Office + Workplace

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Office

Sustainability that doesn’t retire

The new office space for the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board brings together all staff in a sustainable building that’s easily accessible to members and the public.

Dekker first partnered with NMERB for site selection and programming in 2010. After a series of delays, the project was greenlit again in 2019. We started by conducting a feasibility study and guiding the steering committee through a vision and goal setting session to understand the needs of staff, members, and other stakeholders.

In order to accommodate all Santa Fe employees and plan for future growth, a 25,000sf building was designed on a new site. The site was chosen for its easy access to public transportation.

Of primary importance to the NMERB was a member experience that is welcoming and accessible, and a staff experience that promotes workplace health and wellbeing. The state agency wanted a modern, sustainable, and technology-enabled facility that would be easy to manage and would flex to allow for future growth.

Sustainable design that saves money

While sustainability was identified as a priority by the board, the client was not initially sure that solar panels would fit into their state-approved budget.

Within just a few hours, our in-house sustainability team was able to generate a full photovoltaic study that outlined the energy generation and maintenance cost potential of installing solar panels. We provided six options for solar panels, using clear language and visuals to explain the environmental impact of each option.

After seeing the data, NMERB understood that investing in solar panels would yield them the best return on investment. The design proceeded to include renewable energy production well in excess of projected energy use.

By investing in energy production, the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board will not only be substantially lowering their carbon emissions, they’ll also be able to “sell back” excess energy produced, providing a potential source of revenue for the board.