As the In Balance Green Consulting team, we are celebrating! It has been ten years since our Principals Andy Pease, Architect and LEED Accredited Professional, and Jennifer Rennick, Architect and Certified Energy Analyst, launched our firm.
Andy in 2010
Jen in 2010
Before joining forces a decade ago, Andy and Jennifer’s paths first crossed years prior while working on an energy improvement project. A few years later they were working independently, Andy focusing on green building and Jennifer on energy modeling. During that time, they would informally collaborate and share insights regarding green building practices, LEED, and energy performance. Over time, they began hiring one another for projects or pursuing projects together, taking turns on who was prime. Soon they realized that their skill-sets complemented one another, as did their passion for a balanced approach, both in life and in architecture. In spring of 2008 the two formalized their partnership by establishing In Balance Green Consulting.
“The words ‘In Balance’ bring powerful images for us,” says Andy. “Balance applies to the natural world, to your work/home life, and to the reality of having projects move forward. You can’t be so focused on one aspect that a project is no longer economically feasible, for example; there is always the triple bottom line.” Andy and Jennifer created this business as two women who both had young kids and wanted a balance of career, family, helping the community, and making the planet a better place. Those values remain key.
The company has grown over the years to include new team members and expanded services. Andy reflects on this growth, “We needed to bring on qualified staff, professionals who also understood the LEED process and whole building energy performance. Once we hired staff it triggered our next milestone, moving out of our living rooms into an office. We sub-leased space in the beginning and eventually moved into our own office here at the Soda Water Works building.”
Our diverse portfolio includes winery, office, hospitality and retail, residential, government and education projects. Jennifer recalls the excitement of being awarded the first big projects. “One of the first wineries we worked on was Niner Wine Estates in Paso Robles. The client saw the benefit of high performance and daylighting, which was very exciting. Not everyone working on the project understood all the implications of daylighting, whereas now it’s much more understood. This was one of our first clients to move forward with LEED certification.”
Over the past decade we are fortunate to have been involved in a wide variety of successful projects. Along with celebrating the past decade, we are also looking forward to what the future holds. Andy summarizes our vision, “One of the things that drives us forward is how to be most impactful. We love working with organizations that want to take big steps to reduce their environmental footprint and improve quality of life for their building occupants. At the same time, we are excited to provide services to clients who are just getting up to speed with the concepts of green building and want to explore how far they can take them.”
