Committee on Design

How Do We Practice to Address the Climate Crisis?
An All-Day Symposium to Motivate, Inform, and Empower
Hosted by AIA Westchester Hudson Valley Committee on the Environment
October 7, 2024: 9:15 am – 4:30 pm
Venue: Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY 12545

AIA CEU Credits
Entire day: 6 HSW, Phius, PDH 
Either morning or afternoon session: 3 AIA credits.

Learn the power you as an architect, engineer, client, builder, or part of the construction industry have to make a difference. Hear from six distinguished speakers how you can change your practice and have an impact. Engage in hands-on roundtable discussions. Network with other architects, design professionals, clients, and builders over coffee, beverages and box lunch included in your registration. Learn about new materials and equipment from our sponsors. Enjoy the beautiful 2,000-acre campus of The Cary Institute and tour its buildings which are a lesson in the evolution of sustainable architecture.

Morning Session:
Bill Caplan, Assoc AIA, engineer and innovator, author of "THWART CLIMATE CHANGE NOW: Reducing Embodied Carbon Brick by Brick" will show us that reducing embodied carbon is the next crucial tool in the architect's power to fight back against climate change.

Ken Levinson, Executive Director of the Passive House Network, will help you understand how the Passive House movement offers architects and owners a revolutionary, holistic way to create homes that are energy efficient, comfortable, and affordable.

Christina Griffin, AIA, LEED AP APB+C, CPHC, Principal of CGA Studio, who has actively promoted sustainable design through her civic engagement and collaboration within the design and construction community, will show us how to embrace building science to design low carbon environments.

Afternoon Session:
Tour of the Cary Institute: It was initially designed in 1978 by Malcom Wells, the founder of the green building movement. In 2022, a renovation and expansion designed by Bruce Becker was completed, with LEED Platinum, Living Building Future Zero Carbon, Zero Energy, and Core Green certification.

Bruce Becker, FAIA, will show you how his firm designs and develops projects that are social and environmental game-changers: restoring underutilized historic buildings and transforming urban sites to enrich and revitalize communities. He will share examples of his projects including the renovation of and addition to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and net zero adaptive re-use of existing icons such as the Hotel Marcel in New Haven.

Dr. Sharon Sutton, FAIA, Distinguished visiting professor of Architecture, Parsons School of Design, educator, author, and citizen architect with worldwide reach who has shifted the profession of architecture toward a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive future. She will share her work on community-based participatory research and design with a special emphasis on low-income and minority youth and other disenfranchised populations.

Illya Azaroff, FAIA, National AIA President Elect 2025, COP 28 Delegation Chair. Professor in practice at New York City of Technology (CUNY) and founding principal of +LAB architect PLLC, will talk about his mission to build resilient capacity in response to climate change and natural disasters, and design a sustainable, regenerative future while giving underserved communities greater voice and visibility.