Committee on the Environment

 View Only

ALBION DISTRICT LIBRARY BY PERKINS + WILL IS A 2018 COTE TOP TEN RECIPIENT. IMAGE: DOUBLESPACE PHOTOGRAPHY

Quick Links

Who we are

The Committee on the Environment (COTE®) is an AIA Knowledge Community working for architects, allied professionals, and the public to achieve climate action and climate justice through design. We believe that design excellence is the foundation of a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future. Our work promotes design strategies that empower all AIA members to realize the best social and environmental outcomes with the clients and the communities they serve.

Enjoy our latest on COTE news (and follow us on X and LinkedIn). 

To learn about the Framework for Design Excellence (formerly the COTE Top Ten Measures), click here.

Check out COTE's history and timeline. 

Starting a local COTE or sustainability group and need some guidance? Check out the AIA COTE Network Resources here.

A big thank you to our 2024 sponsors: 
Founding sponsors: Building Green
Premier sponsors: Sherwin-Williams
Sustaining sponsors: GAF Roofing, Milliken, Andersen Windows,
BlueScope Buildings
Green sponsors: EPIC Metals
Allied sponsors: TLC Engineering, Sierra Pacific Windows

Kjell Anderson: Defining Design Excellence | Measure 6: Design for Energy

By Kira L. Gould Hon. AIA posted 05-14-2020 05:13 PM

  

Defining Design Excellence | Measure 6: Design for Energy 

In 2019, the AIA adopted the COTE measures as the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. We’ve been exploring the measures in a series of posts. We asked Kjell Anderson, AIA, LEED Fellow, of LMN Architects, to share his thoughts about Measure 6: Design for Energy. The measure reads: 

How much energy does the project use? Is any of that energy generated on-site from renewable sources, and what is the net carbon impact? The burning of fossil fuels to provide energy for buildings is a major component of global greenhouse gas emissions, driving climate change. Sustainable design conserves energy while improving building performance, function, comfort, and enjoyment. How did analysis of local climate inform the design challenges and opportunities? Describe any energy challenges associated with the building type, intensity of use, or hours of operation, and how the design responds to these challenges. Describe energy-efficient design intent, including passive design strategies and active systems and technologies. How are these strategies evident in the design, not just the systems? 

It is no secret that our industry contributes nearly half of all human-caused global warming emissions. As leaders and as conveners of the greatest minds in our industry, we have an historic opportunity to change the trajectory of the human condition on our planet through our actions over the next decade. 

Based on an overwhelming vote (93% in support) at the 2019 AIA Conference, the Institute is transforming its mission to support work addressing climate change until carbon neutral architecture is standard practice. AIA’s 2020 Climate Action Plan, recently approved by the AIA board and soon to be released, will provide details on this transformation. 

As problem solvers, can our creativity blossom within this climate imperative? It demands we start, not with fully glazed buildings, but with thoughtfully considered openings and a protective envelope. This allows us to utilize smaller, advanced, electricity-based mechanical systems. Renewable energy, on-site or off, completes the package. While many utilities have plans and regulations that will reduce the carbon intensity of electricity over time, extracting and burning fossil fuels, including natural gas, are not going to get our industry to carbon neutral architecture. 

The key to making this cost-effective is energy modeling, where cost and performance options can be directly compared early in design. Along with modeling embodied carbon, this gives us and our clients the information needed for better decision-making that aligns with our goals and principles. Energy modeling, when integrated into the early design process, has a simple payback over months, not years.  

At LMN we’ve identified how to tackle our projects emissions, with dozens of commitments to elevate our practice, with energy and carbon having primacy in our work. Everyone in the firm has a role to play: from winning new work to programming and early massing consideration, from consultant coordination through envelope detailing and construction administration, and in the boards and committees we choose to be involved with. 

Thinking globally, acting locally. As Architects, we make many design decisions internally and provide trusted advice to our clients about many topics, including energy and carbon. As leaders in our industry, we have enormous opportunity for positive change. In what ways are you addressing energy and carbon on your current project? 

Kjell Anderson, AIA, LEED Fellow, practices architecture and serves as a Principal and the Director of Sustainable Design at LMN Architects in Seattle. He contributes to all LMN projects, assisting teams to assist our client to set and exceed ambitious client’s sustainability goals, incorporating resilience, future-proofing, and climate-mitigating design. His book “Design Energy Simulation for Architects” was written to expand and better define the field of early-design-centric energy simulations, including daylighting, airflow, whole-building, and urban modeling. Over 20 years in practice, he has designed buildings in many countries, regions and climates, adapting designs to the strengths of each one. He keynoted the 2016 SimBuild energy modeling conference, and has presented at the AIA+2030 Series, Greenbuild, ASHRAE, and the AIA Convention along with many webcasts with BuildingGreen and other organizations.  

You can find more stories in this series here: Measure 1: Design for Integration (by Kira Gould); Measure 2: Design for Equitable Community (by Gould); Measure 3: Design for Ecology (by Gould); Measure 4: Design for Water (by Julie Hiromoto, AIA; and Measure 5: Design for Resources (by Billie Tsien, AIA). Stories about Measure 7, 8, 9, and 10 will appear in forthcoming posts. 

IMAGE CREDIT: LMN Architects

IMAGE CAPTION: Embodying the Seattle Aquarium’s mission of ‘Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment’, the new Ocean Pavilion will showcase conservation research across the greater pacific, housing exhibits focused on global stories that foster an Ocean Ethic. The project employs a number of sustainable strategies that are visible, functional and enhance the interpretive experience. By incorporating early energy and carbon modeling and integrated design, the Pavilion relies on high efficiency heat pumps, animal life support and heat recovery systems instead of the standard gas-fired systems, resulting in a 70% energy use reduction and 95% carbon emissions reduction.


 

0 comments
57 views