Delray Beach Forum:

Local architectural firm is building energy efficient focus

August 11, 2009

Fort Lauderdale-based KASAI, Inc. is not necessarily looking to cash in on the green architecture boom associated with LEED certification in commercial and residential design in South Florida. The think tank team of president Keith Snider and his colleague James Downey, the vice president of the architectural firm since its 2002 inception, are focused on energy efficiency at a small scale, designing socially responsible buildings with the least impact on the environment.

KASAI just recently released “10 Tips for Energy Efficiency in the Home” available free by e-mail. Those tips include how to incorporate day lighting into a design and good ventilation, all while controlling or decreasing the internal heat load of a commercial or residential building.

“We accomplish this by designing our buildings to be site specific, taking inspiration from our clients’ needs, the local environment and the cultural context in which they are located. The goal of our practice is not only to design buildings that reduce their effect on environment, but also counteract the loss of identity that has taken place through generic design practices,” Snider said.

For more information call Keith A. Snider Architect Inc – 954-671-1988.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com:

Local architects work with the sun to save energy

August 26, 2009

DAVID DIPINO

Forum Publishing Group

Fort Lauderdale-based KASAI is focusing on designing energy-efficient buildings in South Florida, backed by a new architectural guideline, the "14x Stimulus: A plan for State and Local Governments" produced by Architecture 2030, a division of the U.S. Building Sector. KASAI President Keith Snider said he is focused on energy efficiency at a small scale, designing socially responsible buildings with the most impact on the site and the least impact on the environment.

"We accomplish this by designing our buildings to be site specific, taking inspiration from our clients' needs, the local environment, and the cultural context in which they are located," Snider said. "The goal of our practice is not only to design buildings that reduce their effect on environment, but also counteract the loss of identity that has taken place through generic design practices." He said their company can save the community money, protect the environment, and even get government or state rebates in some cases.

KASAI has also released "10 Tips for Energy Efficiency in the Home" available free by e-mail. The architects advise on how to incorporate day lighting into design and good ventilation, all while controlling or decreasing the internal heat load of a commercial or residential building. Snider said the focus on every project is to work with the sun, rather than against it.

"A building designed for the tropics will be different from a building designed for a temperate region," Snider said. They look at appliances and electronic items emitting heat and compute that into research from Architecture 2030. The KASAI team just finished an architectural consulting project with Fred Hunter Funeral Home in Davie.