Recent Perspectives

By Mike Rodebaugh, AIA 

Veteran homelessness remains one of the most complex and urgent social challenges facing communities across the United States. On any given night, approximately 35,000 veterans experience homelessness, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has responded with an ambitious and deeply mission-driven commitment: to reduce that number to zero through the creation of permanent, dignified housing coupled with comprehensive support services. 

LEO A DALY partners with Tunnel to Towers on this nationwide effort, bringing design expertise, technical rigor, and a human-centered philosophy to the development of Veterans Villages across the country. These projects help restore stability, independence and dignity for those who have served. 

A National Vision, Delivered Locally 

The cornerstone of the Tunnel to Towers strategy is the creation of permanent housing communities for at-risk veterans — places designed not as temporary facilities, but as true homes. T2T’s Veterans Villages are intentionally located within existing communities with identified needs, reinforcing integration. 

LEO A DALY works hand in hand with T2T to identify, evaluate, and develop sites nationwide. To date, more than 35 potential locations have been assessed, with approximately 16 advancing into active design and development. Each site represents a carefully considered response to regional context, local culture, and the specific needs of the veteran population it serves. 

While programmatic consistency ensures a reliable level of care, no two villages are identical. The design approach is flexible by necessity, balancing a national mission with local realities. 

From Housing to Community: What a Veteran Village Provides 

Each Tunnel to Towers Veterans Village is designed to support long-term, independent living while embedding services that address the root causes of homelessness. Communities typically include an average of 100 apartments and/or comfort homes, each thoughtfully planned with full kitchens, private bathrooms and living spaces that reflect dignity and autonomy rather than institutional necessity. 

Beyond individual residences, the Villages incorporate a robust mix of supportive services and shared amenities, including: 

• Case management and on-site supportive staff 

• Workforce training and counseling services 

• Fitness and wellness facilities 

• Multi-purpose community and activity spaces 

• On-site post office boxes and wardrobe services 

• Grab-and-go canteens and convenience services 

LEO A DALY collaborates closely with local operators and service providers to tailor these components so that each Village responds to the specific social, economic and cultural needs of its region. 

The LEO A DALY Approach: Adaptive, Modular, and Purpose-Driven 

There is no one-size-fits-all model for the Veterans Villages. Some are designed to be built ground up. Others use modular units to streamline construction. Several of the communities, including the recently opened Veterans Village outside of Atlanta, repurpose underperforming limited-service hotels, using adaptive reuse to transform these structures into vibrant, community-oriented residential environments. 

LEO A DALY brings deep expertise in modular planning, hospitality-to-residential conversion, and multi-family design to these efforts. Special attention is paid to spatial adjacencies, circulation, daylight, acoustics, and the physical character of shared spaces—elements that directly influence daily experience, ease of use, and resident well-being. 

Designing with Dignity 

At the core of LEO A DALY’s work with Tunnel to Towers is an approach we call dignity-driven design. This philosophy starts with a simple premise: the design of the built environment has a profound impact on how people see themselves and their place in the world. 

In the context of Veterans Villages, dignity-driven design means spaces are designed to feel welcoming, residential, and respectful. These are places where veterans can take pride in their homes and feel a sense of ownership and belonging. 

This philosophy guides decisions at every scale, from the overall site layout to the detailing of individual units and common areas. It emphasizes independence while supporting community, privacy while encouraging connection, and functionality without sacrificing warmth or character. The result is an environment that not only meets operational needs but actively supports veterans as they rebuild their lives and reengage with society.

Revitalizing People and Place 

The impact of Tunnel to Towers Veterans Villages extends beyond the residents they serve. Many of the hotels acquired for conversion were underperforming assets within their neighborhoods, often requiring significant maintenance and investment. Their transformation creates visible community revitalization—upgraded buildings, improved streetscapes, and renewed purpose for previously overlooked sites. 

Once operational, these Villages also generate skilled employment opportunities and strengthen local service networks. In this way, the program delivers dual value: stabilizing the lives of individual veterans while contributing to the health and vitality of the surrounding community. 

A Model for Meaningful Impact 

The Tunnel to Towers Veterans Villages are a replicable model for how design, philanthropy, and community partnership can work together to address one of our nation’s most pressing challenges. Through thoughtful planning, adaptive reuse, and a commitment to dignity, these projects demonstrate what is possible when mission and design excellence are aligned. 

LEO A DALY is honored to contribute to this work and to support Tunnel to Towers in its goal of ending veteran homelessness — one community, and one dignified home, at a time.  

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Recent Perspectives

As demand for life sciences space continues to evolve, owners and developers are taking a closer look at existing office buildings as potential laboratory environments. While office‑to‑lab conversions are far more complex than typical adaptive reuse projects, they can offer compelling advantages in the right circumstances—particularly in land‑constrained urban markets. Drawing on extensive experience in this space, LEO DALY’s life sciences expert, Greg McClure, explores how to determine whether a conversion makes sense, what to look for in a candidate building, and the unique technical, infrastructure, and planning considerations that set life sciences labs apart from other reuse strategies. 

1. What are the benefits of an office conversion rather than ground-up construction for a life sciences laboratory?

While converting an office to life sciences use is more complex than a standard office renovation — and suitable buildings are harder to find — once a viable candidate is identified, a conversion has several benefits over ground-up construction: 

Lower capital cost: Major structural elements, such as the foundation, shell, and core systems, are already in place, which can save significant upfront capital. 

Speed to market: While speed to market was especially critical during periods like the COVID vaccine rush, it remains an important advantage in waves of high demand. Avoiding lengthy entitlement and permitting processes can save years of time. 

Land availability: Thisis a major issue in the dense urban environments that hold life sciences hubs, including here in San Diego.  

Sustainability: Adaptive reuse is generally more sustainable than building new. Conversions reduce material waste, minimize embodied carbon and make productive use of existing urban assets. 

2. What are good candidates for an office-to-lab conversion?

Strong candidates generally share a combination of infrastructure capacity, physical characteristics, and site logistics that allow labs to be integrated without excessive cost or delay. 

One of the most frequent limiting factors is floor-to-floor height. We look for a minimum of 12 feet, with 14 feet preferred to accommodate lab systems, ductwork, and ceiling-mounted equipment. This is much taller than typical office buildings, so it eliminates many buildings straight away.  

In some cases, smaller heights can be accommodated even on complex buildings, like my colleagues did with the James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical Center, an office-to-hospital conversion; however, we typically recommend looking for those heights. 

A viable candidate has sufficient, or easily enhanced, capacity for key utilities such as power, water, sewer, and gas. Sewer and water lines are especially critical; if upgrades require trenching into the public right-of-way, costs quickly become prohibitive. Buildings located in dense urban cores or established life sciences clusters typically have the needed utility capacity, whereas suburban office parks often lack sufficient infrastructure. 

Lab equipment is heavy, so labs require significantly higher floor loads than office use. For multi-story candidates, the structural capacity of second and third floors must be carefully evaluated to ensure they can support lab equipment, freezers, and mechanical systems. 

Ideal buildings will also have a freight-capable elevator and a robust loading area. 

The best candidates are often single-story or low-rise buildings in urban markets with strong utility infrastructure. 

3. How do you handle the additional power requirements? 

Handling the additional power requirements is one of the most critical aspects of an office‑to‑lab conversion because life sciences facilities consume significantly more energy than traditional office space. A typical office uses around 10 watts per square foot, where laboratory buildings require roughly triple that due to intensive HVAC demands, specialized equipment, fume hoods and continuous operations. Early in the process, engineers evaluate overall building loads and existing electrical capacity to determine whether the current service can support lab use or if upgrades are required. 

If additional power is needed, coordination with the local utility provider becomes a major part of the process. Increasing electrical capacity can be both costly and time‑consuming, as the utility may need to install new infrastructure to serve the site. In practice, roughly half to two‑thirds of office buildings already have adequate power for lab conversion, meaning upgrades are not always necessary. When they are, the schedule impact is often more challenging than the direct cost. 

Separate from utility coordination, all labs must have a backup generator. If the existing building doesn’t have one, permitting can take six to nine months and can be one of the biggest impacts to the schedule. 

4. For a developer or owner who’s repurposed an office building into another use, what is surprising or unique about lab building projects?

Life sciences lab buildings are so specialized that they require much more intensive work than projects for less complex spaces. Unlike most adaptive reuse projects, lab buildings demand substantial increases in core building systems, including power, water, gas, and fire protection. I mentioned the increased power needs — this frequently cascades into other impacts, such as the need for larger electrical rooms, roof or site space for mechanical equipment, and enhanced structural capacity to support it all. 

HVAC design is another area where lab buildings differ dramatically. General laboratories require six to ten air changes per hour, and certain specialty spaces need 100 percent outside air — a huge change. This translates into larger air handlers, greater cooling capacity, and major coordination with electrical and structural systems to ensure the building or site can physically support this equipment. These mechanical demands ripple outward, affecting roof loading, utility sizing, and the overall layout of the project. 

Finally, lab buildings introduce operational needs that many office conversions simply don’t have. Every life sciences building requires a central utility room housing systems like vacuum, compressed air, and sometimes purified water, all routed throughout the lab spaces. Dedicated areas for hazardous waste handling, bulk gas storage, and regular service access must be carefully planned, including clear truck routes and containment strategies.  

All of these factors underscore the importance of early, comprehensive planning and experience—many of the most critical lab requirements are easy to overlook initially but can have major cost and schedule implications if not addressed upfront. 

There’s one infrastructure benefit to a lab conversion: Typically, labs hold less workers per square feet, so we almost never need to increase parking. 

5. How have advancements in technology affected how you design lab buildings?

DNA sequencing, quantum computing and AI are greatly increasing the speed and quantity of data output generated from samples. And so traditional wet labs are becoming more heavily weighted with more electric needs. We used to design spaces for an abundance of sinks, beakers, flasks, fume hoods, and fridges and freezers. Labs still have those, but they can now perform an analysis on a single drop of blood rather than a much larger sample. But you need the space, structural capacity and electric load for the more sophisticated DNA processing or other type of machinery. We’re building more generators and negotiating with the utility companies for more power than ever before. 

Interested in learning more about life sciences? Email Greg McClure.

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Recent Perspectives

By Irena Savakova, RIBA, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
LEO A DALY design director, commercial

Elevated interest rates, tighter lending, cost volatility are challenging traditional ground-up projects, while adaptive reuse is emerging as a powerful strategy to reposition vacant and underperforming office assets. This post-COVID environment of global economic fluctuations has led to a reshuffling of how, and where, people work.  

In this reshuffling we have an opportunity in our urban cores. As buildings are repurposed or even reimagined for a brand new mix of uses, we can tell a new story, blending our past into our present to create a new urban vitality for our future. 

In this landscape, placemaking has emerged as an essential tool to rebuild and strengthen our cities. And adaptive reuse is proving to be its most powerful vehicle. Placemaking, at its core, is about creating environments that invite participation — spaces people want to move through, linger in, and return to. What better place to do that than in the heart of a city? 

