LEED & Sustainability
Leaders in green building certification and high-performance buildings
Green buildings are less expensive to maintain, more marketable, and filled with happier and more productive occupants. We’re passionate about spreading this message and helping our clients reap the benefits.
Our Sustainability & Building Performance team consists of building performance analysts and researchers who specialize in green building solutions. We design, study, and advocate for spaces that respond to their site and climate, use resources efficiently, and prioritize the health and well-being of occupants. Our team specializes in the application of value management using computational fluid dynamics, lighting & daylighting simulation, energy modeling and loads calculation, hypothermal analysis, measurement & verification, data analytics, and commissioning management.
Using data and current research, our team of experts works closely with each project team to collect data, analyze systems, and simulate performance to guide building design. In turn, clients learn from measured and simulated data to make informed decisions and set high-performance goals.
The scope of Sustainability & Building Performance work varies from micro-level (building components) to macro-level (campus masterplans), depending upon the analytical needs of a project. Our completed projects include natural & forced ventilation, façade renovation, displacement ventilation, heat reclamation, renewable energy, custom building automation, measurement & verification.
We are one of the most experienced teams of green building experts in the state, dedicated entirely to the study of sustainability. We are founding members of the Houston Chapter of the US Green Building Council, and we designed many of Houston's first LEED buildings, including the first LEED certified building, the first LEED Gold, and the first LEED Core and Shell building. Our team is also one of only a handful in the country designated by the USGBC as a LEED Proven Provider, a distinction that allows our projects a faster, more streamlined path to LEED certification.
Our Team of Green Building experts
The Kirksey Sustainability & Building Performance Team operates as a private research consultant group, continuously seeking innovative ways to improve building performance via new technologies, software, and extensive study of our own completed projects.
Areas of Sustainability & Building Performance Expertise
Kirksey's sustainability experts provide the following services both for projects in-house and for outside project teams:
- LEED Documentation
- Green Benchmarking
- LEED Exam Training
- Energy Modeling
- Daylight Modeling
- Hypothermal Analysis
- Climate and Comfort Assessments
- Ventilation and Wind Modeling
- Post-Occupancy Evaluations
- Site Assessments
- Sustainability Research
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
- Optical Systems
- Thermodynamic Analysis of Spaces & Systems
- Energy Services
- Systems Performance Consulting
- Data Mining & Analytics
- Research
- Value Assessment
Sustainability & Building Performance Leadership
Catherine Callaway, AIA, LEED AP
High-performing facilities not only benefit occupants and the environment, but they also reward you, the owner. Green buildings add value to your property, save money, and increase your ability to attract and retain employees. At Kirksey, we know what it takes to design high-performing, energy-efficient buildings that maximize employee satisfaction and productivity.
Our Sustainable Architecture Experience
A group of LEED accredited professionals who specialize in optimizing performance through environmentally responsible design, our Sustainability & Building Physics Team provides in-house and outside sustainability consulting services. With a large LEED portfolio of over 100+ projects constituting more than 35 million square feet, we dominate the regional green building market. We are the only Houston-based firm to be designated a LEED Proven Provider, a status that affords us shorter review periods for our LEED projects and a streamlined certification process. Even if your project does not need to achieve LEED status, our expertise extends to a variety of sustainability-related services, including, but not limited to:
Green Building Certifications
- LEED
- WELL Building Standard
- Living Building Challenge
- Energy Modeling
- Daylight Modeling
- Computational Fluid Dynamics
- LEED classes
- Post-Occupancy Evaluations
- Site Assessments
From new buildings to existing facilities, we are proud leaders in sustainable design and helping our clients reach their sustainability goals.