ANNUAL BIKE CLINIC (From Top) LRS team members on a group ride during Bike Challenge Month in June; getting hands on at our annual bike clinic.
As a firm, LRS is deeply committed to sustainability, and our sustainable business practices are guided in part by our dedicate internal Environmental Stewardship Committee. The following sections provide more detail on our several of the ongoing actions and practices we implement to reduce the environmental impacts of our business operations.
SUSTAINABILITY AND WELLNESS EDUCATION
Ongoing training and continuing education are a significant piece of our firm’s culture of curiosity and innovation. We invest in our staff’s skill development and we strongly encourage the pursuit of certifications and knowledge-building around design for sustainability and wellness, including LEED and WELL, among others. We facilitate a rigorous schedule of education opportunities tailored to provide learning credits to fulfill our staff’s various architectural registration and sustainable / wellness certification requirements.
ALTERNATIVE TRANSIT
LRS has a strong biking culture and we offer a variety of incentives and resources to support staff in choosing alternative transit options. We provide a bike room with charging stations, gear storage, a pump and repair station, and showering and changing facilities, and we host an annual bike clinic to provide safety checks and tune-ups. In June 2023, LRS staff recorded an enthusiastic 3,500+ cycling miles as part of our Bike Commute Challenge.
WASTE PREVENTION AND RECYCLING
We maintain a rigorous Office Recycle Program with procedures and resources for recycling and donating everything from our large volume of
THE LRS JUST LABEL, 2023-2025 LRS renews our JUST Label Certification every two years, utilizing the International Living Future Institute (ILFI)’s metrics.
architectural and interiors samples (carpet, vinyl, wood, metal, tiles, etc.) to more conventional mixed kitchen and printing supply recycling, and facilitating specialty recycling and donation of e-waste (decommissioned electronics), batteries, toner, light bulbs, and a variety of plastic/foam/ polystyrene products.
MATERIALS PLEDGE SIGNATORY
LRS is committed to advancing the requirement of transparency in building materials. As a part of this effort, we are in the process of reviewing every material in our project specifications and following up with manufacturers to push for transparency.
SUPPLY CHAIN POLICY
LRS strives to purchase from vendors who focus on improving social equity outcomes. These businesses may include certified minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, certified B Corps, or ILFI-certified Just businesses.
EQUITABLE PURCHASING
LRS is committed to fair local economic and community development. We use our purchasing power to stimulate our local economic development and have set a policy to purchase a minimum of 10 percent of all goods and services, as determined by total dollars spent, with small, local independent businesses.
3RD PARTY CERTIFICATIONS
The ILFI Just Label: Under the leadership of the LRS JEDI Committee, LRS earned a Just Label through the International Living Future Institute, which we renew every two years. LRS uses this label and third-party metrics to benchmark our progress towards our sustainability and equity goals. The International Living Future Institute launched the Just program to “further harness the power of transparency and gain traction in market forces to create social change. Similar to the Living Building Challenge’s Declare program, the Just program serves as a ‘nutrition label’ for socially just and equitable organizations.”
WBENC Certification: LRS is a nationally certified women-owned business. The firm first earned certification in 2024 through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a national organization championing women’s entrepreneurship and supplier diversity leadership. Certification is renewed annually.
“Through certification, women-owned businesses gain access to a vast network of support, including targeted business opportunities for certified women-owned firms, increased visibility in corporate and government hereby grants
Enterprise
PASSIVE HOUSE (PHIUS)
LRS designed the largest PHIUS structure West of the Mississippi: Parkview at Terwilliger Plaza
LEED CERTIFICATION
LRS brings experience with LEED Platinum, Gold, and Silver; our firm has 35+ LEED certified staff
WELL CERTIFICATION
We have several WELL certified staff, and regularly incorporate strategies for occupant health and wellness
supply chains, education and development programs to spur growth and increase capacity, and networking and mentorship opportunities with thousands of women entrepreneurs and those who support them.”
Sustainability at Work Gold Green Business: LRS previously held a Sustainability at Work Gold Green Business Certification from the City of Portland until the program was discontinued.
LRS Environmental Stewardship Committee
MISSION: To advance green building and sustainability practices at LRS and support reduced climate impacts.
Our internal Environmental Stewardship Committee is a 15+ group of LRS architects and designers with a passion for comprehensive sustainability, from the way the firm operates to the way we design buildings. This group spearheads research and applications for new tools, resources, best practices, and emerging materials and technology related to sustainability, and supports our project teams to implement new ideas and advance our sustainable design capabilities.
COMMITTEE GOALS AND PURPOSE
• Serve as a resource on green and healthy buildings to support LRS staff and projects by creating a knowledge base of products and incentive programs, accessible using the firm’s internal Confluence platform as a resource page and search engine. Cross-pollinate with other committees and promote sustainable training. Identify sustainable software tools and recommend to design lab.
• Educate and steer our clients to make more environmentally conscious decisions by updating marketing portfolio with sustainable projects good, better, best recommendations. Maintain a directory of sustainable LRS projects / case studies and encourage all projects to review Energy Trust of Oregon incentives
• Implement WELL Building principles and/or other occupant health programs and assist with certifications.
• Utilize biophilic strategies to inspire our clients and projects promote biophilic consciousness and training.
• Supporting the AIA initiative known as the Architects and Designers Materials Pledge, to incentivize the use of environmentally supportive products.
Sustainability Case Study
COMPLETION DATE: 2024
PROJECT TYPE: Senior Living High-rise
SIZE:
370,000 SF
TERWILLIGER PLAZA PARKVIEW
Portland, Oregon
Terwilliger Plaza Parkview is an all new concrete high-rise with a steel framed skybridge connecting the building to the existing senior living campus. The building’s U-shape creates an outdoor courtyard and amenity space while also providing stunning views of downtown, mountains, the Willamette River, and wooded hillsides. Sustainably designed with passive house principles, the building is projected to use 42% percent less energy than current Energy Code compliant buildings. In addition to its significant sustainable features, the building’s skybridge connector doubles as an artist gallery, responding to community building goals and supporting the Terwilliger residents’ interest in art.
PASSIVE HOUSE
Originally developed in Germany, Passive House is a design principle that provides energy-efficient, healthy, comfortable, high quality, and sustainable living spaces
intended for long-term use. Parkview’s Passive House principles project 42% less energy consumption than current energy-compliant buildings and reinforce the community’s commitment to environmental stewardship. As the construction industry expands into the residential sector, sustainable and energy-efficient principles must be utilized to ensure longevity for future living spaces—Passive House principles strive to attain that.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
• Thermal bridge all-electric design
• High performing building envelope
• Reduced thermal bridging
• Airtight construction
• Heat pump clothes dryers
• Energy-efficient appliances
• Induction stovetops
• Heat recovery ventilation
• Green Roof
KEY FEATURES PROMOTING SOCIALIZATION
With residents dispersed throughout the buildings on campus, the objective of this project is to encourage resident movement. This new facility will encourage and provide plenty of opportunities for residents to gather and socialize. A variety of multipurpose rooms, public living rooms, lounges, sunrooms and lobbies provide spaces of various sizes located throughout the building.
The building features a skybridge connector, designed to ease movement through the campus, doubles as an artist gallery, responding to community building goals and supporting the residents’ passionate interest in fine art.
The building’s U-shape creates an outdoor courtyard and amenity space while providing a stunning park view of the adjacent Terwilliger parkway hills, expansive views of downtown, and grand views of the mountains to the East. A landscaped rooftop provides additional space for gathering.
