Helen Diemer, President of The Lighting Practice, and her husband Robert Diemer, Partner with In-Posse, were recently featured in the 2013 Greenbuild issue of GRID Magazine as Philadelphia’s “Power Couple.”
Helen and Rob met at Penn State University in the Architectural Engineering program. After graduation both pursued careers in the A/E/C Industry, Helen as a lighting designer and Rob as an engineer. Their firms, The Lighting Practice and In-Posse through their commitment to sustainable design, have created lasting positive change in the City of Philadelphia.
Power Couple: Husband and Wife Team Shine a Light on Sustainability
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Story by Julianne Mesaric | Grid Magazine
In 1981, when now husband-and-wife Rob and Helen Diemer graduated from Pennsylvania State University with degrees in architectural engineering, they were entering an industry that wasn’t all that concerned with energy conservation. But about a decade ago, things started to change, and both paid attention to the murmurs about “green building.”
“I decided to look into LEED and it excited me,” says Rob. “Twenty years into my career, I realized that I went to school to build a whole building, not one piece of it. I felt that moving my practice toward green building, sustainable design and energy conservation was my window of opportunity to help move my industry away from thinking of energy as an infinite resource, and to start thinking about it more holistically.”
As it turned out, Helen and Rob’s work in energy-efficient building and lighting would not only affect entire buildings, but entire cities — especially Philadelphia. In 2010, Rob became founding partner of In-Posse — Latin for “in potential.” It’s an apt name, as the consulting and engineering design service company pushes boundaries to actualize the highest performing, most sustainable buildings possible. In-Posse is a subsidiary of AKF Group, the engineering firm where Rob has worked since 1992 and is now a partner.
Helen Diemer steered her career toward making Philadelphia’s public space brighter. She joined The Lighting Practice (TLP) in 1994 and became president in 2009. The company is largely responsible for the city’s embrace of lighting in its nighttime environment: the glimmer of the Avenue of the Arts, the romanticism of Fairmount Waterworks and the glow of City Hall are all thanks to the TLP team. As lighting designer for the Delaware River Trail, TLP is utilizing solar power lighting to eliminate the need for expensive underground wiring. Operating off the grid proved to be the most sustainable and economical solution.
Follow the link to read the full article: Power Couple
Follow the link to read the 2013 Greenbuild Issue of GRID Magazine
