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• Table of Contents
1.0 Mission and Goals
2.0 Leadership Structure
2.1 2006 Advisory Group
2.2 Regional Team
2.3 COTE Volunteers, Friends, Chapter Leaders, and More
3.0 Starting a COTE Chapter
3.1 How to Get Started
3.2 Membership
3.3 Finances
4.0 Sustaining an Active COTE Chapter
4.1 Programs and Activities
4.2 Membership
4.3 Allied Organizations
1.0 Mission and Goals
COTE Mission
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) works to advance,
disseminate, and advocate—to the profession, the building
industry, the academy, and the public—design practices that
integrate built and natural systems and enhance both the design
quality and environmental performance of the built
environment.
The committee reflects the profession’s commitment to
providing healthy and safe environments for people and is dedicated
to preserving the earth’s capability of sustaining a shared
high quality of life. The committee’s mission is to lead and
coordinate the profession’s involvement in environmental and
energy-related issues and to promote the role of the architect as a
leader in preserving and protecting the planet and its living
systems.
COTE provides the AIA with knowledge about environmental issues and
advises the Institute on environmental policy matters affecting the
practice of architecture. The committee supports cooperation with
educators and institutions of learning, manufacturers, government
agencies, environmental organizations, and industry groups in
advancing environmentally sound design processes and standards, as
well as environmentally innovative materials and integrated
systems.
COTE Goals
• educate architects about the environmental and
energy-related impacts of design decisions and encourage active
membership participation
• communicate the AIA’s environmental and energy-related
concerns to the public and private sectors and influence the
decisions of the public, professionals, clients, and public
officials on the impact of their environmental and energy-related
decisions
• foster leadership among architects in all facets of
environmental decision making
• recognize environmental leadership of architects in
practice, education, industry, and government
• promote implementation of sustainable design programs and
ecological literacy in architecture schools and other educational
venues
maintain alliances with other AIA Knowledge Communities and
committees and with professional and trade associations such as the
Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA); the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE); the Illuminating Engineering Society of North
America (IESNA); the International Code Council (ICC); the
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC); the Urban Land
Institute (ULI); the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC); and other
leaders in environmentally responsible design
2.0 Leadership Structure
The AIA/COTE national advisory group is a made up of five volunteer
professionals who work with more than 30 volunteers on various Task
Groups. The regional team is a group of six past COTE Chapter
Chairs who each maintain contact with several of the 49 local and
state COTE chapters.
2.1 2008 Advisory Group
Henry Siegel, FAIA
Chair
Siegel & Strain
1295 59th Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
510-547-8092
hsiegel@siegelstrain.com
Kenneth A. Scalf, AIA
Vice Chair
Architectural Energy Corporation
303 Bridge Street
Franklin, TN 37064
615-599-5368
kscalf@archenergy.com
Kira L. Gould, Assoc. AIA
William McDonough + Partners
604 Tremont Street #3
Boston MA 02118
617-867-0032
kgould@mcdonough.com
David Miller, FAIA
The Miller/Hull Partnership
71 Columbia, 6th Floor
Seattle, WA 98104
206-682-6837
dmiller@millerhull.com
Alexis Karolides, AIA
Rocky Mountain Institute
1739 Snowmass Creek Road
Snowmass, CO 81654
970-927-7316
alexis@rmi.org
• 2.2 Regional Team
COTE has formed a regional team of six AIA members who have been
leaders in their notable local COTE chapters. Some of them founded
or chaired active chapters; some are still co-chairs of those
today. This group represents a pool of knowledge that can help
strengthen the link between COTE national connect and local
chapters in a way that is mutually beneficial and supports the
goals and aims of both. A key goal of this group is to support
state and local chapters. They also consult on the content of the
new COTE newsletter and other communications. They continue working
with COTE Advisory Group; they will call on COTE volunteers as
needed.
The six regional team leaders are listed below with associated
local chapters. Additional regional team leaders may be added in
the future.
