Comstock's magazine 0419 - April 2019 | Page 96

| ACRE / BOMA | w w w.c o a c t d e s i g n w o r k s .c o m Designing healthier and happier work environments 96 comstocksmag.com | April 201 9 A rendering of the marketplace in the California Department of General Services’ new O Street building. Like living off the grid, except it’s actually on the grid. “Our building is ac- tually connected via a net meter, so that when we’re producing more energy than we need, we’re pushing that energy back on to the grid,” says Cassil, adding that Architectural Nexus creates about 150 percent of its energy use. The building achieved its certifica- tion by employing solar panels, cisterns, water and air filtration systems, but also nontoxic building materials, which cur- rently aren’t as regulated by state build- ing codes. “We worked with the vendors to disclose all the ingredients in building materials to ensure there are no harmful materials,” which was a yearlong pro- cess, says Cassil. “We don’t really know what’s in most of the materials that we spend most of our lives in and around, and many of those materials are harmful,” says Cassil. “There’s no gentle way to put it; they are cancer-inducing.”