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AIA Government Affairs Releases Study of Greening
Communities: AIA/COTE State and Local Chapters Involved From Coast
to Coast
The Local Leaders in Sustainability report examines the
current state of green building laws in American cities as of 2007.
Since 2003 the number of cities with green building programs has
increased by more than 400 percent, due to a concerted effort by
local political leaders, officials, architects, and others in the
design/building industry, and grassroots support—including, in
many cases, Committee on the Environment chapters at the local and
state levels. The primary goal of this analysis is to provide a
tool for communities and other levels of government that seek to
design green building programs in the future. It is based on
research conducted by the AIA on all American cities with a
population greater than 50,000 (661 communities) to spotlight
activities in the green building realm. To view it, please visit www.aia.org/adv_localleaders.
AIA Chicago/COTE
AIA Chicago hosted a COTE party at Greenbuild this year at the AIA
Chicago offices. We had a terrific turnout, great sponsors and
food, and some great announcements concerning collaborations
between architects and communities as we work towards a sustainable
future. One of these announcements was the AIA Chicago COTE Carbon
Reduction Strategy Matrix, also known as the “Cool
Tool.”
AIA Chicago/COTE was interested in adapting the 2030 Challenge
to the Chicago region because we wanted to adopt the
challenge’s national format to our regional environment. Our
memorandum of understanding with the City of Chicago’s
Department of Environment (DoE) also played a part in this goal. We
have had this agreement with the city for a number of years and
meet with the commissioner regularly to discuss what programs they
are beginning or planning on implementing. We host joint
programming with the DoE and offer some assistance in planning or
reviewing these programs. We also found it hard to translate the
goals into the daily practice in which we building professionals
are engaged, so we decided to make our own tool, with strategies
that are directly translatable to most building types and to as
many applications as possible. We recently released our creation,
named the AIA Chicago/COTE Carbon Reduction Strategy Matrix or the
Cool Tool. It outlines a number of carbon- and energy-reducing
strategies specific to the Chicago region.
During the process of creating the Cool Tool, we engaged the
collective experience of some COTE core members and a
multidisciplinary team to review the strategies and cost estimates
for each of the strategies. Our team consisted of a mechanical and
electrical engineer, lighting designers, a number of architects,
and a landscape architect.
We have written an article in eco-structure’s November
2007 issue denoting the launch of the Cool Tool (which officially
happened on October 1, 2007) and its availability on the AIA
Chicago Web site as a downloadable file. The tool is currently in
the pilot stage, during which we are asking all users to submit
changes, modifications, and additions over the next couple of
months. We have recently applied for some grants to further refine
the Cool Tool. Our goal in the revision of the Strategies matrix
was to set an estimated amount of carbon emissions reduced when
each strategy is implemented. If we are able to gain funding
through these grants, we plan on hiring a consultant to perform
this research with us, with the goal being to republish the Cool
Tool at the beginning of 2008, with enhanced graphics by an artist,
and more links/facts.
See the AIA Chicago Web site for more information, to download
the tool, and review the eco-structure article.
AIA Minnesota/COTE
The component has been active in 2007 and we plan to continue our
advocacy in support of green building and the 2030 Challenge in
2008.
During the 2007 legislative session in March, AIA Minnesota/COTE
Chair Doug Pierce, AIA, LEED AP, testified before the Minnesota
House Energy Committee on behalf of AIA Minnesota supporting caps
on Minnesota greenhouse gas emissions, reducing them to 80 percent
below 2005 levels by 2050. The legislation ultimately became part
of Minnesota's 2007 Next Generation Energy Act, requiring
significant increases in the energy-efficiency programs of
Minnesota utilities and adopting the 80 percent greenhouse gas
reduction goal. Rick Carter, AIA, with support from Pierce, has
been serving on the Minnesota Governor’s Climate Change
Advisory Group, mapping out actions to achieve the 80 percent goal.
COTE also testified before the Minnesota House and Senate in favor
of tax incentives for energy-efficient commercial buildings.
AIA Minnesota/COTE held five evening education events in 2007 on
topics ranging from the 2030 Challenge to Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC)–certified wood products and building biology. We
also provided one-hour presentations on green building design
economics to the St. Paul Design Center, the Minnesota Urban Land
Institute, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Facilities
Management Association (IFMA).
Pierce presented the 2030 Challenge as part of a keynote panel
presentation to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Building Owners and
Managers Association (BOMA) Chapter Fall Seminar in October. Pierce
wrapped up the panel presentation on global warming, which included
National Geographic explorer Will Steger and Fresh Energy's Science
Policy Director Drake Hamilton by inviting BOMA to join Minnesota
architects in meeting the 2030 Challenge goals and addressing
existing buildings.