Northeast: (New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Maine, Vermont)
• BSA COTE (AIA Boston)
• AIA Connecticut COTE
• AIA New York COTE
• AIA Maine COTE
• AIA New Hampshire Environmental Guild
• AIA Eastern New York COTE
Mid-Atlantic: (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,
DC, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina)
Hal Bolton, Washington DC, halbolton@yahoo.com
• AIA Washington DC COTE
• AIA Pittsburgh COTE
• AIA Northern Virginia COTE
• AIA New Jersey COTE
• AIA Charlotte COTE\
• AIA North Carolina COTE
• AIA Bucks County (PA) Committee on Green Architecture
• AIA Baltimore COTE
West Coast: (Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska)
• AIA San Francisco COTE
• AIA Santa Clara Valley COTE
• AIA Seattle COTE
• AIA Portland COTE
• AIA Los Angeles COTE
• AIA East Bay COTE
• AIA Honolulu COTE
• AIA Inland California COTE
Southwest/Mountains: (Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah,
Idaho, Montana, Wyoming)
Lance Kirk, Las Vegas, 702-263-7111, ljkirk@lgainc.com
• AIA Arizona COTE
• AIA Denver COTE
• AIA Utah COTE
• AIA Las Vegas COTE
Southeast and Gulf: (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Virgin Islands, Tennessee, Puerto
Rico)
Filippo Castore, Houston, 713-528-4545 x1638, fcastore@bnim.com
• AIA Atlanta COTE
• AIA Austin COTE
• AIA San Antonio COTE
• AIA Houston COTE
• AIA Dallas COTE
• AIA Miami COTE
• AIA Eastern Oklahoma COTE
• AIA Central Oklahoma COTE
Midwest/Plains: (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska,
Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Ohio, Kentucky)
Len Sciarra, Chicago, 847-564-0370 x22, lsciarra@serenasturm.com
• AIA Wisconsin COTE
• AIA Northeast Illinois COTE
• AIA Chicago COTE
• AIA Cincinnati COTE
• AIA Cleveland COT
• AIA Columbus COTE
• AIA Iowa COTE
• AIA Kansas City COTE
• AIA Minnesota COTE
• AIA Nebraska/AIA Omaha COTE
• AIA Indianapolis COTE
• AIA Ohio COTE
• AIA Michigan COTE
2.3 COTE Volunteers, Friends, Chapter Leaders, and More
COTE relies heavily on a vast number of volunteer members and
friends. We currently have an active Communications committee, as
well as a large pool of volunteers who help us with the Top Ten
program, education programs, allied organization relationships, and
more.
For an updated list of current local & state COTE chapter
leaders, please click here
Past COTE Leaders, Volunteers, and Friends
A vast number of individuals have contributed to COTE’s
effectiveness over the years (more details about them will be
included in the forthcoming COTE History section that will appear
in the next version of the Chapter Guide). Some of those who have
led and participated in COTE include:
Bob Berkebile, FAIA; Greg Franta, FAIA; Don Watson, FAIA; Harry T.
Gordon, FAIA; Mark David Rylander, AIA; Dan Williams, FAIA; Joyce
Lee, AIA; Sandy Mendler, AIA; Randy Croxton, FAIA; Gail Lindsey,
FAIA; Susan Maxman. FAIA; Charles Eley, FAIA; William Bobenhausen,
FAIA; Muscoe Martin, AIA; Joel Schurke; Robert Kobet, AIA; Dan
Nall, FAIA, PE; David Nelson, AIA; Bill Browning, Hon. AIA; Bill
Reed, AIA; Harrison Fraker, FAIA; John Montgomery; Lance Davis;
Gregg Ander, AIA; Drew Stelman, AIA; Joe Derringer, AIA
3.0 Starting a COTE Chapter
AIA Chicago COTE: Start small—small events, simple events,
events that cost no money. Be consistent— for example, pick a
day of each month so people can make plans. Very
important—figure out your channels of communication, how to
advertise events, and more important, make decisions as to what is
the local mission for your local chapter, what is it that excites
your group-knowledge, activism. Identify other local green groups
and determine how the local COTE will be different and why people
will attend or spend the time to volunteer. Also, you will need to
think about the relationship of the local COTE as an arm of the AIA
and in that regard will it be a group for architects or much
broader? The answer to this question will depend on many factors,
and the local COTE will need to reflect on it.
3.1. How to Get Started
• Establish a passionate and committed core group of five to
seven people in the committee that is known for its ability to make
things happen. Then try to have at least 10 people always
attending. Discuss with this group what you want to get out the
committee—are the primary goals education, networking, or
other elements? This type of brainstorming will help you plan
relevant content.
• Contact your local or state AIA chapter (component) director
to express your interest in starting a committee. Ask your
component director if a COTE committee was already started in the
past. If it was, contact the some of committee members of that time
and ask why it was disbanded.
• Contact the AIA COTE Regional Team Leader for your area to
review this guide and get started.
• Make sure you (and your committee) know AIA COTE mission
statement. Then, try to create your committee mission statement
that is directly related to your local realities.
• Set realistic goals; monthly meetings are recommended, but
if your group is small and spread thinly, a lower frequency can be
effective. You can expand the goals in subsequent years.
• Prepare agendas for monthly meetings, and send out meeting
notes when you are done; this will help you keep track of progress
(and some components may require monthly or quarterly
reports).
• Meet with component leadership to make sure you have an
understanding of committee policy, budget, and finances and of
whether AIA staff is available to assist.
• Consider inviting your component director to attend the
first meetings. Thereafter, a staff member of your component might
be assigned to attend your monthly meetings.
• Set up a Web site (even one page) where you can list
committee leaders and an events calendar (at minimum).
