sustainaility reort 2017 - openasset · our waste management policy observes the hierarchy of...

Sustainability Report 2017

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11%

27% 100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

34%

9%

5

6

29%

50%

reduction in use normalised per staff member compared to 2016

reduction in use normalised per staff member compared to 2016

of all CO2 emissions offset



of all our office’s tea and coffee is fair trade

of all staff had an internal review

of staff in London are women

of staff were promoted internally

work-experience students supported

interns supported

of staff in UK are women

of graduate staff intake in London are women

Natural gas

Electricity Business travel

Couriers

Staff commutes

Catering

Facts and figures about our employees

Facts and figures about our London office

Use lessReduce consumption with efficiency measures and staff behaviour change

We apply these principles throughout our operations as we continuously strive to “do more with less”

Our energy management hierarchy

Buy wellSource best providers and technologies

Renewable energySource energy through more sustainable opportunities including heat recovery

OffsetCompensate for emissions from the residual energy we use, by investing in social and environmental projects that also benefit communities

2017 at a glance

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Introduction

Patrick BellewPrincipal

In our 2016 Sustainability Report, I wrote about a global shift away from traditional leadership and a need for societies to pull together to address the issues of climate change and resource depletion. This year we have seen an inversion of many of the customary global power structures and relationships. 2017 has certainly thrown up new and surprising challenges – however it also contained reasons to be hopeful for the future.

On the global stage, the American president withdrew the USA’s commitment to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. The national and international response to this abdication of responsibility was encouraging; individual states and many of the institutions that we work with have even affirmed their support for the Paris Agreement. The UK and Canada also launched the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which is committed to dramatically reduce reliance on coal.

At a national level, this year was the greenest year ever, with renewable energy outpacing fossil fuel usage for the first time. Carbon emissions fell to the lowest non-strike levels since 1894. And for the first time in 200 years, the country had its first full day without using any coal power.

It is not all rosy. While signs are positive, the UK is not on track to reach its carbon emission targets. There is still a heavy reliance on natural gas for heating and power. This year we brought together some of Atelier Ten’s brightest minds from around the world to address the question of how to take advantage of the decarbonising grid. Head to page 26 to read our thoughts on this issue.

Contents

2017 at a glance 1

Introduction 2

A responsible business 3

Interested parties 7

Highlights and challenges 9

Workplace management 16

Letter from Scotland 23

An all-electric built environment 25

Environmental and social justice 28

Collaboration with RCA 30

People-based management 32

Awards 35

Leading not following 40

In 2007, Atelier Ten was among the founding members of the UKGBC and I have had the great good fortune of serving on the Board of Trustees since the beginning. I retired from my role earlier this year, the last of the founding group to step down. The UKGBC has been responsible for connecting like-minded individuals and companies from all over the UK building sector and the wider built environment. On its 10th anniversary the UKGBC renewed its commitment to making sustainable development the norm. At Atelier Ten we are proud of our involvement in the activities and education promoted by the UKGBC, and GBCs around the world, particularly in the US and Australia.

Our staff also continue to expand our knowledge base. Our ranks of WELL APs and LEED Fellows continue to expand, and these colleagues have shared their expertise in-house and across our industry – read about their activities in our Highlights and Challenges. Furthermore, our operations team in the US have inspired the rest of us by assessing social justice and equality within our American offices. You can read more about this initiative on pages 29 and 30.

History teaches us that progress is rarely linear or straightforward, and 2017 has certainly reaffirmed this. Yet, as we look to the future, despite an increase in cynicism and protectionist agendas around the world, there are many reasons to be optimistic. Throughout this report you will read the ways, large and small, Atelier Ten is pulling together to shape a more sustainable world.

Onwards!


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A responsible business

As such, we aim to apply the principle of sustainable development, meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations. Our environmental mantra is:

“…doing more with less”

At Atelier Ten, we integrate environmental best practice into our business activities while maintaining an appropriate balance between environmental and economic considerations.

Accordingly, our policy is to:• apply responsible standards in

areas not already covered by existing laws and regulations

• respect the environment and emphasise every employee’s responsibility to improve environmental performance

• integrate environmental considerations into all of our activities including considering the environmental impact of products and services in our purchasing decisions

• minimise our use of resources and wastage of materials as far as economically and practicably possible, undertaking appropriate reviews to measure progress

• save energy through the monitoring of unnecessary use of energy sources and ensuring equipment is kept switched off when not needed

• share experiences with others to foster wider improvements within the community and communicate with our clients, collaborators and suppliers on environmental matters

Delivering excellence

Quality is a key driver for Atelier Ten and forms a fundamental part of our company ethos and mission. We have exacting quantitative and qualitative standards: these standards underpin everything that we do and form the basis of our quality assurance systems. Atelier Ten UK is an ISO certified company and currently operates an integrated quality and environmental management system that meets the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015.

Minimising our carbon footprint

We are a carbon neutral company committed to reducing our overall carbon footprint. We seek to reduce our carbon emissions and offset those that are unavoidable. Within our business operations, key focus areas for us include energy management and working with suppliers to improve their environmental performance, purchasing products with reduced environmental impacts and minimising transport-related emissions.

Our office management system ensures that all unnecessary lighting, heating, cooling and business machines are turned off or have built-in energy saving modes enabled. Our waste management policy observes the hierarchy of “reduce, reuse, recycle and recover”. We also collect and recycle printer and toner cartridges, batteries, waste electrical equipment and old mobile phones which are managed through our supported charities. To lessen the environmental impacts of our own purchasing policy for

Sustainable principles strengthen our business.

As building services and fire engineers, lighting designers and environmental design consultants, we are committed to using our skills and influence to improve the built environment and to maintain the integrity and quality of the natural and cultural environments in which we operate.

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▲ Atelier Ten’s office at Perseverance Works, London

office supplies and materials, we have embedded environmental principles into our formal relationships with suppliers.

Governance

By defining our social, environmental, ethical and economic responsibilities and opportunities, we can be judged on how we perform. This ensures we deliver on our commitments in a manner consistent with our values. We are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and believe that effective practices are essential to business integrity, performance and accountability.

The business is governed by a corporate responsibility framework that comprises a series of policies, control arrangements and reporting. This includes the following:

• Corporate Social Responsibility Policy• Environmental Policy• Sustainability Policy• Sustainable Procurement Policy• Ethical Policy• Health and Safety Policy• Recruitment Policy• Training Policy• Aspects and Impacts Register• Waste Management Schedule• Register of Legislative and

Regulatory Requirements

Our International Strategic Board leads our efforts to integrate sustainable thinking into our long-term strategic planning and daily activities. With members drawn from the UK, US and Australia, the board drives our sustainability priorities and is accountable for developing goals and reporting progress.

Health and safety

The health, safety and wellbeing of our people is critical to us delivering our strategic objectives and is a major constituent of our quality and environmental management system.

All accidents in the office and on site are reported and details recorded as they occur, and all serious cases are fully investigated. First-aid cases and near misses are also reported. The learning from all incidents is shared, where appropriate, across the business, along with recognised best practices.

Diversity and inclusion

Our ability to deliver our business strategy while addressing environmental and social challenges depends on the quality and diversity of our people. We promote and support a diverse workforce at all levels. It is our belief that creating a work environment that enables us to attract, retain and fully engage diverse talents leads to enhanced innovation and creativity in our designs and services. We believe being immersed in different cultures and ways of working helps us to challenge conventional thinking.

We are an equal opportunity employer and base employment decisions on merit, experience and potential, without regard to race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, religion or age. We are committed to maintaining a work environment free from discrimination and harassment. Our challenge is to continue to build diversity across our business.


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▼ Google London King’s Cross model display and banners for UKGBC 10th birthday at RIBA

We believe that: • diversity is clearly much broader

than gender. It incorporates diversity of race, thought, experience, skills, understanding, perspective and age

• successful companies sell to clients regardless of gender, race, ethnic group or religion and a diverse workforce should reflect its clients. A diverse management is more in touch with concerns of its clients and staff, providing different perspectives in devising successful business strategies.

Acting with integrity

We expect everyone at Atelier Ten, wherever they work, to meet high ethical standards, and we want to do business with clients, collaborators and suppliers we can trust and who share our values. Our extensive framework of policies and systems to manage our responsibilities is well established and continues to evolve as we encounter new issues.

