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.
![Photo of the front of the Phoenix 32nd St VA Clinic, built with stone, metal mesh, and glass.](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-05/hoefer-phoenix-va-front-780.jpg?itok=9kvhnUGw)
![Photo of the reception and lobby area inside the Phoenix 32nd St VA Clinic.](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2023-05/hoefer-phoenix-va-lobby-780.jpg?itok=HZ73eBac)
The Green Globes honorable mention adds to Hoefer Welker’s recent honors. Since 2020, the firm has received Two Green Globes ratings for eight Veterans Affairs clinics around the country, and the Chattanooga Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic was named honorable mention for the Green Globes Project of the Year in 2020. As a leader in sustainable building, representatives from the firm presented at six sustainability conferences in 2022, including U.S. Green Building Council, the American Health Care Association, the Center for Architecture & Design, the Michigan State Hospitality Board, and the Green Building Initiative.
Hoefer Welker has been named one of Kansas City Business Journal’s 2021 Best Places to Work, Ingram’s Magazine’s 2021 Best Companies to Work For, and an Outstanding Emerging Professional Friendly Firm by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Central States Region. In addition to its list of company awards, Hoefer Welker’s projects have received awards in architectural design from the Mid-America Region of the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA-MAR), Healthcare Design Magazine, AIA Dallas, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and Engineering News-Record.
About Hoefer Welker
Founded in 1996, Hoefer Welker is a multidisciplinary architecture, interior design, medical equipment planning, technology consultancy and engineering firm known for collaborating with clients to create performance-driven solutions. From offices in Kansas City, Dallas and Jacksonville, the firm works with clients in the healthcare, education, government, civic, multifamily and commercial markets on projects across the U.S. For more information, please visit hoeferwelker.com.
About GBI
GBI is a nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Developer dedicated to improving building performance and reducing climate impacts. Founded in 2004, the organization is the global provider of the Green Globes® and federal Guiding Principles Compliance building certification and assessment programs. To learn more about opportunities to become involved with GBI, contact info@thegbi.org or visit the GBI website at www.thegbi.org.