Building Specialist Recognized for National Impact on Profession of Architecture

Dagmar B. Epsten, FAIA, LEED Fellow, CxA, has been elevated this month to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, recognizing her national impact on the profession of architecture with an FAIA designation. Leading her firm, Epsten Group, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, to strategically planned growth, she researched new roles for herself and hired others in a process of multi-disciplinary innovations.

Trained as an architect, she broadened the traditional role of an architectural firm with a multitude of services and created a high-performance building consulting practice, improving environmental and energy performance for the entire life cycle of buildings.

Ms. Epsten helped clients recognize that sustainable building achievements improve asset value, tenant retention and operational efficiency, and assisted a diverse domestic and international clientele that includes owners, developers, tenants, architects, contractors and engineers. Consistently in demand by corporate, institutional and government clients, Epsten Group is also a GSA Federal Supply Schedule Contract holder for Building Commissioning, Energy Auditing and Energy Consulting Services.

Creating specialized groups within her practice, Ms. Epsten, also a LEED Fellow and Certified Commissioning Authority (CxA), demonstrated a new direction to the architectural profession. Her building consulting firm of 50 includes architects, engineers, commissioning agents, energy modelers, interior designers, planners and environmental policy specialists. The energy modeling group optimizes building design early on for energy performance, integrating architectural Building Information Modeling (BIM). The LEED consulting group, founded in the early stages of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), leads complex teams with innovative processes to LEED building achievements. The building envelope commissioning group assures durability and energy efficiency of a structure’s exterior, and the system commissioning department improves new and existing facilities including through energy auditing and retro-commissioning. The ISO/IEC Guide 65-accredited certification group provides building and product assessments under various green building standards including LEED, Greenguard and Energy Star.