Newsletter of the Committee on the Environment (COTE)
Spring 2008 AIA COTE
Metric Profile: Portfolio Manager

It’s Top Ten season. That means sustainable design metrics have been tracked and submitted en masse for this year’s green projects. For a closer look at one metric, EPA’s energy performance rating is the key connector for commercial projects’ energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.  More
 
 
 

Aligning the STARS: AASHE Launches an Assessment System
by Jared Silliker
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) recently launched a framework to measure sustainability efforts across college campuses. The effort, Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), is in a pilot phase through the December 2008.   More

Architects Collaborating for Green Schools
by Pauline Souza, AIA
Embedded in every private and public school organization and member is the belief that making greener, healthier, high performance schools is critical. The work to execute on this belief is more challenging, but the coalitions make it easier—the conversations are real conversations.   More

  
 

April 22nd was Earth Day … but what if every day was Earth Day?

COTE Announces the 2008 Top Ten Green Projects award recipients
Projects showcase excellence in sustainable design principles and reduced energy consumption. Read the official press release.

COTE at the AIA Convention
Are you going to Boston for the AIA Convention? If you are, please don’t miss the great lineup of COTE events and sessions, including the Top Ten Session, where you’ll hear the real stories behind this year’s 10 winners. Also, join us for a COTE Celebration and Top Ten Toast on Thursday, May 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 at the EpiCenter (a 2007 Top Ten winner).

Environmental Justice For All
Energy goals are important, but it’s also important to think about who sustainability is for—all of us. There is a social equity angle to this pursuit, as this article in Utne Reader reminds us. 

COTE Welcomes New Team Members
COTE is delighted to announce three new members of the COTE team at the national advisory group and adjunct level. 

AIA/COTE Call for Applications
The COTE Team is Growing + We Want YOU!  Applications due June 1, 2008.  Learn more...

Advancing Sustainable Design Around the Country
Reports from COTE Chapters and Components

  
 

On Collaboration
Henry Siegel, FAIA

There was much discussion of collaboration with other organizations at the AIA’s Grassroots Conference in Washington, DC, in February. A Board Committee, the Board Community Committee, is establishing guidelines and priorities for how AIA should collaborate with other similar organizations. Collaboration is, of course, a fundamental tenet of sustainable design, and COTE has for years worked at establishing connections between COTE and the many organizations that work on sustainability issues.   More


 		 
 

A new way to see the Top Ten 2007 Winners
Case studies of the 2007 Top Ten Green Projects and the Honorable Mentions
Top Ten homepage 

It’s An Election Year: Where Will Our Next President Be On Energy?
We hope they’ve been listening to the Presidential Climate Action Project, an effort that has involved some of the best and brightest of our ecologically-minded leaders, such as David Orr. For a quick overview of the PCAP, download the brochure (pdf).

Great Resource: Informe Design
Informe Design has a wealth of information on a range of sustainable design topics. This piece is about adaptability and resources—maybe it’s time to turn our attention to our existing stock?

The Affordable Housing Design Advisor
The Housing "Show You’re Green" Awards received 32 submissions and honored 8 winners. Information on these winners have become part of the knowledge. The Affordable Housing Design Advisor brings together experience and ideas from successful affordable housing projects all over the country, as well as the people who developed, designed and built them.

The Green Calendar
Check out the green calendar at Environmental Building News, published by BuildingGreen, an AIA partner. AIA members get a discount on subscriptions. Learn how



 		 
 

Join the COTE Forum list serve, an open discussion about sustainable design issues that matter to architects and their allied professionals. Send an e-mail to lyris@lyris.aia.org and type “subscribe coteforum” in the subject line. You will receive an auto-reply; you must confirm to join. Your confirmation e-mail will have instructions on how to adjust preferences and more.

If You Received This From a Friend, Join Our List
To be added to the subscription list for COTEnotes, AIA members should send an e-mail to COTE; nonmembers should send their requests to Kira Gould.

 		 








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