Blogs

Saving a Brick is Saving a Brick: Sustainability in Texoma

By Ellen Mitchell, AIA posted 5 days ago
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Ellen Mitchell, AIA, continues her interviews about what sustainability means in rural America. This article is part of an interview series that Mitchell is publishing to bring more voices into the sustainability conversation. In some parts of the country, the renewable energy revolution can be very abstract and invisible. Not so along the Red River, which is the dividing line between Texas and Oklahoma. Here, it’s wind turbines as far as the eye can see and solar arrays spreading across pastureland. It’s small, rural school districts receiving new tax revenue and neighbors debating what development means for the land they love. It’s also increasingly ...
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Climate Action at AIA26 | The COTE Guide to the AIA Conference

By bruce boul posted 7 days ago
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COTE’s Climate Action Guide to AIA26 Climate Action, Community, and Connection in San Diego June 10–13, 2026 | San Diego The AIA Conference on Architecture returns to San Diego June 10–13, and the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Leadership Group—alongside many COTE volunteers, members, and allied groups across the COTE Network—is looking forward to gathering once again. Each year, the conference offers more than CE credits and keynote moments. It is a chance for the COTE community to reconnect, exchange ideas, celebrate design leadership, and continue advancing our shared work around climate action, resilience, and ...
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Earth Day: COTE Network Spotlight

By Lindsey Falasca, AIA posted 17 days ago
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By: Lindsey Falasca, AIA (Incoming COTE Chair, 2027) Across the country, AIA COTE state and local chapters are driving meaningful climate action through advocacy, public education, and community-centered engagement, advancing resilience and sustainability in the built environment. In celebration of Earth Day, this spotlight highlights a range of initiatives designed to inspire and empower COTE groups nationwide to take action and lead climate solutions in their own communities. Advocacy COTE groups are influencing policy at the local and state levels. Their efforts include advancing building performance standards, expanding decarbonization initiatives, ...
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COTE Books: Design for Resilience / Details and Materials for Resilient Sites by Meg Calkins / reviewed by Shawn Swisher

By Kira Gould, Hon. AIA posted 23 days ago
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COTE Books Please consider joining the COTE Book Talk with Meg Calkins and Shawn Swisher on June 18, 2026, 1-2pm ET: Register here . Thank you to AIA Minnesota COTE for hosting. Get 20% off the book with the code 26AEV1 at the Routledge site through June 2026. Design for Resilience Details and Materials for Resilient Sites: A Climate Positive Approach by Meg Calki ns Book Review by Shawn Swisher, AIA, LEED AP BD+C In daily practice, detail drawings are too frequently deferred to the final stages of design, the product of many months of conceptualizing, scrutinizing, negotiating, and, finally, documenting. Under the constraints ...
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Happy April - Earth Month – so many great events happening!

By Lisa Ferretto, AIA posted 23 days ago
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Happy April - Earth Month – so many great events happening! 4/8 Registration Deadline - AIA / ACSA COTE® Top Ten for Students Competition 4/10 Early bird rates end - AIA26- Conference on Architecture & Design 4/12-18 AIA Architecture week 4/13-17 National Healthy Schools Day / Week 4/14 AIA 2030 Commitment: Participating as a Small Firm (AIA SFx, 2030, COTE, AIA NJ) 4/14-4/17 Living Future Conference 4/15 Architect’s ...
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What's this COTE Top Ten button in the DDx?

By Michelle Amt, FAIA posted 03-02-2026
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The COTE® Super Spreadsheet has been a useful tool for architects seeking to measure and communicate design excellence. Developed in 2016 as part of the COTE Top Ten Toolkit, the spreadsheet provided a structured, quantitative way to standardize and evaluate project performance across the COTE Top Ten Measures. COTE created the toolkit--a combination of narratives, clear metrics, and a handy calculator to make those conversions--with the hope of not only making the process of submitting to and reviewing the COTE Top Ten Awards easier, but also to build the case for the real, quantifiable impact these winning projects had. When the AIA adopted the COTE Top ...
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March 2026 AIA Corporate Partners COTE Newsletter Article: Kingspan