See the following for examples:
AIA Houston
Boston Society of Architects
Sustainable Dallas
AIA New York
AIA Seattle
• Make contact with local nonprofit green organizations and
coordinate schedules and programs to avoid duplicating
efforts.
• Try to reach different market players as members or as
speakers (government, developers, clients, contractors, engineers,
leaders of the community)
• Collaborate with USGBC chapters if they exist in your
community or region.
• Connect with your regional team leader so that you know what
national COTE is doing, and national COTE knows what you are
doing.
• Seek ways to involve students in your efforts.
• Talk to your component to see whether the AIA Design Awards
for your area/region has a green category. If they do, offer your
committee''s help to improve it. If they do not have one, offer
your committee''s help to generate one.
• Make sure you have access to your component e-mail list so
that all AIA members in your area you checked
Sustainability/Committee on the Environment on their member forms
will know about your activities. Once a year, generate an e-mail
survey for the total local AIA membership (or insert some COTE
questions into the component’s survey). Consider annually
surveying COTE members to understand their expectations.
3.2. Membership
When renewing their annual membership, 7,000 AIA members check
“sustainable design” as a strong interest. When a few, or
many of them, are in the same place, a COTE chapter is possible.
Ask your component leadership for the above-mentioned list, and
verify whether there is an actual interest. A less formal event,
possibly a social mixer, might be a good first meeting to share
ideas in a more relaxed fashion. Those interested in forming
committees should check with their local, state, or regional AIA
components for their guidelines for committees.
AIA Charlotte COTE: We have found that by opening the membership to
persons outside the architecture profession, you get a more
interactive group. We have members that include students and
professors from the local university, engineers from the local
ASHRAE and ASLA chapters, photovoltaic suppliers, and wind and
solar institute employees, as well as interns and architects. This
not only increases your pool of volunteers, but helps to provide
relevant discussions during meetings that keep and attract members.
Offering presentations with continuing education credits for
architects and engineers helps too; the local or state AIA can help
with accrediting presentations.
AIA Houston COTE: Including other organizations is good, especially
getting the word out about events. Students and interns are very
important to helping get things done. But, as always in committees,
there are several dedicated people that are relied upon to get most
of the volunteer work done. Understandably, most people are very
busy.
3.3. Finances
Financial matters should be discussed with your local component, as
committee support and component structure varies widely.
With respect to fund-raising, here’s what several active
chapters said in the 2005 survey of COTE chapter chairs:
AIA Charlotte COTE: In order to finance some of our activities, we
hold an annual Green Products Expo before and after one of the
local AIA membership lunches. Local product representatives have
been eager to pay a few hundred dollars for a display table if they
know they can get the attention of numerous local architects in one
location.
AIA Houston COTE: We have put together a Green Building Symposium
that helps to raise money, and we ask for sponsors for workshops
and other get-togethers. Our typical monthly CEU courses rely on
volunteer speakers. We do not have a budget, per se, but work
closely with our AIA Chapter to make sure we meet expenses. We rely
on volunteer time to coordinate most projects, and some help from
the local AIA Chapter. We accept sponsorships for events with
discretion.
4.0 Sustaining an Active COTE Chapter
AIA Charlotte COTE: Let the committee members choose activities
that interest them. At the beginning of each year we usually
propose a few events that we have been holding annually (such as
design awards, expo, building tours, and continuing education), and
then let members form smaller sub-committees for other activities
(such as Earth Day or Arbor Day events, etc.).
4.1. Programs and Activities
No single recipe exists for an effective COTE chapter. Because a
chapter can function on many realms, we thought the best way to
illustrate the possibilities would be to quote the chapters
themselves (based on our 2005 Survey of Chapters).
Events & Member Education
AIA Houston COTE: We discuss events at our monthly meetings; some
are ongoing, like CEU lectures; we have other events as
opportunities arise, like a green roof workshop, we try to network
and coordinate with other groups’ events, we also have tours,
and try to offer discounted or free programs as community
outreach.
AIA Baltimore COTE: We have held a symposium in conjunction with
Morgan State University, we arrange for the fall education session
for AIA Baltimore’s Continuing Education Committee, and we
have helped establish, in conjunction with CSI, USGBC, ASLA and
IIDA, Baltimore Green Week. Now in its third year, Baltimore Green
Week is a weeklong celebration of sustainability with a wide
variety activities scheduled every night of the week throughout the
city sometime in the spring (usually around Earth Day). Events have
included lectures, a screening of The Next Industrial Revolution
with director Shelly Morhaim in a panel discussion, helping to tear
up asphalt in city school playgrounds, a green trade show, and we
are considering hosting a Green Tie Ball at the end of the
week.
AIA Bucks County (PA) COTE: I have organized a green Homebuilding
Task Force for the local HBA Chapter. We have then offered multiple
educational seminars for the HBA’s membership as support for
this effort. We are now scheduling a half-day conference for green
building in which we will introduce our Keystone GreenBuilt Homes
(KGBH) program, which we have been developing over the past 14
months.