Assessing risk

It is our aim to manage risk so that we can successfully deliver our objectives, creating value while promoting the interests of our many stakeholders through the safeguarding of our assets and reputation. We have in place company-wide risk management processes for the identification, evaluation, response and subsequent monitoring of risks that may significantly threaten the delivery of our projects, revenue, profits, assets, reputation and long-term strategic aims. At a project level, we adopt rigorous assessment processes regardless of location.

Boundaries

This report covers the full year to 31st December 2017 and builds upon our Sustainability Report issued last year. The information contained within this report relates to our offices in the UK (and US where data protection allows us to share information). In line with UKGBC recommendations, our reporting is prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards Reporting Guidelines. The principles within GRI provide guidance to determine report content and quality in terms of materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, balance, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity and reliability. This report is self-declared GRI level C.

We value your feedbackWe welcome any questions, comments or suggestions that you might have about this Sustainability Report and our performance. Please send your feedback to Tate Josserand at [email protected]

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Sustainable employer• Staff training and education• Diversity and equality• Wellbeing

Sustainable partner• Client and collaborator

satisfaction• Participation• Stability and profitability• Market presence• Innovation

Sustainable operator• Quality• Certification• IT and communications• Health and safety

Sustainable world • Environmental protection• Resource conservation• Recycling• Sustainable procurement• Community engagement

The importance of materiality

At Atelier Ten we take a holistic approach to sustainability, reflected in our matrix of material issues. It’s a snapshot of significant drivers for the business and its stakeholders over the long term. We maintain and regularly review our Aspects and Impacts register

We have identified these issues through dialogue with our client and collaborators – and with many other external stakeholders and industry bodies – in the course of our business. This summary also reflects conversations that happen every day across the business, from boardroom to coffee shop.

It’s this combined insight that has helped us understand where to direct our effort and resources. But one thing is certain: nothing stands still. As our markets and operating environments evolve, we are tracking global trends and making sure we address those environmental, economic and social issues with the greatest impact on our business.

As shown to the right, there are a wide range of sustainability issues on our radar, and every one of them matters. Although they’re not all under our direct control, we can make a positive contribution to addressing the challenges while making the most of the opportunities.

The principle of materiality is essential in understanding sustainability priorities; it is used in decision making to define whether an aspect or issue is sufficiently important to warrant attention. For us, it’s not just about getting better at what we do, it’s about striving for the best, creating value for Atelier Ten and our clients, and innovating for a better world.


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Interested parties

Moreover, our priorities are informed by our stakeholders: by listening to, partnering with and considering the perspectives of our employees, clients, collaborators, affiliated organisations, academic leaders, government, and even our competitors, we can deliver sustainable solutions that add value and help to make a significant difference.

We are committed to engaging with all of our interested parties and stakeholders, both internally and externally, to become the most sustainable, responsible company we can.

We have robust policies and systems in place to manage the wide range of sustainability issues we encounter in our business activities. Listening to our stakeholders helps us prioritise these issues by identifying those that are most important to them and to us. We want to understand the views of our stakeholders – people who can affect our business or who are affected by it. By understanding, we can account for any differences and communicate our perspectives.

Indeed, this report is a key part of our continuing communication with stakeholders on our approach to and management of sustainability issues and risks for long‑term profitability. While we seek an open and transparent dialogue with stakeholders, we also maintain a focus on material issues where we can make a real difference. This focus is an integral part of the culture at Atelier Ten and reflected in the content of this report.

We have developed a stakeholder map that identifies both our internal and external stakeholders. Our engagement with each stakeholder group differs and, in an effort to adapt to changing needs and issues, continues to evolve. As we pursue our corporate sustainability goals, we intend to further strengthen these relationships. Together, we are establishing transparency and enhancing our relevance with the clients, collaborators and communities we serve.

▼ Qasr Al Muwaiji Research and Exhibition Centre won this year’s Boston Society of Architects Design Award for Design Excellence

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Prospective clients• Insight on future needs

and technical support• New clients / projects• Use of third-party logos

as a mark of quality

Government• Use of third-party logos


Wider public• Use of third-party logos


Existing clients• Insight on future needs

and technical support• Repeat business• Use of third-party logos


Shareholders• Exploit global opportunities • Protection against regional

cyclical downturns

Statutory and regulatory bodies• As early adopters,

lead market and build knowledge profile

• Anticipate future change and create business / new service opportunity

• New clients / projects• Use of third-party logos


End‑user• Insight on future needs

and technical support• Repeat business

Management• Efficient work streams• Increased profitability• Increased client satisfaction• Use of third-party logos


Suppliers• Challenge our thinking• Insight on future needs

and technical support• Use of third-party logos


Employees• Increased diversity• Fresh perspectives• New approaches• Increased range of

languages spoken / written• Increased cultural

sensitivity• New clients / projects

We talk to interested parties and stakeholders alike: – as part of our normal, day-to-day business – in connection with specific sustainability issues – in connection with changes in our operations – in the development of our sustainability reporting


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Highlights and challenges

Short stories from our offices around the world.

Are you feeling comfortable?

Following up on our occupant thermal comfort survey, carried out in the later months of 2016, we put our engineering expertise into effect with an office‑wide thermal comfort workshop in February 2017. At this workshop, we identified a series of strategies and a number of them were implemented immediately:• creating a control flow diagram,

describing when and how to implement A/C use

• allowing employees to change seats based on comfort levels

• installing Foobot air quality sensors at two locations in the office

Now that we have established readings from our indoor air quality sensors, we are in the position to monitor this data, analyse trends and report on anomalies. This will be one of our focus action items for 2018. As part of our thermal comfort workshop, we also addressed the issue of energy efficiency within our office. The next steps for 2018 will be to calculate the thermal loads of our office and compare these against the outputs from the office boilers, radiators and FCUs. In our latest fit out works we ensured that all new lighting provided is LED, and occupancy sensors are included where needed in order to maximise the efficiency of our new lighting.

In other comfort news we have made the following improvements to our team’s immediate environment:• created a daylight model of one part

of the 2nd floor; this model will be increased to include the remaining

office spaces and to inform decisions regarding blinds and glare control

• provided individual task lights for all employees who requested one

• surveyed employees to determine requests for individual desk fans (to be provided where needed as part of future action list)

• checked for, and successfully replaced, all broken blinds

• distributed additional plants at individual desks where requested

• brought plants over from our King’s Cross office, vastly increasing our in-house biodiversity

On our bikes

Atelier Ten is excited to team up with some of the other practices within the Perseverance Works (PW) development to sponsor a site-wide membership to the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), which provides discounts and insurance benefits to London cyclists. The PW site is visited by a constant stream of day visitors, generally transporting large amounts of heavy filming equipment in vans and trucks. The LCC membership is designed to support more long-term site residents, who predominantly travel by public transport or bicycle. To that end, as part of our Atelier Ten employee packs, we have also highlighted the office cycle to work scheme. Future Green Committee plans also include the return of maintenance sessions with Dr Bike and a new round of cycle confidence classes, to encourage more recent employees who were not at the office the last time they were offered.

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Considerate consumers

We take waste seriously. New steps to reduce our operational waste for 2017 have included:• encouraging use of Atelier Ten

cloth bags in place of plastic bags for take away lunches

• encouraging the use of Atelier Ten china mugs for take away coffees from courtyard coffee cart

• adding an additional food waste bin for used coffee granules to all kitchens

• adjusting the default printer setting so that all prints are double sided

We also took steps to provide “green catering”. We surveyed the dietary preferences of our team and from this survey decided to place a greater emphasis on plants and vegetables, for the sake of our employees as well as the planet. To that end we have increased our provision of fresh fruit to three deliveries per week. We have also increased the vegetarian and vegan component of the lunch offering at in-house trainings. Previously, just one third of the food provided was vegetarian. This has now doubled to two thirds of the offering being vegetarian.

