2016! Be proud to be a supporter of clean air and get FUNKY!

To learn more about what you can do to join Breathe Utah for an evening of food, drinks, dancing, and good company, please visit www.breatheutah.org to get tickets.

Utah Construction & Design has awarded Most Outstanding Project of the year to both the Payson Temple in the Community/Institutional Large category and Cornerstone at Cottonwood in the Commercial/Office category. Additionally, these two projects were honored by Engineering News Record (ENR) with Outstanding Project awards for 2015.

The Payson Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints provides a sacred place of spiritual connection for LDS Church members in Southern Utah County. It is a beautiful valley setting, with landscaped walks and water features that enhance the experience of visiting the Temple. The stone and highly articulated pre-cast concrete on the exterior of the building and the beauty of the marble and finishes in the interior enhance the spiritual connection the Temple provides.  We are honored to have been able to work with the LDS Church, Wadman Construction and the vast team of design and construction professionals who were involved in this project.

Cornerstone at Cottonwood includes two Class A office buildings totaling 250,000 rentable S.F. and structured parking for 850+ cars, and is being designed for LEED Gold Certification. It is located on an 8.8-acre parcel in Cottonwood Corporate Center, an established corporate campus that was developed in the late 1990s. The buildings are designed with materials and detailing that reflects enduring quality commensurate with the other buildings on the campus, while being distinctly different in character. The simple palette of materials includes red sandstone complimented by gray-green metal panels and aluminum framing, with high-performance glass with a subtle blue-green overtone. Exterior design features include slightly angled curtain walls and various shading devices to control direct sunlight and minimize solar heat gain.  The level of quality in both the materials and the craftsmanship is unmatched in the Salt Lake Valley. Congratulations to Cottonwood Partners for creating a new standard for Class A Office in the Salt Lake Valley. Big-D Construction was a pleasure to work with and we look forward to the next successful endeavor together.

Congratulations to everyone involved in making these truly special places.

Architectural Nexus is excited to announce the promotion of three new principals! We are happy to recognize the following individuals, all of whom have been a part of the integrated design practice at Arch Nexus for many years, for their hard work and inspirational thought leadership.

• Hilton Ripplinger, Director of Interior Design: Structures are built to capture space: the space within. This, more than any place and with the greatest intimacy, is where human/building interaction occurs. Hilton has spent thirty years pushing, pulling, carving, molding, sculpting the space within. His work to create captivating yet practical interior architecture, capped off with enduring finishes and furnishings, results in successful spaces of virtually all types.
• Holli Adams, AIA, LEED GA: Great Civic architecture demands collaboration, vision and dedication. Holli had been championing the creation of successful public facilities for over 20 years. From Recreation Centers to Libraries and Senior Centers, Holli employs her expertise to develop projects that positively impact people. Combining excellent project programming and planning skills, technical knowledge and the most up to date understanding of sustainable design, Holli crafts projects that are embraced by the communities they serve.
• Aaron L. Arbuckle, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CNU-A: With over 15 years of broad architectural experience, Aaron Arbuckle provides a keen eye for how to improve the process of design and construction. He feels strongly that successful projects are a combination of vision, function, and economic stewardship. He brings a passion for creating spaces that encourage social interaction where ideas can be shared, friendships formed, and tribes originated. His recent projects include a new community center in the Millcreek Township for Salt Lake County, a Hope Lodge for the American Cancer Society and LDS Temples in Fort Collins, Colorado and Cedar City, Utah.

We look forward to many more years of enthusiastic design collaboration with Hilton, Holli, and Aaron and congratulate them for their accomplishments!

On October 22nd and 23rd Arch Nexus took time away from the drawing boards in Sacramento to volunteer and work on the other side of our industry by helping to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. The houses will provide safe, decent, accessible and affordable places for two different families of four: The Cebrero-Lara family and the Dixon family. Both families are contributing significantly in the process by providing 500 hours of sweat equity. Once their homes are complete they will be home owners by paying a 30 year interest free mortgage. All of the Nexus employees who were involved said that the work was a wonderful experience and that they had a great time volunteering for their community.

For the second year in a row, Architectural Nexus represented the architecture and design profession at Salt Lake County Library’s interactive job fair for kids, “When I Grow Up.”  Held at the Library’s Viridian Event Center in West Jordan, the fair featured participants from a variety of professions in our community including a chemist, an engineer, a music teacher, a pharmacist, a funeral director, the police, an interior designer, and many others.  Peter McBride, Josh Allred, Elaine Janis, and Kait Underwood represented Arch Nexus at the “Architect” booth by sharing models, drawings, and videos and engaging families with a hands-on marshmallow and toothpicks creative activity.  An estimated 400-600 children and their families attended the event this year.

Thanks to some of the people who care a lot about green schools, one of the schools in Sacramento is a little greener. As a part of the Green Apple Day of Service that is promoted by the US Green Building Council, several Arch Nexus employees worked with students and teachers to prepare gardens at Camellia Basic Elementary School in Sacramento. School Gardening engages students by providing a dynamic environment to observe, discover, experiment, nurture and learn. These interactive outdoor living laboratories provide opportunities where interdisciplinary lessons are drawn from real life experiences, encouraging students to become active participants in the learning process.