AIA Chicago COTE: We have a two-day conference on green affordable
housing coming up in December, we are cosponsoring with several
other organizations (Susan King, last year’s chair, is working
on this and knows the details about funding, etc). We team up when
we can with the Chicago Architectural Foundation on exhibits they
have such as the 2004 Exhibition on Chicago Green Architecture. We
try at least to cosponsor whenever we can!
AIA Cincinnati COTE: Our conference/exhibition had to be split
apart this year, because it outgrew the traditional date and venue.
We had 40 vendors display in October 2004. Attendance was 150
students and 150 professionals. For October 2005 we had a panel
discussion at the University of Cincinnati, attendance was 20
students and 100 professionals. For March 2006 we are combining
with the local Chapter of CSI to give a product exhibition, this
will reach potentially 500 people including professionals,
students, and contractors.
AIA Honolulu COTE: In partnership with other organizations (local,
state, federal, and private industry), we have cosponsored all of
the above. From brown-bag seminars (at no charge) to USGBC LEED
Workshops, Build and Buy Green Conferences, to mobile Green House
and Green Office Exhibits to model energy efficient demonstration
home and Green Building Training Programs. We have applied for
funding and support from the US EPA and US DOE, State of Hawaii,
County, and Building Industry, CSI, and ASID. Private sponsorship
from vendors such as Shaw, local utilities, and firms also
supported these efforts.
AIA Houston COTE: Last year members of COTE, along with the USGBC,
worked to put together the Gulf Coast Green Conference. This
one-day conference attracted over 400 attendees and was a
resounding success. Planning is currently underway for the second
GCGC in September of 2006. COTE also has a Green Tool Box Series
that occurs approximately seven to eight times per year. These are
presentations on relevant green topics that are held at the AIA
office, for a fee, and participants may earn CEUs. These have been
popular and are attended on average by 18–30 AIA members
depending on the topic. Once or twice a year we also have a more
ambitious presentation. This last August there was a two evening (4
hours each) series on green roofs. There were eight speakers,
materials presentations, and a field visit to a green roof
installation. COTE is currently working a PVC seminar for February
that will be a three session educational event on the issues of PVC
in the environment. The use of members for leaders of these various
events has still been the most effective way to produce them. Some
events are paid for by participant fees, others by participant fees
along with sponsorships from interested industry
participants.
AIA Las Vegas COTE: We funded, erected, and staffed the Ten Shades
of Green exhibition, which was housed in a mixed-use building in
downtown Las Vegas for about three months. Our primary income
source was from a grant from the Nevada Arts Council, with
donations from numerous local architecture firms rounding out the
nearly $15,000 necessary to bring the exhibition to Las Vegas. We
also have developed our Sustaining Nevada Lecture Series over the
past two years. We typically receive a grant from the Nevada Arts
Council and supplement this with local private contributions. We
have had two lectures series where we brought in 14 speakers from
around the country who are leaders in sustainable design. Holding
frequent events helped greatly to bring locals out to see the
exhibition. Many people told us they wanted to see it and
procrastinated too long and regretfully missed it. We held
educational demonstrations in local elementary schools focusing on
recycling and green building and had the children work in groups
and build models of green buildings using recycled material they
brought from home.
AIA Minnesota COTE: AIA MN COTE has a booth at the AIA Minnesota
Convention every year. AIA MN COTE has had a booth at the Local
Living Green Expo annually since 2002. Living Green was attended by
10,000+ people in 2005. AIA MN COTE’s Education subcommittee
proposed 8 CEU HSW seminars and three keynotes speakers for the
2005 Convention and will coordinate the selected programs.
Approximately 600 people attended COTE HSW seminars in 2004. AIA MN
COTE has several pages on the AIA Minnesota Web site. AIA MN
COTE’s monthly e-newsletter is received by approximately 250
people. AIA MN COTE often tours green buildings. AIA MN COTE plans
to collaborate with the AIA Housing Advocacy Committee’s on
the Search for Shelter charrette in 2006. We have found that it is
useful to have a steering committee that includes the two co-chairs
and four other active members to plan meetings and create an action
plan. This group meets every other month; the regular meetings are
once a month.
AIA New Jersey COTE: A full-day High Performance Design Workshop
worth 10 CEUs was recently conducted with 150 attendees and over
$10,000 in profits. Partnerships with manufacturers for
sponsorship, USGBCNJ for cross pollination of ideas and attendee
recruiting, and planning with New Jersey Institute of Technology
and AIANJ for logistics and a convenient location made this event
incredibly successful. Timing to coincide with CEU national
requirements also helped put a lot of bodies in the room.
