History
From Strong Roots,
Come Great Results
BranchPattern was founded in 1991 as M.E. GROUP. Our firm was built on a deep passion for sustainable and low-energy design. Growing up with limited resources, Ravi understood at a young age the great impact that people have on our planet, as well as the importance of developing buildings that are energy-efficient, environmentally conscious and human-centric. His work began constructing a passive solar house that he built alongside friends and future partners in the 1970’s.
Our humble roots remain present in everything we do, and continue to inspire our firm’s longstanding commitment to always “find a better way” in our approach to sustainable building designs and innovative thinking.
1970
- 1977
- Friends & future partners, Ravi Maniktala, Ray Cederdahl, John Eller & Fred Epp designed & constructed Ravi's passive-solar home, complete with trombe wall, solar collectors & a solar chimney.
- Ravi's house is featured on PBS's NOVA television program, in a documentary called "Run with the Sun," highlighting the early building sustainability movement.
1990
- 1991
- M.E. GROUP, Inc. is founded with offices in Lincoln, Omaha, Kansas City, and Denver to bring greater focus on high-performance, building systems engineering.
- 1995
- K.C. Zoo's Deramus Education Pavilion was completed and wins AIA's 1999 Earth Day award, which later becomes the AIA COTE Top 10 Award.
2000
- 2000
- Three geothermal heating and cooling schools are designed for Lincoln Public Schools. These projects contribute to studies conducted by the DOE on the benefits of geothermal.
- 2006
- Selected by GSA as Nationwide commissioning and expert professional service partner. Collaborate on the development of Guiding Principles for High Performance Buildings.
- Led the Green Retrofits for more than 25 Million square feet of Federal Facilities from coast-to-coast.
- 2007
- McAullife Elementary School opens as one of the most efficient schools in the country. Surpassing the target EUI of 25, it achieves an EnergyStar score of 97 without any renewable energy contribution.
- 2008
- Co-author the LEEDv2 Accredited Professional Exam and pioneer LEED Certifications across the United States.
- 2009
- Began research on aligning the building performance and occupant performance. Author Post-Occupancy Evaluation program for State of New Mexico Public School Facilities Authority.
2010
- 2010
- We go "all in" on BIM. Starting January 1, 2010, the firm commits that all new projects will be designed using building information modeling.
- 2011
- Evie Garrett Dennis Campus opens as one of the first zero net energy K-12 projects in the U.S. A solar array offsets two of the four buildings on campus, offering a unique STEM learning experience.
- 2013
- Author the first LEED Volume Program for Core & Shell in the World.
- Earn LEED Proven Provider status with the Green Business Certification Institute (GBCI).
- 2014
- The Bloch Executive Hall opens on the UMKC campus, picking up many design awards in the process for its stunning and sustainable design elements, as well as its immersive technology environment.
- 2015
- The firm begins design of the new Pikes Peak Summit House. At 14,115 ft. above sea level, it's in the most extreme climate of any project to pursue full Living Building Challenge certification.
- 2017
- We begin a collaboration with the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh to introduce healthy building concepts and deep energy savings into the first Free Library commissioned by Andrew Carnegie himself.
- 2018
- We begin racking up the LEED v4 certifications, as we help a confidential technology giant get across the finish line for the first time.
- M.E. GROUP, Inc. and Forte Building Science evolve to become BranchPattern, Inc.
- 2019
- Prologis earns recognition of having the first WELL Certified logistics center in the world with the help of our Green Building Certification team.
2020
- 2020
- BranchPattern releases their happē tool's Facility Infection Risk Estimator module for free to help the public calculate their risk of viral transmission during the pandemic.
- BranchPattern earns the title of “Best Firms to Work” by the Zweig Group.
- 2022
- Sustained growth allows for the relocation of three offices to more spacious accommodations. BranchPattern HQ is now located in Kansas City, Missouri.
