Hoefer Welker Project Receives Honorable Mention at Green Globes Project of the Year Awards

(Kansas City, Mo.) – The Phoenix 32nd Street VA Clinic, designed by Kansas City multidisciplinary architecture and design firm Hoefer Welker, received an honorable mention at the 2022 Green Globes Project of the Year awards. The annual awards are presented to sustainable design firms for projects designed, constructed and operated in a healthy, resilient and sustainable manner. The program rewards sustainability champions pushing the boundaries in green building. The Phoenix VA clinic was one of three projects to receive top honors.

The Phoenix 32nd Street VA Clinic, one of the largest VA outpatient clinics in the U.S., manages more than half a million visits each year. The five-story clinic includes multispecialty and telehealth clinics, an education center, pathology and imaging centers and is designed with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind. The design, which has achieved a Two Green Globes rating, features high-efficiency glass paneling and a biophilic exterior sun shading device, mimicking the look of the nearby mountains. The exterior shade and glass paneling reduces glare and heat gain from the desert sun and dramatic temperature swings, lowering energy consumption and increasing patient and staff comfort. Together, the sustainable design decisions for the Phoenix VA clinic resulted in a 36 percent decrease in energy use.

Awarded by the Green Building Initiative (GBI), Green Globes is a comprehensive certification system that evaluates the environmental sustainability, health & wellness, and resilience of all types of development projects. The certification’s custom-tailored approach allows building owners and managers to choose unique design characteristics to best fit their project’s environmental sustainability needs based on the project’s building type, location, budget and occupancy rating.

“Everyone wants the buildings they live and work in to be healthy and sustainable. In our work, we are constantly trying to set higher benchmarks for sustainable design,” said Ashley Eusey, Hoefer Welker’s director of sustainability. “From using emerging green materials to optimizing how each watt of energy is used, we work hard to honor our collective responsibility to our earth and our clients.”

In addition to their Green Globes certifications, the firm specializes in other third-party sustainability ratings, including GBI’s Guiding Principles Compliance verification program, WELL, LEED and ENERGY STAR®.  

“Sustainable design is no longer an optional consideration for our buildings – it is a necessity. Our firm has invested in sustainable design education and accreditation for the entire Hoefer Welker team to ensure the future of our communities and the people in them,” Eusey said.