Life Cycle Assessments: September COTE Meeting

From AIA Austin (American Institute of Architects) Committee on the Enviornment –

Join us for our monthly meeting! This month we’re talking about materials and building impact!

Our special guest, Dirk Kestner, Director of Sustainable Design with Walter P. Moore in Austin and member of the LEED Materials and Resources Technical Advisory Group for USGBC, will be teaching us about Life Cycle Assessments (LCA’s).

An LCA is a tool that allows architects and other building professionals to understand the energy use and other environmental impacts associated with all life cycle phases of the building: raw material procurement, manufacturing, construction, operation and decommissioning. These Assessments have recently been accepted into LEED’s credit system and have been an integral part of the Living Building Challenge since its inception.

An LCA is the cradle-to-grave quantification of potential environmental impacts of products or services. LCA removes the guesswork; one can assess buildings to understand their environmental “hot spots” and identify greener alternatives. Commonly reported impact metrics include global warming (“carbon footprint”), acidification (“acid rain”), eutrophication (“algal bloom”), photochemical oxidant creation (“summer smog”) and ozone depletion (“the ozone hole”).

Please bring an appetite for learning, discussion, and yummy treats! Food and beverage is provided thanks to Whole Foods Market.