AIA Minnesota/COTE sponsored five events, attended by more than
1,000 professionals, at AIA Minnesota's 73rd Annual Minnesota
Convention and Exposition, held at the Minneapolis Convention
Center in November. The seminars included Renewable Energy Fast
(Loren Abraham); Toxics, Health, and Built Environment: Plastics,
Flame Retardants, and More (Dr. David Wallinga and Doug Pierce);
The Hottest Issue and How We're Playing it Cool—Global Warming
in Minnesota (J. Drake Hamilton and Doug Pierce); Human Health and
Architecture—The Building Biology Approach (Oram Miller); and
the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE) Sustainable Building Standard 189P and the New
Minnesota Energy Code (Rick Hermans and Tom McDougall).
During the convention Pierce introduced AIA Minnesota/COTE’s
Focus 15 initiative, supporting the 2030 Challenge 60 Percent
Fossil Fuel Reduction by 2015. Along with addressing building
fossil fuel use, AIA Minnesota’s Focus 15 goals include
reducing building water and toxic materials use and urban sprawl by
60 percent by 2015 while increasing the use of FSC-certified wood
in projects to 60 percent. In 2008 AIA Minnesota/COTE plans to seek
adoption of the Focus 15 initiative by the AIA Minnesota board and
other local COTE committees throughout the country. We also have
started the process of creating a 2030 Challenge/AIA Minnesota/COTE
Focus 15 Track for the 74th annual Minnesota AIA Convention and
Exposition.
AIA Nevada Takes Position on
Coal
Adopted in the fall 2007, the AIA Nevada position statement
notes
AIA Nevada opposes the implementation of coal-fired power plants
in Nevada and throughout the world, and instead endorses all future
power production to be developed using only clean, nonpolluting,
renewable sources.
The full position statement can be read here. [Note: link goes to a PDF.]
AIA Houston/COTE teams up with USGBC and City
for Gulf Coast Green 2008
The Gulf Coast Green (GCG) 2008 Symposium is the leading green
building conference targeted to design and construction
professionals in the Gulf Coast region. The focus is on green or
sustainable building but includes broader issues such as
sustainable land use and global warming. GCG 2008 will take place
on April 3–4 at Reliant Park in Houston. New this year is the
first Sustainable Energy and Green Building Consumer Expo, hosted
by GCG and the City of Houston. The expo is free and open to the
public on April 5–6 at Reliant Park. More information can be
found at http://www.gulfcoastgreen.org/.
AIA Chattanooga/COTE
The Chattanooga chapter of COTE works to build on the
area’s legacy of environmental stewardship by advancing
knowledge of regionally specific, sustainable planning and building
practices and disseminating this knowledge primarily to the design
profession and secondarily to the building industry and
public.
Chattanooga has recently established a chapter of the
AIA/COTE. Linda Allen spearheaded the creation of the committee,
which began meeting in early summer 2007. Following a series of
meetings of brainstorming, we established our mission statement in
late summer. The group initially recognized the presence of a
number of other nonprofit and volunteer organizations and city
initiatives that focus on the same goal, so we specifically
tailored our mission statement to be specific and target goals that
we thought played to our strengths as designers and planners but
did not duplicate anything that another organization was already
trying to accomplish. Specifically, we sensed a need for a resource
to designers and technicians regarding new building methods,
products, and related matters; thus our mission focuses on
expanding our knowledge and spreading the good word to design
professionals primarily (and the general public secondarily.) Due
to our organization’s developmental status of our organization
we are flexible in how we fit into the city’s existing green
movement. Our general agenda follows. Most items are concerned with
establishing our role and determining action items for the group as
a whole and for individual members.
General Agenda:
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Product: Show in concert with Construction Specifications
Institute (CSI) or independent.
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Symposium/forum/roundtable: Sponsoring, volunteering for, or
contributing to some kind of green education program. The
Chattanooga Downtown Planning and Design Studio, led by Karen
Hundt, has been spearheading a small group of individuals to
discuss the possibility of some kind of regular, recurring forum or
one-time symposium. A COTE member has been active in these
discussions and COTE is hoping to partner or at least actively
participate in this series.
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AIA Lunch and Learns: Coordinate with AIA to focus a portion
of their Lunch and Learns on environmental/green design
issues.
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Partnership with the new Green|Spaces Initiative, a two-part
initiative to focus on green buildings over the next three years:
Be a resource for them as needed. This is in the works.
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Greening the code: Work with the Design Studio and City
Building Officials to determine effective and feasible methods for
infusing green design elements into the building code and
inspection enforcement system.
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Collective advocacy.
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