Quinn Evans Architects (QEA) joined CBE’s research consortium in spring 2018. With a diverse portfolio of historic, cultural, educational, and urban revitalization projects, QEA helps their clients realize context-sensitive, community-oriented designs that address immediate needs as well as long term resilience and stewardship objectives. For 35 years, QEA has specialized in the stewardship of existing places — from nationally known cultural and educational institutions, to local schools, theaters, and community centers. In this context of stewardship, they manage change to provide a physical connection to the generations that care, manage, and experience these extraordinary places. Their work is rooted in developing a deep understanding of existing places and is enhanced by a full complement of tools and technology that enable high-performance design solutions that are focused on creating meaningful and memorable connections between people and places.
Their staff has interdisciplinary expertise with existing buildings and sites. They consistently break new ground in finding innovative solutions that incorporate the smartest technology. They bring a love for research and history, a deep curiosity to learn, and propensity to innovate to each engagement.
QEA recognizes that making the best design decisions requires accurate, timely, and well-ordered information. Their processes of engagement and facilitation are accompanied by in-depth historic research and documentation along with detailed site measurement, conditions assessments and forensics that leverage state of the art tools and emerging technologies such as technology-assisted data collection, laser scanning, thermal imagery, and augmented reality.
This intensive level of detail is exemplified by the firm’s groundbreaking development of Historic Building Information Management (HBIM), which transcends day-to-day requirements of facilities management to help guide clients in the expert management and stewardship of historic resources and existing buildings. As a result of this development, QEA is collaborating with the National Institute of Building Sciences to develop protocols for the documentation of existing and historic buildings in BIM – an area of standardization not yet addressed by the industry.
With an interest in addressing the full building life cycle, QEA leadership’s interest in post occupancy evaluations (POEs), occupant comfort, and building performance over time led the firm to engage CBE for its first POE in 2017. The Center’s rigorous approach to POEs was a natural fit with the firm’s interest in making project development and design decisions based on the best available information. Becoming more familiar with CBE’s research on making buildings more environmentally friendly, productive to work in, and economical to operate, it was an easy decision for QEA to become engaged as a member.
Image: LEED Platinum McKinley Middle School in Washington, D.C.; the site of QEA’s first POE with CBE. Photo courtesy of Quinn Evans Architects.