On November 4th and 7th, College of Architecture + The Arts Professors Shahin Vassigh and Thomas Spiegelhalter are presenting peer-reviewed research projects at the International Solar Energy Society Solar World Congress 2013 (SWC 2013) in Cancún, Mexico.
Vassigh and Spiegelhalter conducted a research project entitled “Integrated Design Pedagogy for Energy Efficient Design: Tools for Teaching Carbon Neutral Building Design.” The presentation is a comparative analysis of the professors’ co-authored book and DVD called “Best Practices in Sustainable Buliding Design,” by Vassigh, Spiegelhalter, and Ebru Ozer. The presentation discusses a learning environment that teaches sustainable methods of design and construction, through seven content areas and their learning modules: building form, envelopes, structures, climate control systems, renewable energy, lighting, and landscape design.
Additionally, Spiegelhalter is presenting his own research project entitled “Energy-Efficiency Retrofitting and Transformation of the [Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture building] into a Net-Zero-Energy-Building in 2018.” In this project, Spiegelhalter focuses on ways to make PCA a net-zero-energy building by the year 2018. This characteristic of design is endorsed by the U.S. Department of Energy 2020 policy and the American Institute of Architecture 2030 Agenda on energy conservation, efficiency benchmarking, and carbon neutrality for buildings.
The International Solar Energy Society Solar World Congress 2013 is being held from November 3rd to 7th. Organized by the International Solar Energy Society and the Mexican Solar Energy Association, the SWC joins professionals from various disciplines, inviting them to discuss new methods of promoting renewable energy, through keynote presentations, forums, exhibitions, workshops, and trainings.
The featured image is provided by Professor Thomas Spiegelhalter.
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