Category: Environmental Stewardship

Cancel Culture in Climate

Posted on by Jon Bell

Join AIA Colorado’s Committee on the Environment for a discussion with author Jenny Morgan about her book Cancel Culture in Climate.

We all want the same thing: a livable, sustainable future. For architects and design professionals, the path forward lies in collaboration, not division. Together, we can transform climate action by embedding authentic, meaningful sustainability strategies into design practice. These are strategies that not only drive real environmental progress but also uphold the values of equity, trust, and resilience. This session will explore how cancel culture and public scrutiny can hinder climate leadership and will provide hands-on tools for architects and allied professionals to overcome these barriers. Participants will leave with actionable insights to advance AIA Colorado’s imperative of environmental stewardship, align with the 2030 Challenge, and create lasting design solutions that reflect the best social and environmental outcomes.

Key Takeaways

  • Understanding how cancel culture influences climate discourse and the architecture profession’s role in leading through it.
  • Practical tools to build transparent, resilient, and effective climate strategies that align with AIA’s climate commitments.
  • Methods to avoid greenwashing and strengthen accountability in sustainability and design efforts.
  • Strategies for fostering collaboration and overcoming public scrutiny to ensure climate justice and design excellence.

Jenny Morgan offers a hopeful roadmap for shifting from ego-driven tactics to empathetic, accountable climate leadership. By prioritizing collective responsibility, Cancel Culture in Climate shows how architects and allied professionals can unite design, advocacy, and climate action to create a sustainable, equitable future.

Beyond the Surface

Posted on by Jon Bell

Beyond the Surface: Vetting Materials for Health, Carbon, & Impact

The 2025 AIA Colorado Committee on the Environment “Beyond the Surface: Vetting Materials for Health, Carbon, & Impact”

AIA Colorado’s Committee on the Environment invites you to an educational session on sustainable design and construction, featuring Green Badgers Founder & CEO Tommy Linstroth. Additionally, we’ll review selection criteria and resources, industry trends, occupant health, and Material Pledge guidelines.

Presenters:

  • James Erickson, Ph.D., LEED + WELL AP | Climate Responsive Designer at Fentress Studios
  • Andrea Arias, Assoc. AIA | Design Professional II at Fentress Studios
  • Tommy Linstroth, LEED Fellow | Founder and CEO of Green Badger
  • Deborah Lucking, FAIA., LEED AP BD+C | Director of Sustainability,  Fentress Studios

Embodied Carbon: Regulations, LEED v5, and Contractor’s Role

Posted on by Jon Bell

Embodied Carbon: Regulations, LEED v5, and Contractor’s Role

The 2025 AIA Colorado Committee on the Environment presents “Embodied Carbon: Regulations, LEED v5, and Contractor’s Role”

This presentation covers different regulatory and voluntary programs to reduce embodied carbon and how different approaches will result in different outcomes. It will also explain the LEED v5 requirements related to embodied carbon reductions and how contractors are tracking A4 and A5 emissions at the project site.

Presenters include:

  • Victoria Herrero-Garcia, LEED AP BD+C, Embodied Carbon Leader, Mead & Hunt
  • Mark Rothman, AIA, DBIA, LEED AP, Director of Design and Sustainability, Hensel Phelps

Empowering Architecture with Passive House

Posted on by Jon Bell

The 2025 AIA Colorado Committee on the Environment presents “Empowering Architecture with Passive House”.

Empowering Architecture with Passive House methodology, combining architectural design and building science to solve climate, energy, and comfort with the architecture.

Passive House is a well-established approach and building standard leading to significantly better-performing buildings that are cost-effective to build and healthier and more comfortable to occupy. You could consider it a sustainable design superpower for architects. The methodology combines architectural design and building science to solve for climate, energy, and comfort with the architecture. This leads to the integration of simpler and smaller mechanical systems and performance that is embedded in the architecture. Passive House is the best path to decarbonize, while providing resilient, healthy buildings – and it’s for all buildings, not just houses.

We have seen a Passive House certification surge in regions of North America, such as British Columbia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. With the City of Denver’s new Passive House incentives, Passive House is now coming to Colorado. Attend this introductory session about Passive House and begin empowering your architectural practice.

Speakers include:

People, Planet, Design

Posted on by Jon Bell

Join the 2025 AIA Colorado Committee on the Environment for the session “People, Planet, Design: A Practical Guide for Realizing Architecture’s Potential” with Corey Squire, AIA. Why do some firms consistently create healthy, high-performing buildings, while for others sustainability remains a struggle? Do they have the right clients? The ones with big budgets and ambitions? Or have they just figured out how to prioritize what’s important? This session explores how a practice can meaningfully address climate, health, and equity on every project. Using Corey’s book, People, Planet, Design, as a guide, this talk will present a practical path for realizing every project’s potential.