Office engagement

Finally we introduced a shiny new Green Committee news and comments board in the communal kitchen area. The purpose of this board is to introduce the office to the Committee, explain who we are and what we do. Crucially, it gives every employee the opportunity to come forward with suggestions and to involve themselves in

the work of the Green Committee. In 2018 we will be allocating a new Committee chair as Younha Rhee hands in her notice after four stellar years of leading the group. We will take this change of leadership as a moment to reengage long term committee members and encourage potential new members to come forward.

Doing WELL around the world

The WELL Building Standard is an evidence-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring the performance of building features that impact health and wellbeing.

WELL is grounded in a body of medical research that explores the connection between the buildings where we spend more than 90% of our time, and the health and wellness impacts on us as occupants. WELL Certified spaces can help create a built environment that improves the nutrition, fitness, mood, sleep patterns and performance of its occupants.

Chad Groshart, Atelier Ten’s Lighting Design Practice Director, has qualified as a WELL Accredited Professional (WELL AP). He is one of forty-four WELL APs in the US. The qualification signifies extensive knowledge of human health and wellness in the built environment, and the WELL Building Standard.

He also became a WELL Faculty member this year. WELL Faculty members play a leading role in the International WELL Building Institute’s movement to transform the places where we live, learn, work, play. WELL Faculty members possess the depth

▲ Atelier Ten Edinburgh’s new standing desks being put to good use


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of knowledge and breadth of experience that make them highly sought-after presenters, instructors and facilitators. Chad has been involved with the WELL Standard since before it was released. He has been a peer reviewer, a WELL AP test question writer and is now a member of the WELL Faculty. He is also part of a small group advising the IWBI on the upcoming WELL v2 standards to be released in 2018. In addition to Chad, Atelier Ten boasts a second WELL Faculty member, Bangkok and Singapore Director, Naree Phinyawatana.

In April, Bernie Carr qualified as a WELL Accredited Professional, which signifies his expertise in the WELL Building Standard and healthy building design and operation. As one of the first WELL APs in Scotland, Bernie is leading the delivery of healthy buildings in the UK by working closely with architects and engineers to create environments that enhance occupant health, wellness and happiness. Examples of such projects include the Public Sector Innovation Hub in Stirling, and The Grid office development in Glasgow, which is

the first project in Scotland to be registered under the WELL Building Standard.

Sharing our WELL of knowledge

Chad Groshart provided daylighting and lighting design on one of the first office spaces in the world to be WELL, LEED and Living Building Challenge Certified for Delos, the firm that pioneered the WELL Building Standard™. Chad was an early industry resource to the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) providing peer reviews, industry outreach, and achieving WELL accreditation with the first group of professionals to be certified. He spoke on a Designers Lighting Forum of New York (DLF) hosted panel at Delos about the WELL standard, its application to lighting, and the specifics of the lighting and controls implemented within the Delos headquarters.

Chad also joined the IWBI’s Standard Development Director, Gayathri Unnikrishnan as a session speaker at Greenbuild India. Advanced techniques in indoor lighting are being developed to optimize lighting

▲ The RIBA and RIAS award‑winning National Theatre of Scotland

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performance and to promote alignment with the body’s natural circadian rhythm, thereby improving people’s energy, mood, and productivity. The WELL Building Standard Light Concept incorporates these goals within the circadian lighting design requirements. Chad and Ms Unnikrishnan discussed the science of circadian lighting, the best practices around designing to achieve the WELL Feature 54 Circadian Lighting Design performance requirements, and about the synergies between efficient lighting design and circadian lighting design practices.

During 2017, Bernie Carr also presented at an Atelier Ten evening session on healthy building design, attended by architects, developers and engineers. The presentation provided examples of healthy building design, including thermal alliethesia, biophilic design and recent research and case studies into healthy buildings.

There was also a great deal of knowledge sharing between the international offices with our own in-house healthy building experts meeting to discuss and share experiences on the global healthy building movement. Learning from our experts in the fields of material toxicology, circadian lighting design, indoor climate analysis and architectural design engineering, the key components of what makes a building healthy were discussed and identified.

Sustainability in Scotland

Atelier Ten have continued to deliver exemplary sustainability performance with six projects achieving BREEAM Excellent ratings during 2017. These included the Marischal Square office development in Aberdeen, and the Glasgow KPMG office fit out that was the first project in Scotland to achieve Excellent under the BREEAM 2014 Refurbishment and Fit Out scheme.

▼ Maggie’s Centre Oldham completed in 2017 and highly commended at the 2017 Lux Lighting Awards


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Atelier Ten continued to deliver zero carbon Energy Performance Certificates for Shurgard UK, with BREEAM Excellent ratings achieved for the Woolwich, Greenwich and Depford stores.

In January 2017, Bernie Carr also passed the CIBSE Part L Low Carbon Consultant exam and is now registered to complete EPCs in England and Wales as well as Scotland.

National Theatre of Scotland

This new facility for a leading theatre company hosts offices, workshops, stores and performance space in an existing warehouse facility.

Atelier Ten had undertaken extensive research into available grant funding and through the Renewable-Heat-Incentive and Feed-in Tariff programmes to ascertain the best fit heating solution for the development with lowest life cycle costs. Biomass was the chosen heating medium for the development which offers a life cycle cost saving of 65% compared to traditional gas fired boiler plant.

The performance space includes creative lighting solutions as well as flexible heating & ventilation systems.

The building earned deserved recognition by being presented with RIBA Award for Scotland 2017, RIBA National Award 2017, and RIAS Award 2017.

US Carbon Practice

Under the leadership of Director Claire Maxfield and Associate Director Kristen DiStefano, the US Carbon Practice has taken shape helping clients develop smart strategies for the built environment to play its part in tackling climate change. Our current research includes a new way to estimate carbon emissions from the US electrical grid, which is changing rapidly as renewables are added to our energy mix. We’re working with carbon researchers to get better data, merge it with our energy models, and predict carbon emissions more accurately. We’re also testing out software for embodied carbon of materials and starting a research project for carbon sequestration in landscape design.

▲ Queens College Library in Oxford completed 2017

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Atelier Ten Foundation trip to Haiti

Since his first trip to Haiti seven years ago to install a solar lighting and power system, Associate Director Chad Groshart has been back to the village of Gran Sous twice with his graduate student class from Parsons School of Design. They designed and installed 10 solar powered LED poles which provide public lighting to the town center, the clinic area (where locals line up before dawn to get medical treatment) and several areas where trucks pick-up people for the 2-hour ride to the wharf.

Partnering again with Roots of Development, a 501(c)3 non-government organization which has been operating in Haiti for 13 years, Chad and his students went back to the island of La Gonave off the coast of Haiti where 120,000 people live without running water, grid power, or paved roads. The goal was to provide lighting at the wharf area where many hundreds of people queue up in the dark waiting for boats to take them back to the main island at first light. The class designed a lighting

and power solution that is renewable and secure against vandalism. With updated equipment information provided by Roots of Development, they sourced locally and installed over the course of a week.

Chad and his class stayed with the locals and learned about life without the resources they are used to in the US.

LEED Fellow in the US

Larry Jones, the Associate Director of Environmental Design in our New York office, joined the 2017 class of LEED Fellows, a distinguished honor awarded to outstanding LEED professionals exemplifying mastery, advocacy, and influence in the world’s most widely used green building rating system. Each year, the Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI) recognizes a select cohort of experts with its most prestigious designation through a rigorous review by the LEED Fellow Evaluation Committee. Nominated by their peers, LEED Fellows must demonstrate at least ten years of exceptional leadership in the green building

▼ Chad Groshart installing PV panels in Haiti in 2011


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industry and hold a LEED AP with specialty credentials, among other requirements. Larry is one of 23 Fellows recognized this year for their dedication and expertise. His appointment to LEED Fellow marks the fifth Atelier Ten induction into this prestigious group of professionals, including Directors Nico Kienzl, Paul Stoller, Claire Maxfield, and Associate Director Emilie Hagen.

Playing an integral role in the development of LEED, Larry has been a key member of USGBC committees and advisory groups that have helped shape the benchmarking system into the influential framework it is today. This role spans his involvement in the creation and development of the Stock Reviewer Language, including a thorough review of the BD+C system, the identification of key required documentation, common mistakes found on applications, and drafting language to be used by reviewers when compiling LEED review reports; assisting in the development of the LEED 2009 system; steering the creation of the State

of Connecticut Regional Priority Credits; leading the creation of new, alternative compliance paths for international LEED projects that use the US system; and refining LEED management processes, including calculation tools, design tracking methods, construction management plans, and monitoring and submittal processes.

