AIA+2030 Series: A Year of Capacity Building for Pittsburgh Professionals

 
Last spring, AIA Pittsburgh’s newly reconvened Committee On The Environment (COTE) launched an initiative to bring high-level sustainability training to the region’s design and construction professionals. Adopting a national curriculum called AIA+2030, the series of ten workshops is intended to drive improvement among Pittsburgh’s new and existing buildings with respect to their energy efficiency, water use, indoor air quality, and other environmental factors. Alongside Downtown Pittsburgh’s 2030 District, and the global 2030 Challenge, the program enables industry professionals to understand and achieve efficiency targets that increase incrementally over the coming 16 years, reaching net-zero energy for new buildings and significant reductions for existing buildings by the year 2030. Regional practitioners and experts delivered the workshops, using case studies from their portfolios to demonstrate how goal setting, simulation, site planning, envelope, systems, and operations contribute to the creation of buildings that can meet the 2030 Challenge.
With the tenth and final session bringing the series to a close last week, participants were enthusiastic about applying what they’ve learned in their projects. COTE member Melanie Como Harris, AIA, LEED AP, of IKM Inc., has been posting summaries of each workshop on the AIA Pittsburgh blog, helping to generate more widespread interest in the program as the committee plans to offer the series again next year. As 2030 Challenge and 2030 District targets will increasingly generate demand for the expertise needed to create new high performing buildings and improve existing buildings, AIA Pittsburgh and the committee recognize that bringing the education series to as many regional professionals as possible over the next few years is of vital importance to the region’s future.
On Thursday, May 8, AIA Pittsburgh will hold its annual continuing education conference, Build Pittsburgh, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. evolveEA Principal, Marc Mondor, AIA, LEED Faculty and COTE Chair, will lead a 90-minute seminar summarizing all ten sessions and explaining how the principles and methods taught in the series can be applied to ongoing and new projects. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone considering future participation in the program or wishing to learn more about the 2030 Challenge.