Speaker Bio: Corey Squire, AIA, is Sustainability Director at Bora Architecture & Interior in Portland Oregon, and a member of the AIA’s Strategic Council. He lectures nationally on a range of sustainability-related topics and was a creator of AIA Framework for Design Excellence, a resource that’s actively redefining excellence in the built environment. Corey is the author of the recently published book, People, Planet, Design: A Practical Guide to Realizing Architecture’s Potential.

AIA 2030 Commitment: Breaking Boundaries with Embodied Carbon

Posted on by Jon Bell

AIA 2030 Commitment

Breaking Boundaries with Embodied Carbon

Monday evening, October 28th, AIA Colorado’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) led a session exploring embodied carbon within the context of building design and construction. A few of the topics discussed included:

  • Understanding operational carbon and embodied carbon within the context of building design and construction.
  • Identify key tools, benchmarks, and metrics for measuring and tracking embodied carbon in buildings.
  • Understanding how to engage your project team in the discussion of carbon reduction strategies.
  • Gain insight to the benefits and impacts of reducing embodied, operational, and refrigerant carbon through case study projects.
  • Illustrate the benefits of participation in the AIA 2030 Commitment and supporting the effort to reduce emissions and change the practice of architecture.

A Q+A session followed the presentation.

AIA 2030 Commitment: Implementation & Case Studies

Posted on by Jon Bell

September 11th, AIA Colorado’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) led a session unpacking 2030 Commitment implementation & case studies. Hear from COTE and AIA members as they present multiple aspects to the 2030 Commitment.

A few of the topics discussed include:

  • An overview of Session #1, including 2030 Commitment current goals and benchmarks.
  • Examples case study projects targeting net zero energy and water efficiency.
  • Key tools and resources used during project development to support goals for efficiency and meeting AIA 2030 benchmarks.
  • Understand how fluctuations in modeling impact and support decision making during the design process.
  • The benefits of having an integrated team support the project at all phases of development.

A brief Q+A session followed the presentation.

Getting Started with the AIA 2030 Commitment

Posted on by Jon Bell

June 20, 2024, AIA Colorado’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) led a session unpacking the 2030 Commitment. Hear from COTE and AIA members as they present multiple aspects to the 2030 Commitment.

A few of the topics discussed include:

  • An understanding of the origins and current requirements of the AIA 2030 Commitment. What is it and how to become a signatory.
  • Examples of successful and implemented Sustainability Action Plans. They aren’t just a paper weight!
  • Compare how different size firms have found success with joining the 2030 Commitment and tracking performance data on projects.
  • Investigate the online data collection platform called the DDx and what types of metrics firms are asked to collect on their projects in regard to operational and embodied carbon.

A brief Q+A session followed the presentation.

My Personal Observations from COP28

Posted on by Jon Bell

From November 29th to December 12th, 2023, I had the remarkable opportunity to participate in the 28th Conference of the Parties UAE (COP28), held at the Expo City, Dubai. COP28 marked a significant milestone as it concluded the first-ever ‘global stocktake’ of worldwide efforts to combat climate change under the Paris Agreement. The Conference was extended due to unprecedented negotiations that led to a groundbreaking commitment to transition away from all fossil fuels.

Expo City, renowned for hosting the six-month long 2020 Expo, showcased meticulous planning and inspirational architecture. Internationally acclaimed architects designed pavilions for participating countries, creating an awe-inspiring 1,083-acre site divided into three zones: Opportunity, Sustainability, and Mobility. This organizational structure, inherited from the Expo, was mirrored in COP28, influencing conference topics, presentations, exhibitions, and special events.

COP28,
Unknown-2 | Mary Morissette, FIAA
COP28,
Unknown-1 | Mary Morissette, FIAA

The COP venue comprised two distinct zones: the Blue Zone, reserved for accredited delegates (which AIA was) and where the official business is conducted, and the Green Zone, accessible to the public. Published statistics indicate that over 500,000 attended the Blue and Green Zones over the two weeks. Although my experiences were confined to the Green Zone, the opportunities for engagement were extensive. It was like being at 3-4 AIA conferences simultaneously.

