2010 Northeast Regional Conference
May 6-8, 2010
Rejuvenate, Reorient, Renew
Radisson Plaza-Warwick Hotel, Philadelphia, PA
What is "it" that makes a learning environment sustainable?
Peter Lippman, Educational & Facility Resource
Jeff Chambers, Principal
Interest in green design strategies has skyrocketed over the last 15 years to becoming an international phenomenon. While educational facilities have been certified as sustainable, many have not embraced the more holistic approach that emphasizes the integration of social development as part of the relationship between humans and their physical environment. Furthermore, Local Governments Education Departments have also narrowed the definition of sustainability with targets for funding or prescriptive requirements based on narrow requirements. However, "good practices" should drive the planner & design professional towards creating structures that embody all sustainable characteristics, not simply reproducing patterns for architecture that are driven by existing technologies and limited definitions, but are planned with a central interest in how occupants are impacted in creating, defining, evolving, and transacting with these technologies during the process of learning.