Upcoming Events

AIA and ACSA are pleased to announce a partnership dedicated to the intersection of Education, Research, and Practice. This conference is intended to strengthen the intersection between academia and design practice, especially when it comes to research and innovation, focused on climate action and carbon management.

As architects and educators, we should be continually asking ourselves if current architectural practices and tools are enough to radically reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere associated with buildings. If not, what research is needed to shift the practice of architecture to restore and regenerate the earth’s systems that we have so critically impacted. What more could we be doing? What knowledge, skills, and tools do we need to develop, and what are the best ways to do so?

As the first in a dedicated series of Intersections Conferences, we will share and examine the role research plays in advancing architectural knowledge and practice and education around the topic of carbon. In particular, this conference will examine how research—broadly defined—is currently driving architectural design and the built environment.

Presentations will address carbon management strategies, including but not limited to:

• new building materials, including biomaterials, and construction techniques ​
• adaptive reuse and deep energy retrofits, including Net-Zero projects
• embodied carbon accounting and life cycle analysis tool exploration and research results
• investigating urban and rural planning practices in order to create more equitable communities
• commissioning, post-occupancy evaluations and the role of building occupants
• climate responsive design and resilience in a time of unreliable climates
• transition to electricity based systems, on-site renewables and preparing for a decarbonized electrical grid
• how to best reduce fossil fuel-based energy use through design and passive strategies