My focus centered on topics such as the impact of climate on health, renewable energy research, and emerging technologies, yielding several key takeaways:

  • Countries globally commit to “1.5 Alive”, striving to keep the world’s average temperature within 1.5 degrees Celsius of preindustrial levels. Achieving this requires a 40% reduction in global emissions over the next six years.
  • Not only is there a focus on renewable energy, but research and exploration into forward thinking technologies such as solar fields in space and carbon sequestration strategies.  
  • There were important conversations around nuclear fusion, including the possibilities for autonomous power sources including for individual homes.  
  • The electric grid is one of the most limiting factors to energy distribution. And, with the advancements in hydrogen power, a gas grid needs to be established.  
  • Dialogues centered on using analytics and AI for precise predictions of geographic impacts due to severe weather conditions, aiding in saving lives and reducing property destruction.     
  • The refugee crisis continues to escalate unprecedented needs for housing and basic essentials.  Companies are aiding in this through quickly deployable emergency housing units. One company stated they have deployed over 90,000 emergency housing units.  
  • The cost of climate change is a significant topic. There is little agreement on paying for the destruction caused by weather events, or investment in new technologies to mitigate climate change. New financial methodologies need to be established.
  • Yet, with all the promising advancements, one presenter noted that there are 200 coal plants under construction in China.

Climate impacts have no boundaries, and the complexities are limitless. We truly are all in this together and the level of intellect and ambition going toward solving climate issues are impressive.

COP28,
Unknown-3 | Mary Morissette, FIAA
COP28,
Unknown-4 | Mary Morissette, FIAA

The primary reason for visiting Dubai was COP28, but there were so many other amazing experiences to be had.  We visited the Museum of the Future, toured Masdar City which was designed to be a sustainable eco-city, and went to Abu Dhabi driving by the Saadiyat Cultural District which includes the Louvre, Zayed National Museum, and other significant architectural projects.

Additionally, I had the privilege of meeting a US architect overseeing the Middle East operations of an international firm. He shared interesting information about the region, including the fact that most of the buildings in Dubai are less than 25 years old. There are older areas, but the extensive city Dubai has become is new, including the well-known Palm. I also learned there is a second airport being planned and construction of the Dubia Creek Tower, set to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building. The dense urban area around the marina showcased impressive high-rise buildings, complemented by Dubai’s efficient metro system.

On our last night in Dubai, we had dinner with AIA leadership attending the conference. Engaging in lively discussions, we explored the leadership and innovation architects can contribute to the evolving climate conversation. Attending COP28 solidified my belief that architects can significantly and positively impact the built and natural environments.

(These observations are written with the awareness of the human rights issues associated with the UAE and construction of Expo City and are only intended to share my personal experiences while in the UAE.)

AIA Colorado Member Reflects On The 2023 COTE Top Ten

Posted on by Jon Bell

AIA has recently announced the 2023 COTE Top Ten. AIA Colorado member Kyleen Rockwell, AIA, reflects on her involvement helping to propel the UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood project, a place designed to promote physical and mental well-being, support the school’s environmental commitments, and foster community connections.

| UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood
| UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood

I was ecstatic when the AIA announced the 2023 COTE Top Ten Award Recipients to see that UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood had been honored with an award. 

From 2018-2021, I had the privilege of working on this project during my time with the great team at HKS. We were fortunate to have a client in UC San Diego who was committed to data driven design and the Framework for Design Excellence was ingrained in the design process from start to finish.

I was personally involved in the building performance analysis for the six buildings on the campus. I worked with the design team to integrate key massing analysis that focused on solar access and exterior thermal comfort, identified through annual daylight analysis strategies to maximize daylight levels while keeping glare discomfort within imperceptible thresholds, and had the opportunity to use dynamic energy simulations throughout the design process to track our predicted energy performance to target both a LEED platinum performance and the AIA 2030 Commitment. 

The energy efficiency measures were a dream for a building performance analyst to bring to fruition:

  • Natural ventilation controls that balanced energy efficiency, thermal comfort, CO2 levels, and confirmed no overheating occurred throughout the year.
  • A central plant providing chilled water and hot water to the campus at high efficiency levels.
  • On site renewable energy in the form of solar panels and a micro-anaerobic digester.
  • Lightwells in the subterranean parking garage that reduced lighting power energy.

With my current position as a Sr. Building Performance Analyst at Interface Engineering, I am thrilled to be working at a company who has collaborated on multiple COTE Top Ten Award Projects and am hopeful to have the opportunity to work with other AIA Colorado firms on their projects to further optimize and push the boundaries of building performance.

— Kyleen Rockwell PE, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Senior Building Performance Analyst
Interface Engineering, Inc.

| UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood
| UC San Diego North Torrey Pines Living & Learning Neighborhood

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