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January 29, 2007

Lord, Aeck & Sargent Sustainable Design Expert Named One of Building Design & Construction Magazine's "40 Under 40"

ATLANTA, Jan. 29, 2007 – Jim Nicolow, AIA, LEED AP¹, who leads the Sustainability Initiative at architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent, has been named one of Building Design & Construction (BD&C) magazine’s “40 Under 40” up-and-comers.  Described by BD&C as “’hotshots’ in the built environment,” Nicolow and the other winners are profiled in the magazine’s January issue.

According to Jay Schneider, BD&C senior editor, members of the “40 Under 40” group were chosen by the magazine’s editors from among 244 “outstanding entrants. … All 40 excel in their professional roles as architects, engineers, contractors, designers, and AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) business developers, while giving back to their communities and professional societies.  And somehow,” Schneider added, “these remarkable young professionals still find time off the clock to expand their horizons.”

“All of us at Lord, Aeck & Sargent are thrilled about this well-deserved honor,” said Tony Aeck, FAIA, the firm’s managing principal.  “Jim serves as our foremost sustainable ‘spiritual leader’ and brings his knowledge and expertise to bear on all of our projects, either directly or indirectly.  He is always looking for ways to improve and to design solutions.

“In this vein, Jim has single handedly recruited experienced staff in order to increase our firm’s technological expertise,” Aeck continued.  “Specifically, it was through his leadership that we developed the expertise necessary to integrate quantitative analysis into our design process – a technology that is usually outsourced by architects, if applied at all.”

Nicolow joined Lord, Aeck & Sargent in 1997.  His role is to facilitate the incorporation of sustainable design strategies and features into the firm’s design projects and to spearhead efforts to integrate the use of quantitative analysis to inform the firm’s sustainable design work.  He also chairs two Lord, Aeck & Sargent task forces charged with “greening” the firm in the way its staff works and lives.

Nicolow always has been closely involved with Lord, Aeck & Sargent “green” projects.  Current projects with which he is involved and their LEED Certification targets include:

• Southface Energy Institute Eco Office, which will be the Southeast’s most innovative commercial office demonstrating environmentally friendly design (Platinum)
• GwinnettEnvironmental & Heritage Center, an interpretive center on the physics, history and culture of water (Gold)
• a new research station and interpretive center for the Grand Bay NationalEstuarine Research Reserve, located on the Mississippi Gulf coast (Gold)
• The Biodesign institute at Arizona State University, Building B (Gold)
• An undergraduate science building for the University of West Florida (Silver)
• The National Park Service’s Twin Creeks Science and Education Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Certified)

Nicolow has published numerous articles about sustainable design in national and international magazines and trade journals.  He also speaks frequently at conferences across the country, presenting case histories about the firm’s sustainable design projects.  

About Lord, Aeck & Sargent

Lord, Aeck & Sargent is an award-winning architectural firm serving clients in scientific, academic, historic preservation, arts and cultural, and multi-family housing and mixed-use markets.  The firm’s core values are responsive design, technological expertise and exceptional service.  Lord, Aeck & Sargent has offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta; and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  For more information, visit the firm at www.lordaecksargent.com.

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¹LEED AP stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional.  The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.  The standard was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, which is the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.