The Friends Committee on National Legislation is a Quaker lobbying group in Washington DC. Their building is the first "green" building on Capitol Hill. The building received bipartisan congressional recognition at an event last week. They are anticipating LEED certification (which normally takes a few months after the building is substantially completed), and the building has already received other accolades, including the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects awarding a presidential Citation for Sustainable Design.
The building features a vegetated roof planted with sedum, energy efficient windows, bamboo flooring and other sustainably harvested woods, and a list of other LEED checklist items. It also utilizes a ground-source heat pump despite the fact that it is situated in an urban neighborhood with neighboring buildings. Ten 350 foot deep wells are used to circulate a non-fluorocarbon fluid to maintain a 55 degree temperature for the heating and cooling system.
The most striking element is the light scoop. A south facing window on the roof and a curved, reflective ceiling direct sunlight down through the elevator lobbies to bring natural daylight to all floors of the building. There’s even a cool QuickTime 360-degree "virtual tour" inside the light scoop that gives you a good sense of how the light scoop illuminates the building.

"FCNL’s building conserves electricity by maximizing the use of natural light through the use of a light scoop. The light scoop consists of rooftop windows that scoop daylight into the central core of the building; the light is then conveyed to the second and first levels below by glass flooring in the elevator lobbies. In addition to conserving electricity, this use of natural light makes FCNL a more pleasant place to work, as natural light has been shown to have healthful benefits."

This project also maintains the character of its neighborhood by preserving and re-using portions of two Civil War-era buildings, rather than demolishing them to build new construction. The architect’s statement speaks of an intent to "…restore exterior fabric of two historic townhouse buildings, while renovating and expanding the interiors to meet modern office standards and incorporate sustainable design technologies."

Building Information:
Size: 12,000 sq. ft.

Location: Washington DC

Architect: Burt Hill

General Contractor: Kfoury Construction Group
via: Archinect and AIArchitect

Based in Berkeley and Washington DC, Free Range offers a wide selection of creative services for companies and non-profit organizations. "We know that our best work comes not just from our creative vision, but also from the creativity of those we serve. That's why every project at Free Range is a collaboration between designer and client. We've built our reputation on being collaborative partners." Company co-founder and President, Jonah Sachs, recently took time out of his busy schedule to tell me more about starting Free Range, unique projects you've probably never heard of, and a sneak peek at what's next.

Victoria E: How did you and Free Range co-founder Louis Fox decide to open a creative company with a conscience?

Jonah Sachs: Louis and I were childhood friends. Since we were 7 years old, we had been making home movies, games and haunted houses. We always collaborated really well and complemented each other's creative energies. After college, I started doing some freelance design and Louis was a production assistant on films. I was in DC and he was in NY. I was getting really excited about the possibilities of using graphics to influence people's thinking.

I had been on a journalism path but soon felt that it wasn't just words that taught people. It was also how those words were presented. The form was becoming as interesting to me as the content. But as I started running into some walls artistically, I called Louis and asked him to join me. Louis has always been the fine artist between us and he added a totally new dimension to what I could do. Only problem was he knew nothing about computers or the internet. So it was really a learning process for both of us.

VE: The client list on the company's website reads like a "who's who" of green businesses and organizations. Was there a particular group that was a uniquely exciting experience to work with?

JS: We did a piece with Students for a Free Tibet that really made us realize what this work was all about, what was possible. They teamed us up with the Beastie Boys to make a video for the song "Sabotage." The video showed the face of a Tibetan monk sentenced to death by the Chinese government plastered all over the world. It was all faked, but it looked like there was graffiti of this guy's face wherever you turned. Shortly after the campaign, this man's death sentence was commuted. It was a wonderful thrill.

We had a similar experience working with Amnesty International. We made a giant truck billboard that drove around the Saudi embassy demanding they open their legal system to outside oversight. The billboard was embarrassing to them, showing the sword from the Saudi flag cutting off someone's raised hand (a common practice in Saudi justice). The tagline said "Want to know Saudi Arabia's Human Rights Secret? Raise your Hand." They quickly caved to Amnesty's demands and opened a once-closed system to outside view.

VE: Despite your range of media works, Free Range is well known for its Flash animation videos. Do you have a favorite Flash project?

JS: When it comes to our flash movies, some of the older ones still make me smile the most. "A Bear Votes" is a classic (our second movie), and it was so cheap and so simple, but it was really fun. And it reminds me of a more innocent time on the web when people passed something around even if it wasn't the edgiest, nastiest thing going.

I also like the piece we did for Working Assets about Lady Liberty being imprisoned by the measures we were taking to "protect" the nation. It was, and still is, a really important message for people to understand. And I love "Friends with Low Wages" because it's so damn catchy and really was a victory for us in that we made a rather unsexy topic (union organizing) and brought hundreds of thousands of eyeballs to it.

VE: "The Meatrix" is known as the most successful Flash advocacy movie in the history of the web. What is it like for your business to hold an unexpected title like that?

JS: I often reflect on how, when we started this business, we hoped just to try something new and make enough money to live on. To have made some real, pioneering impacts on the world is beyond anything we could have imagined. It also makes us want to push to do it again.

VE: Very much committed to giving back and helping the little guy, Free Range has the yearly Gratitude Grant, whose winner receives $15,000 worth of services. Who originally came up with the idea for this project? Why do you see it as an integral part of the group's business?

JS: The idea came from McArthur, our VP, and Louis, the other co-founder. Our clients are all making sacrifices financially to do what they most care about. It's a language they inherently understand. So it's natural that serving this community we would make similar sacrifices. And in the end, the loyalty and attention we get does pay it back.

VE: The media has such a large impact on our daily lives it's nearly subconscious. What more could be done to help promote eco and social change via entertainment and ads?

JS: I wish I had the answer. The democratization of media has been the greatest gift the web has given us and its potential is enormous. But people, now given the option to consume anything, are still largely consuming the kind of media they've been conditioned to enjoy. A lot of it doesn't enrich them or the planet. But I think the growing awareness about social issues, especially global warming recently, is going to bring about more message/entertainment melds (like we did with "The Meatrix") that will have huge global impacts. I guess in short, we just need more creativity out there to disguise social content as entertainment.

VE: Do you have any other nifty, secret projects in the works that you could hint at?

JS: We're working on a next-generation eco-footprint calculator that is going to take the best elements of video games, social networking and earth science to create an incredible experience of measuring your personal impact on the Earth and what you can do to reduce it. It's going to be amazing.