Build it Better: Innovations in the new wave of sustainable buildings and smart growth systems
Date and Time
Tuesday Mar 2, 2021
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST
March 2 & 4, 12-3pm - Embracing the New Sustainable Normal
March 17 & 18, 12-3pm - The WELL Standard
March 30 & April 1, 12-3pm - Living Building Challenge (LBC)
April 13 & 15, 12-3pm - PassiveHaus (PH) - PH
April 27 & 29, 12-3pm - LEED for Neighborhood Development /Cities and Communities (LNDCC)
Location
Virtual Learning
Fees/Admission
Fee: $3,500.00
This program is eligible for MCAP Reimbursement
AGC Members that are MCAP contributors will receive 75% reimbursement of the registration fee for this program after the full registration fee is paid to AGC. The maximum reimbursement allowed for each program is $4,000 per firm. Attendance is mandatory for reimbursement.
The maximum reimbursement allowed for all eligible programs is $15,000 per year.
Series Cost: $3,500.00
AGC MA MCAP Contributor Reimbursement: $2,625.00
Total cost after paying full fee to AGC MA - $875.00
Contact Information
Kara Cady
Send Email
Description
AGC MA and UMass/Mt Ida present: Build It Better: Innovations in the new wave of sustainable buildings and smart growth systems
Build-it-Better is a series of live virtual classrooms, designed for all industry professionals looking to advance their knowledge and expertise on the emerging best practices in sustainable buildings and smart growth systems.
What You Can Expect:
- Participants will attain the skills to articulate to owners, developers, and heads of firms the impact that buildings have on the environment and on their communities.
- Leaders, working professionals, and the next generation of building professionals will gain a thorough understanding of the scale, and complexity for what some consider to be the world’s most advanced, holistic performance standard for buildings.
- Completion of the program will prepare registrants for the emerging industry credential exams.
- Participants will gain access to information and resources about case studies, best practices, project support, certification programs, and credential exams.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the impacts that buildings have on the environment
- Identify real world examples of high-performance building
- Engage critically and creatively with texts and visual materials to develop an active, personal understanding of the content as it relates to their own interests and courses of study.
- Describe and articulate core components of different programs (LEED Credit Categories, LBC Core Imperatives, the WELL Knowledge Domains, Quality Criteria for Passive House, etc.)
- Evaluate real world challenges of pursuing high-performance building certification
- Perceive and articulate – in discussion, writing, drawing or making – formal and historical relationships of sustainable building certification and smart growth systems
Embracing the New Sustainable Normal
March 2 & 4, 12:00-3:00pm
The acceptance of higher building performance standards reflects an understanding that sustainable buildings have numerous benefits including lower operating costs, reduced waste sent to landfills, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy and water consumption and healthy and productive indoor environments.
This module will explore topics such as the impacts of the built environment, the benefits of green buildings, the life cycle approach to building, Earth Overshoot Day, terms such as process and operational energy, concepts such as the triple bottom line, and a summary of important research that examines average energy use intensities, levels of indoor air pollutants, air quality and lighting as they relate to occupant satisfaction and comfort. The content will also include a brief summary of aspects of the LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design) system to provide context for exploration of less prominent systems in future modules. Other topics include an over-view of sustainability-related legislation, incentives and state-funded programs such as Executive Order 484, Senate Bill 2865 (Net Zero Stretch Energy Code) and the Green Communities Act that have set the stage for sustainable development in Massachusetts.
Learning Module 2
The WELL StandardMarch 17 & 18, 12:00-3:00pm
Launched in 2014 and created through seven years of rigorous research and development with physicians, scientists and industry, this system brings together best practices in design and construction with evidence-based scientific research of wellness and human comfort. The WELL Standard utilizes a holistic approach to the built environment that focuses on measuring and monitoring features that impact the health and well being of people who live, work, and learn in them.
This module will explore the 10 primary concepts associated with WELL that focus on improving health and well-being for occupants of communities and buildings. Other content may include information about the certification process, case studies, knowledge retention strategies and resources.
Learning Module 3
Living Building Challenge (LBC)
March 30 & April 1, 12:00-3:00pm
Launched in 2006 by Seattle-based architect Jason Mclennan and the Cascadia Green Building Council, this system requires projects to produce more clean water and clean energy than they use, and to send less waste to the landfill than the amount of salvaged material used in the building. The LBC system also emphasizes local source of health building materials and a health supply chain and requires a full year of operational data before certification. LBC attempts to imagine a world in which buildings begin to heal our environment rather than harm it.
This module will explore the philosophy of LBC certification which seeks to “move beyond being less bad and to become truly regenerative, introduce the 7 areas of focus, known as ‘Petals,’ that each include specific imperatives that must be met to achieve certification and include discussion of credential exam requirements.
Learning Module 4
PassiveHaus (PH)
April 13 & 15, 12:00-3:00pm
Originally developed in Germany, the Passivhaus Institute was founded in 1996 and implemented in North America by Katrin Klingenberg in 2003. The Passivhaus System has an intense focus on performance that may be applied to any building type, and it uses sophisticated, next-generation energy modeling software (WUFU Passive) to predict performance at the design stage. The System required that buildings meet minimum requirements (calibrated with regional climate data) for primary energy usage and air infiltration, focuses on reducing the negative effects of building operations. As a part of the certification process, buildings must pass a series of rigorous tests to assure the building performs as designed (blower door, ventilation airflow, electrical load, quality assurance/control).
This module will explore the certification process, a summary of concepts and information about the credential exam, and comparison with other rating systems.
Leaning Module 5
LEED for Neighborhood Development /Cities and Communities (LNDCC)
April 27 & 29, 12:00-3:00pm
Launched in 2010, these systems differ from other rating systems in that they focus on neighborhoods, and not individual buildings. An emphasis is placed on smart growth strategies that may include walkable streets, appropriately scaled schools, and a mix of amenities close by so residents can lower their environmental impact while improving their quality of life. LNDCC is comprised of separate stages of certification that are tied to the real estate and sustainable development processes, and the content will include concepts summary and credential exam
Participants will receive an official certificate of completion verified by the AGC MA for their participation in the Sustainability Smart Growth Series.
This program is eligible for MCAP Reimbursement
AGC Members that are MCAP contributors will receive 75% reimbursement of the registration fee for this program after the full registration fee is paid to AGC. The maximum reimbursement allowed for each program is $4,000 per firm. Attendance is mandatory for reimbursement.
The maximum reimbursement allowed for all eligible programs is $15,000 per year.
Series Cost: $3,500.00
AGC MA MCAP Contributor Reimbursement: $2,625.00
Total cost to AGC MA Member MCAP Contributor - $875.00
About the Instructor
Dr. Paul J. Wolff III is a lifelong “maker” and has dedicated his professional career to environmental conservation, sustainable development, and experiential learning. He has taught numerous building industry credential classes, professional development seminars, college-level courses, and non-credit hands-on workshops on topics related to sustainability and the built environment. He has cultivated a variety of diverse collaborations and engaged with institutions such as the US Green Building Council, National Grid, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sasaki Associates, the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, the Northeast Retail Lumber Association (NRLA), Northeastern University, the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) and the Harvard Business School (HBS).
Dr. Wolff is currently a full-time faculty member with University of Massachusetts Amherst and based at the new Mount Ida Campus in Newton, MA. He studied art and sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design, earned a Master of Architecture Degree from Harvard University, and received a Doctor of Education Degree from the University of Pennsylvania.