The Limits of the Blank Slate

Building structures inherently shape how we live. Their mass, scale, and opacity shape how neighborhoods function. A monolithic office block with no permeability at the ground plane can sever pedestrian networks, discourage commercial activity, and undermine public safety. When workplaces withdraw from the city, they take vitality with them. 

Placemaking challenges this paradigm by refusing the blank slate. By overlaying an existing building with placemaking features, such as public art, greenery and activity, we have the opportunity to uplift the entire area. Working within an existing urban and structural context demands a deeper engagement with how an area is inhabited. 

Translating Emotional Weight into New Spatial Languages

Placemaking begins at the intersection of building mass, street, and movement. One of the greatest advantages of adaptive reuse is existing buildings are already embedded within an urban ecosystem; uplift one building and you can transform an entire neighborhood. 

At 20 Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., the transformation of an underperforming office building into a contemporary workplace environment illustrates this principle clearly. Prior to reuse, the dated office building functioned as inert mass: formally present, experientially absent. It met zoning requirements but failed the city. The challenge was not simply to renovate interiors, but to recalibrate how the building participated in the street around it. 

Adaptive reuse allowed the project to address these issues holistically. By redefining circulation, opening visual connections, and inserting programmatic variety where there was once uniformity, the building began to operate as a porous, legible element of the urban fabric.  

To do this, we created an indoor-outdoor experience, with green space flowing into an inviting lobby. Now, the building is a vibrant, active urban hub, with a Royal Sonesta Hotel, office space and community amenities. 

Making the Past a Collaborator

Adaptive reuse is often framed in terms of sustainability metrics: embodied carbon preserved, materials conserved, demolition avoided. While these are critical outcomes, they are not the full story. 

Equally meaningful is the cultural and psychological dimension of reuse. Older buildings carry a kind of emotional weight — a record of how a city has lived and evolved. When designers treat this history as a collaborator rather than a constraint, new spatial languages emerge. 

From Single-Use to Social Infrastructure

Existing buildings are particularly well-suited to mixed programming. Their structural robustness allows for flexibility in how space is reconfigured over time, and their urban location makes them ideal candidates for hybrid uses that blur the line between workplace and city. 

Placemaking, in this context, extends beyond the tenant experience. Ground planes active the streets. Shared amenities become neighborhood assets. Buildings begin to function as social infrastructure — supporting not just work, but daily life. 

At a moment when cities are struggling to recover vibrancy, this role is critical. Adaptive reuse enables workplaces to act as catalysts for community. 

Making the Past a Collaborator

Adaptive reuse is often considered for reasons of practicality: rising construction costs, surplus office inventory, sustainability mandates. In most cases, it can be something more poetic: stakeholders and designers can create a dialogue between memory and the present. We have an opportunity to preserve our urban fabric while at the same time increasing its vibrancy and activity. 

As cities mature, opportunities for placemaking increasingly lie within existing fabric. The future workplace will be shaped by intelligent transformations — projects that repair urban relationships, reintroduce human scale, and create environments that feel both contemporary and grounded. 

Placemaking is the heart of this process, the thing that elevates adaptive reuse into an enhancement rather than a neutral change. 

Building Forward by Designing Within

The most compelling workplaces of the future will be inviting, intuitive, and deeply integrated into their contexts. They will make movement feel natural, social interaction effortless, and presence meaningful. 

Adaptive reuse offers a framework for achieving this by allowing the past to inform new ways of working and gathering. In doing so, it transforms obsolete mass into engaged place, and buildings once seen as liabilities into active participants in urban life. 

For designers, developers, and cities alike, this represents both a responsibility and an opportunity. The future of the workplace will be built from what we already have. The question is no longer whether we reuse, but how thoughtfully we do so. 

Interested in learning more? Email Irena.

About the authors

Recent Perspectives

Luxury, Sustainability, and Sense of Place 

Nestled into a rugged stretch of Hawaii Island’s Kona Coast, Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort is an expansive display of integration between nature and luxury, with eco-friendly features running through its 83 acres like a vein of the lava that the resort rests atop. 

Originally built in the 1960s as an off-the-grid retreat accessible only by air, the resort quickly became a beloved hideaway for artists, travelers, and families seeking an experience defined by authentic Hawaiian luxury. A tsunami in 2011 forced its closure, and five years later developer Kennedy Wilson began the process of redesigning and reimagining the storied resort. 

LEO A DALY, as Delawie, served as architect of record, offering design expertise in key areas of the renovation. 

The design team embarked on a multi-year, intensive process of reviving the beloved elements of the resort while elevating its offerings. The result can be described as simple luxury: standalone rooms with rich furnishings and no television; beautiful pathways traversed primarily on foot or by bicycle; buildings nestled right into cooled lava flows. 

Since its reopening in 2023, Kona Village has received countless accolades, from design awards to travel mentions. 

Conde Nast Traveler wrote: “What’s so special about this new iteration of Kona Village under the Rosewood aegis, is that it ticks every last box. The design is stellar and channels the location beautifully, the service is warm and professional, the beach and the natural setting cannot be beat, and perhaps most importantly—and, hardest to pull off—the vibe is just so good. It’s the Platonic ideal of ‘Hawaiian hotel.’” 

A Legacy Worth Protecting

From its earliest days, Kona Village cultivated an ethos of luxury steeped in nature. Guest accommodations were freestanding hale (pronounced hah-lay: the Hawaiian word for house, building, or home) rather than traditional hotel rooms. Pathways meandered through lava fields rather than paved corridors. Celebrities and creatives mixed easily with repeat visitors, many of whom returned year after year, forming bonds with staff and fellow guests. Many of the redevelopment project’s stakeholders were former guests themselves, deeply invested in preserving the soul of the original Kona Village. This collective memory shaped every major design decision, from site planning to material selection to guest experience. 

Designing Lightly on Volcanic Land

Spread across 83 acres of lava fields, anchialine ponds and shoreline, the site presented both extraordinary beauty and formidable constraints. The porous volcanic ground, high water table, and presence of culturally significant archaeological sites required an approach that could be described by the design team’s mantra: light on the land. 

The design preserved lava outcroppings and other natural features, carefully placing buildings around them to minimize disruption of the landscape. Pathways trace the site organically, reinforcing the sense of discovery rather than directing movement rigidly. Every guest hale — nearly 130 buildings total — is its own structure, bringing an intimate feel to the massive resort. 

Several original shoreline structures were retained and renovated, their footprints protected through careful coordination with regulatory agencies. Where rebuilding was necessary, finished floor elevations were raised to meet updated FEMA guidelines, adding resilience while preserving location and character. 

WATCH: Developer Kennedy Wilson on the restoration of the site.

Luxury Through Privacy, Space and Authenticity

Entry-level guest hales average approximately 900 square feet, each with generous outdoor showers, lanais, and uninterrupted views. Larger suites and multibuilding “presidential” accommodations take the concept further, with separate structures for living, dining, and sleeping connected by open-air walkways. 

Architectural detailing draws inspiration from traditional Hawaiian construction, including references to singlewall framing and longhouse roof forms. While modern building envelopes ensure durability and performance, these cues preserve the visual language of local vernacular architecture.  

In keeping with the resort’s original ethos, hales don’t contain televisions except by request — technology is deemphasized while still meeting the needs of a modern resort. Movement through the property is primarily on foot or by bicycle, with discreet golf cart service offered only when needed.  

Sustainable Infrastructure Hidden in Plain Sight

Behind the scenes, Kona Village operates at a level of environmental performance rarely achieved by projects of such complexity. More than 8,000 photovoltaic panels generate more power than the resort consumes. Battery storage systems provide resilience and continuity, critical for an island-based resort. 

Four on-site wells feed a reverse osmosis plant that supplies non-potable water for irrigation, while a fully integrated wastewater treatment system produces reclaimed water for irrigation. No potable water is used for landscaping. 

Sustainability was carefully considered at every step of the construction process: The team was able to divert demolition materials from the landfill. And it’s ongoing. The resort participates actively in environmental restoration. Coral reef rehabilitation efforts invite guests to engage directly in marine stewardship, while a designated fishing rest area along the shoreline supports the regeneration of local fish populations. Early data already shows a marked increase in marine life, underscoring the impact of long-term protection. 

In 2023, Kona Village became the first Hawaiian hotel to receive LEED v4 Gold Certification. 

Stewardship of Culture and Community

Sustainability at Kona Village extends beyond systems and metrics. Hawaiian cultural values — particularly respect for the land— shaped the design itself. Shared spaces foster community, from dining venues to gathering areas where repeat guests reconnect year after year. 

Cultural stewardship is woven through the property. Archaeological sites and petroglyphs are preserved in place, protected by buffer zones and ongoing documentation. Anchialine ponds — rare brackish ecosystems fed by underground freshwater springs — were carefully monitored throughout construction to ensure their continued health. 

Design that enhances community

Art and storytelling further reinforce this connection to place. A robust art program features Hawaiian and local artists, many of whom spent time on site before completing their works. Details such as rope lashings around structural elements subtly reference Polynesian voyaging traditions, including the legendary Hōkūleʻa canoe and the navigational knowledge that first brought humans to Hawaii. 

The site and its layout are designed to bring people together. The luxury restaurant, Moana, has no walls or windows, instead opening directly to deck that offers panoramic views of the bay. Another dining spot, Shipwreck Bar, is an actual wrecked ship, repurposed by the original owners then carefully restored by the design team. 

A Model for Intentional Hospitality

Set within ancient lava flows and shaped by generations of memory, Kona Village reveals what luxury can become when guided by restraint, care and an enduring sense of place. Its architecture yields to the land, its infrastructure performs quietly beneath the surface, and its guest experience that fosters connection. Solar fields disappear into the lava, water is reused, and centuries-old cultural markers are celebrated. By pairing net-zero performance with freestanding hales, community-centered spaces and design that privileges walkability and openness, the resort bridges past and future.  

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Recent Perspectives

In today’s high-volume food distribution centers, operational efficiency increasingly starts with the building itself. When the program, building structure, and systems are thoughtfully integrated, a facility can minimize energy use, reduce labor strain, and streamline product flow while preserving food quality. The most successful warehouses are no longer designed as neutral shells but as purpose-built environments aligned with refrigeration demands, material handling strategies, and future automation. 

At the same time, the definition of efficiency has expanded beyond throughput and cost. Owners are recognizing that employee experience, safety, flexibility and resilience are inseparable from performance. From daylight-filled break areas and safer traffic separation to infrastructure that supports future technology and withstands climate disruptions, building design is becoming a strategic tool. In this article, Michael Schmidt, LEO A DALY’s industrial market sector leader, explores how integrated, human-centered, and forward-looking design choices can improve day-to-day operations and prepare distribution facilities for the demands of tomorrow. 

Q: How can the design of a building increase operational efficiency? 

