Consolidating and Deepening the Green Building Data Base

Architecture / Architecture & Urban Planning (School of)

Description

Starting in 2021, I have been working with SURF students and the students in several classes to assemble an extensive database of green buildings in North America and Germany. In the last year, this database grew substantially but incompletely - both because I once again spent April – June in Germany seeking out new cases and because the data base was used as the vehicle for teaching three courses in AY22-23, with students building these cases as their primary class activity. We now need to focus on consolidating these profiles and revisiting our template for creating new case studies to better reflect the diversity of topics represented by these new additions. The objective for the Fall of 2023 will be to revisit the KEYWORDS section of the entire data base to both add topics and standardize keywords that have been used in the past. This will require revisiting a significant number of cases to add a consistent level of detail to each file.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Work with me to standardize an expanded list of KEYWORDS representative of the expanded range of projects. Conduct internet research to verify the information already collected through class exercises. Where the student exercises are incomplete (as they all are, since all were geared around specific topics) do additional research to be able to complete the new KEYWORD inventory. Add this information to the Excel file that is the core of the Data Base. Use this data base to assemble at least one new comparative study of a KEYWORD topic. In the past, SURF students have done comparative studies of building integrated photovoltaics as a facet of green building practice. This topic has subsequently generated many new European examples and has become much more complex as the decarbonization of the electrical grid picks up steam. The need for the grid to accommodate decentralized power generation is now significantly impacting the ways that we think about how individual buildings relate to the grid. Looking at this emerging complexity will be one such deep dive.

Desired Qualifications

None Listed.