Inspired by the welfare of future generations and the betterment of an evolving world, Larry began his commitment to green building design as an environmental engineer. Since joining Atelier Ten in 2006, he has spearheaded the sustainability efforts of more than two hundred projects across the globe striving for the highest levels of building performance. Having a demonstrated record of excellence consistently delivering exemplary green buildings, Larry serves as an internal benchmarking expert for LEED, Estidama, and the Living Building Challenge.

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Workplace management

Our vision

Our vision “shaping a more sustainable world” is ambitious and long term. Within that, we have an important duty to ensure good environmental performance in all our business operations and to provide the necessary organisation, commitment and training to fulfil this obligation. As a professional services company our environmental impact is small compared with many other industries. But our clients, our staff and other stakeholders still expect us to minimise that impact, and as a responsible business whose operations ultimately rely on natural resources, we want to do everything we can.

And significantly, we build on our own culture of innovation and seek to facilitate client behaviour change towards a more sustainable mindset. We know that there’s much to do but we are driven by our clear vision for a more sustainable world.

Our approach

For this reason, in 2012 we adopted an integrated management philosophy that combines ISO 9001 (Quality Management Standard) with ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System). This approach ensures that all staff are committed to delivering the highest levels of satisfaction and environmental management to clients, collaborators and each other with the greatest of integrity and ethical diligence. Moreover, it ensures that we apply adequate quality standards across our business operations and project

activities, and that we gather objective evidence to demonstrate that we have met these standards. In 2017, we successfully transitioned to the new ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 standards. According to the auditors, this is an achievement well in advance of our competitors and makes us a leader in how we manage our Quality and Environmental affairs.

Our operational impact comes mostly from carbon emissions generated by business travel and by energy in our buildings. So, carbon mitigation is central to our efforts, and we’ve offset our operational carbon emissions, as reported each year, since 2008. We also work to reduce the waste we generate and the resources that we consume, such as paper and water.

At an office level, this is achieved by incorporating environmental responsibility into all business operations through a series of policies, procedures and management systems that assess and monitor, on a continuous basis, the environmental impact of our operations. Many of these are recorded in the report. At a project level, we work with clients, contractors, professional bodies and the community at large to raise the environmental standards of the industries in which we operate. To deliver this, we aim to be a leader in sustainable development in areas relevant to our business and to promote sustainable practices.

We’re all about developing people to excel at what they do, challenging how things are done and inspiring change.

As environmental design consultants we are committed to using our skills and influence to improve the built environment and to maintain the integrity and quality of the natural and cultural environments in which we operate. As such, we aim to apply the principle of sustainable development in all that we do.


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▼ Atelier Ten Foundation: shaping a more sustainable world with our expertise

A culture of innovation

Every day at Atelier Ten, we work together to create smart solutions to all manner of design challenges within the built and planned environment. Building an inclusive culture of innovation begins in our offices and continues through our learning and community programmes. We want to become an employer of choice by

“up-skilling” employees, driving a culture of performance and having a client-focused agenda. By encouraging people from different backgrounds to join our workforce, we can become more responsive to future challenges and opportunities.

Being an innovation leader means applying the right skills to do an outstanding job. By bringing out people’s true potential, we are better able to serve our customers, improve employee retention and become a more attractive employer. We believe that a variety of perspectives, backgrounds and experience will help us build a more innovative and responsive business.

Putting customers first

Ensuring our clients and collaborators come first is fundamental to our growth strategy. New business wins, customer retention and industry awards are testament to our innovation and seamless service.

Strategic plan

We continue to strengthen the importance of sustainability within our Strategic Plan. We continue to acknowledge that economic, environmental and social responsibility are interconnected. Sustainability is the basic principle that governs our business operations. Our business targets and corporate interests take into consideration our stakeholders’ expectations and opportunities enabling us to prioritise our actions.

Our Strategic Plan is not static: in a dynamic and competitive environment we must continuously adapt to new market conditions. Similarly, the demands expressed within our stakeholder dialogue framework change from year to year. The annual review and resetting of our Strategic Plan also provides an opportunity for us

ConsequencesIn meeting these objectives, we provide value to our clients by building upon our reputation for integrated design and a holistic approach to projects recognised for their sustainability credentials. It also helps us achieve performance that ensures our economic, environmental and financial viability and employ and retain staff who have a high degree of awareness and expertise in sustainability.

Valuing our impactWe’re also shaping the debate on important environmental issues and collaborating with our clients on their environmental impacts.

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▲ Atelier Ten London office; colleagues discussing the latest project analysis

to undertake a comprehensive materiality review to check that the issues we have identified as material remain valid and what changes (if any) are required to focus on what matters in our future reporting.

Governance and sustainability management

We keep a close eye on the risks our business faces. We define risk as any event that could influence the achievement of our objectives – for better (opportunities) or worse (threats). For example, we need to ensure that our facilities meet the requirements of current environmental legislation. Each time we open a new office, wherever it is in the world, we review the systems, principles and processes by which the company is governed to ensure they are relevant and appropriate. In this way, we ensure the guidelines for allocating roles and responsibilities among directors and other stakeholders are always fair, transparent and deliver accountability.

Green committee

We are aware of the environmental impact associated with our business activities and the strategic importance of implementing green management practices. This understanding led to the establishment of the Green Committee. With members drawn from across the business, it meets

quarterly to confirm green management policies, assess performance and make decisions on the establishment of improvement measures detailed within our Aspects and Impacts Register.

Responsible procurement

We want to bring others with us on the journey towards a more sustainable world: our corporate responsibility extends far beyond our own operations. We only want to work with suppliers that meet our social and environmental standards, as laid out in our procurement policy. Wherever possible, we do business with small local suppliers. And where necessary, we work collaboratively with them to develop action plans to improve their environmental, social and business performance.

Our approach to waste management

With respect to waste management, we recognise that many of our waste streams have the potential to be recycled for economic benefit. This reduces the amount of virgin material that needs to be mined or extracted from the natural environment. Thus, for the collection and transfer of inert and non-hazardous waste, we ensure all appropriate licences and environmental permits are valid and that we are in receipt of waste transfer notices. This ensures we know how our waste is


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▼ Design team meeting in one of our London Office’s daylit meeting rooms

managed and treated. Additionally, for hazardous waste, we check the validity of a proposed carrier’s registration, the validity of the proposed disposal facilities’ licences and secure consignment notes if necessary. We also ensure that our electrical and electronic equipment is managed under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations.

Waste and recycling

Our waste management policy observes the hierarchy of “reduce, reuse, recycle and recover”. As for any office, our key waste streams are office consumables and electronic waste. We reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill by encouraging local arrangements for computer and furniture re-use, and establishing recycling contracts for electronic waste and standard office consumables. Waste is collected from recycling points within the office and processed centrally by third-party provider Paper Round.

As part of BPR Group, Paper Round, which started life in 1988 as a small Friends of the Earth project, is London’s leading recycling service provider with more than 20 years’ experience of managing waste

and recycling for companies of all sizes and currently services over 5,500 sites. Dry recyclables are separated mechanically and by hand; non-recyclables are incinerated to ensure locked-in energy is reused. BPR Group is an ISO 14001 accredited company.

In addition, we have centralised collection points for toner cartridges, toner, batteries and light bulbs. Toner cartridges are recycled on behalf of a charity (VICTA), while waste toner bottles are disposed of in contaminated waste bins that are in turn collected by Paper Round. Batteries are recycled through our stationary supplier, Office Team. Light bulbs including fluorescent tubes are collected and held centrally by the Office Manager and when volumes are large enough these are disposed of using Paper Round. Production, storage and disposal of WEEE such as PCs and monitors is via Perseverance Works’ centralised collection facility. This is then collected by Paper Round who recycle where possible to local charities.

Managing our energy consumption

The energy we use in our buildings is a major contributor to our overall carbon footprint, making it a priority in our environmental agenda. Our approach

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▲ San Francisco IBPSA conference 2017

to energy management is designed to reduce our impact on the natural environment, ensure our staff have a comfortable and safe working environment and to manage our business running costs.

