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AIA Committee on the Environment Releases Study on Ecological Literacy in Architecture Education
Report aimed at training designers for 21st-century challenges
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For Immediate Release |
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Washington, D.C., September 5,
2006 — In order to spotlight recent efforts to bring issues of
sustainability into architecture education, The American Institute
of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) has issued
Design & Ecology: Ecological Literacy in Architecture
Education. The study offers definitions of sustainability,
ecological literacy, and sustainable design and profiles examples
of U.S. architecture coursework where ecological literacy has made
some or great impact.
“While architects now generally acknowledge that
sustainability is essential, many see it as a purely technical or
ethical agenda,” said Lance Hosey, AIA, a co-author of the
report. “We suggest that architectural solutions are just as
important as technical solutions.” Co-author Kira Gould,
Assoc. AIA, added, “The goal of this report is to help
architecture curriculum evolve to the point where all design
teachings are sustainable in nature.”
Link to executive summary and the full report: www.aia.org/cote_tides
Climate change, resource use, and building trends comprise an
imperative for change for the profession, for academia, and for
sustaining human life and quality of life on earth. This is an
unprecedented opportunity to have broad impact through modest and
strategic initiatives; the possibility for overlapping benefits is
great. Reinvigorating architectural research and creating
opportunities for the profession to inform the academy will benefit
practitioners, students, teachers, schools, and clients
alike.
The report profiles winners of a call for coursework that yielded
44 submissions. Three were named grant winners and eight received
special recognition.
Grant Winners:
• California Polytechnic State University-San Luis
Obispo: The Sustainable Environments Minor: Sustainable
Environments and Implementing Sustainable Principles at the College
of Architecture and Environmental Design
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee:
Comprehensive Green Design Studio and Professional Practice Seminar
at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning
• University of Tennessee: Seminar in
Architectural Technology and Technological Traditions at the
College of Architecture and Design
Special Recognition:
• University of Minnesota: Master of Science in
Architecture: Sustainable Design Track at the College of
Architecture and Landscape Architecture
• University of Virginia: ecoMOD Project at
the School of Architecture
• Clemson University: Animated Architecture:
Master of Architecture Thesis Research & Design Studio at the
School of Architecture
• Ball State University: Arch 501 Graduate
Design Studio and the Greening of the Campus Program at, College of
Architecture and Planning and the Center for Energy
Research/Education/Service
• Parsons School of Design at the New School:
Issues and Practices in Modern Architecture and Urbanism at the
Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting
• Kansas State University: Environmental
Systems in Architecture and Other Coursework at the Department of
Architecture
• Mississippi State University: ARC 2713
Passive Building Systems (Ecological Design) at the College of
Architecture
• University of Hawaii: Arch 316
Environmental Design and Mechanical Systems and Environmental
Systems Laboratory at the School of Architecture
This study also proposes a series of activities and alliances, each
aimed at advancing ecological literacy and the study of
sustainability as an integral part of the study and practice of
architecture. The pressing issue is to keep the dialogue active and
move quickly to make positive change and lasting impact.
About the AIA Committee on the
Environment
Since 1990, the Committee on the Environment (COTE) has worked 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
quality of life for all.
About The American Institute of
Architects
For almost 150 years, members of The American Institute of
Architects have worked with each other and their communities to
create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings
and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people,
knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such
resources and access, they help clients and communities make their
visions real.
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