Facade Tectonics SKINS : February/March 2022

There have been 26 Conferences on Climate Change sponsored by the United Nations. The most recent conference, COP 26, was held in 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. With 200 countries in attendance, all eyes were set on achieving the goal of limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius. While discussions were held on helping countries adapt to the effects of climate change, financing, and collaboration, emission reductions were specifically targeted as a means of climate change mitigation.

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Featured

Climate crisis

Sir David King addresses Climate Change

The Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge University was founded by Sir David King. King leads a team of scientists and researchers working on solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and restore parts of the climate system that already pose risk to humanity. As the keynote speaker at the Façade Tectonics Institute’s Vitruvian Awards, he elaborates on the history of climate change.

Watch the video.

Climate

COP26 Take Aways

McKinsey hosted a roundtable at the COP 26 Climate Change Conference to discuss the outcome of the Conference, especially related to decarbonizing the built environment. These discussions are captured in an article written by Tony Hansen, Focko Imhorst, Anna Moore, and Sebastian Reiter.

Codes & Standards

Biden Introduces building performance act limiting CO2 emissions

In 2022, U.S. President Biden launched the Building Performance Standards Coalition, a coalition of states and local governments committed to strengthening building performance standards. While there are different environmental challenges at the state and local level, the Coalition is dedicated to inclusive design and implementation of building standards.

Learn more.

Policy & Influence

New York City enacts emissions standards with Local Law 97

New York City’s Local Law 97, adopted in 2019, establishes and enforces stringent carbon emission limits for existing buildings, which represent approximately 70% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the City. Under this law, most buildings over 25,000 square feet will be required to meet new energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits by 2024, with stricter limits coming into effect in 2030. The goal is to reduce the emissions produced by the city’s largest buildings by 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050.

Read on.

Resilience

United Nations Environmental Programme publishes Resilience Recommendations

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, recent research predicts that by 2050, 1.6 billion urban dwellers will be regularly exposed to extreme high temperatures and over 800 million people living in more than 570 cities will be vulnerable to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Buildings around the world are vulnerable to these changes. The agency’s Practical Guide to Climate-Resilient Buildings and Communities addresses ways to make the built environment more resilient.

Find out more.

Get Involved

Technology | Architecture + Design (TAD) - Call for Papers

The Editorial Board of Technology | Architecture + Design (TAD) would like to share its current Call for Papers and invite contributions for the upcoming TECTONICS issue. Submissions may choose to address the focus area identified in this call for papers.

Submit Your Paper.

2020 World Congress Paper Spotlight

Passive House Facade Design and Construction

Architect Louis Koehl presented Passive House Façade Design and Construction at the 2020 World Congress. Passive House principles include a comprehensive approach to façade design that results in a highly efficient building envelope. This approach considers thermal conductivity, solar heat gain, airtightness, vapor control, window performance, and aesthetics.

Discover more.

Carbon Neutral

Going Carbon Negative

In a 2020 Commentary, Energy Analyst Sara Budinis addresses ways of removing CO2 from the atmosphere. She describes a nature-based approach, enhanced natural process, and a technology approach in an article published on the International Energy Agency (IEA) website.

Explore Carbon Negative.

Industry Calendar

March 9

The Passive House Network - Fenestration Focus

Learn More

May 11

Facade Tectonics Forum: NYC

New York, United States

July 6-8

ICSA 2022

Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

October 12-13

Facade Tectonics 2022 World Congress

Los Angeles, United States

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Facade Tectonics SKINS

SKINS: February/March 2022