We manage energy consumption in our offices whenever possible in order to:

• reduce the use of fossil fuels and therefore preserve energy resources for future generations

• reduce carbon emissions in order to protect the environment from pollution caused by our work

Lighting in the London office

The new lighting was designed to not only look good, but be as sustainable as possible.

Some of the improvements:• ground floor lighting upgraded

to LED sources throughout with high efficacy luminaires

• minimal design to use light only where necessary whilst creating a visually comfortable space and highlighting architectural features

• DALI addressable control system with scene set control and master time clock function to switch all lights off when the building is unoccupied at night

• PIR movement sensors in WCs• first floor lighting re‑used light

fittings from the Hackney Rd office which would otherwise have been disposed of. Although these use fluorescent lamps they are T5 so still have a high efficacy and use integral daylight linking

• luminaires from the old reception area were re-used to light the staircase

• external lighting is all LED and on daylight and timer control

Our electricity consumption has decreased by 7% year-on-year, and 27% normalised per member of staff. Some of this reduction has been from “low hanging fruit”, so we expect progress to be more challenging and incremental as we continue to invest in improvements. We’ve achieved this by

investing in new technologies and changing the way we work. Normalised consumption of gas has increased by 13.26%, year on year, and reduced 11% normalised per member of staff compared to 2016.

Opportunities and risk

Reducing the amount of energy we use not only helps us to reduce our operational exposure to energy security risks, but it also helps us to reduce costs. The refurbishment of our office has provided an opportunity to install less energy-intensive equipment.

Questioning the need to travel

Business travel is a necessary part of the way we work – our ability to serve our clients largely depends on being able to visit their locations. Nevertheless, we continue to challenge ourselves on the need, frequency and mode of travel.

With an increasingly strong international portfolio, we continue to strengthen our video conferencing facilities as a way of reducing the need for foreign travel. This capitalises on an earlier strategy and has reduced the incidence of international travel significantly.


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From a sustainability point of view, business travel is a complex issue. It’s important for building relationships, which is at the core of our brand, and it’s also important in the delivery of our services. In certain circumstances travel is a necessity.

But business travel damages the environment and can put a strain on our people’s wellbeing, and reducing travel can help cut costs. We want to strike the right balance.

Carbon offsetting

We are a carbon neutral company committed to reducing our overall carbon footprint. We seek to reduce our carbon emissions and offset those that are avoidable. Clear is approved under the UK Government’s Quality Assurance Scheme for Carbon Offsetting, this ensures our offsets only go to Certified Carbon Reduction projects.

Since 2010, Atelier Ten has been involved in several different types of projects, spanning four continents.


The environmental impacts of our business represent both a business risk and opportunity. For instance, our clients

increasingly expect us to actively manage our carbon emissions and our reputation is influenced by our approach to being a responsible business. So, effectively tackling our carbon footprint also gives us a chance to innovate and strengthen our reputation as a sustainability leader, differentiating us from our competitors. We also know that it improves employee engagement and increases their perception of Atelier Ten as a good place to work.

Cutting carbon also cuts costs because it’s about reducing the energy we consume and the travelling we do, as well as the financial cost associated with our choice to offset. On the other hand, climate change poses other potential risks to our business including disruption to travel or energy, both of which are integral to the operation of our business.

Sustainable land use

Most of our land use impact occurs outside our direct operations and within our supply chain. However, we still want to do the right thing, so we encourage sustainable land use and biodiversity in our offices where possible.


Given the nature of our business, our land use risk is small. But encouraging biodiversity within our offices gives us the opportunity to engage with our staff

▼ Award‑winning Common Ground High School

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about the importance of biodiversity. And we can share the lessons we’ve learned with both our clients and suppliers.

Reducing our natural resource consumption

To minimise the impact of our resource consumption, we:

• challenge unnecessary consumption within our offices, whenever possible

• invest in lower consumption equipment in our offices

• proactively seek to reduce inbound packaging from suppliers

• buy products with sound environmental credentials, including those with a high recycled content, whenever we can

• re-use or recycle as much as possible.


Clearly, the fewer resources we use, the lower our material costs, so managing our operations to reduce our consumption presents a good opportunity for us.

Paper

Paper is one of our most significant consumables. We ask our staff to consider whether they really need to print at all. In order to monitor our paper usage, we weigh our paper waste twice a year over a one-week period.


In a bid to reduce transport emissions related to traditional postage methods we endeavour, where appropriate, to send all correspondence electronically.

Communications

We place great importance on communicating effectively with our staff. This involves creating opportunities for people to ask questions and express their views, as well as sharing information with them. By maintaining two-way communication, we help our staff to understand the challenges we face and contribute to a successful future for Atelier Ten. We have well established communications channels in place at both a corporate and team level to keep our staff informed and involved. In London, we meet quarterly as a company; this ensures that everyone has a clear sense of direction, that everyone has an opportunity to question our progress and that people can be inspired about the future of the company.

▼ Our Lady of Essex, completed in 2015, has won several awards and was nominated for the 2017 Mies van der Rohe Award


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Letter from Scotland

2017 witnessed the continued growth and development of both our offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We enjoyed an amazing year of activity encompassing some fascinating work across Scotland. The breadth of work is quite extraordinary and spans single dwellings with little or no grid connection in the Highlands to a major PRS scheme in Glasgow city centre of over 800 units which also demanded an innovative approach to meeting the most onerous carbon emission requirements demanded by impending new planning requirements. In the commercial

sector, we undertook a number of fit out projects and successfully handed over the most impressive Marischal Sq scheme in Aberdeen. This major initiative includes nearly 200k ft² of commercial space which achieved an ‘A’ rated EPC and BREEAM Excellent accreditation and an adjoining Marriot Residence Inn. Interconnecting public realm included the rejuvenation of Broad St and the introduction of a 5m high leopard designed by renowned sculptor Andy Scott which was illuminated by our lighting team.

We are engaging more than ever in the fastest pace of change ever witnessed

Bill RitchieDirector

▼ Marischal Square new sculpture by artist Andy Scott

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in the design of the built environment. Defurbishment, health and wellbeing, wearable technology and a tectonic change in corporate culture and what we want from our buildings has created an unprecedented need to understand trends and future requirements.

Never before have we been in such danger of creating space which is obsolescent before its time. This has been evidenced by the immediate need for developing an in house WELL assessment capability which has been asked for by an ever growing number of clients.

Our broad spectrum of work underscores our team’s reputation for strong delivery coupled with innovation. This work is largely secured through referral and repeat business from our clients who recognise the value of rigorous design coordinated with our in‑house fire engineering capability.

In Glasgow we were delighted to learn of the success of the new National Theatre of Scotland new headquarters Rockvilla development. The scheme won the RIAS

Best Current Scottish Architecture Award and the regional RIBA award in Scotland. We were equally excited to learn that KPMG’s most impressive fit out at Saint Vincent Plaza won the British Council for Office Regional Award for Fit Out of Workplace.

In Edinburgh we continued our expansion and growing reputation after opening the office in 2015. The year saw a number of high profile successes including the commission to design the building services, environmental and fire engineering for the new Gleneagles hotel development on Saint Andrew Square. This project follows hard on the heels of the ongong refurbishment of the Scotsman Hotel whilst in the cultural sector, we were pleased to be engaged on the new Impact concert hall providing sustainability and fire engineering.

Further north, in Perth, we commenced the design of the refurbishment of the landmark Perth City Hall which will be repurposed as a museum and visitor attraction. In Dundee, we continue to work on a number of projects as part of the waterfront rejuvenation.

▲ National Theatre of Scotland‘s interior office space


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An all-electric built environment

A low-carbon built environment pursuit depends on deep de-carbonization of the energy supply and using renewable energy sources. While this is well-known in principle, a switch to all electric building systems as a strategy for de-carbonization is still a new concept. The concept is simple enough, but we are now faced with an interesting transition period as technology and innovation lead to new models of electrification, distributed energy resources, and modernization of the utility grid. All-electric buildings can be designed to make best use of this electric infrastructure.

Wondering how? Read on.

