Many believe that, in the future, the most valuable designers will be those who combine skills from business, technology and the world of design. This newsletter is devoted to those straddling all three. Our COTE members are prepared for A’18 with seminars on how firms are striving for carbon neutrality, beauty and thermodynamics in building skins and how award-winning designs are performing beautifully. We encourage members of large and small firms to join us at our COTE Open Forum on Friday and join national and regional COTE members to discuss how architects can be effective in keeping issues of sustainability, resilience, and equity in the national and local dialogue.
Spring is imminent, and in that vein, I would like to highlight a Los Angeles event that could represent the dawn of interdisciplinary climate change dialogue on the local level. I participated in the inaugural “2°C: A COTE AIA|LA Symposium on Climate Change” on March 2. Created to be ‘a unifying platform for the public, the architectural design community and the building industry to discuss and address current sustainability issues’, it is a call to action at the local level to further the dialogue that is occurring within the developer, political and academic communities as each strives to reach carbon neutrality. Speakers ranged from Lauren Faber , Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of LA, to interdisciplinary planner Herbert Dreiseitl, whose vision for livable cities is inspired by a deep understanding of water, to Rear Admiral Len Hering (US Navy retired), Chairman of the Board of Directors for San Diego Charter Schools, who is educating people on the dangers the future holds without taking responsible actions to secure the nation’s energy independence and preserve natural resources. It was a day filled with interdisciplinary speakers and lively discussion, the start of a dialogue that can be a framework for other communities.
Architects and designers all over the world can shape the blueprint for better cities—local leadership in LA is just one example—creating space for dialogue to occur and moving forward.
Thank you and keep up the good work!
Angela Brooks, FAIA
2018 Chair, Committee on the Environment