Our Philosophy
The philosophy of sustainable design should be embraced at the outset by all members of a project and should be a mindset that plays a part in all aspects of a building. It should not simply be a piecemeal application of a few energy saving ideas. In its truest form, sustainable design should take into account the life-cycle of a project, identifying sustainable strategies relating to the site, building envelope, system design, construction methodology, material selection and on-going occupancy and maintenance. At aodbt, we are committed to adopting a holistic approach to sustainable design, with a focus on enhancing the user-experience in order to create better environments to live, play, and work.
Our Experience
aodbt is a provincial leader in applying the requirements of LEED certification and implementing sustainable design goals. aodbt was the architect on the first project in the province to attain a LEED certification—the LEED Gold certified Saskatchewan Forestry Centre in Prince Albert. The firm continued this success through the design of Saskatchewan’s first LEED Silver certified school, École St. Anne School in Prince Albert.
Two team members play a major role in the LEED community. Mitch Strocen, a Professional Engineer (mechanical), is our in-house LEED manager and coordinator. He works as an internal team member to assist the group make decisions that work for the project and also make sense from an environmental and economic perspective. Mitch is a member of the CaGBC and USGBC, and he sits on a Technical Advisory Group with the Canada Green Building Council and is a member of the Board of Directors for the CaGBC’s Saskatchewan Chapter. Michele Friesen is an urban planner who brings insight to how the project can achieve the site specific credits. Michele is responsible for all coordination with the CaGBC during the certification process. She has a deep understanding of the LEED review process as well as the knowledge of the technical requirements in achieving certification.
Mitch and Michele are supported by a team at aodbt that takes sustainability to heart. This is evidenced by numerous team members in all departments achieving their LEED Accredited Professional designation. Partners at aodbt made a commitment to sustainability by pursuing a LEED certification for our own office building in Saskatoon. Our adaptive reuse of an old warehouse building into our Saskatoon studio achieved a LEED Silver certification in 2013.
View Our Featured Sustainability Projects.
