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BUSINESS NEWS EYP LAUNCHES SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPE DESIGN PRACTICE EYP, a leading architecture and engineering firm creating memorable designs that enhance people’s lives and communities, announces the launch of its sustainable landscape design practice that creates healthier and more productive environments from the ground up. Guided by programs like the Green Building Council and the Sustainable SITES Initiatives®, EYP’s sustainable landscape approach extends its long history of developing sustainable projects. Jessica A. Petro, PLA, ASLA, has joined EYP as lead designer and landscape architect to spearhead the firm’s focus on creating sustainable, high-performance landscapes. “We’re advocates for your site,” stated Petro. “Our team thinks about how landscapes function and how they interact with their inhabitants and the surrounding community. From master planning and programming to complete design and documentation services, we work with our clients to pursue climate positive designs that can sequester carbon, clean the air and water, increase energy efficiency, and restore habitats.” Although formalizing its sustainable landscapedesignpractice, EYPhas spent years working with local consultants to oversee the landscape narrative for multiple projects, including Birch Bayh
Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Indianapolis, Indiana; U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway; Fulton State Hospital in Fulton, Missouri.; and, The Quad at the University of Texas in Houston. The firm will continue its work with local experts and consultants to guide thought leadership and design implementation to benefit clients. EYP has also worked on more than a dozen projects across the Texas Medical Center, including the recent Texas A&M University Intercollegiate School of Engineering Medicine. According to D. Kirk Hamilton, Ph.D., Beale Professor of Health Facility Design, Texas A&M University, “When I was in school, we had to draw to the edge of the vellum sheet, so the plan sat within a fully rendered site plan that included landscape, hardscape, drainage, parking, and walkways. In the business world, architects need to confront how their buildings interact with the land and natural environment. They need to collaboratewith landscape professionals in their firm or consultants to their firm. We constantly remind our students about the close collaboration required in the design realm and the importance of the inseparable relationship between architecture and landscape.” “Expanding our capabilities to include landscape and the natural environment is part of EYP’s long-termgrowth strategy because it’s a natural fit with our culture
and commitment to sustainability. We can nowworkwith clients to achieve their carbon neutral designs, inside and out,” stated Kef Mason, interim chief executive officer, EYP Inc. “It also provides greater depth and enrichment to our staff in areas important to them: resiliency and climate. Jessica’s knowledge and understanding of sustainable landscape design make her natural leader for this at EYP.” As a lead designer and landscape architect at EYP, Jessica Petro will lead the team to align the built and natural environment, so systems can inform and respond to each other to address each client’s program and mission. In addition, she will leverage the expertise of EYP’s in-house interdisciplinary teams and environmental data to better inform decisions about site feasibility, circulation, and natural resources. EYP is a people-first, integrated design firm specializing in higher education, healthcare, government, and science and technology. EYP’s integrated teams offer planning and design, high-performance engineering, environmental graphics, preservation and modernization, interiors and workplace, sustainable landscaping, and rapid response projects to tackle your pressing challenges. EYP has interdisciplinary offices in 11 cities across the United States and projects in more than 100 countries.
TZL: Ownership transition can be tricky, to say the least. What’s the key to ensuring a smooth passing of the baton? What’s the biggest pitfall to avoid? JJ: As your question indicates, the evolution of a firm must be a transition, not simply a “change.” A planned, informative, and transparent process is critical to building a new generation of independent, courageous leaders who will guide the firm to new heights. It’s important for staff firmwide to have respect and admiration for the future leadership as well. Externally, attention must be given to continuity of client relationships and community involvement. “My first priority is to be a facilitator – to help our future leadership navigate client relationships, conflict resolution, encourage growth, and to be a resource.”
INSPIRE BY EXAMPLE, from page 7
a strong financial statement, excellent service to clients, and an efficient process, we realize that there should be an even stronger focus on our own people. They are crucial to our current and future success. This awareness has led to more visible appreciation of our staff and an emphasis on their overall health and happiness – both for our long-time team members and new hires. At Hafer, we’ve experienced great success over the past few years in terms of number and size of projects and geographical reach. We now have clients all over the country. As our company grew from two states to four recently, we concentrated on assembling a talented, motivated group of professionals who love our culture. This became the foundation to executing our plan. As far as future growth goes, we certainly realize growth is a goal, but the growth is not focused only on a tangible number of staff or revenue, but rather the intangibles of creating an inspiring work environment with great processes that leads to holistic design excellence. If we can do that, the numbers will take care of themselves.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 31, 2022, ISSUE 1426
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