High Design/Low Carbon™ Residential Design Environmentally Responsive Design, Construction and Operation

Credit type: 1 AIA LU.

This presentation will explore why homes are a critical part of a low carbon future and how to achieve that goal. The technology to make a home highly energy efficient has become close to mainstream, and taking it to the next level, to net zero, is now a very achievable aspiration. But beyond the design and operation energy of a home, the latest aspect that needs to be addressed is the carbon footprint of the material being used in the construction process.

Learning Objective

• Gain an understanding of the metrics related to high performance and net zero buildings.
• Learn the differences between operational energy use and embodied carbon as well as how to design for these factors.
• Discuss projects that take into account high performance sustainable and net zero design.
• Explain the challenges involved with designing a high performance building will also be reviewed.

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  Nathan Kipnis

  Principal

  Kipnis Architecture + Planning

  Nathan Kipnis

  

  Nathan Kipnis is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and principal of Kipnis Architecture + Planning, based in Evanston, Illinois and Boulder, Colorado. The firm was recently named ‘Best Chicago Residential Architect’ by Better Magazine and was also awarded Illinois Green Alliance’s Emerald Award. Mr. Kipnis was a founding member of Citizens’ Greener Evanston. As chair of its Energy Task Force, he was the motivating force for Evanston’s conceptual offshore wind farm in Lake Michigan. A founding member of the AIA’s 2030 Commitment Working Group in 2009, Mr. Kipnis served as national co-chair from 2018 to 2019. He is continuing to serve at the national AIA board level, on the newly formed Committee on Climate Action and Design Excellence. Mr. Kipnis is the founder of NextHaus Alliance, a new, premium design/build concept to provide ‘net zero’ sustainable. resilient and healthy homes.

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  Aaron Seward

  Editor in Chief

  The Architect's Newspaper

  Aaron Seward

  

  Aaron Seward is Editor-in-Chief of The Architect’s Newspaper. Seward is an award-winning editor whose career has centered on interpreting architecture for the profession and the general public. He was editor of Texas Architect magazine for six years and prior to that held several positions at AN, including executive editor. In addition to those publications, Seward’s writing on architecture, culture, and the built environment has appeared in Architect, Curbed, Domus, Metropolis, and other publications. He has a BA in Literature, Writing and the Arts from The New School for Social Research.