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20-year Anniversary

20th anniversary logo

SDC turns 20 this October!
As we approach this important milestone, we’ll post a weekly highlight from each year of our history, to help shine a light on where we’ve been – with an eye toward where we’re headed next.

Year 1 slide - Green School Focus

Year 1: 2002-2003

June 22, 2022

As SDC settled into being a newly formed consulting firm, greening k-12 schools became an emerging industry focus.  Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland led the way by launching its own Green Schools Focus program!  Over two full days in July 2003, MCPS held its first eco-charrette to establish its priorities, emphasizing development of …

moreYear 1: 2002-2003
Year 2 slide

Year 2: 2003-2004

May 22, 2022

For a brief period in the firm’s history, SDC was based in Annapolis – Maryland’s capital city – and became active with the then Maryland Green Building Network, an indirect predecessor of USGBC Maryland.  During this year, SDC began advisory work on what would become its first LEED Platinum project: Highland Beach Town Hall.  Highland …

moreYear 2: 2003-2004
Year 3 Slide DC - regional office

Year 3: 2004-2005

April 22, 2022

As the #greenbuilding industry kept moving forward, so did SDC – within a matter of months, the super-small business set up a DC-area regional office, while relocating its main office to Richmond, Virginia!  During this year, the firm boasted three employees, other part-time staff, and an intern in each location. Functioning very much as one …

moreYear 3: 2004-2005
Year 4 Slide - Eastern Village Cohousing, Silver Spring, MD

Year 4: 2005-2006

March 22, 2022

Eastern Village Cohousing in Silver Spring, Maryland was SDC’s first start-to-finish consulting project.  Designed by EDG Architects and developed by Eco-Housing Corporation with Poretsky Builders, this adaptive reuse of an existing, U-shaped, concrete-framed office building challenged the status quo for multi-unit residential construction on several sustainability fronts.  The developers involved future residents in the design …

moreYear 4: 2005-2006
Year 5 - SDC becomes Richmond-headquartered hub of green building expertise

Year 5: 2006-2007

February 22, 2022

Having placed a strong foothold in Central Virginia, SDC began making its presence known as a Richmond-headquartered hub of regional #greenbuilding expertise.  The James River Green Building Council, a direct predecessor of USGBC Virginia, recognized SDC’s impact by awarding the firm its Green Building Leadership Award, Private Sector Category! SDC was recognized for its “many …

moreYear 5: 2006-2007

Year 6: 2007-2008

January 23, 2022

SDC’s first higher educational project was the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) Clifford and Camille Kendall Academic Center in Rockville, Maryland, designed by CannonDesign.  SDC’s LEED consulting services, delivered initially with Scurfield Architects, brought this exciting project to its LEED Gold-level certification finish line! Known as ‘the Center’, the 195,000 sf multi-purpose building now accommodates …

moreYear 6: 2007-2008
20th Anniversary Year 7

Year 7: 2008-2009

December 8, 2021

SDC deepened its expertise in green building certifications and LEED specifically, delivering both the first and second LEED Platinum-level certified projects to Virginia!  First came the VCU Walter L. Rice Educational Center – the flagship building at the Rice Rivers Center in Charles City County, VCU’s field station for environmental research, teaching, and public service. …

moreYear 7: 2008-2009
20th Anniversary Year 8

Year 8: 2009-2010

November 8, 2021

YEAR 8, 2009-2010: For the first time, USGBC National Capital Region (NCR) Chapter recognized SDC as Firm of the Year!  In the 2010 Awards for Excellence featured at its annual Midsummer Night’s Green event, NCR Chapter honored SDC as Designer/Consulting Firm of the Year “for their work in developing USGBC and AIA education, and for …

moreYear 8: 2009-2010
Year 9 Daylight Modeling

Year 9: 2010-2011

October 15, 2021

SDC introduced its first-generation daylight modeling services, an example of which is pictured here. Using a combination of Autodesk Ecotect and LBNL Radiance, SDC performed a false color daylight analysis to understand the potential of discomfort glare in the atrium of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore New Engineering, Aviation, Computer Sciences and Mathematical Sciences …

moreYear 9: 2010-2011
Blair Towns, Silver Spring, Maryland and Two Potomac Yard, Arlington, VA

Year 10: 2011-2012

September 3, 2021

As the U.S. real estate market struggled to recover from the impacts of its most recent recession, SDC leveraged renewed interest in existing building performance to deliver two Platinum-level LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (O+M) project certifications.  First came the Blair Towns in Silver Spring, Maryland, developed by the Tower Companies.  SDC had …

moreYear 10: 2011-2012
SDC Year 11 donation to Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Year 11: 2012-2013

August 3, 2021

SDC kicked off its eleventh year with commemorations of the first ten, announcing donations made to three high-quality environmental groups: Rainforest Alliance, Trust for Public Land, and Chesapeake Bay Foundation – the latter of which received their donation in person.  Reflections on ten years in business also brought cause for celebrating ten of SDC’s key …

moreYear 11: 2012-2013
Year 12 - LEED Proven Provider and GBCI

Year 12: 2013-2014

July 5, 2021

During SDC’s twelfth year delivering highest-quality LEED project submissions, GBCI, USGBC’s certification arm, recognized the firm as a LEED Proven Provider for the Building Design and Construction rating system family!  This designation had recently been developed to streamline the LEED project review process for experienced organizations that demonstrate consistent excellence in administering LEED projects. LEED …

moreYear 12: 2013-2014
Edificio Celabra, Montevideo, Uruguay

Year 13: 2014-2015

June 1, 2021

SDC saw its first international project achieve green building certification – LEED Gold-level, no less! Edificio Celebra was the new flagship office building at the Zonamerica Business and Technology Park in Montevideo, Uruguay. This existing campus included 25 buildings of different uses, such as offices, laboratories, light industrial and logistical activities, and support services for …

moreYear 13: 2014-2015

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