A: Efficient cold storage design improves operations by optimizing product flow, correct temperature zoning, and storage density to reduce handling, travel time, and energy use while increasing throughput. The building design needs to align with refrigeration, material handling, and automation readiness. Efficient layouts lower labor needs and operating costs; it boosts productivity and preserves product integrity as volumes scale. 

The most efficient cold storage facilities are designed by treating the building, refrigeration and material handling systems as a single integrated unit rather than independent elements. This approach starts with a building layout that lowers refrigeration loads through optimized clear heights, continuous insulation, and strong vapor control and airtight construction. Inside the facility, aisle widths, rack layouts and dock locations are planned to work seamlessly with material handling equipment and automation, both available currently and future technology. Structural elements such as column spacing, slabs and roofs should be coordinated early to support airflow, equipment loads and future expansions without major retrofits. Thermal zoning, buffer spaces and well-placed refrigerated docks can help keep temperatures stable, reduce air infiltration and protect product quality. 

Q: How do you address employee retention in your designs? 

A:Traditional food, manufacturing, and distribution warehouse designs tend to prioritize space utilization, linear flow, and labor flexibility and do not take into account the employee. These facilities tend to have long travel paths in cold zones, wet floors, areas with poor daylighting, and limited recovery spaces.  The high‑density, labor‑intensive job requirements often drive burnout during peak periods through excessive walking, noise, and physical demands.  As we design for the future of warehousing, the design should balance the needs of the facility with the employee environments. 

At one large food service retailer in the southeast U.S., the break room was positioned such that employees didn’t have time to return to their lockers during breaks, or to eat lunch. This impacted morale and job satisfaction. To solve this, we: 

• Moved breakrooms close to the employee work areas and created spaces for breaks at the various dock areas. 

• Located the break rooms on an exterior wall for daylight opportunities.   

• Provided outdoor seating near break areas. 

• Split up the primary locker area into two smaller locker areas at each end of the warehouse.   

• Placed the time clocks at the specific work areas for easy access and to allow supervisors to have visual contact with employee shift accountability. 

Q: What are your strategies to ensure industrial facilities promote safety in operations?

A: Future warehouse designs should foster employee retention by shrinking freezer exposure through zoning and automation, improving thermal comfort with vestibules and spot conditioning, and reinforcing safety and pride with the employees. We need to emphasize predictable equipment travel and employee travel flows, visual way finding management, and cross‑training zones that reduce stress and signal career progression. The vision in laying out these buildings needs to include employees as long‑term assets — using space programming, ergonomics, safety, and comfort as strategic tools to reduce fatigue, improve predictability, and keep experienced employees on the floor longer. 

At a Dollar General facility in Alabama, our design team interviewed stakeholders and department heads to help us understand some of the concerns that needed to be addressed in their new facility. One primary concern that was highlighted is employee circulation within the facility posed a safety risk. The solution — one we’ve implemented at multiple facilities — is an elevated walkway to separate foot traffic from forklifts. The employees ascend via a stairwell to an elevated walkway. This walkway is connected to the second-floor employee areas and offices. The walkway is located on the exterior wall above the docks and is fully enclosed and mechanically conditioned. 

Q: How do you design flexible buildings that are equipped for the needs of tomorrow?

A: Planning for building flexibility means that customer growth, a change of product demand or even an unexpected global event can be more easily accommodated when needed. Designing for seamless change means less retrofitting when the needs is required. This is a combination of the structure of the building, new technology, and the storage area racking within it. 

Networking/logistics: Data infrastructure plays a foundational role in designing cold storage warehouses for flexibility and long‑term relevance. It allows facilities to evolve with automation and operational challenges. A warehouse must be designed with robust, scalable data pathways including redundant fiber infrastructure, network drops to rack aisles and dock positions, and provide protected environments for servers and controls. As the needs of tomorrow change, having this planned enables seamless integration of warehouse management systems, warehouse control systems, refrigeration monitoring and building management systems without invasive retrofits or system shut down. 

Physical flexibility: The way a building is designedcanleave room fora shift in product, layout or volume of work. For example, the structural grid can be designed to support multiple equipment layouts, rather than the first planned iteration. If the facility might convert to refrigeration in the future, the thermal envelope should be designed to support wider temperature ranges and slab designs should anticipate freezer temperature and product loads. 

Electricity:Future developments in equipment and technology could lead to major shifts in energy usage for industrial facilities. Owners can more easily take advantage of future opportunities by designing and implementing infrastructure sized for future loads, allocated yard space for future equipment such as chillers, space for future photovoltaic panels, batteries, backup generation and thermal storage.  

Q: Distribution centers need to be able to withstand climate or other disasters. How do you ensure a facility is prepared for anything?

A: Food distribution centers are becoming critical lifelines as climate-driven storms grow more frequent and severe. This article highlights how the resilient, LEO A DALY–designed Cheney Bros. Distribution Center in Florida withstood multiple hurricanes while continuing operations and supporting emergency responders. Click here to read how resilient design is shaping the future of storm-hardened food distribution facilities. 

Distribution centers can be prepared for climate and other disasters by taking a layered, risk‑based approach that combines resilient facility design, protected and redundant utilities, flexible operations, and strong emergency planning. This includes designing buildings and critical systems to withstand site‑specific hazards, ensuring power and data continuity, training people with clear response roles, and building network flexibility through alternate sites and inventory strategies. When physical resilience, operational adaptability, and recovery planning work together, a facility not only survives disruptions but returns to full operation faster, protecting both people and the supply chain. 

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Recent Perspectives

The new Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Public Safety Services Headquarters in Plymouth, MN, was designed with a clear ambition: create a facility that operates around the clock, serves the community reliably, and is positioned to achieve net zero energy. 

The 100,044 SF building pairs groundwater geothermal wells with six-pipe heat recovery chillers with chilled beams, energy recovery ventilation, rainwater reuse, a green roof, and an approximately 860 kW bi-facial solar array. Together, these strategies are projected to produce more energy than required for the building’s annual use. 

The facility opened in April 2025 and earned a Minnesota ASHRAE Technology Award, demonstrating that even complex, 24/7 public safety buildings can be truly ready for net zero. 

LEO A DALY Mechanical Engineering Lead Mark Bradby wrote about the mechanical elements that came together to make this building net zero ready. Read about it in the most recent issue of HPAC Engineering: Constant Operation, Still Net Zero Ready. 

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Recent Perspectives

Rural critical access hospitals are being asked to do more with fewer resources, and thoughtful planning is becoming one of their strongest tools. Facilities that can flex — spaces that shift between med-surg and acute care, departments designed to expand without major disruption, and layouts that keep travel distances manageable as buildings grow — are better equipped to handle changing community needs.

In this interview, LEO A DALY Healthcare Market Sector Leader Larry Crane, ACHA, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, shares how flexibility and creativity in design can help rural hospitals increase operational efficiency and ultimately provide better patient care.

1. With so many challenges facing rural critical access care centers (funding, staffing shortages and more), how can planning and design ensure an efficient and effective facility?

Flexibility is essential for the success of rural critical access care centers, especially as these facilities face ongoing challenges such as limited funding, staffing shortages, and unpredictable changes in healthcare delivery and reimbursement. Rural hospitals are often required to provide a wide range of services to their communities, but they rarely have the space or resources to dedicate separate areas for every function. Instead, planning and design should focus on creating adaptable spaces that can be repurposed or adjusted as needs evolve. For example, modular headwalls and infrastructure upgrades can allow patient rooms to shift from medical-surgical to acute care in minutes, while conference rooms or storage areas can be converted into clinical spaces as demand changes. This approach ensures that facilities are prepared to accommodate new specialties, respond to community health needs, and adapt to changes in reimbursement models without costly renovations or disruptions. Additionally, efficient design can enhance reimbursement opportunities by maximizing the usable, billable space within a facility.

Additionally, thoughtful planning for future growth is critical. High-cost areas such as surgery and radiology should be located on the building’s perimeter, making it easier to expand these services as the community’s needs grow or neighboring hospitals close. Inpatient units should be designed to allow for manageable travel distances even as the facility expands. By prioritizing flexibility and strategic placement of key departments, rural healthcare facilities can remain efficient, effective, and resilient—ready to meet the evolving needs of their communities while maximizing operational and financial sustainability.

2. Behavioral health needs are growing everywhere. How can design best serve the specific needs of rural areas?

Behavioral health needs are rising everywhere, and rural communities feel that pressure acutely. The best way design can support patients and providers is by integrating behavioral health thinking into every part of patient care, a design consideration that touches every department. In rural areas, these patients are your neighbors.

Key considerations:

Safety: Both patients and staff deserve environments that feel safe and are safe. This includes expanding ligature resistant zones, enabling both direct and passive observation and designing circulation patterns that separate patient and staff flows where appropriate.

Dignity: Trauma informed design is essential in any health environment, especially in rural communities where personal relationships and community ties run deep. Destigmatization must remain top of mind. Design should communicate value, worth, and respect for every patient. Environmental cues — natural light, biophilic elements, noise reduction strategies, outdoor access and adaptable spaces — help refocus patients toward calm, supporting both sensory and cognitive healing. Providing choices, whether for privacy or group engagement, reinforces autonomy and trust.

Access: Behavioral health design must also consider access to crisis management resources, tele‑health, counseling, and financial support. In rural settings, where services may be geographically dispersed, the physical environment can act as a bridge, making it easier for patients to connect with the help they need.

Staff efficiency: In places where recruiting and retention is a challenge, creating efficient spaces can ease staffing shortfalls by increasing utilization and creating spaces where staff can perform their jobs more efficiently.

3. How can design address the entire continuum of care? What challenges and solutions do you find specific to critical access care centers?

One of the main challenges to continuum of care in rural communities is logistics. When it takes long trips to visit different providers, care becomes more difficult and disjointed.

Facility design that seamlessly integrates technology — such as telehealth and telemedicine — into the building’s infrastructure is transforming rural healthcare by expanding access to care and alleviating provider shortages. By equipping patient rooms, emergency departments, and even existing spaces with telehealth capabilities, facilities can connect patients with specialists remotely, reducing the need for long-distance travel. For example, high-speed fiber optic lines and dedicated IT pathways ensure secure, high-quality video consultations and the transmission of medical imagery, while server rooms and network layouts are planned with flexibility and future growth in mind. In some cases, advanced technologies like robotic surgery allow physicians to perform procedures remotely, and simulation labs equipped with cameras enable real-time guidance from experts across the globe.

These innovations not only enhance the quality of care but also help rural residents receive treatment close to home, supporting both community health and convenience. Similarly, this is another reason to incorporate flexibility into spaces. A single department may need to support infusions, dialysis, and cancer care, each with its own clinical and infection‑control requirements. That’s where early planning around HVAC and environmental controls becomes essential. These services often require different air‑change rates, pressure relationships, filtration levels, and temperature needs, and those differences have a direct impact on patient safety. Early planning and appropriate infection control design allows an area intended for one use to be able to be flexed into, say, a cancer unit, without an overhaul of the entire facility.

