Practicing ArchitectureKnowledge Communities

Architects are positioned to be leaders with regard to an expanded view of health, safety and welfare. As an Institute we must provide the access to knowledge, research, and professional collaborations that are critical to ensure our members become more informed and better prepared to lead. The AIA continues 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.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

FROM THE AIA

Sustainable AIA: 2031
William J. Worthen, AIA, LEED AP

EVENTS

AIA Grassroots: 2012 Leadership and Legislative Conference
March 7-10, 2012
Washington, DC – Register Now!

BEST 3 Conference
April 2-4, 2012
Atlanta, GA – Register Now!

RESOURCES

ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guides (AEDG):  a series of publications designed to provide recommendations for achieving energy savings over the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999.  

Assessing Green Building Performance
A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 12 GSA Buildings

COTE Measures of Sustainable Design

Writing the Green RFP
This document touches on the basic elements of an RFP
for design services for a sustainable project.

Ecological Literacy in Architecture Education Report
A look at the degree to which ecological literacy and sustainability are playing a role in American architecture education

RECORDED WEBINARS

Designing Energy Efficient Buildings & Building Enclosures: Energy Modeling as a Tool

Energy Auditing in Relation to Building Enclosures

AIA 2030 Commitment – Reporting Progress Towards 2030

PODCASTS

The AIA Podnet Series features interviews, discussions, and best practices by architects and other design professionals who are at the forefront of the profession.
Design | Leadership | Practice | Performance

QUICK LINKS

COTE
AIA 2030 Commitment
50to50 Wiki
Building Enclosure Council
Integrated Practice Resources
Carbon Neutral Design Project
BuildingGreen

Sustainability and Risk Summit: Executive Summary
The American Institute of Architects and the Associated General Contractors of America hosted an industry summit of architects, engineers, contractors, insurers and surety companies to discuss the topic of risk in sustainable projects in both voluntary systems and emerging green codes.




AIA RESOURCES

Free Download: AIA Contract Documents Releases Guide for Sustainable Projects

50to50
Originally developed in 2007, a resource to help our members move toward the Institute’s 50% energy reduction targets. The 50 strategies were selected based on the highest and most immediate impact on carbon reduction for elements that are within the architect’s control during the design process.

AIA Guide to Building Life Cycle Assessment
Details the tools and tactics of balancing the costs and benefits of material and systems selection based on resource consumption and pollution from fabrication, shipping, construction, operations, and end-of-life deconstruction.

Performance by Design
This study investigates the energy performance of buildings recognized by the Top Ten Green Projects award from the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment (COTE).

Rating Systems Study
A primary objective of the position statement on rating systems was to encourage outcome- and performance based thinking as the central approach to a building project. In 2007 the SDiG chose to examine three broadly accepted rating systems that provide scoring of sustainable features in building design and construction.

Green Meeting Guidelines
The Green Meeting Guidelines is a document with tips and resources for meeting planning in order to reduce the environmental impact of the events hosted by AIA components.

2030 Toolkit
This toolkit is a refinement and expansion of the Green Cities Toolkit that was produced and developed with one of our primary strategic partners, the United States Conference of Mayors. Organized in three parts (Advocacy, Design, and Community), it is a virtual connection to resources and examples that demonstrate the greening of our built environment.



PROGRAM | INITIATIVES

2030 Commitment: An AIA National initiative for firms to voluntarily make a pledge to advance the AIA’s 2030 goals. The purpose is to drive change in practice by focusing on the entire design portfolio rather than exemplary projects and asks for firms to track annual progress. Reporting tool debuted at the 2010 AIA National Convention.

COTE Top Ten: Regarded as the profession’s best known recognition program for sustainable design excellence, the Top Ten demonstrates how architects are uniquely qualified to address environmental challenges thought design that integrates architecture, technology, and natural systems. Beyond an awards program, the Top Ten has a strong focus on knowledge delivery in the form of case studies. Unlike any other program, Top Ten measures both qualitative and quantitative aspects of sustainable design.

AIA+2030 Professional Series: A successful, road-tested high performance design curriculum developed by AIA Seattle that AIA National has identified as feasible to expand at a national scale. Ten, 4-hour sessions offer strategies to reach 50% reduction in fossil fuel greenhouse gas emissions, giving design professionals the knowledge and leverage to create next-generation, super-efficient buildings.



ADVOCACY

Local Leaders in Sustainability
Local Leaders in Sustainability is a national research project on green building policy in local communities. This report series, begun in 2007 has included four reports focused on green cities, green counties, green incentives, and green building policy in a changing economic environment.

International Green Construction Code (IgCC)
The International Code Council (ICC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and ASTM-International laucned the development of a sace and sustainable building code entitled IgCC: Safe and Sustainable by the Book.

What AIA members need to know about the IgCC Read More