This week, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced that it will create a resilience curriculum for the professional development of architects, including resilient design and decision-making on hazard mitigation, climate adaptation and community resilience.
The curriculum will include policy and practice-focused resources on AIA.org, research, and training. AIA will also expand existing professional and academic resilience network.
AIA targets phased implementation of the curriculum beginning next year.
“Building codes are a powerful tool architects can use to incorporate lessons learned from natural disasters, technology developments and building science innovation,” said AIA Chief Executive Robert Ivy, FAIA. “Yet we can do more to address the challenges of a changing climate. As we launch this new curriculum, we will be equipping our profession with additional vulnerability assessment, hazard mitigation and design adaptation tools to help them prepare communities to be resilient and adaptable to those challenges.”
The announcement was made at the White House Conference on Resilient Building Codes. The conference was called to discuss the role of building codes in community resilience, explore the economic benefits of resilient design, and consider actions that the Federal government and the private sector can take to advance resilience in the built environment.
Related Stories
| May 25, 2011
Low Impact Development: Managing Stormwater Runoff
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES HSW/SD learning units by studying this article and successfully passing the online exam.
| May 25, 2011
Register today for BD+C’s June 8th webinar on restoration and reconstruction projects
Based on new and award-winning building projects, this webinar presents our “expert faculty” to examine the key issues affecting project owners, designers and contractors in case studies ranging from gut renovations and adaptive reuses to restorations and retrofits.
| May 25, 2011
Hotel offers water beds on a grand scale
A semi-submerged resort hotel is the newest project from Giancarlo Zema, a Rome-based architect known for his organic maritime designs. The hotel spans one kilometer and has both land and sea portions.
| May 25, 2011
Smithsonian building $45 million green lab
Thanks to a $45 million federal appropriation to the Smithsonian Institution, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Md., has broken ground on what is expected to be one of the most energy-efficient laboratories in the country. The 69,000-sf lab is targeting LEED Gold and is expected to use 37% less energy and emit 37% less carbon dioxide than a similar building.
| May 25, 2011
World’s tallest building now available in smaller size
Emaar Properties teamed up with LEGO to create a miniature version of the Burj Khalifa as part of the LEGO Architecture series. Currently, the LEGO Burj Khalifa is available only in Dubai, but come June 1, 2011, it will be available worldwide.
| May 25, 2011
Developers push Manhattan office construction
Manhattan developers are planning the city's biggest decade of office construction since the 1980s, betting on rising demand for modern space even with tenants unsigned and the availability of financing more limited. More than 25 million sf of projects are under construction or may be built in the next nine years.
| May 25, 2011
Olympic site spurs green building movement in UK
London's environmentally friendly 2012 Olympic venues are fuelling a green building movement in Britain.
| May 25, 2011
TOTO tests universal design at the AIA conference
If you could be 80 years old for 30 minutes—and have to readjust everything you think you know about your own mobility—would you do it?