Shruti KasarekarAssociate, San Francisco

Understanding the need

To reduce carbon emissions globally, electric utilities across the United States (and across the globe) have evolved with an increasing percentage of renewable energy sources. In the United States, the renewable energy penetration at utility scale has grown from 9 to 18% over the last 10 years. Renewable energy sources can be utility scale systems paired with storage, but there has been a surge in building level distributed energy systems. As utilities’ renewable energy portfolio and distributed renewable energy sources’ capacity continues to expand, the modern electric grid – aka grid of the future – is likely to provide electricity with significantly lower carbon emissions that support all-electric building designs.

Electric fuel mixes across regions currently vary greatly. A review of regional utility fuel mix is key in determining how much impact electrification of the built environment may have on carbon emissions. The higher the

penetration of renewable energy sources (or other carbon emission free fuels such as nuclear), the greater will be the benefit of electrifying buildings. Comparing the national averages of some countries and regions in figure 2 below shows that generating 1,000 Btus of energy using electricity almost always leads to fewer CO2 emissions (ignoring demand side equipment efficiency such as using a heat pump or boiler). This is because most electric utilities use a mix of fuels – coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources - that result in varying carbon emissions. The deep penetration of no-carbon fuel sources in utility fuel portfolios, in California for instance, helps greatly in making electricity a cleaner source of energy.

It makes sense therefore for buildings and communities to be equipped and designed to be able to take advantage of low carbon electric infrastructure. For distributed energy resources (DERs) such as PVs and electric storage, one can then argue that since the electric grid is likely

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▲ Figure 1: US Electricity Generation by Fuel Type1

to get cleaner, it is better to wait for the cleaner electricity to become available instead of making expensive on-site capital investments. Need for frequency regulation, eliminating electricity transmission losses, increased resiliency provided by an all-electric infrastructure at building level are strong reasons for not just electrifying buildings, but also for future‑proofing buildings with electrification and pairing with reasonable amount of on-site generation.

An approach for all-electric projects

The ultimate benefits of an all‑electric built environment are lower carbon emissions, lower air pollution and increased resiliency. An all-electric project encompasses not just the actual buildings, but also the site including distributed energy sources. The impact of decisions made at the building & community level have serious implications on electricity transmission networks and ultimately on the carbon emissions of power plants. A holistic approach that considers the constantly varying relationship between buildings (demand), distributed energy sources (on-site supply) and utility grids (off-site supply) is crucial to create a long-term low carbon impact.

One way to tackle an all-electric building project is to take a layered approach – designing buildings and communities (masterplans) with strategies that are nimble and can adapt to the changing carbon content of the grid. The next layer is to be cognizant of the effect that building / masterplan level strategies have on utility networks and ultimately the power plants and to be equipped to react to the utility scale demands.

At the building scale, the approach can be twofold: 1) To lower the electrical demand of buildings by using existing deep knowledge of designing ultra-low energy buildings, and 2) To design the electrical systems to respond to external signals: real-time carbon emissions, cost or energy so that the load can be manipulated. A simple example of this idea would be to delay the need for space cooling by using thermal mass or phase change materials, in order to avoid a certain hour when the carbon content of electricity is high. The same strategies and concepts used for energy efficiency and peak demand reduction for avoiding costly demand charges can be adapted for low-carbon buildings. These strategies can do double duty as the time when it is costliest to use electricity may not be the same time the carbon content is high and that is where the ability to make data driven decisions becomes key.

Digitization of buildings is an important tool to make data driven decisions. Digitization enables data collection and processing of data to trigger changes to a building’s electric use to respond to the variability of the utility’s carbon content. Being able to make changes to individual energy uses in buildings on a daily basis, or sometimes even hourly, based on external signals is key. With demand response now becoming common, the fundamental infrastructure for the utilities to provide signals and buildings to read these signals already exists. The next step is to simply use this setup to lower the carbon emissions related to the building.

The ability to balance building demand with on-site electric generation paired with energy storage is key to maximize the use of on-site renewable energy resources. The idea


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▲ Figure 2: electricity and natural gas carbon emissions comparison2

1 2018 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook2 Electricity and Natural Gas Fuel Mix Data Sources:

USA: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3 California:: http://www.energy.ca.gov/almanac/electricity_data/total_system_power.html UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643414/DUKES_2017.pdf Australia: https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/f02a388d‑74eb‑4200‑96fb‑fe2a9d0caf5b/files/energy‑update‑report-2017.pdf

3 https://www.caiso.com/Documents/FlexibleResourcesHelpRenewables_FastFacts.pdf4 https://energytransition.org/2015/11/renewable-power-curtailment-in-germany/

here is to give buildings the ability to utilize the renewable energy produced on-site for themselves and minimize transmission losses. On-site renewable energy paired with storage also enables projects to control their carbon emissions on an hourly basis, rather than depending on the grid’s carbon emissions that cannot be controlled by individual buildings. This involves selecting appropriate on-site renewable energy generation and storage technology that pairs well with building demand profile. A smart way to control these resources is to switch between the utility grid’s electricity and on-site renewable energy based on the real-time carbon content. A microgrid / private network with controllers that enable this switch is critical when on-site renewable energy and energy storage are available for buildings.

The last piece of this chain is recognizing the effect of a building’s energy consumption on the utility network’s and power plant’s carbon profile. Although as buildings designers we can’t control this directly, the amount of net metered electricity, major demand response strategies, and use of energy storage can lead to an unstable grid and create problems due to hours of low demand followed by a sudden surge. This was famously demonstrated in the 2015 California duck curve3 and grid or economic curtailment of German wind power in 20164. Being able to quantify and estimate these effects are therefore the last, but not the least important task.

All electric buildings can be a natural extension of a modern grid that responds to changing carbon content of the electric grid and uses it to minimize carbon emissions.

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Shanta Tucker and Nico KienzlDirectors

Environmental and social justice are pillars of Atelier Ten’s mission. Two ways we’ve practiced what we preach within our community is by sharing our knowledge and expertise as part of the Urban Green Zone Greener Task Force and by reporting on our internal organizational operations as part of the International Living Future Institute’s JUST Label program.

Zone Green was introduced 6 years ago in New York City as a package of revisions to the NYC Zoning Resolution to facilitate more sustainable and energy‑efficient design. Zone Green addressed impediments to building thicker, better-insulated walls and installing solar panels, solar shading systems, green roofs, greenhouses and more. Last fall,

Urban Green convened a Zone Greener Task Force of over 40 stakeholders to develop a roadmap for additional upgrades to the Zoning Resolution, which would further facilitate updates and improvements to Zone Green for the next generation of green building. Shanta Tucker and Nico Kienzl, directors of Atelier Ten US, joined the Task Force discussions and provided expert advice on how large commercial and institutional buildings construct high performance building envelopes. These discussions helped shape a package of recommendations that have since been presented to the City and are currently under consideration by New York City Council and city agencies.

Environmental and social justice

▼ Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Theater for a New Audience


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We also looked internally at how we operate as an organization within the parameters of social justice and equity as part of the International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) JUST Program. Building on the success of its Declare Program, which encourages the elimination of Red List chemicals and materials in building products, the ILFI believes the power of transparency can gain traction in market forces to create social change. To this extent, the JUST Program calls for organizations to publicly declare and showcase their social justice and equity policies and practices.

JUST is not a verification or certification program, but rather provides a social justice transparency platform for organizations to disclose their operations, including how they treat their employees and where they make financial and community investments. Providing a common tool and language for organization comparison, the JUST Label is outlined by 22 specific social and equity indicators that are housed within the 6 general categories of diversity; equity; safety; worker benefit; local benefit; and stewardship.

As part of the process, Operations Leader, Lee Simon and Associate Director, Larry Jones reviewed and analyzed the firm’s Human Resources metrics and policies. While pleased, and not surprised, with the degree of social justice and equity shown, we realized that some of our reporting practices could be fine‑tuned for better transparency and scaling.

JUST offers a roadmap for us to improve employee satisfaction and happiness through organizational focus on diversity and inclusion, and it gives us the framework to measure social equity within the firm. We are making improvements to our reporting and plan to renew our JUST Label in 2019 to keep our employees motivated and strongly connected to the Atelier Ten’s purpose and values.

