Sustainable Solutions
Sustainability and stewardship are in our DNA. Since our founding in 1956, we've worked to optimize the materials and systems of the built world to maintain our infrastructure, preserve our cultural heritage, and conserve our natural and economic resources.
— William J. Nugent, President and CEO
Sustainable solutions are our business.
WJE is committed to sustainability in the built environment, applying a long-term lens to materials selection, evaluation, performance testing, systems integration, repair design, and conservation. We have more than six decades' experience solving construction problems in new and existing structures and a long history of delivering sensible, cost-effective solutions that harmonize our clients' goals for energy efficiency and a reduced environmental footprint with practical considerations of constructability, maintenance, and long-term performance.
From adaptive reuse to landmark preservation; structural retrofitting to high-performance enclosure consulting; code consulting and evaluation of construction technology; state-of-the-art sustainable materials research to traditional cleaning and repair techniques, we deliver truly sustainable solutions for our clients and the planet.
Enhancing the past
Arguably, the most sustainable structure is the one that already exists. At WJE, we deliver practical, innovative, and technically sound solutions that enable existing structures to continue serving the evolving needs of their owners, tenants, and communities. Our passion for problem solving, deep expertise, and decades of experience preserving, repairing, and rehabilitating thousands of buildings enable us to tackle challenges that others can’t or aren’t even willing to try.
We help our clients conserve existing buildings and facilities by:
-
Extending service life through our practical, first-principles approach to repairs and improvements
-
Modeling energy efficiency upgrades using state-of-the-art tools and translating those findings into tangible financial benefits to owner/operators
- Quantifying building enclosure improvements like increased airtightness and thermal resistance to inform mechanical system upgrades and enhance whole-building efficiency
-
Balancing practical solutions for historic structures with the conservation of their historic fabric
Embracing the future
Real sustainable solutions—innovation that lasts—marry 21st century materials and systems with time-tested engineering, construction, and detailing practices. We aren't reinventing the wheel. Just modernizing it. From materials to geometry to coordination of components, new buildings introduce new challenges. WJE’s interdisciplinary approach allows us to holistically consider and strategically incorporate high-performance materials and systems into new buildings and structures.
We help our clients design efficient and durable structures by:
- Evaluating in-service performance attributes of new materials, their ability to be integrated as part of a system, and their potential failure modes
- Developing state-of-the-art computer simulations to visualize thermal transmittance and hygrothermal performance to help inform mechanical designs and enclosure detailing
- Embracing designs that exceed minimum energy code requirements and performing facade backstop and thermal bridging calculations to quantify the impact of design decisions
- Helping clients achieve their sustainability goals (e.g., embodied energy, life cycle costs, and carbon content) without sacrificing long-term performance and durability
Doing our part
WJE is firmly committed to using our resources responsibly to support the long-term sustainability of our workplace and the environment in which we live and operate. That starts at our 10-acre headquarters campus in Northbrook, Illinois. Learn about our ongoing efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of our largest office and laboratory facilities.
