Parkhill Welcomes Umesh Atre as New Sustainability Lead

Parkhill is pleased to announce the key addition of Umesh Atre, LEED AP, WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador, as our new Sustainability Lead. He brings more than two decades of experience working in India, Canada, and the United States. Umesh is a recognized knowledge leader in sustainability in Texas and is frequently asked to provide peer reviews on upcoming changes to rating systems like AEGB (Austin Energy Green Building) and LEED v5. 

As the Sustainability Lead, Umesh is a firm-wide resource for the development and implementation of sustainable design strategies, resources, and tools to further Parkhill's commitment to Building Community and Design Excellence. He will steward the implementation of Parkhill's Sustainability Action Plan, which includes annual reporting of project performance data to the American Institute of Architects (AIA). 

Umesh has authored numerous research papers, presented on topics related to sustainable design at local and national conferences, and served as a judge for the Austin Green Awards. He is active with the Austin AIA COTE (committee on the environment) and has worked on more than 100 green building certification projects. His primary interests include building energy modeling, daylighting, net zero, passive solar, embodied carbon analysis, and energy codes.  

Based on his experience of leading the sustainability efforts in schools as part of the 2017 Austin ISD Bond, he was invited to be part of AISD’s internal EWaS (energy, water, and sustainability) team for the 2022 Bond work. 

Prior to joining Parkhill, Umesh held the position of Director of Sustainability at Studio8 Architects, where he led sustainable design efforts on in-house and consulting projects while also sharing his knowledge using team presentations. He led the firm’s AIA CE Provider account, AIA Design Data Exchange reporting, and LEED/WELL Study Groups. 

Originally from Mumbai, India, Umesh completed his undergraduate studies in Architecture before moving to the United States. He earned his Master of Science in Architecture with a focus on Sustainability at Texas A&M University. His graduate thesis focused on the effect of daylighting on energy consumption in an existing elementary school.