New Honors for Dahlin Group's LEED Design

Local, National Notice for Firm's Office Building

Pleasanton, Calif., December 18—The San Francisco Business Times has awarded Best Architectural Design honors to Dahlin Group Architecture Planning for its headquarters building in Pleasanton. Judges for the 2008 East Bay Structures Awards praised the renovation’s “striking architecture” and sustainable elements, particularly its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

The structure is LEED certified to the Silver level for commercial interiors (LEED CI). See http://www.dahlingroup.com/comOfc/office-01.html

The East Bay chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) sponsors the Structures Awards; the architectural design honor is the office building’s latest recognition. It earned a Grand Award in the Gold Nugget Awards at PCBC, the West’s largest conference and trade show for real estate development professionals. It has also been earmarked by a San Francisco scouting firm as an appropriate location for commercial photo shoots.

The office remodel consolidates Dahlin Group’s former group of satellite offices into a single, collaborative work environment for the firm’s multi-disciplinary American and international practice. The office is the first LEED-certified structure for the Hacienda Business Park and one of only 25 LEED CI office buildings in California.

“By mastering the process for our building, we have strengthened our capabilities for clients seeking LEED certification,” said Doug Dahlin, founder and president of Dahlin Group. “This expertise is vital as jurisdictions require LEED certification on buildings with a public funding component, and as consumers demand a greater level of green in their homes.”

Originally an auto inspection facility, the renovated structure contains about 26,500 square feet in a two-story envelope, highlighted by a dramatic steel stairway. Large openings at the core of the building and lobby integrate both floors and flood interiors with natural daylight. Also notable are functional sunshades, automatic daylight sensors, low VOC paints, environmentally sensitive carpeting and adhesives, water thrifty plumbing and spectrally selective glass.

At 5865 Owens Drive, the office is next to Dublin-Pleasanton’s BART station, optimizing commutes from Oakland and San Francisco.  Bus lines that serve the Central Valley, where much of the area’s most affordable housing is found, are also convenient.

Dahlin Group Architecture Planning is a full-service architecture and planning firm with award-winning expertise in urban design and planning, transit-oriented development, seniors housing, community and recreational facilities, commercial buildings, custom homes and community residential concepts for a range of densities and locales. Dahlin Group maintains offices in Pleasanton, San Francisco, Irvine, and Solana Beach, California; and in Beijing, China.  See www.dahlingroup.com.