LSI Architects - Open Environment

The various strands of LSI Architects’ CR activity have been developed with eight partners and now fall under the umbrella title of Open Environment.  Open Environment is a means of achieving the practice aims of creating an office culture to attract and retain staff and to raise our design quality; position ourselves in the market place to secure more commissions in education and sustainable design; and to demonstrate environmental awareness thus ‘qualifying’ to advise prospective clients.

LSI Architects set out to achieve society benefits by offering pro-bono professional time, expertise, mentoring and advocacy in collaboration with external partners; develop a pool of skills locally; and to interpret sustainable design in the mainstream development industry.

Commitment to Open Environment is demonstrated by its yearly allocation of a significant percentage of turnover to its activities, and by the recognition accorded both internally and externally.  The practice is prepared to ‘stand up and be counted’ in websites and publications as a case study for good business practice.

Employees at all grades have been chosen to lead aspects of their programmes on the basis of interest, prior involvement and skill-set.  CR activity is monitored for quarterly LLP meetings and senior personnel report on facets of the activities at the Members’ AGM and Members & Associates meetings.  CSR “news” is shared at monthly office meetings.  Project designs are reviewed at key stages and checked for sustainability, and best practice is recorded in our in-house Sustainability Guide.  LSI Architects not only seek to put their own house in order but have helped the Broads Authority produce a Sustainability Design Guide and hosted a seminar during the BA Festival of Science in Norwich – attended by 60 businesses and government agencies.  This demonstration of what can be done has led directly to paid commissions.