| Buildings use most of the world’s energy and materials that produce greenhouse gases. So reducing greenhouse gas emissions by improving building design is the key to decreasing global warming. Sustainable architecture minimizes the environmental impact of buildings and improves humans’ health and well-being through energy efficiency and design excellence.
Mary Guzowski, associate professor in the School of Architecture, is discovering new sustainable methods for building design involving natural lighting, environmental technology, and ecological design. She asks, “What can we do to modify current design practices to harvest ‘free energy’ from the sun and wind for heating, ventilation, and daylighting?”
Currently working on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency funded, Initiative for Renewable Energy in Architecture (reARCH), Guzowski is collaborating with experts from the Department of Architecture and the Center for Sustainable Building Research, the American Institute of Architects Minnesota in cooperation with the Committee on the Environment, the Green Institute, the Minnesota Renewable Energy Society, and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.
reARCH helps design professionals integrate renewable energy in building design, assess its economic costs, and determine its environmental benefits. The goal is to increase the knowledge and technical abilities of Minnesota designers in renewable energy through continuing education and online design resources.
Guzowski’s other projects include an exploration of the next generation of zero and low energy design thinking through a book called New Solar Architecture and the Minnesota Zero Energy Design (mnZED) Protocol — a project to develop zero-energy carbon calculation tools for architects to determine the carbon footprint of a building.
From the 2007 edition of Research, an annual publication of the OVPR.
|