By Ellie Falcon posted 02-27-2026
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Why site-specific EPDs matter for carbon-smart design decisions By Brent Trenga, director of sustainability, Kingspan Insulated Panels North America As architects work to meet increasingly ambitious climate goals, the conversation around embodied carbon has moved from abstract targets to material-level decision-making. Environmental product declarations (EPDs) play a critical role in that shift. Much like a nutrition label, an EPD transparently communicates the environmental impacts of a product across its life cycle, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end of life. But for architects trying to meaningfully reduce ...
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CAE Spring Conference 2026—Designing Belonging: Reciprocity, Resilience, and Regeneration

By Alison Karfeld posted 02-25-2026
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April 28–May 1 | Seattle | The Alexis Royal Sonesta Hotel Seattle Join us for the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education Spring Conference 2026! Set in a region defined by dramatic natural context, vibrant international trade, industrial innovation, ecological stewardship, and cultural diversity, this year’s program explores and builds on designing for belonging. Curated bus tours guided by architects, educators, clients, and community partners will highlight outstanding AIA award-winning and other projects across the learning continuum. Over four days, you'll gain place-based insight into how Seattle’s design community is advancing equity, ...
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Architects as Translators, not Evangelists: Sustainability in the Texas Hill Country

By Ellen Mitchell, AIA posted 02-20-2026
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Located deep in the heart of Texas where prairies begin to give way to rugged limestone cliffs and clear rivers cut through dry land, the Texas Hill Country is easy to romanticize. But practicing architecture here means respecting limits – water is not guaranteed and heat is not theoretical. Often, the gap between what a client wants and what a project can afford can be as expansive as the wide-open sky. When sustainability leaders like me talk about opportunities in the built environment, we often start with things like EUI targets, decarbonization strategies and building performance metrics. But in the Texas Hill Country, sustainability doesn’t show up ...
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COTE Network Corner: Q2 call

By Roshni Krishnan, Intl. Assoc. AIA posted 02-17-2026
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COTE Network Corner: Q2 Call There has never been a more important time to share initiatives and cheer our peer chapters leaders from across the country steering climate action and sustainability initiatives. On our first call, we got to celebrate your committee’s accomplishments and hear what others have been working on across the network. We got to hear from COTE chapters across the country about their 2026 plans ranging from energy codes to carbon conversations. We’re excited to invite you to the second COTE Network call of 2026 , taking place on April 21st . We will have local COTE Spotlight Recognition. This new initiative of the COTE ...
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COTE Book Series: Upcoming & Past Reviews & Talks (including recording links)

By Kira Gould, Hon. AIA posted 02-11-2026
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COTE Books: A Series of Reviews & Talks we typically review & host talks about 2-3 books per year; virtual events are hosted by local or state COTE groups interested in being a host or suggesting a book? email Kira Gould at kiragould@kiragould.com 18 June 2026 / 1-2pm ET - upcoming Details and Materials for Resilient Sites: A Climate Positive Approach (Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2025) Register to join (free) here Discount: Get 20% off the book with the code 26AEV1 at the Routledge site through June 2026. Author: Meg Calkins, FCELA, FASLA, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental ...
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Q1 Cote Network Reminder

By Sean Costello posted 01-30-2026
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COTE Chapter Leaders, Happy Friday! This is a friendly reminder that our Q1 AIA COTE Network Call is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3rd at 2:00 PM ET . We’re looking forward to connecting and hearing updates from your chapter! Action Required: Please update your chapter’s slide in the shared Google Slides deck with the following: Highlights from 2025 : Key accomplishments, initiatives, or events. Goals for 2026 : What your chapter is planning or aiming to achieve. Google slide Link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OB5zhFl2_fo5MdPLadWR6M1nUB919RqO/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117172739344110297076&rtpof=true&sd=true ...
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Missed It Live? Watch the 2025 AIA COTE Top Ten Showcase On-Demand!

By bruce boul posted 01-29-2026
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If you weren’t able to join us live, we’ve got you covered. Yesterday’s AIA COTE Top Ten 2025 Showcase brought together project teams from across the country to share the thinking, rigor, and outcomes behind last year’s Top Ten Award–winning projects—each demonstrating what’s possible when sustainability, equity, and performance are treated as foundational design drivers, not add-ons. Hosted by HMC Architects on behalf of the AIA COTE Communications Committee, the webinar offered a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how these projects respond to climate action, community needs, and real-world constraints—while still delivering inspiring architecture. ...
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Voices of Advocacy: Chris Hellstern

