December 10, 2025 9:30 – 11:15 am PST
As buildings account for a significant portion of global energy consumption and carbon emissions, emerging AI tools offer new methods to drive sustainability and efficiency. Experts from professional practice, software development, and academia will showcase cutting-edge approaches for optimizing spatial configurations, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing building performance. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how AI-driven design tools are reshaping the industry — transforming design processes, architectural geometries, and operational analytics.
The presentations will include a demonstration of “collaborative intelligence,” a strategy that combines AI and human insight to generate more effective recommendations for decarbonization plans. Presenters will also introduce a novel, building-specific data structure and generation method for creating floor plans. By leveraging advanced algorithms, an automated pipeline can seamlessly link architectural design with energy and daylight analysis, providing new insights into spatial configurations and enabling architects to better understand the impact of design choices on overall building performance. The presentation will also highlight the importance of optimizing architectural layouts to reduce environmental impact.
This event is free and open to the public, and co-sponsored by PG&E and UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment.
Agenda Overview
9:30 am Announcements and agenda overview
9:40 am Speaker talks, each followed by short Q&A
10:40 am Moderated panel discussion
11:00 am Conclude
Speakers and Presentations
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Cesar Escalante
Technical Marketing Manager Architecture, Autodesk
Cesar leads storytelling efforts for the architecture industry—creating and evangelizing compelling content on new and emerging technologies to colleagues, channel partners, and Autodesk customers around the world. Cesar has deep architecture industry expertise, having spent the past 12 years holding regional design technology leadership roles at large international firms including Gensler, HOK, and Flad Architects. He founded the San Francisco Computational Design Institute, currently chairs the AIA San Francisco Design Technology Committee, and serves on the faculties of the School of Architecture at the California College of the Arts and the Academy of Art University. Cesar is passionate about computational design, digital prototyping, and visual programming, and he is an active speaker in the AEC industry.
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Luke Leung
Sustainable Engineering Studio Principal, SOM
Luke Leung is the firm-wide Principal of the Sustainability Engineering Studio for SOM. His work includes Burj Khalifa, the current world’s tallest building, and four more of the top 20 tallest buildings in the world. Other noteworthy projects include General Motors Global Headquarters, Beijing Finance Street, US Census Bureau, US Air Force Academy CCLD, US Embassy in Beijing, BBVA Tower in Mexico City. Luke’s many accolades include being a LEED Fellow; ASHRAE Fellow; ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization (TFBD) ExCom; ASHRAE Director-at-Large; Carbon Leadership Forum MEP 2040 founding member; City of Chicago Decarbonization Task Force; ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer; ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force Commercial Team Leader. He is also an Industry Advisor for the Incubator Startups IN2 program with Wells Fargo and NREL.
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Shona Odea
Senior Associate Principal, Sustainability Director, SOM
Throughout her career, O’Dea has been dedicated to energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality, providing innovation and technical excellence in sustainable building design and operation. She advises clients about sustainable goal-setting and uses building simulation to help designers quantify energy savings and understand the interactions of building design with the mechanical systems and with the environment. Beyond building simulation, O’Dea brings her passion to holistic building performance master planning with a focus on reducing the carbon footprint and water use of building portfolios, while also ensuring occupants can thrive in healthy spaces. Shona holds a BS in Building Services Engineering and an MS in Sustainability, Innovation and Technology from the Dublin Institute of Technology as well as an MS in Technology from Purdue University.
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Ramon Weber
Assistant Professor of Architecture, UC Berkeley
Ramon Weber’s research investigates how computational design methods and simulation tools can create more sustainable architecture. His work has been published and presented internationally in both scientific and design venues such as the Journal Solar Energy, Building and Environment, Automation in Construction, 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, ACADIA, SF MoMA, the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial and Ars Electronica. Ramon graduated with an MS in Media Arts and Science from the MIT Media Lab, where he was a research assistant with the Mediated Matter Group. Previously, he received his master’s degree in Integrative Technologies and Architectural Design Research from the University of Stuttgart, and a bachelor’s in architecture from ETH Zurich. He has worked on architectural projects at Zaha Hadid Architects and their in-house ZHA|CODE research group in London.
Continuing Education
By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:
- Identify emerging AI tools and methods that can improve the design and/or operation of high-performance buildings.
- Explain how AI-driven generative design can facilitate the design of floor plan configurations, daylighting, and energy efficiency.
- Evaluate the concept of collaborative intelligence — bringing together human expertise and AI systems — in advancing decarbonization strategies.
- Assess the potential impacts of AI-assisted workflows decision-making and impacts on building sustainability.
This course qualifies for AIA continuing education, 1.5 LU/HSW credits.