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2008 AIA Upjohn Research Initiative Projects Awarded
Research initiatives study various aspects of sustainability within the built environment
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For Immediate Release |
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Washington, D.C., October 27,
2008 — The recipients of the 2008 Upjohn Research Initiative have been
selected by a jury consisting of representatives from both the
College of Fellows and the Board Knowledge Committee. The purpose
of this grant is to provide base funds for applied research
projects that advance professional knowledge and practice. The 18
month long project grant qualifies recipients to have their
findings and outcomes published both electronically and in a
nationally distributed publication. From a field of 30, the
following four submissions were selected for funding:
Cradle to Grave: Case Studies of Buildings’
Environmental Footprint
Principal Investigators:
Dan Jacobs, A3C Architects
Ash Ragheb, Center for Sustainability, Lawrence Technological
University
The objective of this study is to estimate the environmental
impacts released by multiple case study buildings throughout life
span and evaluate their damage to both the local and global
environment. The results compile an environmental footprint for
these buildings based on their impacts (releases to air, water, and
land) during their entire life cycle. The study demonstrates how
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) could be applied from a single material
to complex systems such as buildings throughout its life cycle.
This study highlights the importance of reducing the environmental
burden of buildings as an essential and an important way for
climate change mitigation.
EcoCeramic Phase II: High Performance Masonry
Enclosure
Principal Investigators:
Jason Oliver Vollen: Center for Architectural Sciences,
Associate Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Principal,
Binary Design
Kelly Winn: Doctoral Student, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute
Jed Laver: Researcher, University of Arizona
The natural process of erosion of the Earth’s surface produces
clay five times faster than it could ever expect to be used. Though
the process of using ceramic tiles as a building material has
dwindled in recent decades using terracotta has many desirable
properties as a building material. Modern building techniques
require a resilient construction system based on sustainable and
ecological principles with a streamlined design and manufacturing
process which is a paramount feature with EcoCeramic. Researchers
found that combining the intrinsic properties of ceramics and glass
fibers creates a new material whose performance is both
multidimensional and recombinant. Researchers will develop the
EcoCeramic masonry unit into a weatherproof self supporting
enclosure system.
Guidelines for the Design of Sustainable Learning
Laboratories that Teach Through Architecture
Principal Investigator:
Jim Jones Ph.D., Director CHPLE, Virginia
Tech
The Center for High Performance Learning Environments (CHPLE), and
the School of Education at Virginia Tech, in cooperation with the
Southwest Virginia Science Museum, science educators, the
International Institute for Sustainable Labs (I2SL) and Spectrum
Design will promote “buildings that teach” and
environmental stewardship with the development of a new AIA
learning module that describes knowledge-based links between
learning, critical thinking and architecture. The AIA and Labs21
workshops developed by the CHPLE that promote sustainable design
practices and environmental stewardship while directly establishing
design strategies that transform learning environments such as
schools from passive vessels to active participants in
learning.
Thermally Active Surfaces in Architecture
Principal Investigator:
Kiel Moe, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture,
Northeastern University
This body of research focuses on the new role of thermally active
surfaces in architecture in work towards low-to-no energy
consumption buildings. In this transformation of energy and
building practices, the thermal conditioning of a building is
decoupled from the ventilation system by using the mass of the
building itself as the thermal system rather than air. An important
aspect of thermally active surfaces is that they are low-tech yet
high performance and are thus equally applicable in the developed
and developing worlds. Research includes the documentation and
illustration of the physiological and thermodynamic basis of
thermally active surfaces, the elucidation of changes and
amendments to professional practice and the building industry
implied with this technique, the energy modeling of contemporary
ten case studies with advanced modeling software, and the
illustration/documentation of these case studies that focus on the
systems, performance, and constructability of each project.
About The American Institute of
Architects
For over 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects
have worked with each other and their communities to create more
valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and
cityscapes. By using sustainable design practices, materials, and
techniques, AIA architects are uniquely poised to provide the
leadership and guidance needed to provide solutions to address
climate change. AIA architects walk the walk on sustainable design.
Visit www.aia.org/walkthewalk.
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