Healthy Buildings USA

Embracing the Opportunities of Green Building

By Kay Wilthew

Industry pioneer Healthy Buildings USA was developed through personal circumstances that confronted the company founder and CEO Bob Massaro. Twelve years ago when his child was stricken with asthma, Massaro combined his public health and biology education with his building and design expertise to create a healthy indoor environment for his family. Massaro's response helped his child and put him on the path to creating healthy environments for his entire community.

In the 1980s before "going green" was a mainstream concept, Massaro and his brother, architect Jon Massaro, operated their design/build firm to create "healthy" buildings that were good for occupants, easier on the environment and made sound economic sense. In the late '90s, following the incident with his son, Massaro redirected his efforts to focus exclusively on green and healthy buildings and launched Healthy Buildings USA, a company whose leadership and educational efforts have helped to guide the building industry to an environmental perspective.

Company principal Sara Rosenthal believes the health benefits of green building are often overlooked. "Most people learning about green are totally focused on the environment, and the health aspect is a fairly new dimension." Like Massaro, Rosenthal has her undergraduate degree in biology. She later added her MBA from Stanford.

Long a proponent of green building, Massaro recognized its significant health benefits. "Because I was initially educated in biology, I understand the impact the environment can have on the human body. I decided if I'm going to build the environment in which people live, work and learn, let me make it such that it doesn't do them any harm."

Evidence proves green building's substantial economic, environmental and health value. Says Massaro, "The data now overwhelmingly demonstrates that healthy buildings result in less absenteeism and higher productivity. The connection between healthy and green buildings and economic benefits has been firmly established. The rating systems such as LEED and GreenPoint Rated recognize this. People who live in healthy buildings are benefiting themselves, and benefiting the planet."

The principals of Healthy Buildings believe that architects and builders have a moral obligation and social responsibility to create sustainable environments. Says Massaro, "This business is much more than just building build- ings and making money, it is also about opportunity. Architects have the opportunity to design beautiful buildings that function properly and last a long time. Smart builders have the opportunity to build good buildings that have a positive effect on their bottom line, and on the life of our planet."

Healthy Buildings has combined their "hands on" green design and building expertise with an outreach agenda. The company's LEED certification consulting and educational services are available throughout California. Explains Massaro, "We decided if we're going to be truly sustainable we must bring sustainability to others; to educate, to inspire and to motivate. We're qualified to advise our clients on attaining LEED certification and to achieve Build It Greens' GreenPoint rating."

The scope of the company's involvement in a project varies, explains Elizabeth Olcott, managing principal. "On some of our projects we're the project manager or consultant, on others the general contractor. So not only are we providing consulting and project management services, we can also build out the projects."

Christopher Gustin, manager, government relations, with 30+ years working in public agencies is uniquely qualified to assist municipalities in drafting their green-building ordinances. "My role is to help the local governmental agencies put the rules in place to encourage a higher level of construction standards - to go beyond the minimum standards and make them healthy, high-performing buildings."

Massaro believes their message must emphasize high-performance building. "There are those that equate environmentally sustainable buildings with the 'tree huggers' of the '70s and '80s. To me this is all about performance. High- performance buildings consume less energy, emit less greenhouse gasses, cost less money to operate, require less maintenance and are healthier, happier places. And yes, they also save trees."

Healthy Buildings USA also develops select high-visibility projects promoting innovative green technologies. Says Massaro, "We now look at the projects we develop as R&D opportunities. The technologies of today considered 'cutting edge' or 'pushing the envelope' will be commonplace in three to five years. We consider part of our job to implement these technologies now, so that we can help them become commonplace sooner.

"Ultimately, the more we humans damage our environ- ment the more we're going to harm ourselves. We in the building profession have the knowledge and skills - let's use them. Information is there for the taking."

Massaro conveys a sense of urgency. "This is the turning point in the building industry. The way we design and build buildings is going to change radically. They will be built so they don't consume energy or they'll generate their own energy. Different materials will be in place, designs will change and the way buildings integrate with the environment will change. Technology will push us to living differently. With sustainable building practices, we can actually have a better quality of life - healthier environments, lower costs and put less stress on the planet. We just have to embrace the opportunities, which includes change, and the rest will follow."

Healthy Buildings USA is located at 100A Coombs Street, Napa, CA 94559. Call (707) 265-0265 or visit healthybuildingsusa.com for more information.

More Than Noteworthy

March 26, 2008, the State Assistance Fund for Enterprise, Business and Industrial Development (SAFE-BIDCO) presented the 6th annual Green Entrepreneur Award recognizing excellence in sustainable business practices throughout Northern California to Robert D. Massaro and Healthy Buildings USA.

Areas of Expertise

- Project management and technical consultation from schematic design through entitlements, and through the entire construction process.
- Guidance of staff and local stakeholder groups to facilitate the development of green-building ordinances.
- LEED and Build It Green Project Ratings. Coordination of the project team's effort to achieve USGBC's LEED or Built It Green's GreenPoint-rated verifications.
- Cost/benefit analysis for design elements under consideration, and constructability review from a green- building technology perspective.

Expanding the Team

In early 2007, Massaro realized his ability to foster sustainability was limited by the number of projects his company could complete in any one year. He really wanted Healthy Buildings work product to be sustainability, and not just designing or building structures like homes, offices and schools. Once he realized he wanted to sow the seeds of sustainability, Healthy Buildings' new business model became clear, and so did its need for experienced and knowledgeable talent. Thus the addition, in mid-2007, of Elizabeth Olcott as managing principal, and in early 2008 of Sara Rosenthal and Chris Gustin as principals. Each brought with them considerable knowledge, experience, academic credentials and green-building certifications (including LEED AP, AICP, Green Point Rater and Certified Green Building Professional designations). More importantly, they brought the same vision as Massaro's, namely that of designing and building in the most sustainable manner possible.

2008 Projects

- New commercial office building, 6,500 square feet, in a high-visibility location and a 31-unit residential building for the Gasser Foundation in Napa. Both targeted to be LEED Gold, they will have a significant impact on both residential and commercial development in the entire city of Napa.
- A new dormitory for 61 students of the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, a nationally respected institution. Targeted to be LEED Gold, this project elevates educational housing to a higher level of sustainability.
- 16 one- and two-story new custom homes in Yountville, Napa Valley. Zero energy, sustainable homes; targeted to be LEED Gold and GreenPoint rated, these homes will include several features new to sustainable design.

June 2008 Builder Architect Edition Issue

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