COMPANY SPOTLIGHT: WEST WORK
 

BuildingEnergy Access is a NESEA initiative to support the work of WMBEs (women and minority-owned business enterprises) by connecting them with the resources of the NESEA community. Each month, we'll introduce a participating company to the wider NESEA community through a spotlight interview.

We recently sat down with Katie Faulkner of West Work, a woman-owned an architecture and energy design company based in Roxbury Crossing, Massachusetts.

We discussed their work, running the business, and their impressions of the BuildingEnergy Access program so far...
 

Ian Reed: So, to begin, could you share a thirty second description of your company and the work you do?

Katie Faulkner: Our company is called West Work. We are an architecture and energy design company, with 12 people. We are based in Roxbury Crossing, which is a neighborhood of Boston. Our focus is on multifamily housing, higher education, libraries, and community consensus-based projects.

Our mission is to provide well-designed, durable, and lasting buildings, whether they be retrofits or new builds. We focus on energy efficiency  and make sure that people that are in the budget-sensitive zones, particularly around existing housing, aren't sacrificing the quality of space and quality of materials. Several on our team are certified or pursuing Passive House consulting certification. In fact, almost half of the group has gone through the course. Ideally, energy modeling is woven into all of our projects, not just those that choose Passive House. We are also contracted as Passive House certifiers for other firms, even when we are not the designer.

IR: Was it always the intention to work on community centered buildings or is that an area you found yourself drawn more recently?

KF: No, it was deliberate. I've been practicing for over 30 years. I've worked for large and small firms - on big tertiary care medical centers and little renovation projects. The cost and complexity of our industry continues to fascinate me, as I am certain with each new project that there is a cost effective solution. In 2019, I joined the West Coast startup Katerra, which had a promising business model to compress the space between design and delivery. They heavily invested in CLT, off-site construction, and component innovation, believing that if they could control the supply chain, they could control cost and quality. Their ultimate collapse is the stuff of much speculation, and I maintain their concept was solid. However, in 2020, I found myself unceremoniously cut loose and decided to launch an office around the kind of project I most enjoyed.

West Work is now five years old, and we are proud to have several completed projects. Not everything we do meets the target sustainability goals, but we’re always trying to improve. The team here is fantastic - talented, creative, and full of ideas. So yes, while a work-in-progress, our path has been quite deliberate. When people come and seek us out, either for projects or to join the staff, it is important that we can clearly articulate our process and mission.

IR: Have you had difficulty selling those Passive House techniques to clients? Or do you find that clients come to you prepared for those kinds of discussions?

KF: In short, yes, and while a believer in Passive House principals I'm also an advocate for “good enough.” Most of our projects are not Passive House certified, but many start with energy modeling and a decarbonization study. In renovation, it may not make sense financially to completely replace a newly installed gas-fired system with an all-electric one. Or perhaps the benefits of adaptive reuse outweigh the benefits of high performance new construction. If clients are pursuing historic tax credits and have a lovely brick exterior, overcladding with insulation does not make sense. Each project is unique and moving the ball just a little bit may be better than not moving the ball at all.

For new construction, we often have regulations and funder requirements on our side such that Passive House, or a high level of performance, is a requirement. As many of ourprojectsservethepublic, have frequent turnover, or support distressed populations, we are looking at durability to ensure our clients’ investments require minimal maintenance.

Our motivation on supporting staff Passive House training is to make sure our team understands the benefits of a tight envelope and a well-insulated building. Right now, we have one certified Passive House building in our portfolio, with a goal of having many more. For now, we approach all projects with the basic concepts, whether or not they are certifiable or pursuing Passive House certification. They may be designed to those principles, but either wouldn't be certifiable or are not pursuing certification.

IR: Is there a project or initiative you could share that is a good example of the work you do?

KF: Some of our projects provide permanent supportive housing with attached homeless shelters. There is often food service, a clinic, and laundry. We are also working on temporary emergency housing for families, with spaces for childcare and learning. We have a project right now renovating a motel in Stoughton, and turning it into permanent supportive housing. These apartments are designed as sustainably as possible, meeting current energy code. The building also has a second life, providing dozens of people with a pleasant place to live.

