Payette founder Tom Payette has passed away aged 90

2022-11-18T14:29:00-05:00

A leading figure in the architecture industry is being mourned after Payette announced the passing of its founder Tom Payette last week at the age of 90.

Payette was considered an innovator in the design of healthcare facilities and scientific high-ed buildings, garnering a consistent stream of AIA national awards and the admiration of the hundreds of other practitioners he came to collaborate with on similar projects via the entity that became his eponymous firm.

“Tom was courageous, no challenge was unachievable, and no disappointment could phase him,” his colleague and current Payette President Kevin Sullivan remembered. “He encouraged us to do remarkable things, always looking forward, never dwelling on the past and always encouraging us to do great design, but most importantly, never allowing us to forget the importance of family and maintaining a life beyond architecture.”

Payette earned his b...

What a building scientist does, and how architects can become one

2022-05-18T11:51:00-04:00

Earlier this week, we covered comments by columnist Kunle Barker in the UK’s Architects’ Journal, who warned against the trend of offsetting emissions to achieve a “zero carbon” built environment.

“Offsetting is not sustainable,” Barker wrote. “In fact, it's not even close to being sustainable, and most worrying of all, it is allowing lazy, ego-driven designs to be accepted by us all. We must find an objective and fair way to assess if (and how) a building should be constructed. This is the only way the built environment can become part of the climate solution.”

Barker’s comments demonstrate the growing value of building science, and dedicated building scientists, as a means of addressing the question of “how” a building should be constructed.

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Payette founder Tom Payette has passed away aged 90

What a building scientist does, and how architects can become one