FortyEighty Architecture has been collaborating on sustainable building projects in the western Pennsylvania region and the eastern United States for over 17 years. Our practice remains centered on sustainable design principles.

Our sustainable philosophy is rooted in an understanding that each individual client and project requires a solution that appropriately fits its unique circumstance. These solutions anticipate the need for places to be adaptable over time. This methodology produces designs that challenge conventions but also embrace common sense solutions.

FortyEighty Architecture is nationally recognized as a leader in sustainable design. We have completed more than twenty sustainable projects to date, eight of which have received Silver or Gold LEED certifications from the USGBC. These range in size and type from single-family residences to arts centers and radio stations to the 130,000 square foot Collaborative Innovation Center at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2005, the National AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) recognized the Pittsburgh Glass Center as one of the Top Ten Green Buildings in the Nation.

We work to leverage the unique passive and technical opportunities within each site, program, and project. All of the LEED Certified projects we have undertaken have exceeded the certification rating level targeted initially by our clients. FortyEighty is currently working on design solutions that are, zero energy, regenerative, and will participate in a positive ecological cycle.

The success of these projects is directly attributable to the vision of, and collaboration with each client. We provide the experience and the technical knowledge, but sustainable places are created when the entire design team works to a common goal. Our entire team has experience with green buildings and this knowledge of sustainable technologies and the LEED certification process includes incorporating the following strategies and technologies into design solutions.

The life cycle of a building and the conservation of its embodied energy will be respected if the experience and the cultural meaning resonates with people. Our process seeks to not only make buildings that are durable and easily maintained, but also to make places that have emotional durability.