McKinley & Associates Office / Charleston, WV (2009 AIA Merit Award Winner)

Buildings designed today will need to meet the demands of the future; McKinley & Associates identifies the changes necessary in the design of today and to meet these demands. This approach helps to retain the buildings' long-term profitability and value, which achieves the buildings' sustainability.

An example of sustainable design is shown in the photograph above; the conference room in our Charleston Office. Inside, the centrally located "Lantern" glows all day long through the translucent walls illuminated with natural daylight from a skylight above. The natural light throughout the day allows the staff to refrain from using the interior electric lighting. The sustainable renovations of this old warehouse into a new office space, received a 2009 Merit Award from the West Virginia component of the American Institute of Architects.

McKinley approaches ecological design from a business perspective, offering proactive solutions to complex problems such as indoor air quality, energy efficiency, resource depletion, and water quality. With commercial and institutional project experience, the McKinley Team can work alongside local designers to provide sustainable design and construction guidance. We also offer full architectural design services and guided design workshops on sustainable design issues.

LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nationally accepted standard for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED recognizes that sustainable design requires a team approach to achieve the desired goals. McKinley has LEED Accredited Professionals on staff along with our skilled architectural/engineering team to efficiently and cost effectively achieve certification under this standard or we can guide you through the process in order to develop sustainability goals specific to your project.

Hilltop Elementary School is one of our many projects that we designed using energy efficient and sustainable design approaches. It was not until after construction had commenced that the Owner decided to submit for LEED Certification. This required a great deal of coordination with the architects, engineers, subcontractors and suppliers. Since we incorporated good sustainable design practices from the beginning, this allowed for an easy transition, and for the project to be successfully completed. This is one of only 9 LEED Certified projects in West Virginia, and is the first and only LEED Certified school in the state.

Thomas R. Worlledge, AIA, LEED AP BD+C has been a member of the USGBC since 2001, was the first LEED Accredited professional in the state of West Virginia and has served on the committee that sets the standards for the international energy code.

Please contact Thomas R. Worlledge, for more information.