AIA Ohio COTE: Our primary event was to be a major presenter and
award giver at the State Legislative Day. This occurs every two
years. The Ohio Valley Regional Convention (Ohio, Indiana, and
Kentucky) was last week. I spoke with two others on rating systems
used globally/nationally/by state/by community. It was a packed
house. We are taking a smaller version of this on the road to use
as a vehicle to discuss the adoption of high performance rating
standards later this fall and winter to all of the seven AIA
components in the state. This is also part of our education agenda.
We see a future need to set up a symposium for state agency leaders
to both provide education and to get their feedback. We are trying
to figure out if we expand it to legislators and university leaders
as well.
AIA Seattle COTE: The annual What Makes It Green event has been
running since Earth Day 1999. The event has evolved over the years
and has included workshops, guest speakers, product exhibits, as
well as the project submittals and panel review. In 2002 we
collaborated with EnviroDesign and the IIDA when the event was held
in Seattle. In 2003 and 2004, we collaborated with the IIDA and
shared responsibility for organizing the event as well as the
proceeds raised by the event. The events are entirely
self-sufficient, even the local AIA Seattle staff time is
considered in our overall budget. Fundraising is by volunteers and
allied partners are given the choice to direct their sponsorship to
a variety of AIA Seattle events. This is typically a day-long event
with a day following of tours of local sustainable projects. These
are very complicated events and cost about $40,000–60,000.
They typically make a small profit for the local chapter. We have
been trying recently to get more participation from the entire
design and construction industry. It makes for a more interesting
event and is really necessary to get to the ultimate goal of making
better architecture.
AIA Washington DC COTE: We try to participate in most green
building-related events, which are entirely funded through annual
sponsorships (we never charge an entry fee); here’s the 2005
list: DesignDC—designed a booth for the local AIA conference
(booth space donated by DesignDC); Montgomery County Going Green at
Home Fair—staffed a booth where we talked about green building
opportunities (booth cost $50); Summer Solstice—an annual
event, where over 400 people from AIA, USGBC, the Sustainable
Roundtable, Congressional Staffers (we are in DC), etc., attended a
networking party we organized in the US Botanical Gardens (space
donated by BG); FoBA—we participate in this annual event at
the National Building Museum, where COTEdc designs and constructs a
booth completely out of green building materials. We have also
developed a game that teaches kids (and their parents) about green
building. COTEdc’s 2004 booth is on the right-hand side of the
lower photograph—(no charge to participate, many of the
materials were donated); GreenFestival—COTEdc will staff a
booth where we’ll talk about green building opportunities
(booth cost reduced to $100); Solar Decathlon—COTEdc
volunteering under AIA National; GreenTie—an annual networking
event co-sponsored by USGBC, IIDA, etc.
Connections to Architecture Education & Students
AIA Baltimore COTE: We have worked with Morgan State
University’s School of Architecture, hosting a charrette and
symposium on sustainable design the year before last and providing
guest critics for studios that have emphasized sustainable design.
We have found it a little challenging to work with the local
architecture school due to the long-range scheduling required to
coincide with academic calendars established sometimes years in
advance.
AIA Bucks County (PA) COTE: Hands on guest-teaching at both the
secondary educational and higher educational levels. Develop
positive relationships with educators. Help them teach their
students about sustainability.
AIA Charlotte COTE: [We have] teamed up with UNCC on numerous
activities including lectures and student juries. We are currently
working on creating a student design competition and have students
as well as professors from the college participate in our
committee.
AIA Chicago COTE: We have local professors from local architectural
schools speak to our members on different topics. Some of them have
great student research into interesting topics. We are co-sponsors
of events with local universities, such as the recent two-day
conference Learning from the Dutch: Sustainable Waterfronts at IIT
in Chicago.
AIA Cincinnati COTE: Students are encouraged to come to meetings,
and the annual event is held on UC campus. We use our income stream
from sponsors etc to waive the meeting fee for students.
AIA Honolulu COTE: In past years, the co-chair of the committee has
been a local architecture school faculty member. Our meetings are
also periodically held at the school of architecture. Some of our
projects, charrettes, lectures and exhibits are co-sponsored by the
architecture school. We try to involve both faculty and students in
these efforts. It has been very valuable and mutually beneficial to
have the involvement of the architecture schools in projects.
AIA Houston COTE: The presence of Houston COTE among local
architectural schools is an area in which the committee is striving
to increase involvement. We are currently soliciting sponsors among
the faculty at the schools. COTE Houston is a strong supporter of
architectural education and hopes to make significant improvement
in participation by involving students in the Gulf Coast Green
Symposium.
AIA Las Vegas COTE: [We have a] lecture series, which is held at
the school of architecture. COTE members have also frequently sat
as jurors for studio and competition reviews. We always post fliers
all around the school of architecture weeks before each lecture and
we try to remind what professors we can to encourage their students
to attend. Food is a huge draw of course. When possible, we try to
have our guest speakers tour the studios and give guest critiques.
