Close Hauled - Preparing Architects for the Energy Transition

The climate crisis is upon us with many parts of the world experiencing heat waves never seen before, flooding, cold spells, and drought. Since climate patterns now change on generational scales, society needs architects to immediately deliver climate-driven buildings that consistently offer comfortable and healthy interiors, operate resource efficiently, and symbiotically interact with the electric grid and transportation sector. The digitalization of architectural design and seamless integration of environmental performance simulations into popular design environments have put sustainable design analysis workflows – from daylighting and glare to thermal comfort and operational building energy use – within reach of architecture firms of all sizes. To facilitate the productive use of these workflows, emerging and practicing architects need to understand the underlying physical phenomena, know how to interpret simulation results, and (critically) be open to change their designs based on the feedback received. The ensuing evidence-based design approach aims to liberate architects from oversimplified rules of thumb, trigger new design ideas through productive constraints, and elevate fact over dogma.

How can we teach this design approach to architecture students everywhere? On September 14./15 2023, building science educators from across a spectrum of North American Schools of Architecture convened at MIT to exchange best practices for teaching architecture students how to pursue evidence-based architecture using environmental performance analysis methods. During the symposium, participants presented a series of in-classroom exercises and take-home assignments to each other, clarified the intended learning goals associated with each activity and how it may be implemented in architecture classes of different sizes. The result of these deliberations is a collection of design and concept exercises that support the implementation of net zero energy building designs. Each exercise is also linked to its corresponding NAAB requirements. The final symposium outcome will be an instructor cookbook entitled Close Hauled - Preparing Architects for the Energy Transition with individual chapters roughly following the symposium’s panel structure. Target audience for the cookbook are university-level instructors who teach climate-responsive design including daylighting, thermal comfort, and energy use as part of a professional architecture degree program.

Symposium participants

• Ali Irani, MIT

• Alpha Arsano, Northeastern University

• Alstan Jakubiec, University of Toronto

• Christoph Reinhart, MIT

• Dan Weissman, Lam Partners

• David Pankhurst, MIT

• Dorit Aviv, University of Pennsylvania

• Ellen Reinhard, MIT

• Holly Samuelson, Harvard University

• Jeff Geisinger, Rhode Island School of Design

• Jeff Niemasz, Solemma

• Joann Gonchar, Architectural Record

• Les Norford, MIT

• Nathaniel Jones, Parsons School of Design

• Tarek Rakha, Georgia Tech

• Timur Dogan, Cornell University

• Salmaan Craig, McGill University

• Siobhan Rockcastle, University of Oregon

• Stefano Schiavon, UC Berkeley

• Ulrike Passe, Iowa State University

• Vincent Jackow, MIT

  The Close Hauled symposium was made possible through the generous support of the Alan and Terri Spoon Professorship for Architecture and Climate at MIT.