4. How can design make it easier (and less stressful) for patients to navigate their care?

One small design tweak that has major benefits for patients is a common point of entry. This means that no matter the healthcare need, patients enter the building through one door and check-in at one desk. The receptionist then directs them to the appropriate department, from the emergency room to physical therapy.

The more traditional layout is that different departments have separate entry points, often aligned with the insurance billing for the type of healthcare. This makes sense to the people who work at healthcare centers, but often it leads to confusion and stress among patients. I almost always advocate for a common entry point, and clients universally report positive reception to that move.

We also recommend looking for other ways for patients to have some control over their environment. The temperature of their room, what they watch, when they eat, access to their own records — more control over these environments makes for calmer and more engaged patients and caretakers.

5. Are there design strategies to address supply chain issues?

Absolutely. Healthcare centers can function as their own distribution centers, cutting out the middleman and ensuring they have the equipment they need.

Avera Health realized during the pandemic that supply shortages were putting their entire system at risk, so they made the decision to take control of their own supply chain. They built a centralized warehouse, standardized the products used across their facilities, and shifted to electronic tracking and ordering. By cutting out middlemen and managing inventory themselves, they moved from a 3% operating loss to a 10% positive margin within a year.

A key part of making this work is understanding real demand instead of overordering “just in case.” Some systems invest in advanced tools like robotic delivery, but rural hospitals can still make meaningful gains by tightening their tracking and storage strategies. Centralizing most supplies while keeping only the essentials at the bedside reduces waste and saves staff time. The same applies to medications: knowing exactly where high cost, short shelf life drugs are stored prevents loss and improves access. Whether through shared purchasing groups or smarter internal organization, rural providers can strengthen their supply resilience with practical, informed planning.

Even smaller rural systems can benefit from taking more ownership of their materials management—whether through on‑site or off‑site storage, better data on what they actually use, or forming buying networks with neighboring hospitals.

About the authors

Interested in learning more about how to create efficient, flexible spaces for rural health facilities? Contact Larry Crane or visit our healthcare page.

Recent Perspectives

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Headquarters

Hennepin County, Minnesota, needed a new headquarters for its Sheriff’s Office Public Services Division, which serves nearly 1.3 million people. The county leadership didn’t want a basic headquarters — they needed an energy efficient, wellness-forward space for sheriff’s deputies to train, perform administrative tasks and meet with the public.

The result: A daylight-filled facility designed with both security and wellness in mind, that’s designed to meet net zero energy use even while operating 24/7, 365 days a year. Sustainability features include an array of photovoltaic panels over the garage, a green roof over the office portion, a groundwater-based geothermal heat recovery chiller system, chilled beam HVAC system and storm water reuse system.

The previous headquarters, located in Brooklyn Park, was cramped and unsuitable for a modern law enforcement department, and in fact it was intended to be a temporary home.

On a site centrally located to support all of Hennepin County, this new building allows deputies quick access to respond to emergencies in all corners of the county. The new facility supports the sheriff’s department with modern spaces that include an armory, SWAT team, K-9 accommodations and storage for over 115 vehicles.

Darcy geothermal well: using new technologies and tested strategies to design to net zero

This project uses the innovative Darcy well geothermal system to dramatically reduce environmental impact while maintaining operational efficiency.

Minnesota’s geological conditions enabled the design team to leverage this innovative geothermal system, which reduces the quantity of borehole wells from approximately 150 traditional vertical geothermal wells down to just 2 Darcy wells, significantly reducing the impact on the site and the amount of materials in the system. This revolutionary reduction in drilling requirements demonstrates how advanced geothermal technology can be adapted to work more efficiently with local geological and climatic conditions, making sustainable energy solutions more feasible for large-scale public safety facilities.

The Darcy system is integrated with other high-performance mechanical systems including chilled beams and energy recovery ventilators in key areas to maximize both improved air quality and energy reduction throughout the facility.

The system represents a critical component of the facility’s sustainability strategy, working in conjunction with the 858 kW photovoltaic array and other green infrastructure elements to create Minnesota’s first mission-critical facility designed to achieve net zero energy usage while supporting continuous law enforcement operations.

A focus on wellness

The design takes advantage of the site to create a wellness-infused space for officers to decompress.

A key wellness feature is the integration of natural materials and views to nearby Parkers Lake, fostering connections to nature that support mental and emotional wellbeing. The facility maximizes access to daylight and outdoor connections in a secure manner, recognizing that connections to nature serve as a means of improving employee wellbeing, especially during times of high stress. This biophilic design approach helps reduce stress levels and creates a calming environment for staff.

The facility also includes dedicated spaces for decompression and interaction, creating environments where officers can “feel safe” and have the space for sound thinking and continued service. These areas are specifically designed to provide moments of distance and separation from the gravity of daily tasks, allowing officers to decompress after difficult cases or long shifts. The design philosophy acknowledges that even the most highly trained officers require spaces to bond together, celebrate case closures, or share information informally.

Hennepin County held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for its new Public Safety Services Headquarters in Plymouth in May 2025, and the building is fully operational.

Recent Perspectives

Hybrid operating rooms combine advanced imaging, surgical flexibility, and multidisciplinary workflows. Because these rooms are among the most complex spaces in a hospital, understanding how they perform after occupancy is essential.

During the 2024 Healthcare Facilities Symposium and Expo, Sarvine Ashkan presented findings from a post-occupancy evaluation focused on a newly completed hybrid OR. The assessment included staff surveys, workflow shadowing and interviews with clinical users to understand what functioned well and where future improvements could strengthen surgical environments.

At UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, LEO A DALY partnered with UCLA Health to evaluate the hospital’s first hybrid OR through a detailed post-occupancy study, 8 months after full occupancy.

What the surveys revealed

Online surveys were distributed among the Surgical team with about 20 questions.

The results were analyzed and put into various graphs for comparison.

Staff feedback showed strong performance in several operational areas. Most respondents reported that the hybrid OR is well connected to the sterile core, staff lounge, pre-op and PACU. Circulation around surgical lights and booms scored high, and room pressure was consistently maintained.

A follow-up detailed shadowing study showed an appropriate number of steps between the hybrid OR and the sterile core

Survey findings also highlighted opportunities. Some users noted challenges maneuvering booms and positioning equipment, and several respondents felt the C-arm clearance at the foot of the patient could be improved. These results reinforce the importance of early coordination and ongoing refinement as hybrid OR technology evolves throughout the life of the project.

We ended the Survey with a choice of word to describe their overall impression of the new Hybrid OR. Overwhelmingly, the staff selected the word ‘Complex’ over other choices.

Shadowing the clinical workflow

Shadowing clinicians from pre-op to Hybrid OR for surgery and from there to post-op after surgery provided deeper insight into how staff moved back and forth between these zones during the working hours; counting the number of steps and the amount of travel time between these interdependent functional zones to determine efficiency and staff’s comfort. Our observations showed that adjacency of Hybrid OR to these support zones improved efficiency and comfort. The new Hybrid OR is well positioned within the surgical unit, and close to pre-op, post-op and sterile core areas in comparison to other similar large-scale hospitals, reducing the critical time moving a patient from one zone to the next and increasing staff comfort by reducing the number of daily steps. These insights help to inform how future hybrid ORs can better support staff and patient flows.

Clinical perspectives: what staff value most

Interviews added important context to the quantitative findings. Alan Arbolado, RN, Administrative Nurse for Vascular Surgery, shared his firsthand experience using the hybrid OR. He emphasized that workflow clarity, visibility into the control room by reducing the reflection on the control room glass window, and intuitive equipment placement directly support safer, faster procedures. His perspective underscored the value of engaging frontline users early and often throughout the design and construction processes.

Design learnings for future hybrid ORs

Panelists who participated in the POE presentation shared targeted recommendations for teams designing hybrid operating suites within active hospitals. Their insights centered on pre-planning, flexibility of the space and collaboration throughout the life of the project.

Key considerations included:

• Engage all surgical teams in the decision-making process.

• Understand above-ceiling constraints early.

• Engage authorities having jurisdiction during preliminary review.

• Keep vendors involved throughout the project.

• Maintain clear sightlines between the OR and control room by reducing glare

• Do not assume the first layout is the final layout. Adjust by having mock-ups that would help the users to test the location of the equipment prior to permanent installation.

These learnings reinforce that successful hybrid ORs depend on continuous stakeholders’ engagement, coordination, research, simulation and evidence-based design refinement.

Looking ahead

When asked to imagine the ideal hybrid OR of the future, panelists described a space that is flexible, intuitively organized and supported by technology that enhances clinical decision-making. Their responses emphasized adaptability, clear workflows and tools that strengthen precision and efficiency.

Value Added

Implementing a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) provides a critical feedback loop that transforms building performance from theoretical design to practical excellence. By evaluating a facility after 6–12 months of use, clients can identify "low-hanging fruit" for immediate improvement and high-level strategies for future expansions. 

 Learn more about our Health & Wellness market sector.

About the author

Recent Perspectives

As we look ahead to 2026, our architects, engineers, and designers are at the forefront of shaping communities, with a diverse portfolio of projects set to open this year. Each of these projects is a testament to our enduring commitment to meaningful, collaborative client partnerships. Our goal is always to design environments that elevate the human experience and foster connection while remaining firmly grounded in our clients’ operations and functional requirements.

The Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood, Curio Collection by Hilton

Hollywood, Florida

This lobby redesign project reimagined the entry experience of an iconic beachfront destination, enhancing the porte-cochere, lobby, and bar, while revitalizing the pool deck and surrounding public amenity spaces. The design brings the outdoors in, transporting guests to a beachside adventure inspired by the coastal lifestyle. “Boardwalks” surround lounging zones and indoor cabanas, creating a true resort experience for both families and business travelers.

The transformation epitomizes breezy South Florida hospitality, showcasing remarkable beach views and a vibrant social atmosphere. With a focus on food and beverage, the resort has gained a reputation for exceptional dining and entertainment. The updates align with the property’s new vision, addressing functional improvements such as wayfinding, accessibility, and circulation, all while delivering a seamless and memorable guest experience.

James Mountain Inhofe VA Medical Center

Tulsa, Oklahoma

The Veterans Hospital in Tulsa is a transformative project converting a vacant downtown office complex into a 58-bed medical-surgical hospital dedicated to serving Oklahoma’s veterans. This $156 million initiative is a collaboration among federal, state, and local governments; the Oklahoma State University Medical Center; and private donors, all united under the Congressional CHIP-IN for Veterans Act. The hospital will feature an emergency department, five operating rooms, lab, endoscopy, imaging, and dietary services, with beds distributed among ICU, med/surg and rehab units.