This is usually very well-received. We also work in concert with
the architecture studies library, which videotape every lecture.
LV-COTE converts this recording to DVD, and all the lectures are
available for viewing in the library.
AIA Minnesota COTE: In April 2004, AIA MN COTE was a co-sponsor of
the Bob Berkebile Lecture and helped to organize an Integrated
Design Forum at the College of Architecture and Landscape
Architecture (CALA) at the University of Minnesota. In May 2004,
the co-chairs presented along with the AIA MN President to an
architecture class at CALA. AIA MN COTE has an ongoing
collaborative relationship with the University’s Center for
Sustainable Building Research (CSBR). In September, co-chair Doug
Pierce will be presenting at the Promoting Healthy Environments for
Children Conference at the University of Minnesota. AIA MN COTE
will be developing a paper on toxicants of high concern related to
this presentation. AIA MN COTE has found that it is valuable to
create connections with professors, researchers, experts, and
students at the university.
AIA New Jersey COTE: New Jersey Institute of Technology has
requested several presentations from AIANJ COTE for various
sustainable design classes offered in the School of Architecture.
In addition, we have worked with faculty to develop a specialized
certificate within the masters program in sustainable design.
Making contact with an interested senior faculty has made all the
difference in expanding our outreach to students and getting access
to facilities and information at the colleges.
AIA New York COTE: We are in the process of building relationships
with the local universities. We already have a minor relationship
with the High School for Environmental Studies in NYC but that too
could be further developed. This is easiest if you have a strong
relationship with the administration, we’ve found that if no
one on the committee knows a senior administration person at the
school, building a relationship is much more difficult.
AIA Ohio COTE: We have spoken to key leaders of three of the four
architecture schools so far (Ohio State, Miami, University of
Cincinnati); one of our guys is hitting Kent State in a couple of
weeks. But to be honest, it is so far just introductory. However,
UC has since asked me to assist them on a better green design
series to teach. That might start winter or spring quarter. We have
also produced an introductory educational flyer called The Promise
of High Performance Design for Ohio in the 21st Century. The
purpose is to have a leave-behind when we meet with people. It is
formatted so it can be mailed as well.
AIA Seattle COTE: The committee has previously had two student
members on the committee from the University of Washington. It has
not been easy to maintain this relationship; although important,
the different schedules make it problematic
AIA Washington DC COTE: A couple of schools presented their solar
decathlon projects. We invite schools (through AIAS, and other
contacts) to our events. At our monthly meetings, COTEdc organizes
a presentation on a wide range of green building topics. In 2005,
we featured presentations on moveable wall systems, civil
engineering, sub-contracting, daylighting, energy modeling, carpet,
water conservation, and IAQ. Monthly presentations greatly increase
meeting attendance.
Advocacy
AIA Minnesota COTE: The committee has been influential in working
with AIA Minnesota to endorse three bills at the state legislature
this year--a High Performance Building Incentives bill; a state of
Minnesota Renewable Energy Standards (RES) bill; a Transportation
Choices 2020 bill. AIA MN COTE collaborated with Minnesotans for an
Energy Efficient Economy (ME3) to develop the AIA Minnesota Climate
Change Policy Statement that was endorsed by the AIA Minnesota
Board last year. We are now working to take the statement to a
national level. We used to have a subcommittee dedicated to
advocacy, but currently it is an effort by the group leadership.
Doug Pierce, the co-chair, has been active in working with
nonprofit leaders and the AIA MN Government Affairs committee in
addressing legislative issues. We ask for updates from the
nonprofits we are working with on the issues. We worked with local
groups including Minnesota for an Energy Efficient Economy and
Transit for Livable Communities. It definitely helps to get
involved with experts on the issues and groups who are able to help
with research.
AIA New York Chapter COTE: Wrote letters of support to the governor
for the NY State Green Building Tax Credit (GBTC) and wrote a
letter of support to the NY City Council for the local law
324A–city funded green buildings. All letters went through the
chapter’s executive director and policy committee. Joyce Lee
(past chair) spoke to us about writing a letter for the NYSGBTC. On
our own initiative, wrote a draft letter supporting the city
proposal. Yes and both measures eventually passed. The NYSGBTC was
fairly straight forward–it was a refunding of a tax credit
initiated in 2000. The City legislation was more complicated and
was revised several times. Both letters were signed by the Chapter
President (Susan Chin) as well. The NYSGBTC had a diverse group of
backers. Start early with your advocacy and identify other
constituency that support your views (Real Estate groups,
environmental groups, etc).
