Leading MEP Engineering Firm Celebrates 50th Anniversary | Credits Longevity to Focus on Relationships and Innovation
August 25, 2015 – GHT is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding this year. The Arlington-based firm was launched by Goodwin “Goodie” Hunt Taylor in 1965. The young entrepreneur grew the company to more than 20 employees in its first decade. In the years following, the firm’s leaders have guided the firm through several recessions and maintained GHT’s status as one of the largest locally owned and headquartered MEP firms in the DC area, in contrast to the recent trend of mergers & acquisitions in the building industry.
Today, GHT’s 80+ staff members are working on some of the largest, most high profile projects in the DC metro area. The firm’s recent portfolio includes the renovation of the historic Stevens School; the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) headquarters; a new office building at the Wharf; an MEP study for the Smithsonian Institution South Campus Master Plan; WeWork’s first residential concept; and fit-outs for tech giants like Uber, FaceBook, and Twitter.
GHT President Paul O’Brien credits the firm’s longevity to a focus on relationships and innovation. “We are incredibly grateful to the staff, clients, and industry colleagues who helped us reach this milestone,” he said. “These relationships are the foundation of GHT’s longevity. Together, we have collaborated on many complex projects that inspired us to develop new solutions to MEP challenges and build a reputation for innovative work.”
“A commitment to building sustainability is an equally important part of the company’s success,” O’Brien continued. “GHT has been practicing sustainable design for decades – before it was a buzz word or an industry standard. Today, our clients consistently seek GHT’s expertise for projects with aggressive sustainability and energy efficiency goals. Our credentials include a portfolio of over 120 LEED certified projects; participation in the DC Green Technical Advisory Group that helped review and amend the district’s first Green Construction Code; and providing MEP engineering design for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) headquarters.”
“To stay on the cutting edge of sustainable design,” O’Brien said, “we are constantly educating ourselves on trends such as resilient design, the WELL building standard, and advanced MEP systems like Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems (DOAS) and chilled beams.”
Learn more about GHT’s history of innovation in our About section.