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Collaboration with RCA

Meredith Davey and Ivan Jovanovic gave a series of technical lectures and design reviews on holistic environmental design and engineering to help get the course off the ground.

In the winter term, they were also invited to provide technical expertise for the studio that works on “Architecture at Zero” competition to design zero-net energy (ZNE) education and visitor’s centre for the San Francisco Bayside community. The competition engages architecture, engineering and planning; and attracts students and professionals worldwide. The aim is to infuse enthusiasm for San Francisco State’s ambitious commitment to zero energy infrastructure and buildings, provide the proof of concept for “zero-energy” and build institutional support for deep green energy projects in SF State.

The ZNE definition assumes that a building project produces at least as much energy as it uses over a year within the boundaries of the project and includes all forms of energy used on the site.

This is one of the most ambitious and challenging sustainable development goals and Atelier Ten is one of the few companies in the world that was able to deliver it in practice.

Recently, Ioannis Rizos and Ivan have visited the studio to give a lecture on the Atelier Ten brand, our values and our approach to design of ZNE buildings. We have also reviewed their emerging ideas and provided steer for their designs. Young and unencumbered by realities of our industry, some proposals are (expectedly) overambitious. But there is no shortage

In 2017, Royal College of Art invited Atelier Ten and AKT II to help shape and establish the new programme of Technical Studies for their MA Architecture course.


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of great ideas and motivation which we hope to channel in the right direction.

RCA was looking for support from the industry to send the students to visit the competition site in Tiburon, California. Atelier Ten Foundation will provide traveling scholarships for RCA students as a support to Atelier Ten’s ongoing initiatives with RCA to educate the next generation of architects and environmental designers. Whilst visiting the bay area in January, the students will also visit our San Francisco office. As they are one of the leaders in ZNE buildings design in California and US, they will get the best insight into the local context and also the chance to adopt best practice sustainable design principles. For us in London this is an opportunity to build new bridges between with San Francisco office.

Many of us do a great job in teaching around the world. Our collaboration with RCA opens

the opportunity for more Atelier Ten staff to get involved. Hope some of you will get in touch to help represent our brand and spread our ethos and approach in the industry. James Lacy-Smith, Pablo Gugel, Volkan Doda and James Sheldon from our London office have already started taking part in organising and running practical workshops at RCA. They helped students learn basics of environmental design and building services by dissecting our flagship project such as Kroon Hall, Gardens by the Bay, Turkish Contractors Association, WWF-UK Living Planet Centre to name a few. And recently we have helped them survey their own building (RCA) using measurement tools such as thermal imaging camera, laser gun, lux meter, IAQ meter etc.

We will follow the progress of RCA students’ designs for “Architecture at Zero” and aim to share an update following their visit to Bay area and the competition submission.

▲ WWF‑UK Living Planet Centre

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People-based management

Developing our people

To deliver our business passions we need people with the right skills, vision and courage. At Atelier Ten, we value promoting from within and seek to build a high-performance organisation through fair reward and recognition.

Our people are encouraged to help deliver our strategy and achieve superior business results by applying their functional expertise and stretching their capabilities. It is their expertise and talent that are key to unlocking Atelier Ten’s full potential and delivering responsible, sustainable growth in the coming decades.


This is a focus area for us because we believe attracting, employing and developing people with exceptional skills who share our values provides us with a competitive advantage and is critical to our long-term sustainability.

Recruitment

Recruitment is managed on a local basis by each office and employment is offered and provided based on merit. Every person applying for a job is evaluated according to their job-related skills, qualifications, abilities, aptitudes and alignment with our core values. Where we can, we seek to ensure strong internal candidate representation for roles, supplemented by external recruitment.

It’s our people, our clients, our valued suppliers and the communities and environment we work in, that make us who we are.

Learning and development

Learning and development equips our people to do the best they can and we continue to invest in this. Our learning and development opportunities range from creating bespoke training programmes company-wide to individual training on specific software programmes to community engagement. In addition, our training programmes are structured to meet and exceed the requirements demanded by the professional institutes within our industry.

We’re committed to treating our people with respect, promoting equal opportunities and ensuring a safe, pleasant and welcoming workplace for all. We have a good level of employee engagement – reinforced through regular communication – ensuring that business information is shared appropriately, and that our staff are given every opportunity to participate in discussions on key business issues.

As part of the mandatory induction process all employees and agency contractors receive training on health and safety, our Code of Conduct including our environmental obligations, and anti-bribery and corruption.

Employee wellness

In addition to the safety of our staff we are also committed to improving overall health and wellbeing. To this end, we have a number of initiatives to encourage healthy lifestyles. In London, these include:

• flexible working practices• Atelier Ten funded healthcare

through Simply Health and


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BUPA. These providers will be reviewed in February 2018.

• a “cycle to work” initiative which provides a tax efficient way to save on the cost of a new bike if it is used to cycle to and from work

• free annual eye tests • up to £160 towards the cost of new

glasses (through Simply Health)• fresh fruit which is delivered twice

weekly. We are considering increasing this delivery to three times a week.

• participation in company sponsored softball and football league

• participation in company sponsored yoga classes

• encouraging an active lifestyle by providing facilities such as bike racks and showers.

BREXIT

On the back of the uncertainty surrounding the implications of BREXIT on EU nationals, we provided a session for all staff with immigration law experts. The information they provided and the practical steps they advised were welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Employee engagement

Providing an environment and culture in which our people can and want to give their best is a priority. We regularly seek feedback from employees on a variety of matters and in a variety of ways. We have a good level of employee engagement – reinforced through regular communication including all‑office and team meetings – ensuring that business information is shared appropriately, and that our staff are given every opportunity to participate in discussions on key business issues.

Although there are some significant differences in opportunity, we get consistent feedback that our people are energised by the scope of their jobs and the freedoms they have to make decisions and impact the business. We continue to work on encouraging a more open environment for our people.

Ethnic background balance

In 2017 we were able to demonstrate that our ratios met the equal employment opportunity criteria. No affirmative action plans were required.

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Helping to address the skills agenda in the UK

Having a pipeline of people with the right skills to enable engineering research, development and design is crucial for us to grow in the UK and for us to compete globally. We promote engineering when we can and have developed a strong relationship with City of London Academy Islington where we continue to run an after school Engineering Club and help out on STEM days.

Gender balance ratios

Improving gender balance within engineering is a priority for us, which we are addressing through targeted programmes to promote engineering careers among young people.

At the end of 2017, women accounted for 35% of our London headcount and 29% of our total UK workforce. Within technical roles, women held 28% of positions within London and 23% when measured across all UK offices. When compared against industry averages, these indicators are positive.

According to the Engineering UK 2018 report, women make up 12% of the engineering workforce vs 47% of the UK

overall workforce. Strong gender differences are apparent in educational choices where WISE (campaign for gender balance in science, technology and engineering) report that the percentage of women in engineering and technology degree courses has not changed in the last three years and remains static at a modest 14%.

In the London office, our graduate intake in 2017 was 50% female and 50% male.

We also measure the ratio of males to females in our London senior management team and compare this to the overall male-female mix of our London workforce. At 24% women and 76% men, these ratios have improved and are now getting closer to the London workforce gender ratios. We continue to encourage more women to fill these positions.

Employee turnover

General employee turnover is measured as a function of our success in retaining staff and our ability to attract new employees as needed. This level of turnover is within expected parameters.


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▲ Digital Water i‑Pavilion Maggie’s Centre, Oldham ▲

Ian Potter Conservatory, Australian National Botanic Gardens

• Architizer A+ Award, Popular Choice, Institutional, Unbuilt category

• MIPIM Future Project Award, Commendation

Qasr Al Muwaiji Research and Exhibition Centre

• Award for Design Excellence, BSA Design Awards

Our Lady of Essex House• Mies van der Rohe Award (Nominated)

National Theatre Scotland• RIBA Award• RIAS Award

KPMG• BCO Regional Award

Digital Water i-Pavilion• Green Good Design Award from the

European Center for Architecture and the Chicago Athenaeum

Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University

• AIA Institute Honor Award Winner in Interior Architecture

• AIA COTE Top Ten Recipient

Kohler Environmental Center, Choate Rosemary Hall

• AIA Committee on Architecture for Education Award of Excellence

Alan and Sherry Leventhal Center, Boston University

• BSA Design Awards Honor Award for Design Excellence

Maggie’s Centre, Oldham• Office, Education and HealthCare

project of the Year, Lux Lighting Award (Shortlisted)

• North West Small Project Structural Award

• Wood awards - Education & Public Sector

Innovation can be scalable, and since 1990 Atelier Ten has been winning awards and plaudits not just for our headline-grabbing, large-scale projects, but also for the step change in energy efficiency we can effect in smaller scale buildings.

