Reflecting on COP21
By Chris Mackey, Building Scientist, Payette
![COP21](http://info.aia.org/blast_images/kc/02-2016_COP21.jpg)
Photo Credit: Chris Mackey; Payette. |
For over two decades, the annual COP Sustainable Innovation Forum has gained notoriety as an event where activists and energy companies vie for attention from both policy-makers drafting new agreements and the media covering the event. However, the proximity of this conference to the recent tragedy in Paris created a unique situation that illustrated what happens when a third entity is more deeply involved – the military.
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Integrating Research into Practice
By Jeff Abramson, AIA, LEED AP, Associate, Payette; Jenny Ratner, LEED AP, Designer, Payette and Lynn Petermann, AIA, LEED AP, Architect, Payette
![Research](http://info.aia.org/blast_images/kc/02-2016_Research01.jpg)
Photo Credit: Payette.
Incorporating a scientific process into architectural practice leads to higher performing buildings that embody sustainable design. Using research to inform design decisions can have far-reaching impacts on the built environment. At Payette, our research not only serves as a useful PR tool, it also becomes part of our internal firm-wide education. The topics and methods we use in our research fundamentally shape the way in which the entire design staff thinks about and approaches architecture.
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Mainstreaming Air Tightness and Thermal Comfort in Wood Construction
By Cheryl Smith, AIA, LEED AP | Originally published in the TDBP newsletter
![Wood construction for 40 room hotel](http://info.aia.org/blast_images/kc/TDBP_Wood frame.jpg)
Wood Contruction: new 40 room hotel on a local college campus. Photo Credit: Cope Linder Architects LLC.
I attended a Greater Philadelphia Passive House Association (GPPHA) presentation by a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), who is also a wood fabricator and high performance builder of wood construction. He spoke about how wood framing, heavy timber framing, and cross laminated timber are suitable for almost every building type; how cost-effective wood can be; and how wood’s less embodied energy has a lighter carbon footprint than many other building materials.
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Women in Green: Expanding Diversity for Design in the Climate Change Era
![women in green video](http://info.aia.org/blast_images/kc/Women in Green.JPG)
Last month, we ran a piece about the Women in Green panel at Greenbuild in November (the Metropolis POV blog). If you are interested in the topic and would like to see the video, it is embedded in the Metropolis blog, or you can find it directly here.
Register for COTE and Related Sessions at the 2016 AIA Convention in Philadelphia!
WE304- Energy Modeling for All: 2030 Commitment for Small Firms!
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 | 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM | Earn 3.75 LUs/HSW/RIBA | $225
Interested in energy modeling but don’t know where to start? This comprehensive session will help you incorporate energy modeling into your design process and explore benefits and resources available to firms through the AIA 2030 Commitment.
TH301- Social Media: Get Strategic
Thursday, May 19, 2016 | 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM | Earn 1.00 LU/RIBA
Social media can have a powerful impact on your firm- but are you taking full advantage of it? Transform your organization's culture and give it the boost it needs to succeed with this interactive session. By the end of this session, you'll be prepared to adapt your firm's work to support a successful social media marketing strategy.
TH303- COTE Top Ten: Performing Beautifully...a Restorative Future
Thursday, May 19, 2016 | 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM | Earn 1.00 LU/RIBA
The AIA COTE Top Ten and Top Ten+ Awards are the profession's foremost recognition for integrated, holistic design. This program celebrates projects that exemplify high-performance architecture with stories from the winning design teams. Join your peers in celebrating how beauty and performance create holistic architecture.
EV217- COTE Top Ten Reception
Thursday, May 19, 2016 | 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM | $35
Join the AIA Committee on the Environment as we honor the 2016 recipients of the prestigious Top Ten Awards. Celebrate practicing architects and emerging student talents, as well as the 20th year of COTE's Top Ten Awards and the tail end of COTE's 25th anniversary.
FR218- Transparency vs. Efficiency: Overcoming the Performance Challenges of Glass Facades
Friday, May 20, 2016 | 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM | Earn 1.00 LU/HSW/RIBA
There's no denying that glass looks good, but it often means a sacrifice of performance. Glazed facades provide transparency, daylight, and connection, but can drive up energy consumption and utility costs. This session will explore a real project where architects, consultants, and engineers collaborated to benefit both the design and performance of facades.
SA102- The Transparent, Glass Facade: Is Sustainability Possible?
Saturday, May 21, 2016 | 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM | Earn 1.00 LU/HSW/GBCI/RIBA
Even as glass buildings continue to rise throughout cities, sustainability questions abound. What are the varying perspectives on the future of these buildings? This discussion will ask the difficult questions about the glass facade trend, and see where conflicting perspectives will take the conversation.
SA105- Lessons from the Leading Edge: COTE Top Ten Research Project
Saturday, May 21, 2016 | 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM | Earn 1.00 LU/HSW/RIBA
The highly anticipated Top Ten Research Project illuminates the work of nearly 200 Green Projects Awards winners, and the Committee on the Environment's groundbreaking report sets the stage for a new era in design. Extraordinary things are happening in sustainable design, and this session dives into a whole host of them.
SA214- Building Energy Literacy: The 2030 Commitment's Transformation of Firm Culture
Saturday, May 21, 2016 | 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM | Earn 1.00 LU/HSW/GBCI/RIBA
The AIA 2030 Commitment has impacted both how architects design and how firms practice. Come explore the impact on firm culture as experienced by four different firms. See the 2030 Commitment through a new lens - and envision your role in its future.
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