AIA Baltimore COTE: AIA Baltimore has been very active in advocacy
efforts. We provided expert testimony to the state legislature on
High-Performance Buildings, culminating in legislation promoting
LEED Silver certification for state projects. We have also been
active at the local level, working on the city’s Green
Building Task Force in conjunction with the local USGBC chapter. We
contacted several legislators sympathetic to sustainable design and
offered our expertise to help craft the legislation they were
proposing. Regular communication with legislators, and once AIA
Maryland voted to support our efforts we had access to our state
AIA’s lobbyist. We have formed coalitions with several other
groups, including the Baltimore Chapter–USGBC, Maryland Public
Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG), and Preservation Maryland. We
positioned AIA-COTE as a center of expertise to assist legislators,
rather than as a “selfish” special interest group. We
also found that it was much easier to advocate for the social and
environmental benefits of sustainable design once the financial
benefits have been proven to them.
AIA Charlotte COTE: We have pushed for sustainable design practices
through the media by participating in local public radio forums on
the environment as well as publishing articles written by COTE
members in the local newspaper and business journal. We also hold
an annual "green" AIA Section luncheon. The speaker and topic for
the luncheon typically involve a local environmental building issue
(i.e.: smart growth, public transportation, planning, etc.). We
invite local and regional government/officials to this luncheon to
try and educate them about environmental design issues. These
efforts are coordinated with our local AIA Government Affairs
Committee.
AIA Seattle COTE: A group composed of AIA Seattle COTE members and
Cascadia Region Green Building Council formed an advocacy group
(SDAC) in 2004. This is the venue/group through which AIA Seattle
COTE gets involved in advocacy. SDAC worked with other local groups
to successfully pass the Washington State high performance
buildings bill earlier this year. The group is now focusing on
Seattle city politics and a new downtown zoning plan. The COTE
members of SDAC became frustrated when the AIA Washington PAC asked
members to attend the hearing for the previously defeated version
of the high performance building bill the night before. We realized
that we needed to be better informed and to get smart about
sustainable building politics. SDAC formed an informal partnership
with Washington Conservation Voters/Washington Environmental
Council and the prime sponsor in the house. During the legislative
session we communicated with twice weekly meetings and numerous
daily e-mails. Our sponsor Hans Dunshee and the lobbyist for
WCV/WEC and the lobbyist for AIA Washington kept us informed of
developments and used the group as a resource to meet with key
legislators, provide information on green building, draft the bill,
review changes, and lobby other regional groups. Getting involved
in lobbying efforts takes a great deal of time. Forming
partnerships with lobbyists and legislators who can be champions
for the legislation is crucial.
Green Project Recognition
COTE operates a national project recognition program, the Top Ten
Green Projects, and the national Advisory Group recommends that
state and local chapters consider this program as they develop
their own honor and recognition programs. At the same time, COTE is
actively working with AIA to bring issues of sustainability into
Institute Honors programs and other recognition initiatives. The
COTE national Advisory Group recognizes that, as in other areas,
state and local chapters will develop recognition programs that fit
the needs of their components and constituencies, and these will
take various forms. Some examples of these approaches are listed
below.
AIA COTE Measures of Sustainable Design and Performance
Metrics
AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects
AIA Cincinnati COTE: We have an awards program for student projects
at the University of Cincinnati, which we plan to expand.
AIA Honolulu COTE: The Annual Design Award Program added an Award
for Sustainable Design. This has been in place for four years.
Since the projects that receive awards are published in a number of
local businesses, industry, and general interest publications,
there have been more entries and interest in sustainable
design.
AIA Houston COTE: We worked with the local chapter to establish a
Sustainable Award Category for the existing yearly Design Awards
program; this category has been in place for two years. Emphasizing
sustainable design parameters (such as COTE Top Green Buildings)
gives the award entrants options to look at their projects from
different points of view and are not limiting entries to LEED
registered or certified projects.
AIA San Francisco COTE: We have a green awards program. It’s
funded by our utility, Pacific Gas & Electric. They run it,
select judges, and we use their criteria to judge (not the COTE Top
Ten).
AIA Bucks County (PA) COTE: We coordinated/supported the local
Audubon chapter awards. We reached out beyond the design
professionals to include developers, owners, and contractors in
order to attract them to into our fold (architects were included in
the awards).
The AIA Charlotte COTE: We’ve sponsored a local sustainable
design award since 2001. This award is done in conjunction with the
AIA Charlotte Design Awards. We charge an additional fee to submit
for the sustainable award and require at least one member of the
jury to have sustainable design experience.
AIA Chicago COTE: We developed the AIA Chicago Sustainable Design
Award, a new award in 2004, which is given out at our annual Design
Night Awards Banquet.
AIA New York COTE: We have been in discussion with the NY chapter
of the USGBC about forming an awards program together. It is still
preliminary. With our limited resources, our initial feeling is
that our energies may be better served focusing on education,
outreach, and advocacy. There is a sense that there is some
redundancy with respect to green awards in New York City, since
other groups are planning similar programs as well. Ideally, a
joint awards program for all of New York City would be developed,
if common ground can be found on the awards criteria. The AIA tends
to place greater emphasis on design quality than other
groups.
