Syracuse Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems to discuss green building and sustainable design

Syracuse Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems to discuss green building and sustainable designSeptember 24, 2007Martin Wallsmwalls@syracusecoe.org

The environmental impact of transportation, industry and energy production is well-documented, but the effect of the buildings we live, learn and work in is often overlooked. However, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 40 percent of the world’s natural resources are consumed by buildings; the U.S. Green Building Council notes that they account for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions; and, moreover, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, 30 percent of energy consumption in a commercial building is inefficient.

The impact of built environments on energy consumption, natural resources, human health and the economy is driving the research and development of high-efficiency buildings with smaller energy footprints. The seventh annual Syracuse Symposium on Environmental and Energy Systems, presented by the Syracuse Center of Excellence (Syracuse CoE), will focus on “Building Innovations for Climate Change” and survey the latest ideas and advancements in the growing field of green building and sustainable design.

The one-and-a-half-day symposium takes place Oct. 22 and 23 at the Convention Center at Oncenter in Syracuse, N.Y. It is followed on Oct. 23 by the Post-Symposium Workshop, hosted by the Syracuse CoE Office for Industry Collaboration. This year’s workshop is titled “Developing Sustainable Practice: Strategic Planning, Operations and Management.”

The Syracuse CoE Symposium gathers world experts on the sustainable design of buildings and communities. The first morning’s guest speaker is Susan Roaf, city councilor for the city of Oxford, England, and professor at Oxford Brookes University. Roaf, one of the UK’s leading experts on environmentally sensitive design, will speak on “Climate Change through Innovative Urban Master Planning — The Oxford Experience.”

Other speakers include Alan Plattus, professor of the Yale School of Architecture and director of Yale’s Urban Design Workshop, and Toshiko Mori of Toshiko Mori Architects, who is also professor and chair of the Department of Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. Plattus will discuss “Three Kinds of Sustainable Community Design,” and Mori will look at “Sustainability Innovations in the Headquarters for the Syracuse Center of Excellence.” Mori is the project’s design architect.

Registration for both the Syracuse CoE Symposium and Post-Symposium Workshop is now open. To register, and for more details on the symposium’s agenda and speakers, visit http://www.syracusecoe.org/symposium/2007. Questions about registration can be directed to Mary Ellen Gilbert at (315) 443-4445 or mgilbert@syracusecoe.org. Media questions can be directed to Martin Walls at (315) 443-8951 or mwalls@syracusecoe.org.