Mass Timber “Revolution” – SMRT Featured in MaineBiz
Ellen Belknap, President of SMRT Architect and Engineers spoke at last month’s Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) event about the potential future of producing mass timber and cross-laminated timber in Maine. “When we have mass timber available to us locally, it will be a game-changer,” she said. Belknap’s discussion centered on how to…
WELL, Now: How WELL’s Health-Safety Rating System Provides a Safer Path Back to Work
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, awareness and wariness of building safety skyrocketed. In response to this crisis, the WELL Health-Safety Rating system was developed to be a low barrier threshold to improve a space’s overall health impact.
Day One Energy Analysis: How Early, Data-Driven Decisions Deliver Sustainable Buildings and a Lifetime of Cost Savings
Performance-based energy analysis produces valuable metrics that can influence design decisions early in the project, when design changes are easier and less costly to incorporate
How the Coronavirus is Reshaping the Office
Ellen Belknap and Kate Everett spoke to the Portland Press Herald last week about how the shift to all-remote work has changed the discussion around the future of workplace. “This is the greatest experiment we never thought we would have,” said Ellen. With increased productivity, flexibility and carbon-reducing benefits, the experience has offered some real…
Design of the Times – SMRT in Mainebiz
Ellen Belknap, President, and Jeana Stewart, Workplace Studio Leader, spoke to Mainebiz about how SMRT has transitioned to fully-remote operations in the face of the coronavirus and how workplace design may be affected in the near future. “I can see how this is really going to create less travel, and people are going to be…
Histories Meet in SMRT’s New Portland Office
Finding our diamond, er, bakery in the rough. After 18 months of searching for a new office space, we began to fear we’d have to leave the Portland Peninsula, our home for the last 136 years. When 20,000 s.f. of high bay, raw space opened up on the Washington Avenue corridor (or, “WAVE”), we immediately…
Architects and Engineers Look to Embrace New Technology
Mainebiz interviewed 20 business leaders about their outlook on the coming year. Ellen Belknap, our President, spoke about Maine’s strong position for green technologies, particularly cross laminated timber, as the whole architecture / engineering / construction industry works to reduce carbon emissions.
Building Healthy Workplaces
Jeana Stewart, the leader of our Workplace Studio, was interviewed in Mainebiz about the wellness concepts incorporated in the recently completed global headquarters for WEX. Jeana’s services and the workplace studio provide immense value to employers who understand the role a welcoming, healthy workplace environment plays in employee recruiting and retention. By using a collaborative,…
From Research to Ribbon Cutting: SMRT’s New Workplace Studio Aligns Client Goals and Vision
Jeana Stewart, NCIDQ, LEED AP, has been elevated to lead SMRT’s newly formed Workplace Studio. Stewart has more than a decade of experience in the research, planning and design of workplace environments for clients in the corporate, education, science and technology, and government sectors. Her selected experience includes the programming and design of the interior…
Virtual Reality in the Design Process
Mainebiz recently featured SMRT’s use of virtual reality to help clients visualize what their space can look like before the first piece of building material even arrives on site. “The use of virtual reality was an invaluable process as it allowed us to experience the building ‘live’ during the early planning process” and make any…