New Era of Sustainability: Embodied Energy and Material Design

Punit Jain, AIA, LEED AP, Cannon Design

The concept of sustainability related to the design of academic laboratory space is constantly evolving. While designers are well-versed and focused on the concepts of energy reduction and cost savings, several organizations are now beginning to look at the materials we use and their related embodied energy. Cannon Design's team has really pushed this movement, even developing Material LIFE, a document listing the embodied energy of construction materials that can be used to guide designers selecting sustainable materials. This presentation will focus on this new sustainable push and how it's impacting our efforts on college campuses across the world. It will focus on the importance for using sustainable materials and the methods laboratory staff and designers can utilize to best understand the products they work with consistently. It will even focus on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) which list the environmental impacts of products from extraction of raw materials through disposal or reuse. The case study will also look at what embodied energy means on a campus level, moving away from looking at the subject product by product or room by room and actually helping people understand how it can inform decision making across an entire campus.

Biography:

As a key member of the firm's Science & Technology practice, Jain brings extensive experience in designing both teaching and research laboratory buildings. Jain also serves as the firm's sustainable design leader, responsible for promoting high-performance design through LEED® certification, conducting training for the firm's professionals and high-performance design practices. Punit has served on the National Board of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a Masters in Architecture and Construction Management, Jain has taught at the School of Art & Design at Maryville University and St. Louis Community College and serves as a visiting critic for the schools of architecture at Washington University and the University of Illinois at Champaign. He frequently presents at international conferences and received the 2010 Go Beyond Award during the Labs 21conference for his continued sustainable efforts.

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