About Opticos Design, Inc.
Opticos Design, Inc. is an urban design and architecture firm that specializes in the creation of vibrant, sustainable communities, comfortable pedestrian environments, and well-crafted buildings that will all withstand the test of time and reinforce the unique, local character of a place.
Opticos became a B corporation to find support in creating a business that better reflects our passions and beliefs that businesses should be socially, environmentally, and fiscally responsible, as well as to provide a successful business model to other firms looking to do the same. We also support the B corporation initiative to help consumers sort through the marketing hype to find businesses and products that are truly socially and environmentally responsible.
The name Opticos has its roots in the term “logos opticos” which was used by Viturvius in his architectural treatise, “The Ten Books of Architecture,” referring to the innate sense of harmony within well-composed visual information. Our practice embodies this sense of harmony in the inviting public spaces and overall great places we create in our town planning practice, as well as in the well proportioned and comforting traditional and classical buildings we craft.
The Change We Seek™
Opticos seeks to create and revitalize healthy, sustainable, and diverse communities. These are places where kids can ride their bikes to school and residents can walk to meet their daily needs. They include a variety of housing choices to promote socially, economically, and age-diverse communities, and provide access to transit and alternative modes of transportation.
• Opticos Design recently won the GreenWORKS Design Competition for 2009, a highly coveted prize among sustainable architects and builders. GreenWORKS Design Competition was sponsored by the City of Santa Fe, Enterprise Community Partners and Green Communities to provide a model green, affordable infill project within the Westside Guadalupe Historic District, solicit designs that would meet Santa Fe’s new green building code, and conform to historic design standards. To call the Opticos plan green is something of an understatement. Green features include: passive solar heating and cooling; maximization of cross ventilation through site orientation and shallow building depths; use of local materials and construction techniques including recycled and reclaimed materials; solar panels, and greenliving roofs that provide passive cooling.
Founding B Corporation
Opticos Design, Inc.
- Industry: Other
- Product/Services: Architecture and Urban Design
- Location: Berkeley, CA
- http://www.opticosdesign.com
Summary:
Certified: September 2007| Points Earned | % Points Available | |
|---|---|---|
| Environment » | 3.2 | 17% |
| Employees » | 34.7 | 66% |
| Community » | 13.6 | 23% |
| Consumers » | 24.8 | 50% |
| Leadership » | 13.9 | 71% |
| Composite B Score | 90.2 | 45% |
- >80 out of 200 is eligible for certification
- >60% points available = Area of excellence
Highlights:
2008 B Impact ReportEnvironment: >25% office materials come from recycled input materials
Employees: 15% profits shared with employees >70% healthcare premiums paid for employees and their families >10% of company stock is set aside for employee compensation plan 100% employees offered reimbursement for continuing education
Community: Majority of banking services provided by local, independent bank >30% management from previously excluded populations. >20% local, independent suppliers >50% employees are women >25% employees participated in company organized service days last year
Consumers: >80% of projects targeted to underserved populations