One of the great things that's happened, in the recent decade, has been the change in building/zoning codes and the incentive funds available that has pushed along the sustainability agenda. We as people  don't necessarily decarbonize because it's the right thing to do, and organizations trying to address problems like homelessness already have enough on their plate. As architects, we push our sustainability agenda as far as we can. In the end however, money is money. When performance targets are required, there is far less convincing and more collaboration around the best use of available resources.

West Work also works on libraries, which is a wholly different kind of project with many of the same objectives around serving their public. For a branch library in Boston, we will pursue LEED Silver. While not necessarily measurable, LEED principles align with our mission, and the library will be located in a Passive House multifamily building.

Fortunately we find that most of our clients are motivated to reduce carbon and energy use. The challenge is not usually to educate them, but to help figure out how to build sustainably while meeting project goals and budget.

IR: I bet having projects that are mission-related, but quite different from a building perspective, keeps things interesting.

KF: It is. I feel very blessed to have both types of projects. It keeps us humble.

IR: Where do you see yourself taking things in the future? Obviously, you’re a fairly new business and  you're growing right now, but looking at the big picture, are you looking to expand or to take on new types of projects?

KF: Scaling the company is a primary goal. It was never my intention to head an eponymous firm of a single designer. I'm much more interested in the techniques of practice than singular aesthetics -  architecture for the art. If, in a decade, we have grown West Work to be two or three times the size that we are now, with multiple principals and owners, I would consider it an achievement. Growing the business is a lot harder than I thought it would be. We're only five years old, and in the scheme of a firm's life, that's young…but because I've been practicing so long, I also have thisfeeling like, “okay, time's ticking.”

So, we are trying to figure out ways to grow the company and work at a larger scale. On the one hand, I love that all of our work is local. But with 12 people, we run a lot of small projects - a hard way to sustain a company. You're constantly on deadline. You can't get ahead to think strategically.

So much of the work that we've been doing with the Seven Strong* group has been around these issues. It’s been helpful to talk to other women that own or run their businesses.“How do you growyour project portfolio? How do you financially stabilize yourself? How are you handling marketing and HR when you can't afford to hire professionals? These kinds of conversations bring the strength to Seven Strong... I don't know where I would be without that. Seven Strong has been a terrific opportunity for me, I'm grateful that I was able to join. Frequently I will text individual members, or just put something on our list serv as a question to ask the cohort how they're dealing with it. They may not be doing the exact same type of work we're doing, but they have many of the same issues.

IR: The other members of Seven Strong that I have spoken to all said that they love having a resource where they can just ask a question and get solid, experiential advice.

KF: I wish I could carve out more time for it, because whenever I do, there is something of great value to carry forward.

IR: We’ve touched on your BuildingEnergy Access experience, but I’m curious to hear more about your involvement with the larger NESEA community. Have you participated with our conferences, Pro Tours or other NESEA programs?

KF: I haven't had the opportunity to do a Pro Tour, but I would like to. I have gone to a couple of NESEA conferences and we have another one coming up in a few weeks here in Boston.

I've enjoyed stepping back and looking at NESEA as a broader organization. It's easy, within our Seven Strong group, to stay focused on our program, and, in some ways, the things that we are dealing with are not common to the entire NESEA community. A number of people have been a part of NESEA for a long time and have moved on to other phases with their businesses, things like succession of ownership. At the gathering in New Hampshire last spring, there was a lot of emphasis on employee ownership and engagement, which reminded me that there is a long view when building a company.

IR: The Bottom Lines 10th Anniversary Group Retreat, sure.

KF: The retreat was the first time I'd had the opportunity to sit down and talk to other NESEA members, which was eye-opening; the scale of the organization, the various markets and regions represented…all of us are loosely united around construction issues like prefabrication and housing.

I’m looking forward to the next BuildingEnergy Boston conference. We're doing a presentation on ADUs, Accessory Dwelling Units, and how the changes in legislation will affect the scale of housing construction. While I don't expect ADUs to make a massive dent in the housing shortage, their acceptance is indicative of a mindset change.

I want to again express my gratitude for being part of the NESEA community. With the day-to-day swirl of meetings, marketing, and project delivery, it is easy to forget that while we are all in business, most of us arrived here with an ambition to make positive change. I am regularly impressed by my colleagues in Seven Strong and the broader NESEA community that are actually having that positive impact.

IR: Great. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, this was very insightful!
 
Katie Faulkner: Take care. Bye.

*Note: Seven Strong is the nickname of the grant-funded Access cohort that West Work participates in