Archinect - News

AIA awards research grants to five climate initiatives, from biodegradable structures to microgrids

2022-03-03T11:56:00-05:00

The AIA has announced the winners of the 2022 Upjohn Research Initiative, an annual grant which awards funding to research projects advancing sustainability in architecture. The 2022 edition sees up to $30,000 awarded to five research projects, with topics ranging from biodegradable structures to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

Each year, the grant recipients are chosen by a seven-member jury comprised of members from the AIA College of Fellows and AIA Board Knowledge Committee. Previous editions have seen projects focusing on envelope retrofit guides, 3D-printed formworks, embodied carbon calculators, and compressed earth blocks.

This year’s five recipients continue the theme of advancing the design profession’s knowledge and practice.

The first project, titled Architects and Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs): The Role of the Professio...

Four research projects advancing climate action, from earthen materials to embodied carbon calculators

2021-04-30T09:12:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced the winners of this year’s Upjohn Research Initiative, providing up to $30,000 to four research projects advancing sustainable architecture and design. The four projects demonstrate a variety of approaches to tackling climate change, from carbon-reducing materials and a framework guide for flood mitigation, to adaptive building envelope design and a free embodied carbon calculator.

The Upjohn Research Initiative is awarded by the AIA every year, aiming to provide base funds for research projects that advance the profession’s knowledge and practice. This year’s projects focus on climate mitigation and adaption strategies, with previous years including envelope retrofit guides, 3D-printed formworks, and biophilic learning spaces.

This year’s winners continue the theme of sustainable design. The first project, Adaptive Envelopes for a Changing Climate: Exploring Bistability for Building Envelope Design, seeks to generate desi...

AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grant winners focus on NZE, performance, and life cycle assessment

2020-06-29T18:37:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has chosen the winners of the latest round of AIA Upjohn Research Initiative grants.

The grants offer $15,000 to $30,000 in research support for "applied research projects that enhance the value of design and professional practice knowledge," according to the AIA website. This year's winners aim to tackle a variety of performance and sustainability-related topics, including Net Zero Energy (NZE) standards and building life cycle assessment metrics.

A research team headed by Nina M. Sharifi, PhD of Syracuse University and Gabrielle Brainard, AIA of Pratt Institute aims to develop research titled Envelope Retrofit Guide: Net Zero Energy Ready Strategies for Existing Buildings. This project, according to the researchers, "will produce an Envelope Retrofit Guide to assist architects in the early stages of net zero ready retrofit projects." The guide will provide "technical guidance at a schematic level and will catalog retrofit strategies for...

AIA announces four recipients of the Upjohn Research Initiative

2019-05-15T13:27:00-04:00

Supporting applied research projects that 'enhance the value of design and professional practice knowledge', The AIA Upjohn Research Initiative funds up to six research grants of $15,000 to $30,000 annually for projects completed within an 18-month period.

This year's grants recipients are:

Nexus between Sustainable Buildings and Human Health: Quantifying EEG Responses to Virtual Environments to Inform Design

Principal Investigators: Ming Hu (University of Maryland), Madlen Simon, AIA (University of Maryland)
Collaborators: Justin Benjamin, Assoc. AIA (Perkins + Will), Tim Bakos, AIA (Perkins + Will), Edward Bernat, PhD (University of Maryland)

The goal of this research project is to develop, test, and validate a data-driven approach using virtual reality and electroencephalogram technology for understanding the potential physiological influences of sustainable design features. In collaboration with an architecture firm and a neuroscience laboratory, the researchers propose technolog...