News

Associate Partner Jonathan Smith, AIA, LEED AP BD+C will give the closing keynote lecture at the annual AIA Oklahoma Conference on October 20th. Jonathan will share his experience working on the Austin Central Library to address the conference theme: Better Communities by Design. 

We have all seen the tragic devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey. Most members of the Lake|Flato family have relatives, friends, clients and/or colleagues that have been directly impacted by this powerful storm and its aftermath. Our office has galvanized several efforts to help provide relief — a number of Lake|Flato employees traveled to Houston with boats to assist with water rescues. LF employees opened their homes as shelter for evacuees. The firm is conducting a matching contributions program for employees donating through the Red Cross, and organized several volunteer days to help at the local San Antonio and Central Texas Food Banks as well as other organizations who are aiding Houston. We strongly encourage our fellow design community to get involved in relief efforts. For more information on how you can help, review the links below. 

We continue to keep all affected by Hurricane Harvey in our thoughts and stand in solidarity with you. Lake|Flato remains committed to the resilient and climate-sensitive design of all communities.

FEMA Disaster Resources 

Red Cross Disaster Relief Resources

Texas Society of Architects Post-Disaster Safety Assessment

As Co-Chair of the AIA 2030 Commitment, Sustainability Director Heather Holdridge published a collaborative summary report of 2030 commitment results. Established in 2006, the 2030 Challenge calls for all new buildings, developments and major renovations to be carbon-neutral by 2030. The AIA 2030 Commitment provides a national framework for design professionals to track progress towards meeting this challenge. Entitled 2030 By the Numbers, the aforementioned 2016 report demonstrates success by firms meeting the challenge of designing for a carbon-neutral future. Reported projects averaged a predicted energy use intensity (pEUI) percent savings of 42 percent in 2016, up from 38 percent the prior year. These results are significant hope for the growing community of firms who are working to combat climate change through education, energy modeling, advocacy and promotion of environmental stewardship. Lake | Flato remains committed to this important vision for our society. Read this year's report, here.

Sustainability Coordinator Corey Squire will present as part of the Water Independence Lecture Series hosted by AIA Dallas on August 8th. Water Independence is a comprehensive series that focuses on the importance of water conservation and creating projects that achieve net zero water results. Corey will present on a panel entitled “Session 01: Foundations,” focused on identifying methods to proactively measure water conservation and management effectiveness during the design and construction process. Attendees will learn how to define net zero water definitions and communicate the performance requirements of net zero site and building water usage, among other goals. Learn more, here.