By Lisa Richmond, Hon. AIA posted 01-23-2026
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An interview with Chris Hellstern, AIA, about Washington’s Buy Clean Buy Fair, the importance of alliances, and why architects make great advocates. Lisa Richmond and Joyce Raybuck A Career Built Around Sustainability “I’ve been working in sustainability for about 20 years. I’m a licensed architect, but my role at Miller Hull is primarily as our Living Building Challenge and Sustainability Director, which lets me touch many projects. To make broader change, I also serve on AIA CCADE, AIA COTE , AIA Washington and other committees, with a strong policy focus on embodied carbon.” Washington’s Policy ...
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AIA Statement on U.S. withdrawal from UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

By Lisa Ferretto, AIA posted 01-12-2026
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AIA responds to U.S. withdrawal from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Statement below from www.aia.org/statement-us-withdrawal-unfccc Linked in post ___ " WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 9, 2026 The United States withdrawal from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and several other treaties is deeply troubling, and leaves communities around the world more vulnerable to the real impacts of climate change and unsustainable development. The global response will continue without us-as it ...
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Fresh Perspectives: Meet Your Incoming COTE Leadership

By Katie Nordenson posted 12-11-2025
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Pictured from left to right: Beth Brant, Timothy Lock, and Lisa Richmond. The Committee on the Environment (COTE) is thrilled to welcome three new Leadership Group members, each of whom will be an incredible addition to the team. Let’s learn a bit about who they are, what makes them passionate about design excellence, and resources and projects they love. Beth Brant, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LFA , is a Principal and Director of Sustainability at DSGN Associates , where she leads the firm’s commitment to regenerative design and the adaptive reuse of existing buildings. With over two decades of experience, Beth has built a career around transforming underutilized ...
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[Webinar] AIA COTE Top Ten 2025 Showcase: Celebrating Sustainable Design Excellence

By Lindsey Falasca, AIA posted 12-08-2025
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Join us for an inspiring showcase of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten 2025 Award Winners . The COTE Top Ten is the industry’s premier recognition program for sustainable design excellence. This pecha kucha-style webinar will highlight the winning projects from 2025, exploring how architects are pushing boundaries to create buildings that are not only beautiful and functional but also resilient and deeply responsive to their communities and the environment. What: Webinar to learn more about each of the 2025 award winners When: Tuesday, January 27, 2pm ET How: Register here! (Get a sneak preview of the projects here) ...
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Letter from the Chair: Where do we go from here? The critical quest to widen the circle.

By Ellen Mitchell, AIA posted 12-08-2025
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2025 was a tough year for sustainability. Federal incentives were repealed, renewable energy projects stalled, and even our language around environmental issues came under increased scrutiny. The sense of momentum we had been building over the last decade suddenly slowed, and many in the profession were left asking: Where do we go from here? As the national landscape grew more uncertain, a familiar refrain grew louder: we must now focus our efforts on a more local level. The advice is simple enough - talk to your neighbors, engage your community, step outside your bubble – but I’ve come to realize that this is much more complex than it sounds. It ...
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Together for a Living Future

By Kira Gould, Hon. AIA posted 12-03-2025
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Together for a Living Future By Kira Gould, Hon. AIA As you consider the learning and gathering opportunities in the year ahead, I’m here to remind you about Living Future . This year, it is in Seattle -- the Pacific Northwest was the first home to the organization and its leading-edge certification program, the Living Building Challenge (which turns 20 later this year -- two decades of pushing boundaries and lifting standards! ). Most of you know me as a COTE community member, but I am also a member of Living Future. As such, I’m eager to share a bit about why I will be at Living Future 26 in April in Seattle. For starters, I’m ...
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COTE Book Review: What We Can Do Right Now: Allison Anderson’s Climate Adaptation for Architects: A Design Toolkit

By Kira Gould, Hon. AIA posted 12-03-2025
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Please join us for the COTE book talk about this book – with the author, Allison Anderson, FAIAI, and the reviewer, Megan Recher Campos, AIA – on 24 February 2026, from 12-1pm Eastern Time. The virtual event is being hosted by the AIA North Carolina COTE with AIA Triangle COTE. Register here . COTE Book Review What We Can Do Right Now Allison Anderson’s Climate Adaptation for Architects: A Design Toolkit by Megan Recher Campos, AIA The increasing number of natural disasters worldwide makes investing in adaptation and resilience critical to the future of the design profession and the built environment. Sometimes it can be overwhelming ...
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