VIKA's Sustainable Design Philosophy

We believe Sustainable Design is more than a passing fad – it is a fundamental part of civil engineering design in today’s society.

As we develop the built environment of the future, one of the most important issues we face is how to provide for the daily needs of people while balancing the environmental impacts of growth. Developments of the future need to provide us with not just shelter, but a suitable environment for commerce, industry, housing, education, transportation, and recreation, while also improving or sustaining the quality of our land and water.

VIKA believes that it is possible to develop a built environment that allows us to meet all of our evolving needs without exploiting our natural resources.

Sustainable Design is a cultural mind shift and one that goes far beyond just a basic change in design approach. VIKA has a culture of practicing sustainable and Low Impact Development (LID) design philosophies that affect all phases of a project.

Sustainable design philosophy requires decisions at each phase of the design process that reduces adverse impacts on the environment and site occupants, without compromising the bottom line. It is an integrated, holistic approach that encourages and balances compromises and trade-offs. An integrated approach positively impacts all phases of a building's life‐cycle, including design, construction, and operation. VIKA’s designs are economical, buildable, and durable, while also maintaining a strong commitment to environmental stewardship.

While the basic objectives of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non‐renewable resources, minimize waste, and create healthy, productive environments, VIKA understands that the site is only one component of a much larger co‐dependent system. We expend the effort to understand the inter-relationships of all elements: soils, sunlight, stormwater, plant communities, heat islands and energy – and the impacts of human and site uses on each. VIKA incorporates sustainable design principles into our site selection, planning, inventory, assessment, analysis of alternatives, design, and construction oversight.

VIKA believes the solution is found within "sustainable design" elements that are based on the principle of emulating nature to ensure that the natural processes occurring today will continue even as we occupy and use the land.

Our sustainable design considerations and services include, but are not limited to:

• Promoting infill redevelopment of existing sites and protecting greenfields

• Coordinating potential alternative power sources whether solar, wind, or geothermal

• Incorporating integrated water quality and detention measures into the site design as landscape features

• Minimizing impervious cover and promoting infiltration facilities and practices, including Integrated Management Practices (IMPs)

• Reusing greywater and rain water on‐site or within the building

Click here to read about our Sustainable Design examples