VMDO Architects

Delivering Lasting Value

Buildings are significant investments, both for our clients and for their communities. The effects of constructing and operating them are felt far beyond the site boundary, and for generations after opening day. At VMDO, we take this responsibility to our clients and to future generations seriously.

We see design as an opportunity to deliver lasting value – for our clients, by enabling them to achieve their goals for healthy environments that support wellbeing; for their communities, by creating public assets that connect to regional mobility networks, support ecosystem and watershed health, and increase resilience; and for our global community, by delivering projects that minimize ecological and climate impacts, model new solutions to global challenges, and advocate for transparency and climate action throughout the supply chain.

VMDO’s evidence-based approach combines best practices, thought leadership, and robust analysis to help our clients make informed decisions. We encourage the use of rating systems and certifications – including LEED, the Living Building Challenge, the WELL Building Standard, and Fitwel – to engage stakeholders in an integrated design process that maintains accountability and integrity of project goals

Reducing Impact

Our considerations for performance include:

• Net Zero Energy. VMDO is a recognized expert in net-zero energy building design. All of our projects consider zero energy in their designs and most are built as “solar ready.” VMDO participates in the AIA 2030 Commitment, an industry initiative to make all new buildings and renovations carbon-neutral by the year 2030. As signatories, we continually monitor and annually report the predicted energy performance of our projects, thereby helping to transform the industry and to build everyone’s capacity to address some of the most challenging issues of our time.

• Water Efficiency. The energy needed to clean and transport potable water and sewage contributes to our global challenges and burdens our communities and ecosystems. Our projects use water mindfully through efficient fixtures and processes, and rely on alternative resources like captured condensate, rainwater, and greywater in order to further reduce site water demands.

• Materials. VMDO advocates for transparency in the environmental and health impacts of building products. In addition to selecting products with lower environmental impacts (including recycled, biobased, and/or local products), we extend the useful life of the products we use by designing for durability, ease of maintenance, and flexibility/adaptability.

• Regenerative Landscapes. Our projects capture and cleanse rainfall, restore native habitats, mitigate urban heat island effect and protect the night sky – strategies that are not just good for the environment, but also support wellness, reduce operational costs, and increase resilience.

• Mobility. Getting people out of cars is not only good for the environment through lowered emissions; it is also good for our communities and for our health. VMDO designs for people, not cars, and as such we look for opportunities to provide public paths, enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety, and make public transit the easy choice.

Tracking Everything

VMDO tracks the performance of our buildings over time in order to improve our approaches to water, waste, air quality, and materials. We use robust Post-Occupancy Evaluations (POEs) and building systems commissioning to ensure that our designs perform as intended and work with industry experts to improve outcomes. The results of these commitments are tangible. VMDO is one of only a few east coast firms to have secured two Top Ten Awards from the AIA Committee on the Environment.