Awards

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▲ Common Ground High School

▲ Santa Monica Esplanade and Plaza

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research ►

UPenn New College House• The Brick Industry Association

Brick in Architecture Gold Award

Common Ground High School• The European Centre for Architecture

and the Chicago Atheneum Green Good Design Award

• Illuminating Engineering Society, Illumination Award of Merit

Frick Environmental Center• Wood Works Wood Products

Council Wood Design Regional Excellence Award

• Urban Land Institute Jury Award, Placemaking Awards

• The European Centre for Architecture and the Chicago Atheneum Green Good Design Award

• March of Dimes Special Project of the Year ‑ Transportation, Building & Construction Awards

• Green Building Alliance Leadership Award

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research• Illuminating Engineering Society,

Illumination Award of Merit

Lower Sproul Plaza Redevelopment, UC Berkeley

• SCUP SCUP Excellence Awards - Jury’s Choice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Integrated Planning and Design

• AIA East Bay Berkeley Design Advocates Award

Santa Monica Esplanade and Plaza• Los Angeles Business Council

Architecture Award• Illuminating Engineering Society,

Illumination Award of Merit• Chicago Athenaeum Museum

of Architecture and Design American Architecture Award

Francis T. Maloney High School• Connecticut Building Congress Aware

of Merit - Project Team Award


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Ansdell Street ▲◄ Tonsley Park Main Assembly Building

UT Dallas Bioscience & Engineering Building

• Illuminating Engineering Society, Illumination Award of Merit

Tonsley Park Main Assembly Building• UDIA National Award Winner,

Urban Renewal• Australian Urban Design Awards

Winner, Large Scale Project

Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania

• Architizer Architizer A+Awards – Institutional-Higher Education and Research Facilities

• New Sandy Hook Elementary School

Green Building Alliance Leadership Award • CTGBC Energize CT Award• Connecticut Building Congress

Project Team Award

Ansdell Street• New London Award

Design Building, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• U.S. Building of the Year, World-Architects

• BSA Design Awards Honor Award for Design Excellence

NextGen Residence Hall, University of Connecticut

• CTGBC Assa Abloy Institutional Award of Honor

2020 Project, University of California Merced

• P3 Awards Silver Award for Best Government Agency of the Year

• P3 Awards Best Social Infrastructure Project

• AIA California Council Urban Design Merit Award

India Basin• AIA California Council Urban

Design Merit Award

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▲ Design Building, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Frick Environmental Centre ▼

• AIA NY COTE, US• Architecture+Design Sustainable

Design Leaders Group NYC, US• ASHRAE Certification

Committee Chair, US • ASHRAE 90.1 Voting Member, US• British Council for Offices national

panel to review BCO Awards Application and Assessment Criteria, UK

• British Council for Offices Scottish Chairman, Scotland

• British Council for Shopping Centres Scottish Committee Member, Scotland

• British Expertise, UK• Centre of the Built Environment, US• Chartered Institute of Building

Services Engineers, UK• Dementia Services Development

Centre Associate, Scotland• Façade Tectonics Steering

Committee, US

Education is a critical driver of progress and opportunity in developing and developed countries alike. Our investment in learning is extensive: a number of key representatives at Atelier Ten teach and lecture at universities, an activity which is promoted and supported by the senior management team. In 2016, representatives have taught and lectured at the following institutions:

• Central Saint Martin, University of the Arts, London, UK

• Trinity College Engineering Society, Cambridge University, UK

• University of Nottingham, UK• Southbank University, London, UK• AA School of Architects External

Examiner, London, UK

• IBPSA Board Member, US• Living Building Challenge

Ambassador, US• Revo Committee Scotland, UK• Royal Academy of

Engineering Fellow, UK• RSA Student Design

Awards Judging, UK• Scottish Property Federation

Policy Committee for Building Standards and Sustainability – representing BCO, Scotland

• SoPHE Technical Committee Member, UK

• Thai Green Building Institute, Thailand • UKGBC Trustee, UK• Urban Green Board Member, US• USGBC, US • British Property Federation

sustainability committee, UK

• Member of Sustainability Committee of the British Property Federation, London, UK

• Royal College of Art, London, UK• Bartlett School of Architecture,

London, UK• Stirling University, Dementia

Care Services, Stirling, UK

Memberships

Education


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◄ KPMG Milken Institute School of Public Health ▲

Atelier Ten representatives have also promoted sustainable and environmental ideas as key speakers in 2016. The following represent some of the highlights:

• Lecture at the V&A on Invisible Architecture, London, UK

• ‘Inspirational Speaker’ talk at MAKE Architects, London, UK

• Talk at Astudio, London, UK • BCO presentation at the World

Wildlife Fund, Woking, UK

Atelier Ten representatives have been invited to the following judging panels:

• Architect of the Year Awards• RIBA International Awards• RIBA National Awards• RIBA Stirling Prize Awards• RIBA Journal Young Architect

of the Year Award

• Invisible Architecture talk at Atelier Ten, Edinburgh, UK

• Oscar Von Miller Foundation Lecture, Munich

• Dementia Services Development Centre, Scotland

• Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland

• Scotbuild Conference, Glasgow, Scotland

Public forums, speaking engagements

Judging

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Leading not following

The British Council for Offices’ (BCO) mission is to research, develop and communicate best practice in all aspects of the office sector. It delivers this by providing a forum for the discussion and debate of relevant issues. Established in 1990, the BCO is Britain’s leading forum for the discussion and debate of issues affecting the office sector. Bill Ritchie is the Chair of the British Council of Offices Scottish Committee and immediate past chair of the regions judging panel.

Revo (Formerly British Council of Shopping Centres) is the professional body for retail property – an authoritative voice for UK retail-led regeneration and for the management of and investment in shopping places. Bill Ritchie is on the committee for the British Council of Shopping Centres.

The Scottish Property Federation (SPF) is a membership organisation for the Scottish real estate industry. SPF works closely with those who advise and decide on public policy in Scotland to ensure that key decision makers are aware of the consequences of their decisions for the property industry and wider economy. Bill Ritchie sits on the Committee for Building Standards and Sustainability where he represents the BCO.


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The Zero Carbon Hub was established in 2008, as a non‑profit organisation, to take day‑to‑day operational responsibility for achieving the government’s target of delivering zero carbon homes in England from 2016. Since then the Hub has worked with both government and industry with the focus on raising build standards and reducing the risk associated with implementing the Zero Carbon Homes policy. Bernie Carr presented to the Zero Carbon Hub on the far reaching legislation change that took place in October last year.

DSDC is based in the Iris Murdoch Building at the University of Stirling, although it is not funded by the University and so is largely funded by charitable sources. Their multidisciplinary team of clinical specialists, architects, and designers promote the importance of design for people with dementia. They have developed a unique insight into what can be done to support people with dementia, based on research and evidence of what makes a difference. Peter Kerr is a member of the DSDC, recently presenting a Lighting Care for Dementia presentation and publishing a book on the same subject later this year.

Bill Ritchie has recently been asked to join the British Standards Review Group set up by the Scottish Government to review the current standards for building regulations in Scotland. Bill will bring his knowledge and expertise from working in the industry to align standards and regulations.

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Photo credits by page:

Morley von Sternberg 2, 4, 11, 18, 23, 25, 29, 33, 37 Gillian Hayes 11, 24 Fisher Studios 13 David Sundberg 21, 28, 36 Jack Hobhouse 22 Newsline Media Limited 23 Michael Moran 35 Millicent Harvey 36 Anton Grassl 36 Sam Noonan 37 Albert Vecerka 38 Nic Lehoux 38 David Barbour 39 Robert Benson 39

All other photos and graphics copyright Atelier Ten.

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