By M. Walker

We ran across this great article by Lloyd Alter, called “Make this the last AIA Awards where they don't consider sustainability” and couldn’t help but share it. It reflects a sentiment that really lends some teeth to the recent resolution by the AIA for “immediate and sustained climate action,” which culminated in the adoption of the COTE Top Ten Toolkit as the AIA’s Design Excellence Framework. These sweeping moves are great in theory, but in practice many AIA chapters across the country are still scrambling to make the new Design Excellence Framework a part of daily architecture practice by their membership.

One really compelling way to encourage adoption is to require that the new framework is used for awards and homes/building tour submissions. From the article:

The AIA should absolutely follow the example that our UK counterparts have laid out and move our own awards programs toward one that measures multiple dimensions of quality and beauty. After all, if we’re not designing projects focused on sustainable outcomes, we’re not upholding our ethical duties as the design professionals who are responsible for managing many resources and their associated carbon profiles.

Check out Lloyd’s article and let us know what you think.