Committee on the Environment

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

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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.

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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

Design the Future Podcast: Kate Simonen

  • 1.  Design the Future Podcast: Kate Simonen

    Posted 06-03-2021 02:23 PM

    The latest episode of the Design the Future Podcast is up: Lindsay Baker and I spoke with architect and structural engineer Kate Simonen is a leader, teacher, researcher, and convener -- and a big believer in the collective impact model. She is a delight to talk with, not only because she is involved with so many aspects of building decarbonization right now, but also because she is so passionate about real change -- and profoundly, infectiously optimistic that such change can and will happen if we work towards it together.

    Kate is executive director of the Carbon Leadership Forum (a network of 25 regional hubs and thousands of practitioners) and Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. She has been a force behind collaborative initiatives such as the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) and the Structural Engineers 2050 Commitment. 

    Under Kate's leadership, a consortium (CLF at UW, in partnership with Endeavour Center, University of Colorado-Boulder, and Building Transparency) is a finalist for the Lever for Change program (https://www.leverforchange.org/library/news-blogs/2030-climate-challenge-finalists/) with a project that proposes to convert buildings to carbon sinks by storing carbon in buildings using biogenic materials.

    Listen on our site (www.designthefuturepodcast.com/kate-simonen) or on podcast platforms (and please drop us a review if you like what you hear!). If you are a tweeter, connect on Twitter (@designfuturepod). Thank you to our wonderful producer, Amber Artrip, whose commitment helps make this possible.

    #designthefuture #buildingdecarbonization #climateaction



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    Kira Gould
    Principal
    Kira Gould CONNECT
    Oakland CA
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