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Discoveries, innovations, and insights that illuminate the future of the built environment

We’re ‘walking in’ for climate change

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By Dean Allen, CEO, McKinstry

Today, millions of students, tech workers and others across the globe will be walking out of their classrooms, places of work and homes to join together in a Global Climate Strike to demand action against the looming climate crisis. We at McKinstry applaud these efforts, and I’m personally inspired by the youth leading this movement and hopeful for their future.

Today, as we do every day at McKinstry, we’ll be spending our time innovating the waste out of the built environment; designing projects with aggressive energy and carbon reduction goals leveraging renewables, shared energy, and other leading-edge technologies; and constructing, renovating and servicing building systems in ways that create less impact to the earth’s fragile ecosystems. This work is critical to the fight against climate change.

We are part of an industry that greatly contributes to the climate crisis despite having the power to do something about it. But, because of persistent silos, slow innovation and poor organization, the construction industry has so far been ineffective at embracing what’s possible in the fight for our planet. The time to act is now, which is why McKinstry is working hard to change the paradigm and lead the way to a carbon-free future.

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Celebrating Earth Day every day

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michaelfrank_earthday_2019

For Michael Frank, McKinstry’s VP of Engineering & Design, Earth Day is a reminder of personal and professional passion for sustainability.

Every year, Earth Day mobilizes millions of Americans to serve our planet. I’m fortunate to work for a company that celebrates Earth Day each day through the work we do to make every building we touch more efficient. I joined the company more than 19 years ago because my personal passions aligned so well with the company’s values, and I’ve never looked back. To put that statement into context, when I was interviewing, I was wrapping up a thesis design project for a heat recovery system at the Staten Island Ferry System in Manhattan to use the Hudson River as a heat source/sink. Fast forward to today and I’m still designing alternative solutions for energy use such as an eco-district to serve our first zero-energy building, Catalyst, and others on the South Landing campus in Spokane.

I care deeply about our planet, and I’ve been told that sometimes my passion for the environment may come across as extreme. I’ll take that as compliment! So maybe it’s true that I take an air quality monitor on vacation. And maybe I build bee houses every spring with my daughters for one of our native pollinators, the mason bee. Would you be surprised to know, or should I be embarrassed to say that I make sure misplaced recycling finds its way into the appropriate bins at home?

My “extreme” passion for our environment carries over into my work every day where I have the opportunity to innovate with teams to make better decisions that meet current building needs while advocating for the next generation.

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Energized by our future

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October is Energy Action Month. While we take action every day to drive waste out the built environment, Energy Action Month offers an ideal opportunity to reaffirm our commitment. With each action we take, we’re one step closer to our vision of together, building a thriving planet.

McKinstry balances current action with remaining resolute on driving future innovation. Spokane embodies that balance, embracing innovation while honoring its historic buildings and rich past. Every trip to Washington’s Inland Empire inspires me. Here’s why.

The power of net positive energy

Catalyst will be the first net-zero energy building in Eastern Washington.

Catalyst will be the first net-zero energy building in Eastern Washington.

Net-zero energy buildings and net-positive eco districts are inevitable. State and local governments are now mandating solar photovoltaics as building code, and behind-the-meter energy storage is emerging in both commercial and residential buildings. Technology costs for these renewable energy systems are dropping at an astounding rate. By 2030, we will see net-zero energy system design become the norm in every new construction project with clusters of buildings working together to produce more energy than they consume.

Spokane will soon be home to the future of the built environment. McKinstry and our partners broke ground on the Catalyst Building in August, starting construction on what will become the world’s largest verified net-zero energy building. The five-story, 159,000 square foot building will demonstrate what’s possible in our built environment – and what we’re capable of delivering here at McKinstry.

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