The word "amicus" means friend in Latin. We believe the name embodies what we represent and strive for--that all of our products, principles, and practices are friendly to you, your building, wallet, future, and planet. Our Mission: To help people live, work, play and pray in sustainable, comfortable, healthy, affordable and responsible buildings. What We Mean by Green Building "Green building" often means different things to different folks, and many believe it requires making a choice or compromise between important traits, such as health or energy savings. We strongly believe that a really green building combines and optimizes, to the extent feasible, all of the following features: Energy smart: A building should use as little energy as needed without compromising modern technologies. In other words, we want to shrink your Energy Demand pie. Renewable energy: As much of the energy you use should come from safe, clean, renewable (non-fossil and non-nuclear) sources. In other words, we want to fill your Energy Demand pie with green Supply as much as possible. Water smart: Water is the most precious chemical on Earth. Virtually no living thing can survive without it. So we want to use as little water as possible, and we want the water you do use to be healthy and safe. Safe and healthy: Materials in the project should foster healthy occupants and a safe future. This means avoiding toxic and dangerous chemicals. It means using an appropriate ventilation system. It means projects should be well-built to minimize safety risks to the occupants (fire, collapse, etc.). It also means making larger ties between the products we buy and energy security, homeland and foreign security, and other "issues of the day." Environmentally appropriate materials: The materials used to build out the project should be reused, reclaimed or recycled; be sourced from sustainable suppliers; minimize embodied energy (the amount of energy it takes to grow, harvest, mine, manufacture, process, ship, use, maintain, and dispose of any product); and be able to avoid the creation of waste in their manufacture and end-of-life (reuse or recycle them). Land smart: Where applicable, projects should be sited in areas already built-up with infrastructure, including transportation, water & sewer, electric, schools, etc. Areas convenient to mass transit, biking, and walking--that allow you to use motor vehicles less--and that reuse previously used spaces (such as infill and brownfields) are preferable, and may well save you time, money, and inconveniences.