gb&d

We profile three corporate headquarters that are as intelligent in their design as the employees they hope to attract

By Brian Barth

The green building industry has come a long way in the past 20 years. Building to energy efficient standards is no longer a fringe idea, but the mainstream expectation of consumers, corporations, and governments alike. Environmental design has gained steam as an economic engine of its own, spawning innovation in the supply chain and fostering competition among companies as they see who can use the fewest natural resources while they go about getting the work of society done. Plus, a new generation of designers have entered the professional world—bright young minds who don’t know how to think and plan without incorporating sustainability.

The question is: where do we go from here? How will the next generation take the building blocks of sustainability and create the built environment anew? Will the word sustainability even begin to express this new image for the communities where we live, work, and play? Some in the green building industry take the view that a better word for sustainability might be adaptability—how well buildings adapt to the needs of their users and the uncertain variables of climate change, as well as unforeseen changes in technology, culture, and the political economy.

read full article here: http://gbdmagazine.com/2015/workplaces-the-next-generation/#