Hello readers! Welcome back to the 3R Blog. We hope you had a joy-filled holiday season and wonderful winter break. Here at 3R, big things have been going on since we last posted. New and exciting changes have taken place and we are eager to share them with you!
Brand-spankin’-“new” office!
Our “New” Neighborhood
We are delighted to announce we have moved into a new office space in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. While it may be a new home for us, the building has stood in the Strip District for decades, once serving as a bottling plant for a dairy company and a brewery.
For those not familiar with the Steel City, the Strip District neighborhood has a bustling economic history. In the early days it was home to mills, factories, and a hub for the transportation of goods and raw materials. It transformed into Pittsburgh’s epicenter of market wholesalers – fresh produce, meat, and other goods. Today the Strip features many different markets, restaurants, businesses, and shopping.
Our team would agree that we are spoiled by the delicious ethnic restaurants and food trucks in the area. Another bonus is that our office has beautiful views of the Allegheny River and downtown Pittsburgh.
Making It Our Own
The layout of the new office space was formed by an intent to allow for flexible work situations; height adjustable desks and ergonomic chairs to foster healthy work habits. Informal seating areas and a collaboration room allow for breakout sessions and the ability to “get away” from the desk for a while. We’d like to thank our friends Toni Dallier and Tiffany Larson over at Franklin Interiors who helped to furnish our space.
In addition, 3R Sustainability now offers the team an environment which promotes the health of the occupants by focusing on low-contaminant products and materials, by offering a sense of place within the fabric of the city, and by reducing its energy and water use.
Our new location is perfect for alternative transportation options, as well as healthy behaviors by organizing regular walks during the work day, offering healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables on a daily basis from local markets, and organizing various programs throughout the year that increase the individual’s health and well-being.
3R Sustainability is proud to not only have a new office that connects the team to the history of the city but also to reduce the environmental impacts that an office move generates. In keeping with our company values, we are pursuing LEED Gold for Interior Design & Construction: Commercial Interiors, and we will keep you posted on its status.
In Case You Missed It
New and Improved 3R Website
As you may notice, in addition to our new office, we have also launched a brand new website. With the assistance from our friends at 4CDesignWorks, we’ve created a site that is more user friendly and informative. Included in the new layout are project descriptions, the many services we offer, and various channels to helpful and interesting content.
LEED V4 is Here!
LEED v4 is here! The USGBC is now operating in v4 mode. All projects will now be registered as a LEED v4 project. What does this mean for you, your building, or your client? Check out USGBC’s guide on the differences from v2009 here. Our next post will dive in to “What’s New in v4”, so stay tuned!
Looking Ahead
As we put the finishing touches on our new space, we are eager to have our friends in to see the place. Slated for early spring will be a 3R Open House. We will keep you up-to-date with all the details as they fall into place.
The next few months are going to be very busy for our team. We’re in the final stretch for many LEED projects, so check back for project highlights on them!
The Green Building Alliance is a great local resource for the green building community. 3R enjoys partnering with, learning from, and advocating for the GBA. Members of our team are looking forward to (of many) the upcoming GBA events:
- New LEED Pilot Credit: How Economic Analysis is Making the Case for Sustainable Design on January 23rd from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- p4 Performance Measures: In Depth on Valuing People, Planet, Place, & Performance on February 15th from 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
- If you are interested, you can check out all other upcoming GBA events here.
If you aren’t already doing so, go follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We are very active on social media and have a ton of fun, new ideas to share.