Epic Systems Corporation

Project summary:

As a software developer for the health care industry, Epic's primary goal was to create a place of comfort and inspiration for its employees and clients alike. With unprecedented growth in sales and staff (an average of 500 new hires each year), the company also needed a site that could keep up with their changing needs.

In a corporate culture that is used to having its offices occupied 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Epic partnered with designers to create a "home away from home" work environment. Amenities such as wood-burning fireplaces, operable windows, and individual design themes for each building Ð including jungle, garden, eclectic, Scandinavia, and New York Loft Ð help inspire creativity and incorporate a sense of fun for employees, recruits, and visiting customers.

Seven structures in all — including five office buildings, one cafeteria/commons facility and one underground parking garage — were all included in the project scope that primarily concluded in January 2007.

Aside from the dynamic design features of the buildings, the Epic Systems project also incorporated one of the nation's largest geothermal heating and cooling systems. More than 55 vertical bores measuring 300-feet were required to complete this green building effort.

Recycling was also a huge priority on the project. Working with WasteCap Wisconsin, Findorff developed a program that collected everything from the workers' soda cans and lunch wrappers, to scrap metal and drywall used during construction.

Recycling program highlights from the Epic project included:
-A 65 percent overall recycling rate by weight
-More than 1,900 tons of waste diverted from landfills
-730 tons of recycled wood (the equivalent of approximately 4,800 trees)
-312 tons of recycled scrap metal

Throughout the duration of the project, our company and Epic also hosted a number of educational Talk & Tour events for area businesses that demonstrated the various wasted reduction strategies in progress at the project site.