A new connecting structure between two existing buildings will streamline patient and staff flow, supporting exceptional care and close collaboration with OSU for shared services and increased medical residencies. The facility is designed to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and a healing environment, ensuring veterans in eastern Oklahoma receive the highest standard of care.

Saint Francis Hospital renovation and new bed tower

Muskogee, Oklahoma

The Saint Francis Hospital renovation and new bed tower reflects the hospital system’s commitment to innovation, community care and Catholic heritage. The design introduces a new tower housing a 150-bed consolidation, a chapel and a clinic, alongside strategic campus renovations. Enhancements to patient access and experience include improved facility visibility, optimized entry sequence, and the repurposing of underutilized spaces.

The efficient, patient-centered care tower addition ensures the hospital will continue to deliver high-quality care. The design incorporates highly durable materials for reduced maintenance and easy cleaning, supporting infection control and operational efficiency. This evidence-based approach ensures the hospital is prepared to meet current needs and future challenges.

OrthoNebraska Elkhorn Surgery Center and West Maple Clinic/Physical Therapy

Omaha, Nebraska

Two new OrthoNebraska facilities expand the orthopedic health system’s capacity in the West Omaha region

A surgical and procedure center addition to the clinic and physical therapy building in Elkhorn allows the system to expand its outpatient surgical offerings and increase capacity for the entire brand. The project also includes dedicated central sterile processing area, private patient care stations, and dedicated staff working areas. The project was built with minimal disruption the existing operations of the clinic and it creates a campus that serves the entire patient process from diagnosis to treatment to healing.

The clinic and physical therapy space on West Maple will offer a state-of-the-art environment for orthopedic care and rehabilitation. Designed to support OrthoNebraska’s mission of delivering high-quality, patient-centered services, the new clinic features advanced exam and treatment spaces, a performance-focused physical therapy area, and amenities that enhance both patient experience and staff efficiency.

Heartwood Place office building

Omaha, Nebraska

The 166,050 SF Heartwood Place office building in Omaha is part of a visionary development designed to foster flexibility, operational efficiency, and a vibrant work environment. The project brings together local workplace design experts to create a custom, cost-effective space that attracts top tenants and enhances user experiences.

With a focus on innovative and sustainable solutions, the 4-story, class-A office building includes underground parking, a fitness facility, locker rooms, patio, a fire pit and balconies.

University of Nebraska Medical Center CORE Building

Omaha, Nebraska

The CORE Building is a state-of-the-art research and development facility that anchors the university’s commitment to innovation and collaboration. More than 180,000 SF, the CORE Building integrates the university with biotech and technology startups, providing finished and shell lab spaces, administrative offices and flexible environments for research and development.

This facility is a cornerstone of UNMC’s master plan, supporting a wide range of biomedical, engineering and technology initiatives. The CORE Building’s design fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, accelerates innovation and positions UNMC as a leader healthcare research.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension crime lab

Mankato, Minnesota

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Southern Regional Office and Laboratory is designed to meet the growing demands of forensic science and investigative services. The 55,000 SF lab will replace leased spaces, providing advanced laboratories for drug chemistry, DNA, firearms and evidence handling, as well as secure administrative and training spaces.

This facility is engineered to meet current and future accreditation requirements, high-performance building standards and the well-being of investigative professionals. The design addresses both the technical rigor of forensic science and the human needs of staff, setting new benchmarks for investigative science facilities in Minnesota and beyond.

FiRST Center training facility

Lakeville, Minnesota

The First Responder Skills Training Center will meet the diverse and dynamic training needs of public safety personnel across the south Twin Cities metro area. The 43,300 SF center features flexible, adaptable spaces for first responder training, including a firing range, modern classrooms and specialized skills development areas.

Supporting both physical and virtual simulation of real-world emergency scenarios, the FiRST Center enhances the training capabilities of local agencies, providing a consistent space for ongoing professional development and real-world preparedness. The project redevelops a 14-acre brownfield site, anchoring the region’s commitment to public safety and community resilience.

Tunnel to Towers Veterans Villages

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; North Charleston, South Carolina; Memphis, Tennessee; and Denver, Colorado

The Tunnel to Towers Veterans Villages are part of the organization’s nationwide initiative to end veteran homelessness, with LEO A DALY designing communities in Harrisburg, North Charleston, Memphis and Denver, in addition to the completed village near Atlanta. Each village features approximately 100 apartments or comfort homes, along with veteran-focused supportive services such as case management, workforce training, counseling and community amenities like fitness centers.

These projects involve both renovations of existing hotels and ground-up construction, tailored to the needs and culture of each region. The design celebrates the contributions of veterans, creating dignified, supportive environments that foster hope, healing and community for those who have served.

Palm Beach Atlantic University business school

Palm Beach, Florida

Palm Beach Atlantic University’s new 125,000 SF Business School is a transformative addition to the campus, designed to cultivate the next generation of ethical business leaders. The building features a stock trading room, a 314-seat tiered lecture hall and dedicated spaces for the Titus Center for Franchising and the LeMieux Center for Public Policy.

As part of the university’s master plan, the Business School will serve as a hub for innovation, collaboration and academic excellence. The facility’s design supports a dynamic learning environment, fostering partnerships and providing students with the resources and experiences needed to excel in today’s business world.

Dunham House

Omaha, Nebraska

Dunham House is a 48-unit residence dedicated to providing supportive housing for combat-wounded veterans. Commissioned by Wounded Warriors Family Support, the 27,000SF facility is thoughtfully designed to foster community, comfort and dignity for its residents. Amenities include a shared coffee and recreation area, a spacious living room with a fireplace and TV, an activity and gaming room, a fitness center and a family-style dining area with an exterior patio for gatherings. The use of natural materials such as stone and wood, along with a palette of neutral colors, creates a warm, inviting environment that appeals to veterans of all ages, genders, and backgrounds.

The design of Dunham House extends beyond the building itself, with highly landscaped outdoor spaces that feature a walking trail, fire pit, and memorial area, encouraging both reflection and connection. Dunham House stands as a testament to the power of inclusive, purpose-driven design in creating uplifting environments for those who have served.

Recent Perspectives

Civic projects are all about the public. Universities, libraries, city halls: These institutions are for people, so the design should accommodate the needs of the people. While some needs are universal, each community and project has its own special relationship with the people it serves. When done right, public outreach can inform and deepen the design of a public project, making sure everyone’s voice is heard in the process. In this interview, LEO A DALY’s Anya Grant, a civic market sector leader, shares strategies for reaching into all corners of the community to gather insight.

1. Why is public outreach an important part of the design process for civic buildings?

Our projects shape public space, which means they will impact many people — the majority of whom we will never meet — for a long time to come. So we must work hard to obtain insight into how current and future users might benefit from our projects. Each place that we work in is unique. And when we effectively engage communities, we get invaluable insights into communities’ needs and desires. We want to build a space that works for everyone, and to do that we have to hear as many voices as we can.

For our clients, their core missions prioritize supporting diverse stakeholder groups. A capitol project can be a transformative investment for these groups, but only if their voices are included. This can be daunting, because not every need that is voiced can be met within the constraints of the design process. When we find natural alignments between strategic targets and individual needs, our design goals become even clearer.

2. Who are the main stakeholders in a public project? How does your approach differ for each group?

Of course, there are daily users of the building, such as staff, students or residents, who are easy for us to reach. The broader public has varying levels of investment depending on how often they visit the building or site. Very often, there are users who do not access our clients' services because of barriers that exist or who might see unintended outcomes from the project. When we meet these users where they are, we're able to evaluate possible impacts and address them with our design, making the final product a more accessible and welcoming space.

For example, at the University of Maryland’s Thurgood Marshall Hall, the obvious stakeholders are those who come there to learn and work and those that operate it. But as we worked closely with the university facilities groups, who are most in tune with campus-wide concerns, we identified areas around the building that would be transformed by its construction, and we were able to make that transformation a positive one.

For example, the marching band uses the adjacent field for practice. Working proactively with the university to identify the inherent conflict between the tuba player and the professor leading an introductory course, we performed an acoustic study that led to improved sound isolation for select windows. This would have been a costly upgrade if not identified during the design process. Another surprise set of stakeholders were transit users — a transit station was being built nearby, and the impact to existing campus pedestrian flow was significant. The resulting design is deliberately porous and provides accessible paths for those navigating the grade-change between the transit stop and campus beyond.

3. What does a typical outreach plan include? How do you tailor that plan to address community specific challenges and opportunities?

Structure - with adaptability. We outline outreach goals with our clients and develop a timetable that allows us to reach the desired groups. This typically includes a variety of media and formats to cast a wide net.

We know some people are already engaged and will meet us where we are, but many people won’t. To engage as many people as possible, we have to go to them. This means showing up where we know they’re going to be - farmers’ markets, pop up events at local schools, holiday parties for citizens’ groups. For the very hard to reach folks, we set up a series of highly publicized online surveys, shared widely through traditional media, social media and then with QR codes on yard signs and on city buses — all methods to penetrate a range of demographics.

When we first connect, we start with listening and confirming that we understand what we’re hearing. Only then are we prepared to follow up with recommendations. Over the course of meetings with stakeholders we often learn the most effective ways to gather input and can add new strategies and streamline our approach to reflect what we've learned about how we can really get people talking.

4. How do you ensure underrepresented voices are included in the outreach process?

Our approaches range from tapping into existing networks and platforms to developing content for language accessibility if there is a particular demographic that we are missing. Offering the same content through various media — in person forums and virtual channels — is key to bringing more people into the conversation.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to partner with a community group or community leader to help facilitate the discussion. This person already has an established relationship and trust with a group of people, allowing for repeated touchpoints and deeper insights. At Morgan State University, when developing its historic stewardship plan for preservation of 13 campus buildings, we partnered with a remarkable faculty member who embedded outreach work into her lesson plan. Her students were able to offer insight into the student body and alumni network. Those conversations gave us access to a broader community and shaped how we documented what was most valued by the community and therefore, most desirable to be preserved.

5. How do you incorporate public feedback into the design process?

If we've done our job of crafting engagement prompts that have actionable results and we have lots of respondents, we've created a data set that helps our clients choose between alternatives. Stakeholder input becomes one of the key considerations — like aesthetics, function and cost — that drives decision-making.

In the renovation of the Alexandria, Virginia City Hall, a lot of our public outreach related to the adjacent plaza. The area is significant to citizens as a heavily programmed hub of civic life, a meeting spot for residents, and a tour stop for visitors. In our conversations, we learned a lot about how people use the plaza — and, as importantly, who cannot use it. Although there is abundant, affordable parking in the garage just below the plaza and city bus stops directly adjacent, you currently have to climb a half story or traverse more than 200 feet to get to the front door of City Hall if you are in a wheelchair or pushing a walker or stroller, making it inaccessible to nearly anyone with any sort of mobility issues. Our design took this into consideration and seeks to provide universal access, improving the experience for residents and visitors alike.  

About the author

Recent Perspectives

More than 600 airplanes are retired each year, becoming fuselage in aircraft graveyards.