AIA Seattle COTE: The committee set up an annual What Makes It
Green event and exhibit of regional projects. The projects are
submitted by a call for entry and most are exhibited. The projects
are reviewed by selected panelists and discussed as part of the
event. There is no award for a project–the committee felt they
had neither the resources to evaluate projects nor the ability to
ask firms to submit to lengthy requirements. The submittals for the
WMIG event have improved each year. This past year we did not have
an appointed panel. We put the discussion of the projects out to
the audience, as we felt attendees had as gained the experience
necessary to give critical comment. Our event was about
collaboration and it was important that the folks attending had the
opportunity to do this. In the end, it was too difficult to extract
that many opinions in a valuable way.
AIA Washington DC COTE: A few years ago, we prompted our chapter to
name a Presidential Citation in Sustainable Design.
AIA Las Vegas COTE: We drafted a document outlining various
sustainable design awards programs, which our board is (late 2005)
considering:
The following options are an attempt to develop and integrate an
awards recognition practice into the existing AIA Nevada Excellence
in Design Awards. The options are intended to be incorporated into
all the following existing award categories:
• Un-Built
• Built
• Interior Environment
• Urban Design
• Open
• Academic
The purpose for developing a Sustainable Design Award category is
to recognize those who are incorporating environmental design into
their projects and award them for being leaders in good (systemic)
design. The Sustainable Design Award(s) demonstrate that good
(awarded) design and environmental design equal architecture and
that they are not independent of one another.
Option I Special Recognition Award
Award is not chosen by a jury, but by a team of peers. For
instance:
• AIA LV Board Member
• AIA Northern Nevada Board Member
• AIA Las Vegas COTE Member (Possibly Chair)
• AIA Nevada Executive Director, AIA LV Executive Director, or
AIA NN Executive Director
• UNLV School of Architecture Professor, Engineering Dept.
Professor, Environmental Science Dept. Professor, Other
• UNLV/CCSN Student
• Person from community
A. One (1) exceptional project receives Special Recognition
• Awarded to the project overall that best implements
sustainable design
B. One (1) exceptional project receives Special Recognition in each
category (e.g. built, un-built, interior environment, etc.
• Awarded to the project in each category that best implements
sustainable design
C. Multiple awards of Special Recognition in each category
• Awarded to those that best implement sustainable
design
• No limit to number of awards, just those that the judges
(peers) feel should be recognized
Option II Sustainable Design Award
• Chosen from those that have already been award by the jury
(Citation, Merit, Honor)
• Given as an additional award (i.e. “tacked on”) to
already good design
A. One (1) exceptional project receives the Sustainable Design
Award
• Awarded to the project overall that best implements
sustainable design
B. One (1) exceptional project receives the Sustainable Design
Award in each category (e.g. built, un-built, interior environment,
etc.)
• Awarded to the project in each category that best implements
sustainable design
C. Multiple awards of Special Recognition in each category
• Awarded to those that best implement sustainable
design
• No limit to number of awards, just those that the judges
(peers) feel should be recognized
Option III Sustainable Design Award
• Every project eligible regardless of winning a design
award
A. One (1) exceptional project receives the Sustainable Design
Award
• Awarded to the project overall that best implements
sustainable design
B. One (1) exceptional project receives the Sustainable Design
Award in each category (e.g. built, un-built, interior environment,
etc.)
• Awarded to the project in each category that best implements
sustainable design
C. Multiple awards of Special Recognition in each category
• Awarded to those that best implement sustainable
design
• No limit to number of awards, just those that the judges
(peers) feel should be recognized
AIA Las Vegas Committee on the Environment’s proposed Metrics
for AIA Nevada’s Excellence in Design Awards potential new
Sustainable Design Awards. The ten metrics have been borrowed from
AIA COTE’s Measures of Sustainable Design Top Ten
Awards.
This proposed DRAFT is intended to be a starting point for dialogue
between AIA Las Vegas COTE, AIA Las Vegas, and AIA Nevada on
incorporating a Sustainable Design Awards into the existing AIA
Nevada Excellence in Design Awards.
4.2. Membership
Keeping your committee membership and attendance interested and
involved every month is a challenge. Even though each chapter
reality is different, there are a few general ideas that have
worked most of the time: Send a monthly e-mail update with calendar
reminders and additional brief information. Contact key employees
at medium and large firms who can spread the word throughout their
organization successfully. Collaborate with other organizations in
organizing events and activities and tap into their contacts to
increase COTE membership and interest.
4.3 Allied Organizations
For a list of organizations allied with COTE, please click here.
This document was prepared by the AIA COTE Chapter Guide
Subcommittee,
including Filo Castore, AIA; Lance Kirk, Assoc. AIA; and Kira
Gould, Assoc. AIA
and reviewed by the AIA COTE Regional Team and Advisory Group
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