AIA launches landmark initiative to drive climate action

The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Board of Directors has approved a landmark resolution—championed by AIA members—that defines immediate and long-term efforts to engage the architectural profession in the fight against climate change.

“This is a defining moment for the Institute,” said 2019 AIA President William Bates, FAIA. “We are making this our top priority in order to address the crisis our communities face. Moving the needle on this critical issue—that threatens the future of our planet and humanity—requires our firm commitment to achieving carbon neutral goals in the built environment and our immediate action. It’s imperative that the industry acts today.”

AIA and its members are rallying the profession to do more to fight climate change as buildings are one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases. Moving forward, AIA will build on its more than 20 years of work supporting the design of sustainable and resilient communities by establishing goals to support mitigation and adaptation using the tenets of the comprehensive and holistic COTE Top Ten framework, now known as the AIA Design Excellence Framework.

Initially, AIA will focus its efforts on designing for energy, economy, and equitable communities. Additionally, the Institute will continue to encourage participation in the AIA’s 2030 Commitment and will work to develop new programs and resources that will support architects in fighting climate change.

The catalyst to the Board’s new landmark initiative was a resolution introduced by architect Betsy del Monte, FAIA, and fifty members of the Institute at AIA’s Conference on Architecture 2019. The resolution calls for revisions to AIA public policies and position statements and advocates that the Institute engage its full membership, clients, lawmakers, and communities in a multi-year education, practice, and advocacy strategy.

Hoping to send a loud message that Chicago is serious about luring tourism and entertainment spending, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has released details of two initiatives that have been developing for more than a year and that it says will mean $1.1 billion in investment in the McCormick Place and Navy Pier areas.

| May 16, 2013

Michael R. Bohn named Executive VP at Gilbane

Gilbane has promoted Michael R. Bohn to executive vice president. With over 28 years of service to the company and leadership roles on such high-profile projects as the University of Michigan Biomedical Science Building and the University of Chicago Medical Center, Bohn will now have responsibility for Gilbane’s New York and Midwest business units.

| May 16, 2013

BIM Show Live: The UK’s aggressive goal to mandate BIM on all public projects

| May 15, 2013

Schneider Electric announces Global Xperience Efficiency Events for 2013

Schneider Electric’s Xperience Efficiency series will begin with events in the United States, China, Colombia, Brazil and Russia.

| May 15, 2013

Center for Green Schools, Architecture for Humanity release new tool for green schools

The 70-page guide demystifies the processes of identifying building improvement opportunities and finance and implementation strategies.

| May 14, 2013

Paints and coatings: The latest trends in sustainability

When it comes to durability, a 50-year building design ideally should include 50-year coatings. Many building products consume substantial amounts of energy, water, and petrochemicals during manufacture, but they can make up for it in the operations phase. The same should be expected from architectural coatings.

| May 14, 2013

Advanced turbines generate 6X more energy than conventional models

US-based wind energy company SheerWind just unveiled the INVELOX – a tunnel-based wind turbine that can produce up to 600% more power than traditional wind turbines.