September 28, 2023 11:15 am EDT
Policy and economic factors are contributing to a persistent housing shortage, with specific challenges for urgently needed affordable housing. However, recent shifts in policy, public funding and the environment itself are motivating design professionals, tenant advocates and other stakeholders to build a new generation of multi-family housing that tackles climate change mitigation and regenerative design through an equity lens, and which provides meaningful, long-term adaptation.
This Greenbuild 2023 session featured leaders from industry and academia who are deeply engaged in the design, construction and/or study of low-carbon affordable housing. They presented emerging design strategies, insights from recent research and case studies, with completed projects and work ‘on-the-boards’ that represent the leading edge in this rapidly evolving area, including projects targeting LEED-Platinum certification and/or net-zero energy performance. The presenters also discussed key overarching themes and approaches for overcoming barriers to success.
Speakers and Presentations
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Katie Ackerly, AIA, CPHC
Principal, David Baker Architects
Presentation: Grid Decarbonization and Resilience at Roosevelt Village
Katie Ackerly is a principal and the sustainable design lead at David Baker Architects, an award-winning architecture firm known for elevating the design of multi-family housing. Katie is an industry thought leader and an advocate for building decarbonization and housing resilience. Katie draws on a background in building science and energy efficiency, including graduate studies with the Center for the Built Environment at UC Berkeley. Within DBA and beyond, she works to expand knowledge, tools and best practices regarding multi-family building performance, guided by the belief that providing durable sanctuary in dense urban housing is essential to a sustainable future.
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Christian J. Agulles, PE
President and CEO, PAE Consulting Engineers
Presentation: Decarbonization and Resiliency in Affordable Multi-Family Housing
Christian is president and CEO at PAE, serving on the board and leading the San Francisco Office. He has practiced engineering in major markets including New York; Washington, DC; Las Vegas and San Francisco. Christian has spent his 30-year career leading teams in the design of innovative building systems for a broad range of complex building types including sports arenas, commercial office buildings, residential towers, higher education, a U.S. Embassy, energy efficiency retrofits and affordable housing. Currently, he’s working with First Community Housing on four affordable housing projects, all seeking LEED Platinum certification and to reduce embodied carbon through all-electric systems design.
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Matt Roberts, PhD
Post-doctoral Researcher, CBE at UC Berkeley
Presentation: Environmental Impacts of Modular Construction for Affordable Housing
Matt’s research efforts focus on the advancement of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology for material to building scale applications within the built environment. His current interests include the use of consequential LCA to assess changes in environmental impacts that result from implementing impact reduction strategies at scale and the development of target values to broaden the scope of sustainability. He received his PhD in Architecture and Civil Engineering, and an MSc from the University of Bath, UK. He also holds a BASc in Civil Engineering and International Studies in Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Canada.
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David Lehrer, RA, LEED
Communications and Research Collaborations, CBE at UC Berkeley (Moderator)
David Lehrer serves as CBE’s Communications Director and as a member of the research team. He is the primary liaison between our Industry Partners and the research staff, he leads CBE’s outreach efforts and oversees CBE’s research portfolio. He is a frequent speaker on building performance and technology, and led CBE’s research on visualizing information in commercial buildings. David is a licensed architect in California and holds and MArch from UC Berkeley and a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining CBE, David practiced architecture for over a decade on a broad range of project types.