What if we could design them a new life?

The LEO A DALY hospitality team, working on a submission for the Radical Innovation awards, has developed “Taking Flight,” a concept to convert aircraft fuselage into sustainable, hyper-personalized lodging. Forbes recently featured the concept, writing: “For those wanting to experience something entirely new, the future of hospitality might just be on the wings of yesterday’s aircraft.”

The concept offers travelers a one-of-a-kind stay in an unforgettable, hyper-personalized private suite. However, the approach isn’t purely for a novel guest experience; it’s an opportunity to design responsibly for a more resourceful, responsive and resilient hospitality market.

“Instead of a lifecycle that is cradle-to-grave,” said Design Director Enrique Greenwell, “we could complete a full circle and go cradle-to-cradle, and define a new life for something that is no longer functional.”

Watch Greenwell and Senior Architect Ryan Christensen explain their concept here:

Read more about Taking Flight in Forbes: Designers Plan To Transform Retired Airplane Fuselages Into Luxury Hotel Suites.

Technology is changing rapidly, spurring major changes in how we operate even from one year to the next. Buildings, on the other hand, are designed to last for decades. An office building or hospital constructed today will long outlive the technologies we consider cutting edge.

LEO A DALY’s Cody Largent, PE, RCDD, specializes in equipping buildings with the proper technology and infrastructure to ensure the facility lasts. He and his team work with owners to find the proper security, audio/visual, telecommunications and wireless technology — for today and for the future. In this article, Largent explains how he works with clients to find the right technological solutions.

Recent Perspectives

1. How do you determine what technology infrastructure a facility will need?

Our team always starts the process of understanding the needs of a facility with a consultation meeting with the owner. This meeting is similar to a conceptual design meeting that our architecture teams typically hold, focused on broad ideas and potential ways to use current and new technologies moving forward.

We use this time to ask key stakeholders what they currently use in their facility, what currently works well, and what needs to be improved for their next project. We also use this meeting as ideation, sharing new technologies that are on the horizon, learning what is critically important to the owner’s success, and determining what processes have been hampered by poor technology implementations in the past.

2. How do you balance budgetary restrictions with optimizing performance for the needs of the owner?

One of the biggest challenges our clients face is understanding where their dollars for IT, security, and audiovisual are going. To facilitate knowledge-sharing, we involve key stakeholders (IT groups, AV groups, security teams, and project managers) early to understand what they’ve budgeted for a project and what their goals are for each of these systems.

To help balance improving performance and the budgetary restrictions of each group, we use a “good-better-best" comparison matrix to help guide our clients through the process. Using a matrix like this isn’t intended to flesh out all of the design decisions, but instead focuses on how our clients are spending their dollars and making the most effective use of this.

For instance, when our team is designing a video surveillance system, we can look at 3 different levels of security cameras to use across the project scope. Through this discussion and discovery process, we help work with our clients to understand what areas require a high level of scrutiny (the “best”) and what areas need an effective, but more cost-conscious approach (the “good”). Using this process, our clients have a clear understanding of their estimated spends during design.

3. How do you build ownership in the process among the end users?

It’s incredibly important to our team to involve end users and key stakeholders in reviews of the design and user group meetings as early in the design process as possible. By involving all parties early in the process, everyone feels a sense of ownership over the design and improves overall communication throughout the lifespan of the project. This allows our design team to react to owner changes and updates on the fly.

For example, we recently had a client update a number of their telecommunications and security standards over the course of a project. Instead of being caught off guard and having misaligned expectations, we brought them in early and, working with their team, identified what items were most important to their team and improving our design to be aligned with their team’s expectations. Through multiple meetings and reviews of the drawings, our team was able to implement the new design direction and made sure our client was getting the new technology and infrastructure that they wanted to build upon in the future.

4. How do you bring that all input together into a cohesive technology design?

Throughout the design process, our team gathers a lot of information and decisions from our owners, stakeholders, and our internal teams to inform the design. As we record these decisions in meeting minutes, drawing markups, and in a log of all the decisions made, we can use this information to finalize the contract documents that are eventually sent out to general contractors and their subcontractors.

These decisions and design elements flow into many aspects of our designs, whether this is reflected in a responsibility matrix (helping our clients and contractors know who is purchasing and installing what), our internal calculation and design tools, and into our floor plans and technical diagrams, which flesh out the full design for contractors to accurately bid off of. Our design process also includes multiple quality checks throughout, making sure that the design that our clients receive has been reviewed by one of our senior technology team members.

5. With new technologies coming online all the time, how do you ensure your designs will serve the owner’s needs for decades into the future?

Our designs always contemplate future needs and what technologies will require in five, 10 or 20 years and beyond. We ensure that our designs not only meet the needs of our clients today, but also are able to address any moves, adds, or changes that come down the road as new technologies are added to the building. We also stay up to date on the latest technologies and what may be coming down the pipeline, and use this practical knowledge to help inform our designs across our portfolio of work.

For example, I worked with a large commercial client who anticipated many physical shifts in the post-COVID environment. Every year to 18 months, they would move their workspaces — a spot that today is desks for sales staff could hold IT or even conference rooms next year. During that design we ensured every space could accommodate power users, even if it currently did not need to. We also helped them develop a robust roadmap and standards so in the future they can quickly update infrastructure (such as a higher grade of category cable or moving to fiber to the desktop), assess new technologies against their current needs, and evaluate whether a technology implementation makes sense, such as wireless first deployments or wireless cubbies.

Infrastructure should be designed to be flexible, to allow for all these possibilities. Then, when new technology comes online, we’ll be ready for it.

About the author

The world is changing and with it the way we interact with our buildings. New technology, post-COVID operational changes and more — these things all require new ways to look at old buildings. At the same time, these buildings are a part of our history, offering a glimpse into the past that can’t be remade. Historic preservation can help navigate these often competing priorities to ensure that current needs are met while history is protected.

LEO A DALY’s Michael Bjornberg, FAIA, is a recognized expert in historic preservation. He skillfully navigates regulatory requirements to perform historic preservation work that meets a building owner’s needs. In this article, he talks about how to do this work on public projects, even when budgets are tight.

Recent Perspectives

1. With so many options in architecture, what got you interested in historic preservation?

I grew up around construction, and it fascinated me. I was drawn to the craftsmanship — that exists in my genetics. I quickly decided that I wanted involvement in the creation of buildings. As my architecture knowledge increased, I developed what would become the two fundamental building blocks of my career. The first is a deep respect for that which was crafted by masters. The second is the desire to be an architect in the classic master builder model, involved from ideation through construction and ribbon cutting. I love being a part of the whole story.

For me, the bonus of a preservation focus has been the human stories that come with the existing buildings. There is great satisfaction to me knowing that I am not only being sustainable with reuse but also saving those human stories for future generations. It is a social connection to the livelihoods of those that helped build our country.

I recall a particular story from working on a railroad depot project. A person came up to me and stated that this was the last place they saw their father as he left for war.

I have found cherished family mementos placed in concealed spaces (cornices, wall cavities, etc.) that are connections for workers to their family and their craft.

The places have meaning and significance.

2. Why should taxpayers spend public money on the preservation of civic buildings like state capitols, city halls, university facilities and libraries?

As the song goes: “You don’t know know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”

Civic architecture represents the dreams of a growing country and a common civic pride. They are sited in significant locations to further emphasize that importance. These buildings are typically open to all to enjoy as compared to private buildings, which are not open to the public experience.

Saving and preserving these buildings reminds us of how we saw the future and what we can accomplish when we dream of the future. It falls upon us to help communicate the value these beautiful buildings have and why we need them to be retained and maintained. Our prior generations left us a rich legacy of beauty and craft that represents a greater collective.

In addition, unfortunately we seldom replace these historic civic buildings with new buildings that are built better. They quickly become targets of cost reductions and less quality materials.

All buildings require maintenance. I would rather be in a maintenance cycle than a replacement cycle.

3. How has technology impacted the preservation and reuse of historic buildings and structures?

The art of documenting the existing conditions of historic buildings has changed dramatically due to technological advancements. The days of a clipboard, pencil and tape measure are well behind us (mostly.) What used to take a small army of staff measuring rooms, doors, windows, hallways, moldings and all else has become more efficient and certainly more accurate. We now take advantage of 3D laser scanning, drome imagery, mobile apps, digital X-ray scanning, ground penetrating radar, among others. This modern technology allows us to build accurate BIM models and begin to work much faster than we were able to do prior.

In the past this was extremely labor intensive — even with access to original documentation (not very often) verification is required, and it is likely that there have been numerous undocumented modifications along the way.

4. How do you balance modern upgrades (ADA compliance, technology, etc.) with preserving historic buildings? What are the challenges and where do you see opportunities?

I feel it is our responsibility to provide ADA and Life Safety compliance in these adapted buildings and demonstrate that they are buildings that can be saved, adapted and reused. I have been surprised by how flexible and accommodating older buildings can be to provide opportunities for upgrades. Many have provided vertical chases that can still be utilized for utilities. The floor-to-floor heights are frequently generous. An analysis of the existing structural system layout and capacity is a critical first step – understanding what you must work with makes it an easier task.

But indeed, there are some complexities when intervening with systems. I have found that providing sufficient MEP room spaces to be a challenge. The footprints did not originally plan for the size of modern systems (although they are getting smaller) and floor space is at a premium for other uses. They tend towards localized distribution more so than a centralized mechanical distribution system. The localized distribution also provides better future flexibility, reduces large ductwork and accommodates building uses change.

5. If you could advocate for the preservation of any building, what would it be and why?

I have worked on numerous monumental historic buildings, it is easy to focus on those highly visible monumental buildings and want to see them renewed. But I strongly feel that the buildings most in need of our attention are those community buildings that are the core of the small town's history. They were often built by the community and still have living descendants in the town. They are looking for public use and are staffed by volunteers. The community supports them but lacks the wherewithal and financing to provide the most basic upkeep. There are grant programs that can help, but they require skilled grant writing expertise to compete with the larger community requests. They do not get the same limelight as a state capitol or city hall. These are the buildings that hold local memory and pride.

I am pleased to see the conversions of schools to residential use — many of which accommodate older community residents who may have even attended school there. This opens housing for younger families, keeping these communities vital. I was fortunate to have worked on such a school residential conversion that my mother attended. That really felt special to see that building continue to provide for the community.

About the author

Recent Perspectives

Police officers, firefighters, EMS personnel, dispatchers and other public servants operate under unique levels of stress, responsibility and exposure to trauma and hazards.

When public safety staff are well-supported, they’re better equipped to engage with the community positively. Facilities that prioritize wellness project an image of professionalism, care and respect, giving first responders a supportive environment to help them perform at their best.

As architects and designers, we can contribute to improving the conditions that affect public safety officials’ wellbeing.

