Introducing BEYOND, a Built Environment Consultancy Pushing the Boundaries of Sustainability and Resilience

In honor of this year’s Earth Day, global architecture, design and planning firm HLW is pleased to announce BEYOND, a cutting-edge sustainability consultancy working across the built environment to drive higher standards for sustainability, resilience, and building performance.

Powered by new research capabilities and data-driven tools, BEYOND sits at the crux of an integrated design process that champions human comfort and ecological transformation –– challenging the industry to reimagine its definition of “green.”

“Sustainability has long been an integral part of our design process,” says Susan Boyle, Managing Partner at HLW. “What we are doing with BEYOND is raising the bar and investing in our future. When we put forward HLW’s Sustainability Action Plan in 2020, we committed to more than just generating sustainable solutions that meet our client’s business goals; we are working to redefine what it means to be sustainable. We have a responsibility to design for future generations and it starts here.”

Under the leadership of Jonce Walker, Director of Sustainability and Wellness at HLW, the consultancy brings together decades of expertise in high-performance projects, including millions of square feet of certified space. Expanding on HLW’s core suite of services, Walker will oversee a deeper, analytical approach to the practice of sustainability, focused on understanding and optimizing portfolio-wide and building-specific metrics for clients across a range of industries. From Climate Analysis to Embodied Carbon, BEYOND will serve as a key resource in identifying and implementing calculable strategies and solutions though an offering that includes: Facade Optimization, Shadow Impact Analysis, Water Use Calculations, and Energy modeling, in addition to Rating System Consultation for programs such as LEED, WELL, Fitwel, BREEAM, Passive House, JUST, and Living Building Challenge; and wellbeing-driven strategies such as Active and Biophilic Design and WELL Health-Safety.

“It is no longer enough to only be ‘sustainable.’ Instead we need to go beyond and move towards a regenerative and resilient built environment, focused on health, wellness, ecology, and carbon lean,” says Walker. “The goal of BEYOND is to transcend project goals in order to maximize value for our clients, repair ecology, reduce carbon, and improve the health and wellness of the user.”

BEYOND already has an impressive global portfolio of work that includes holistic and award winning strategies for clients such as Google, Pernod Ricard, Belkin, Hofstra University, UPS, and Kering. The consultancy will continue to support HLW as an integrated team, while also solidifying its market offering as an independent partner for developers and designers.