Energy & Daylighting

Our building design and construction process places energy efficiency and quality daylighting at the forefront of project decision making. Our projects demand less grid energy, use available site energies, and increase the efficiency of everything that’s left to minimize the carbon footprint. We initially focus on energy load reduction strategies, like good daylighting, to absolutely minimize energy use, before turning our attention to HVAC system selection and renewable energy production systems. More…

Materials & LCA

We believe buildings should be made from materials that are abundant, renewable and locally sourced. They should be recyclable, non-toxic and have low embodied energy. It goes without saying that their extraction, manufacture and disposal do no harm to people or the planet. More…

Commissioning

Commissioning is the least valued and most necessary of all building processes if you want your building to actually perform. It’s a quality assurance process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated and maintained to meet the owner’s project requirements. More…

LEED^® and Beyond

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program has become the industry’s accepted benchmark for designing, constructing and operating high performance buildings. 7group members have been involved in the development of LEED since its inception and have remained intimately involved in its evolution via a variety of leadership positions. More…

Integrative Design

Integrative design is the how of health of place. It’s a process that involves analyzing, quantifying and evaluating the synergistic interactions between building and natural systems, a new kind of whole systems thinking (and doing) around building design, construction and operations. It’s the most effective way we know to deliver a green, high-performing building within a budget. More…

Regenerative Design

This is a deeper level of integration we’re just beginning to explore. But the potentials are vast to replace the degeneration of the past with a future where deep connectedness to place by discovering and understanding its patterns can lead to the healthy evolution of all living systems. More…

Communications

We pride ourselves in being both thinkers and doers, and to be good at either one requires exceptional expertise in communications. Our communications support can help advocate and advance your project within your company, among your partners, around your community, or with the Street or Capitol Hill. More…