Consider: firefighters have a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population and while data varies, both police and firefighters face higher rates of suicide than the general public. 59% of firefighters report poor sleep quality, and PTSD prevalence is 15–20% among firefighters vs the general population of approximately 6%.

Years of Potential Life Lost, a public health metric which indicates diseases or conditions contributing to deaths at younger ages, suggests this metric is 21 times greater than that of the general population for Police Officers. Police officers have one of the poorest cardiovascular disease health profiles of any occupation. Poor diets and sleep habits, obesity, hypertension, sudden physical exertion, and acute and chronic psychological stress are all contributing factors.

Viewed with an eye toward enhancing individual and group performance, architects and designers can implement tangible changes that have a positive impact on first responder wellness.

Physical Health

Encouraging physical and nutritional wellness helps maintain strength, stamina and resilience enabling physical readiness. A workforce with strong physical health is less prone to injury and recovers more quickly from physical and psychological stresses.

Properly sized fitness rooms should provide access to daylight and outdoors along with room to grow as their department grows. Convenient access to exercise/fitness opportunities increases the chance of staff taking advantage of it. Combined with leadership buy-in, this can be a game changer.

While officers are on patrol, they are often limited to their squad vehicles. Providing a breakroom with easy, secure access to the outdoors, daylight and communal dining promote healthy eating habits and camaraderie, a proven stress reducer.

Mental Health and Stress Management

There is a toll that high-stress, high-trauma environments have on first responders. Decompression spaces allow personnel to step away from intense situations and mentally reset. Designing intentional spaces like these signals organizational support for mental health, reducing stigma around stress management.

Access to daylight is important, but also the ability to tune out the world if needed not only through proper window treatments, but acoustic considerations.

Comfortable seating, biophilic elements such as plants or natural materials and textures are calming signals to the brain which can help change the trajectory of the situation for someone in crisis.

These rooms can also double as places to practice mindfulness techniques, as peer-to-peer discussion rooms and as places to sleep or nap as first responders often have irregular, unexpected or extended shifts.

Training

Reality-based training scenarios which allow public safety officials to be repeatedly exposed to controlled, high-pressure situations enhance performance in the real world and lower the possibility of mistakes or lapses in judgement. This type of training has shown to significantly reduce errors in judgment and decision making, especially with force-on-force situations compared to traditional classroom learning. Further, education and hands-on training can preemptively help first responders deal with stressful situations.

We can design simple, hands-on training scenarios into first responder facilities. Examples include:

• Design secure outdoor space away from the public eye to practice car stops.

• Locate strategically placed windows designed to practice bale out, rescue, and ladder training exercises within fire stations.

• Provide dedicated spaces for virtual reality technology to improve decision making in real-world, pressure-filled situations.

• Design realistic and flexible training spaces to prepare responders for stressful, changing situations.

Having onsite access to these spaces allows training to occur repeatedly over time, a principle that is proven to increase learning efficiency.

Resiliency

During extended emergencies (e.g., natural disasters, public health crises, civil unrest), staff may spend days in their facility. Wellness-oriented spaces, sleeping quarters, kitchens, showers, exercise areas all help sustain them during times of extreme stress.

Resilient facilities purposefully change with changing situations and do so with the aim of minimizing stress during stressful times. Facility design needs to flex between routine operations and critical incidents without prep or warning and have critical infrastructure like emergency power, communications, lighting and ventilation ready.

Morale and Retention

Investments in facilities and design excellence foster pride, boosts morale and aid in retaining skilled professionals in a field where turnover is costly. Honoring the profession through design considerations like murals, history walls, dedications and memorials strengthens a sense of belonging to a unit, department or station as well as to the greater profession and community. This sense of honor and connection has been shown to reduce burnout, improve job satisfaction and enhance overall wellbeing.

Workplace design influences organizational culture and vice versa. Being in tune with organizational philosophy can influence and enhance the design which can then reinforce the organizational directives.

Safety 

First responders face hazards every day. Firefighters are exposed to carcinogens from a fire scene and diesel particulates from their own fire trucks. Police officers may encounter fentanyl. EMS personnel may be exposed to blood from a medical incident. Each of these situations, and more, involve in-the-field procedures and back-at-the-station facilities to properly decontaminate and protect oneself.

Psychological safety is less tangible, but nonetheless important. Intuitive layouts, circulation and clear public/private boundary definition encourage staff to “let their guard down” or help them feel in control of their environment.

Lastly, clearly dedicated zones for high-stress operations versus areas for decompression or focused work reduces cognitive overload and increases psychological safety.

Public servants have tough jobs with many wellness impacts. Through thoughtful design, we can help promote wellness to ease stressors and help them serve their community.

About the author

The Alexandria, Virginia City Hall and the adjacent Market Square are landmarks, key pieces of the urban fabric of Old Town Alexandria. A renovation project, necessitated by deteriorating conditions and a lack of accessibility, will reinvent and upgrade the historic structure and open space.

The LEO A DALY design team will preserve the heritage of the site while creating a vibrant, contemporary result reflective of today’s citizens. Their approach not only respects the building’s historic character but also introduces modern amenities and sustainable features to meet the evolving needs of city staff and the community. In this interview, design principal Irena Savakova discusses the role of placemaking and history in the reimagining of Alexandria City Hall.

Recent Perspectives

1. Why is this project so important to the Alexandria community?

The City Hall building has served as the heart of Alexandria’s governance since 1749. It’s expanded and changed at times, but a significant part of the building exterior and some interior spaces remain as originally designed in the late 18th century. 

Our task is to address all needed upgrades — ADA compliance, safety fixes, opportunities for gathering — while maintaining this national treasure that is a landmark within the fabric of our country.  We begin the work by reimagining workplace environments and city engagement — and considering the role of openness of public spaces in a democracy. 

Market Square was a later addition, but both the building and the square act together as one, a synergetic nexus, bound by fluid connectivity and interconnected programmatic zones. This nexus is both dynamic and reverent to all layers of history. People can step out of City Hall for a conversation or a bite to eat in Market Square, or they can conduct their business after spending time at the square. It’s a fixture in Alexandria and it’s important to maintain its inviting versatility. 

2. What elements of the design highlight the history of the site? 

The building comprises several layers of historically significant components, several disparate buildings that merged into one over time. The outer shell is the original building. It was initially a U-shape around a square. In the late 1960s, this open market was filled with another building in the Colonial Revival style. These two distinct pieces now form what we know as City Hall. There’s a formality in the building because of its architectural styles, separate elements woven together through the decades. 

The current main entrance on the south side was originally a side door through an alley. We are going to restore the entrance, fitting for the grandeur and importance of the building. 

We’re also bringing back some of the original character of the building that has been lost to time. For example, through diligent restoration work, our team recently discovered that there was green paint on the window frames of original historically significant portion of the building; we plan to follow city guidelines and Secretary of the Interior standards and restore that color.

3. What new elements will be introduced?

The people of Alexandria deserve a functioning, modern City Hall with technology and spaces that allow staff members to do their vital work. At the same time, we want to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars as part of this project.  We are implementing a new layout that allows every agency in City Hall to share resources, interacting with each other daily. The ground floor will hold the services that people need most often — taxes, real estate and other crucial day-to-day services. Moving up through the building will be other, less public-facing departments. Those floors will have shared amenities like common kitchenettes and conference spaces, creating efficiencies and eliminating redundancies to allow us to best use the space.  

4. What are the biggest challenges in balancing those historical elements with modern upgrades? 

The design is very carefully planned to ensure that while the entire building is demolished and rebuilt, the exterior and the historic elements will remain untouched or even restored to their original glory. However, this means that the entire staff will work from a temporary site during the three-year project. At the end they’ll have a new, state-of-the-art facility that we hope will be the first net zero building in Alexandria.

Additionally, the parking lot is being completely excavated. This allows for some major advancements, such as geothermal energy. But the construction will be complex, which is why we helped the City of Alexandria interview a construction manager at risk rather than use the traditional model of design-bid-build. Getting everyone on board early to solve for risks is crucial for these complex projects. 

5. How did you incorporate placemaking into this project? 

Market Square is a public space, a kind of town square, so there’s an element of playfulness and a little bit less rigidity that can be introduced in this space. All of the proposed elements of the revitalization of this area are designed to promote use and interaction with the environment and with the surrounding city shops and restaurants. 

Over the course of many conversations with stakeholders, we learned that people wanted more open space for civic function. The new market square will blend the formal open spaces with smaller urban outdoor living rooms and ample seating zones. The main south entry by King Street will be flanked by two rows of trees on either side will provide that separation and enclosure as well as shade. 

The significant move was pushing the elevator and the staircase into the plaza, creating an anchor that provides shade and becomes a natural backdrop for a stage, establishing engagement. 

About the Alexandria City Hall team

Recent Perspectives

At LEO A DALY, we hold the long view on sustainable design as responsible design, and that’s why we are signatories of all industry commitments on sustainability. The responsible use of resources translates to long term returns for our clients and communities through high performance buildings, improved open space, and healthy interior environments. Sustainability is a core value of LEO A DALY, and the firm has championed sustainable practices and materials across the markets it operates in.

LEO A DALY’s 2025 Sustainability Action Plan highlights our commitment to responsible design and the steps we’ll take to ensure we continue to build on our progress.

“As an integrated design firm, we have an opportunity to introduce sustainability and efficiency in all our work,” said Kim Cowman, national director of engineering. “This plan will help guide us to move forward on sustainability as one of the core values of our firm.”

LEO A DALY’s sustainability plan includes five key principles:

• High performance design: Every design begins with benchmarking its energy performance so we explore all potential design solutions to enhance performance. 

• Decarbonization: Our experienced professionals provide, measure and evaluate a range of carbon–reducing and carbon-free options that align with project and operational goals.

• Responsible materials: Selecting and specifying materials and products that prioritize people and planet is key to responsible design.

• Wellbeing: Our design process focuses on wellbeing across scales – from individual spaces within buildings to buildings themselves, and beyond to the context of neighborhoods and communities.

• Post-occupancy evaluation: Using defined research methodologies, we work with owners to gather operational data and user feedback from building occupants after construction is complete and business operations are underway. All project stakeholders and partners benefit from this documentation which goes beyond operational efficiencies and drives continuous improvement for the built environment.

The document includes action plans for LEO A DALY’s sustainability pledges, including AIA 2030, SE2050, AIA Materials Pledge, and MEP 2040. These commitments ensure we appropriately track our sustainability progress and continue to enhance our sustainability offerings.

“This document represents our commitment to sustainability across the firm,” said President Steve Lichtenberger. “By following the plan outlined within, we will reach new heights of sustainable work.”

To learn more about LEO A DALY’s sustainability approach, read the plan below.

Recent Perspectives

In an era where climate disasters are becoming increasingly frequent and severe, food distribution centers play a crucial role in ensuring food security and resilience. These hubs are not only vital in maintaining a steady supply of food during emergencies but also act as strategic assets in crisis management and recovery.

