Chesapeake Bay Foundation Headquarters, Annapolis, Md., by the SmithGroup and The Clark Construction Group, Inc., for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

As the nation's largest nonprofit regional environmental organization, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is dedicated to protecting and restoring the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Saving the bay necessitates significant pollution reduction, habitat restoration, and fishery replenishment. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation measures its success by improvements in the bay's ecological health and growth. Accordingly, the decision to consolidate the organization's 90-person headquarters from four dispersed buildings to a single 32,000-square-foot "green" facility was essential to maintaining the foundation's primary mission.

The client/architect team focused on a design that would embody the culture of the organization as well as create an inspiring and effective workplace for staff, realize the most environmentally sensitive building possible, and present an example to others to create equally "green" buildings. To achieve this, the design followed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program guidelines closely. This system, created by the U.S. Green Building Council, identifies strategies for improving energy efficiency, conserving materials and resources, enhancing indoor environmental quality, safeguarding water, and establishing design excellence.

The resulting design solution uses 70 percent less energy and one tenth the potable water of a typical office building. The staff enjoys a healthful workspace, as a result of daylight and natural ventilation, and increased efficiency due to centralized location. A stunning example of effective "green" architecture, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation Headquarters is the first U.S. building to achieve LEED's platinum ranking.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.