Furthermore, many current philosophies of the sustainable design industry lead designers into placing their emphasis on eco-efficiency or "doing more with less." Although outwardly admirable and certainly well intended the fundamental concept of this strategy does not reach deep enough for sustainable success over the long term. The reason for this lies at the roots of eco-efficiency, which calls for reductions, recycling and reuse in order to slow down rates of contamination and pollution. Again outwardly admirable and very well intended, but in general these strategies only aspire to make our old systems less destructive, by slowing down the rate of destruction.

At Ikan we believe that these concepts are fundamentally flawed. Design strategies and philosophies like these are merely derivatives of the same systems that caused many of the ecological, environmental and economic problems we are faced with today. The core of Ikan’s vision is to move away from the industry “standards” that produce unhealthy and inefficient building environments and shift our focus to a design consciousness that promotes effective long-term sustainability to the built environment.

We asked ourselves, “How can we deliver more effective sustainable design-build services if we are attempting to operate in systems that were never intended to support the sustainable design vision?” If one considers the output of the “standard” design system and compares it to a simplified process model the answer to this question becomes inherently obvious. Consider any process in which products are produced (i.e. manufacturing), if a product has been identified as flawed or less then satisfactory, the process operators typically do not continue to let the process run expecting to get different final results. Rather, they identify imperfections in the production system, and then apply strategies of change to this system, which ultimately results in the creation of a new system that effectively improves the final product. If sustainable buildings are the product then the delivery structure is the system of production. If the design and construction processes are less than satisfactory then we can only expect that the final building will be less than satisfactory.

Ikan’s leadership theories emphasize each client’s unique identity and unique market position. Rather than trying to fit clients into “standard” predetermined project delivery matrices we attempt to understand their unique vision and goal, then help to create a new implementation matrix structured to most effectively meet their unique needs. By partnering with our client’s vision we are able to ensure that these goals are effectively reached and then maintained for the long-term. Our definition of sustainability is not just “green” building design, but a new platform for long-term business success. Our success not only yields increased capital, but healthier living and working environments, increased overall satisfaction of occupants and many positive environmental benefits that minimize impacts on nature and form new positive market identities for our clients.