As we enter 2023, we look to continue the program’s steady growth, with signatory firms now numbering almost 1,200, and further our reporting numbers to achieve a carbon-neutral built environment. Read more >
Reporting season is here! Check out these resources to get your firm to the finish line:
Attend Open Office Hours: Bulk Import, February 14 at 2:30pm ET Register now > How to Submit Your Portfolio, March 9 at 3pm ET Register now > Last Minute Questions, March 21 at 1pm ET Register now >
Drop into our “Ask Us Anything” Office Hours: February 21 at 3pm ET Register > March 2 at 2pm ET Register > March 7 at 12pm ET Register > March 14 at 3pm ET Register > March 28 at 4pm ET Register >
Watch past sessions of 2030 Open Office Hours on our YouTube Channel. View the channel >
Check out a past DDx Workshop Hackathon. Hosted by AIA East Bay, tune in to learn the ins and outs of the platform. Watch here >
Don’t forget our DDx Help Pages! Filter through topics and search pages through keywords to find the DDx help you need.
AIA Virginia is pleased to announce the first round of keynote speakers for Architecture Exchange East (ArchEx) 2020. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, ArchEx is bringing together internationally recognized leaders in the profession’s efforts to combat the climate crisis — Andrea Love and Ed Mazria.
Edward Mazria, FAIA Founder and CEO, Architecture 2030
Edward Mazria is an internationally recognized architect, author, researcher, and educator. His seminal research into urbanization, climate change, sustainability, energy consumption, solar energy, and greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment has redefined the role of architecture, planning, design, and building, in reshaping our world. He is the founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, a think tank developing real-world solutions for 21st century problems, and host of the AIA+2030 Professional Education Series, China Accord, the 2030 Districts movement in North American cities, the Zero Tool and Achieving Zero – a framework of incremental building sector actions to ensure a carbon neutral built environment by the year 2050.
This past year, he delivered the Roadmap to Zero Emissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – a flexible approach to achieve zero CO2 emissions in the built environment by mid-century. He also issued the 2050 Imperative – a commitment to plan and design to carbon neutral standards – which has been adopted by the International Union of Architects and all regional professional organizations (representing over 1.3 million architects) in 124 countries worldwide.
Andrea Love, AIA, LEED Fellow Payette – 2019 AIA Architecture Firm of the Year
Andrea Love’s groundbreaking work is helping to define the emerging role of a building scientist. At Payette, she works across projects to bring rigor and state-of-the art analytic tools to minimize the impacts of buildings on the environment. The winner of the 2017 AIA Young Architects Award, Love has helped to nurture a culture of sustainable practices that are now deeply embedded in the firm’s design philosophies.
She leads a number of research projects, and was the Principal Investigator on the 2012 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative-funded “Thermal Performance of Facades.” She also leads the firm’s efforts on the AIA 2030 Commitment, tracking and benchmarking the performance of projects across the firm.
Delivered virtually through AIA Virginia’s Foresight 2020 event platform, ArchEx takes place during the first week of November. Registration opens in late August. Stay tuned for additional announcements.
About Architecture Exchange East
ArchEx is the mid-Atlantic region’s premier conference and expo for architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects and planners. This year, the program will be delivered virtually during the first week of November. Each day will focus on a critical theme and will bring together local, national and international leaders to explore the topic.
On Wednesday, Nov. 4, we’ll consider what changes designers must make to respond to the climate crisis.
On Friday, Nov. 6, the program looks to the future to explore emerging business models, technologies, design research, and how the pandemic might impact practice and design.
About Foresight 2020
AIA Virginia’s signature programs for 2020 will be delivered through our virtual event platform Foresight 2020. Visions for Architecture, Design Forum: In Praise of Shadows, and Architecture Exchange East will be accessible online from anywhere in the world.
Architects in the 2030 Commitment save more than 16 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016
The AIA released 2030 By the Numbers, the 2016 progress report assessing the work of architecture firms that are part of the AIA 2030 Commitment. The commitment is a voluntary initiative to commit their practices to advancing the AIA’s goal of carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. Read the highlights from the report:
The potential energy savings from all 2016 projects represent approximately 16.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of running almost five coal-fired power plants or powering 1.76 million homes for a year (EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator).
Projects reported an average predicted energy use intensity (pEUI) savings of 42 percent in 2016, climbing from 38 percent in 2015.
53 new firms joined the commitment in 2016, which creates a total of more than 400 firms participating in the effort.
On June 1, the American Institute of Architects reaffirmed its commitment to climate change mitigation and announced it was opposing the Administration’s decision to withdraw the United States as a signatory to the Paris Agreement. That accord, signed in late 2015 within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), commits the international community to fighting harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
“The AIA will not retreat from its long-established efforts to conserve energy and to deploy renewable resources in buildings,” said AIA President Thomas Vonier, FAIA. “We will continue to lead in efforts to curb the use of fuels and technologies that needlessly pollute our atmosphere and harm our environment. This makes good sense economically, and it is in the best interests of those we serve: our clients and the public.”
The AIA has long been committed to fostering a more sustainable and resilient built environment by helping architects gain the skills and knowledge to design better buildings; advocate for policies that promote sustainability; and raise public awareness about the role of buildings in combating climate change. (Read all the ways you can help address climate change here.)
What can you do to help design a more sustainable built environment and speak up for good design? Here are four easy steps:
Send a letter to the editor of your local paper expressing your support for sustainable design.
Sign on to the 2030 Commitment program to eliminate carbon emissions from your projects by the year 2030.
Join the AIA Legislative Action Network, to help advocate for policies that foster a more sustainable built environment.
Learn more about incorporating energy conservation and resilience into design via the AIA’s climate change resource page.
Together, architects can help their clients and communities build a more sustainable, resilient and prosperous world.
