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Commercial Design

Macdonald Architecture & Technology offers decades of experience in green & environmentally friendly commercial design & engineering. Please see our Commercial Gallery for more.

The greatest energy waste in the USA is in heating and cooling commercial buildings. 80% of the fossil fuel consumed in America is used to heat and cool buildings. Although energy conservation is now legislated for residential building (the standards are minimal), any positive change in the way commercial projects are conceived, designed, and constructed will improve the balance of payments for purchase of foreign oil, our foreign policy, and the viability of our economy and society. Changes in energy consumption can easily be made. Glass towers do not have to be made totally of glass (which is a conductor of energy, not an insulator), metal buildings can have insulated foundation walls and an insulating envelope that encases the steel structure so that steel (a conductor) girts, purlins, and bents do not act as energy wicks. None of these standards would result in higher building cost; in fact, in the case of the glass wall, insulating wall panels in lieu of floor to ceiling glazing would likely lower initial cost. In all cases the operational cost of buildings designed for energy conservation would be progressively lower as fuel costs increase. The buildings would also have varied and interesting appearances.

Macdonald Architecture & Technology incorporates energy conservation features into its designs from the outset of project planning to control construction cost and lower facility operations cost. Building appearance is a factor in leasing; commercial projects designed by Macdonald feature articulated exteriors such as done for the Domino Pizza Pad Prototype in Virginia, and integrated steel and concrete structures to lower cost and offer visual quality to sustain appearance value.

Macdonald offers over 30 years experience in multi-family, commercial, and community design and construction so as to provide efficient mixed-use project design. Innovations in structure, service installation, energy retention, and fire attenuation support mixed-use development while controlling construction cost.