Consider the Cheney Bros. Distribution Center in Punta Gorda, Florida. When Hurricane Ian ripped through Florida in 2022, the 450,000-SF, LEO A DALY-designed food distribution center turned into a bastion of safety. With a hardened envelope, reinforced mechanical systems, blast-resistant openings, and full backup power, resilient design did more than maintain operations at the Cheney Bros. refrigerated food-distribution center. While adjacent buildings were completely destroyed, this structure hosted the headquarters for emergency responders nearby. Hundreds of EMS personnel lived and operated out of the warehouse properties for weeks, as Cheney Bros. continued to serve people even in the aftermath of the storm.

The structure has most recently withstood hurricanes Helene and Milton, and it serves as the prototype for the company’s other facilities.

READ MORE: Florida/Caribbean Architect article on the Cheney Bros. facility

This kind of resiliency will become more and more valuable as many regions of the U.S. face their own climate challenges. Both existing and new facilities will see larger and more frequent weather events. Owners can mitigate potential costs by building resiliency into a structure or upgrade rather than face the prospect of rebuilding a structure damaged or destroyed by one of these events.

Designing to enhance resilience often exceeds weather-related building code requirements.  Here are three critical areas to focus on to design storm hardened food distribution centers and cold storage:

Critical Systems Protection and Redundancy

Refrigeration systems that keep food fresh and safe are the most important part of a distribution facility to keep intact during and after a storm event. These systems rely on power and supply lines, both of which are extremely vulnerable to outages and damage. To maintain power through an event, automatic standby generators need to have an alternative onsite fuel source in an area that is protected from flood waters. Strategic placement of liquid supply lines with emergency valves and flow meters helps isolate areas that might get damaged without compromising the entire system.

Building Openings

Doors and exterior openings are weak spots during a storm that need increased reinforcement to withstand a natural disaster.  The proper impact-resistant product selections are necessary, and they need to be strengthened with custom anchor details at the jambs to resist severe negative pressure caused by high wind speeds.

Building Structure

The roof is the most vulnerable part of a building’s structure in a storm event and needs to be designed for high uplift forces that result from hurricane-force winds. If the roof is compromised, the entire structure can be destroyed creating a local or total collapse.  Roof connections along the entire loading path must be sized and detailed for increased wind loads, especially at corners around the perimeter where wind loads can concentrate.

Constructing Resilient Communities of Tomorrow

By efficiently storing, managing, and distributing food resources, these centers help stabilize food availability after extreme weather events. In times of crisis, the importance of these centers cannot be overstated, as they are key to not only feeding populations but also supporting community recovery and fostering long-term environmental stewardship.

Want to learn more? Contact our industrial team.

Recent Perspectives

As the urgency to address climate change intensifies, reducing embodied carbon becomes an important factor in decision-making for architecture, engineering, and construction professionals. Reducing embodied carbon lessens the climate impact of our buildings and is a key way to create a more sustainable built environment. Designers can use materials more efficiently and choose materials with less carbon footprint across their entire lifecycle, from production to disposal.  

Every project has many requirements and objectives to meet the client's needs. When we add the elements of sustainability and embodied carbon reduction, we need to make carbon-friendly design decisions that still meet all the other performance objectives of the project.    

As building material manufacturing processes and technology evolve, low-carbon building materials will become more and more accessible and economical. In the meantime, owners and designers must select the best options that are currently available in the market. 

We face challenges, including limited access to sustainable, low-carbon materials, navigating rising material costs, and adhering to complex regulatory frameworks. 

Sustainable Design Challenges and Opportunities

The following are some of the most pressing design and construction challenges when it comes to reducing embodied carbon in buildings and strategies to overcome them:

Selecting the right low-carbon material

Low-carbon materials may not be consistently available in all regions or may not yet be produced at scales needed for larger projects. To overcome this issue, AEC firms need to be proactive in understanding market trends and developments in sustainable materials. Potential questions to consider could include: What sustainable materials are available in my region? What are material suppliers' roadmaps for carbon reduction for their product? What materials and technologies are other companies in our industry specifying? Do we know what roadblocks our suppliers might be facing?  

Building strong relationships with multiple suppliers of a material product category can also help AEC firms understand the state of carbon reduction for that product. By collaborating closely with these suppliers, they can more quickly understand the available options. 

High cost of low-carbon materials

Building material prices are on the rise across the industry due to record inflation over the past few years. For some materials, an equally performing low-carbon alternative may come with a price premium. The increased cost of low-carbon materials can present a major obstacle for some owners. Vendors are working to create these materials that are as economical as possible to compete in the market; however, it may take time for some low-carbon materials to reach cost parity with their traditional equivalents.  

In the long run, these low-carbon alternatives will likely become the standard. Until then, designers can use a hybrid approach to incorporate these materials while keeping the project within budget. An example of this strategy would be to specify low-carbon concrete mixes for structural elements such as slabs-on-grade or pavements while specifying a traditional mix for building elements like foundations, beams, and columns. Of course, while slabs-on-grade and pavements often undergo lower magnitude structural demands relative to structural system elements, they still have significant requirements that must be considered if specifying a low-carbon mix.  

Complex regulatory environment

The regulatory landscape for sustainable building materials has begun to take shape, presenting both challenges and opportunities for designers and building owners. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act included appropriations for low-carbon materials on General Services Administration projects. Sustainability certification programs such as LEED also include provisions for low embodied carbon materials. 

Standards and requirements vary significantly across different jurisdictions. As they evolve, AEC firms must proactively stay informed about local, national, and international regulations to ensure compliance and effectively advocate for sustainable practices. This can be achieved through regular training sessions for staff, active participation in industry forums, and collaboration with regulatory bodies, which not only enhances a firm's adaptability to regulatory changes but also positions it to take a leadership role in sustainability. This leadership can be influential in promoting policy development that facilitates the wider adoption of low-carbon materials.  

Tackling embodied carbon in our projects goes beyond technical fixes — it's about embracing a broader strategy that includes education, strategy, and teamwork. For those of us in the architecture, engineering, and construction sectors, this means we have a real opportunity to boost the sustainability of our built environment. By staying sharp through ongoing education, choosing our materials wisely, and using innovative building methods, we can make a significant impact. This approach helps reduce embodied carbon and lays the groundwork for a more sustainable future in construction. 

About the author

Recent Perspectives

Adaptive reuse represents a transformative approach in the architecture and engineering industry, where the past and future converge to create sustainable, functional spaces out of existing structures. This practice is not merely about refurbishing old buildings but reimagining them for new uses, blending historical integrity with contemporary needs. It's an innovative solution that leverages the embodied energy of pre-existing materials and infrastructure, significantly reducing the environmental impact compared to new construction.

At the core of adaptive reuse is the principle of making the most out of our built environment, turning historical and often underutilized buildings into vibrant, functional spaces that meet today's standards of energy sufficiency and sustainability.

Embracing Technology in Adaptive Reuse

At LEO A DALY, our approach to adaptive reuse architecture projects integrates advanced technologies such as 3D modeling, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and virtual reality to enhance project outcomes. For instance, in the adaptive reuse of the historic Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., we employed laser scanning to capture the precise dimensions and architectural details of the existing structure. This was crucial for developing accurate models where pre-existing documentation was unreliable or absent.

We also leverage virtual reality to bridge the gap between conceptual designs and physical realities. By using VR headsets, our clients can virtually walk through the proposed adaptations, allowing for a more intuitive understanding and interaction with the design. This is especially beneficial in complex projects like hospital renovations or large infrastructure overhauls, where understanding spatial relationships and operational logistics is critical.

The absence of accurate building documentation is a common issue in older structures originally designed on pen and paper. Technologies like 3D scanning provide us with a level of detail previously unattainable, enhancing our confidence in the design process and helping teams avoid costly modifications during construction. These tools not only improve design accuracy but also significantly increase efficiency by enabling precise alterations and ensuring compatibility with the building's historical aspects.

Adaptive Reuse and Energy Sufficiency

Looking forward, the role of adaptive reuse is set to become even more significant. We anticipate a shift towards more comprehensive sustainability assessments, considering not just energy efficiency but energy sufficiency and the total carbon impact of building materials. 

This approach considers all stages of a building's life, from material extraction and manufacturing to construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning. By evaluating the total carbon footprint, we can make more informed choices about materials and construction techniques that reduce environmental impact over the building's entire lifecycle.

Adaptive reuse projects are uniquely positioned to lead this change. By repurposing existing structures, these projects inherently reduce the demand for new materials and the associated environmental burdens of extraction and production. Additionally, adaptive reuse often preserves the cultural and historical significance of buildings, adding layers of social sustainability to the environmental benefits.

Preparing the Next Generation of Design Professionals

As adaptive reuse becomes a more prevalent and influential practice within architecture and engineering, certain skills and training are critical for professionals aiming to excel in this field:

• Technological Proficiency: Mastery and the evolving knowledge of tools like BIM and virtual reality are crucial. As AI in architectural design advances, it will become increasingly useful. These technologies enable precise planning and problem-solving during the adaptive reuse of buildings that often lack detailed and accurate documentation.

• Creative Problem Solving: Professionals must develop the ability to visualize and implement transformations that repurpose old structures for entirely new uses. This requires an innovative approach to design, moving beyond the original intent of the building to meet modern demands.

• Regulatory Knowledge: A thorough understanding of local building codes and the ability to navigate regulatory environments are necessary to ensure that adaptive reuse projects are both feasible and compliant. This involves close coordination with local authorities to understand and adhere to modern standards.

• Environmental and Economic Analysis: Design professionals need to be adept at quantifying the environmental benefits of adaptive reuse, particularly in terms of embodied carbon emissions savings. Similarly, demonstrating the economic advantages of these projects to developers and building owners is essential, providing a clear rationale for the choice of adaptive reuse over new construction.

• Client and Stakeholder Education: It is also the responsibility of professionals to educate clients and stakeholders about the potential and benefits of adaptive reuse. This involves clear communication of feasibility studies, benefits analysis, and potential outcomes to support informed decision-making.

By focusing on these areas, professionals can effectively address the unique challenges of adaptive reuse projects and leverage their potential to meet contemporary needs while preserving historical value.

As adaptive reuse evolves, technologies such as BIM and AI will continue to play an essential role. They will help us evaluate the potential for repurposing buildings more accurately and swiftly, ensuring that adaptive reuse remains a viable and competitive option compared to new constructions. Moreover, as Building Energy Performance Standards become more widespread, these technologies will be crucial in helping building owners upgrade performance and comply with new regulations. 

These technological advancements, coupled with a strategic focus on long-term sustainability, will ensure that adaptive reuse not only preserves historical structures but also transforms them into forward-thinking examples of energy sustainability. This approach is integral to meeting modern environmental challenges and ensuring that our built environment contributes positively to our ecological and social fabric. If you are still curious about adaptive reuse or looking for expertise in your next design project, reach out to our team at LEO A DALY today.

About the authors