The jury for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Upjohn Research Initiative is providing $100,000 in grants to four research projects that will advance the future of architectural design and practice.
The purpose of the grant, now in its eleventh year, is to provide base funds for applied research projects that will advance the design profession’s knowledge and practice. The 18-month long project grant qualifies recipients to have their research findings and outcomes published both electronically and in a nationally distributed publication. This year’s recipients will research the following topics:
1.) The Impact of Biophilic Learning Spaces on Student Success
· Principal Investigators: James Determan, FAIA (Hord Coplan Macht) and Mary Anne Akers, PhD (Morgan State University).
· The researchers will study how biophilic learning environments correlate with stress reduction and enhanced cognitive performance toward improved learning outcomes for urban middle school students. A traditional classroom and an enriched classroom will be compared. Advised by the Salk Institute and Terrapin Bright Green, the researchers will enhance the biophilic classroom with a visual connection to nature, dynamic and diffused light, and biomorphic forms and patterns. This study aims to provide evidence of the link between biophilic classroom design and student success.
2.) Biophilic Architecture: Sustainable Materialization of Microalgae Facades
· Principal Investigator: Kyoung-Hee Kim, PhD (University of North Carolina at Charlotte).
· The project will prototype and study a microalgae façade, which is a sustainable building system based on the synthesis of biophilic, bioclimatic, and biomimicry design approaches. Results will provide alternatives to sustainable building materials and broaden the knowledgebase for integrated microalgae façades toward carbon-neutral building practices.
3.) Biodiverse Built Environments: High-Performance Passive Systems for Ecologic Resilience
· Principal Investigator: Keith Van de Riet, PhD, Assoc. AIA (The University of Kansas).
· Passive architectural systems capitalize on natural bioclimatic factors without the need for operational energy input. This project will study expanding the category of high-performance passive systems to include biodiversity as design criteria in architectural and landscape structures. The objectives of the study include the design and production of a full-scale prototype of an engineered-living wall panel derived from mangrove trees to be installed over an existing seawall in a tidal estuary. This process of integrating living systems within urban environments will be a collaboration among design and scientific communities.
4.) Tilt Print Lift - Concrete 3D Printing for Precast Assemblies
· Principal Investigators: Tsz Yan Ng (University of Michigan) and Wesley McGee (University of Michigan).
· The research seeks to develop 3D concrete printing technologies to produce prefabricated concrete panels for complex wall assemblies. The primary goal is to develop a prototypical panelized wall system that takes advantage of the geometric variability possible through additive manufacturing. Developing techniques for detailing and panel connections, this project will highlight new construction systems that are specific to 3D printing technology to address design-oriented goals. Focusing on the advancement of the manufacturing process, construction logistics, and performance criteria in relation to precast assemblies, the investigation will explore unique and novel designs for architectural production.
Grant recipients were selected this year by a seven-member jury comprised of members from the AIA College of Fellows and Board Knowledge Committee. Juror process and deliberations for selecting recipients were consistent with the double-blind peer review intent of the program, which helps add an element of rigor to the process whereby proposals are debated on their own merits. View this press release online here: https://www.aia.org/pres
Past recipients of the Upjohn Research Initiative can be reviewed on AIA’s website.
Related Stories
| May 17, 2011
Redesigning, redefining the grocery shopping experience
The traditional 40,000- to 60,000-sf grocery store is disappearing and much of the change is happening in the city. Urban infill sites and mixed-use projects offer grocers a rare opportunity to repackage themselves into smaller, more efficient, and more convenient retail outlets. And the AEC community will have a hand in developing how these facilities will look and operate.
| May 17, 2011
Architecture billings index fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects
The architecture billings index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity, fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects. The architecture billings index fell 2.9 points last month to 47.6, a level that indicates declining demand for architecture services, according to the American Institute of Architects.
| May 17, 2011
Sustainability tops the syllabus at net-zero energy school in Texas
Texas-based firm Corgan designed the 152,200-sf Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, with the goal of creating the largest net-zero educational facility in the nation, and the first in the state. The facility is expected to use 50% less energy than a standard school.
| May 17, 2011
Gilbane partners with Steel Orca on ultra-green data center
Gilbane, along with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, has been selected to partner with Steel Orca to design and build a 300,000-sf data center in Bucks County, Pa., that will be powered entirely through renewable energy sources--gas, solar, fuel cells, wind and geo-thermal. Completion is scheduled for 2013.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.
| May 17, 2011
The New Orleans master plan
At an afternoon panel during last week's AIA National Conference in New Orleans, Goody Clancy Principal David Dixon and Manning Principal W. Raymond Manning shared their experiences creating the New Orleans Master Plan, a document that sets a new course for the city, from land use and transportation planning to environmental protection.
| May 17, 2011
Do these buildings look like buffalo to you?
It’s hard to contemplate winter now that we’re mid-spring, but when the seasons change, ice skaters in Winnipeg will be able to keep warm in plywood shelters designed by Patkau Architects. The designers created temporary shelters inspired by animal behavior—specifically, buffalo bracing against the wind. Check them out.
| May 16, 2011
USGBC and AIA unveil report for greening K-12 schools
The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects unveiled "Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Special Report from Sundance," which outlines a five-point national action plan that mayors and local leaders can use as a framework to develop and implement green schools initiatives.
| May 16, 2011
Dassault Systèmes to distribute Gehry Technologies’ digital project
Dassault Systèmes and Gehry Technologies announced that Gehry Technologies’ Digital Project products will be integrated into the Dassault Systèmes’ portfolio and distributed through Dassault Systèmes. Digital Project is a suite of 3D BIM applications created by Gehry Technologies using Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA as a core modeling engine.
| May 11, 2011
DOE releases guide for 50% more energy-efficient office buildings
The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the release of the first in a new series of Advanced Energy Design Guides to aid in the design of highly energy efficient office buildings. The 50% AEDG series will provide a practical approach to commercial buildings designed to achieve 50% energy savings compared to the commercial building energy code used in many areas of the country.
