Friday, November 14, 2008

Jacksonville Business Journal - by Marisa Carbone Finotti Correspondent

You could say Mark Gelfo, principal and division director for TLC Engineering for Architecture's Jacksonville office, saw it coming.

Six years ago, Gelfo realized the green movement would be good for business as well as the environment. And he realized it would eventually hit Jacksonville.

"We wanted to be ahead of the curve on the green movement," Gelfo said. So he turned his Jacksonville office into a leader in sustainable engineering design services in the Southeast. About 15 percent to 20 percent of all business for his Jacksonville office now consists of green projects.

"It's still a relatively small market for us, but it's growing," he said.

As one of the first chairs of the North Florida chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, Gelfo is much in demand as a lecturer and presenter on sustainable building design in Florida.

But more importantly, he said, he practices what he preaches.

Two years ago, Gelfo designed the award-winning green renovation of offices for TLC Engineering's own 13,000-square-foot space on the second floor of the DuPont Center on Prudential Drive.

It's the first - and so far the only - space in Florida to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification for commercial interiors from the USGBC, perhaps the most recognized seal of approval for environmentally friendly construction projects.

Building projects seeking LEED certification must first score high on a detailed rating system set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council.

In TLC's case, natural sunlight illuminates the office. The entire space is designed with energy-efficient lighting and equipment and sensor faucets. It means the carpet and furnishings are low in chemical-emitting compounds.

Recycled and local materials were used in renovating the space to reduce waste and cut down on transportation costs. There's a place for employees who want to bicycle to work to store their bicycles, shower and change.

Susan Cleveland, LEED-certified interior designer at Jacksonville-based ASD Architects and chairwoman of the North Florida chapter of USGBC, worked closely with Gelfo helping design and document TLC's office space for LEED certification.

"A lot of offices want to move forward with a more sustainable space, but they wait," Cleveland said. "Mark persists. He finds a way to get there. He's a great goal-setter."

Besides his own office space, Gelfo has designed two other LEED-certified new buildings in Jacksonville: the University of North Florida's 63,000-square-foot Social Sciences Building, and UNF's 3,000-square-foot Parking Services building. So, in total, Gelfo has worked on three of five LEED-certified buildings in Northeast Florida.

Gelfo said he enjoys designing sustainable engineering systems for new buildings because it makes him feel good about helping the environment. But he said he would never push a client to go green.

"I will educate someone as much as they want to hear it," Gelfo said. "But I would never force it. It just doesn't work if you do."