AIA and Sustainable Design
 What is Sustainable Design in Architecture?
Sustainable design in architecture is the design of sustainable buildings. Sustainable architecture attempts to reduce the collective environmental impacts during the production of building components, during the construction process, as well as during the lifecycle of the building. This design practice emphasizes efficiency of heating and cooling systems, alternative energy sources such as passive solar, appropriate building siting, reused or recycled building materials, on-site power generation, and on-site waste management such as green roofs that filter and control storm water runoff. Sustainable architects design with sustainable living in mind.
Walk the Walk: AIA Architects Leading the Environmental Evolution
Sustainable Design: Walk the Walk Don't miss this new, comprehensive AIA Sustainable Design Resource Center for practitioners and the general public contains a wealth of online resources to facilitate better green design, and in doing so, help reduce energy consumption in the built environment. The AIA supports federal, state, and local legislation and incentives that encourage and aid the construction of high-performance buildings.
A Resource Center for Practitioners: For more than 150 years, members of the American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better green design and, through such resources and access, are committed to reducing energy consumption in the built environment.
You'll find a wealth of links in this site like the Sustainable Design Policy Resource page providing a comprehensive list of AIA policy-related resources including:
- Fact Sheet on Architects and Climate Change
- AIA Position Statement on Sustainable Practice
- The AIA's Sustainable Design Assistance Team Program (SDAT)- Designing a sustainable world
You'll also find information on major AIA inititiatives like the Energy Star Challenge, tools and resources like Green Meeting Guidelines, knowlege resources like the Top 10 Green Projects...plus AIA news headlines and events, all geared to help make our communities more liveable.
Learn more today to help us make a better tomorrow.
Recycle, Composte, and Reuse in Mississippi
Taking care of garbage is everyone's business. Please do your part to put garbage in its place. It's our state, our home, and our responsibility to protect the health and beauty of the environment. Go to the links below if you need more information on how to recycle, composte or re-use in Mississippi.
MIssissippi Department of Environmental Quality on Composting
Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality: Task Force on Recycling
Find Green Service Providers on the Low Impact Living website
Learn about recycling paper at the Recycling Coalition website
The Green Challenge: SustAIAnability 2030
50 to 50: A how-to resource intended to assist architects and the construction industry in moving toward the AIA’s public goal of a minimum 50 percent reduction of fossil fuel consumption in buildings by 2010 and carbon neutrality by 2030.
The SustAIAnability 2030 Toolkit was developed to support the AIA goal of reducing the carbon emissions generated in the construction and operation of all new and renovated buildings by 50 percent by 2010 with the long-term goal of carbon neutral buildings by 2030. The toolkit provides an overview of green building issues, sample ordinance language that is already in effect in other cities, and real world examples of what other communities are doing to reduce their contribution to global climate change.
In June 2007, this public outreach effort, created to encourage mayors and community leaders to advocate eco-friendly building design, earned an Award of Excellence in the 2007 Associations Advance America Awards, a national competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and The Center for Association Leadership. Learn more about the Sustainability 2030 Toolkit.
Green Headline News: Local Leaders in Sustainability
The AIA Government Advocacy has issued a timely report, Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Study of Green Building Programs in Our Nation's Communities, which is now available online through the AIA national web site. The Local Leaders Reportexamines the current state of green building laws in American cities as of 2007.
Since 2003 the number of cities with green building programs has increased greater than 400%, due to a concerted effort by local political leaders, officials, architects and others within the design/building industry, and grassroots support. The primary goal of this analysis is to provide a tool for communities as well as other levels of government that seek to design green building programs in the future. It is based on research conducted by the AIA on all American cities with a population greater than 50,000 (661 communities) to spotlight the growth and effectiveness of green building policies.
Green News Headlines: Build Green Schools
USGBC Launches Green Schools Web Site as a Community Resource: A new Web site launched by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on October 16 is designed to give community stakeholders—students, parents, teachers, school administrators, elected officials, and community members—a new resource that will enable them to join construction industry members “in the effort to ensure a future of green schools for every child within a generation.” For more information, visit the Build Green Schools web site.
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