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There was much discussion of collaboration with other
organizations at the AIA’s Grassroots Conference in
Washington, D.C., in February. A Board committee, the Board
Community Committee, is establishing guidelines and priorities for
how the 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.
One of the most important organizations in this arena is, of
course, the U.S. Green Building Council. AIA members were
instrumental in founding and fostering USGBC, and many AIA members
continue to play leadership roles in that organization. There is,
so far as we know, no other organization that has a more
significant overlap in membership with AIA
than USGBC. Nearly a third of USGBC member firms are architecture
firms. And many LEED APs are architects.
LEED is, of course, currently the preeminent green building rating
system. Other green building rating systems are gaining acceptance,
however, and new systems are appearing at both the local and
national level at an accelerating rate. The AIA issued a list of
criteria for evaluating green building rating systems at the same
time it issued the 2030 challenge, and LEED meets more of these
criteria than other national systems.
COTE has supported (but not formally endorsed) LEED. Many AIA and
COTE members have worked on the development and continuing
evolution of LEED standards. COTE also draws the important
distinction that LEED does not address the many qualitative aspects
of sustainable design that architects face in the day-to-day design
of buildings: the Top Ten Measures and Metrics address these gaps
and serve as a design-based, comprehensive framework that is
complementary to LEED, and other rating systems.
There is already significant collaboration already between the AIA
and USGBC at the local level. Just one example that speaks to the
depth and frequency of these collaborations throughout the country:
the AIASF chapter shares office space with USGBC—this was done
for the convenience of members who frequently participate in both
organizations. In Atlanta, Boston, and elsewhere, AIA and USGBC
(and other organizations including ASLA, ULI, IIDA, ASID, BOMA,
ASHRAE, and more) have joined forces to make progress on important
issues related to sustainability and green
communities—progress that might not have been possible with
less robust coalitions.
At the national level COTE has a long history with USGBC. Many COTE
members were instrumental in founding USGBC. Many former members of
the COTE Advisory Group are current or former members of the USGBC
board. These include: Vivian Loftness, FAIA; Bob Harris, FAIA, and
principal of Lake Flato, recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm
Award; Sandy Mendler, AIA; Muscoe Martin, AIA; Bob Berkebile, FAIA;
Randy Croxton, FAIA (former AIA board member, Greg Franta, FAIA
(former AIA board member); and many more.
We would like to hear from COTE members about your views of
collaboration with USGBC. How do you see the importance of USGBC
and its role in advancing sustainability? How do you view that
organization’s strengths and weaknesses? How do they view AIA
and COTE in its role in advancing sustainability? How do COTE and
USGBC cooperate on the local level? We know there are many models
for this, and we’d welcome a chance to hear about what’s
happening in your community—what works and what doesn’t.
What is your view of the importance of the LEED and other rating
systems? Should the AIA “endorse” LEED or maintain its
position as a neutral evaluator of all rating systems? How should
the AIA and USGBC collaborate at the national level? Let us know
your thoughts.
Please post your thoughts on the COTE Forum or send a note to cote@aia.org. To join the COTE Forum
list-serve, send an e-mail to lyris@lyris.aia.org and 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 delivery
preferences, view archived messages, and more.
Henry Siegel, FAIA, is a founding principal of Siegel &
Strain Architects in Emerville, California, and the 2008 chair of
the AIA National Committee on the Environment Advisory
Group.
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